What a mouthful! But not necessarily a pocketful! If you’re security conscious, like me, you have considered a night vision security camera, hence, you reading this article right. Well, let’s go a step further and add to that a motion sensor.
Now, firstly, the reasons to consider a night vision security camera are simple.
- High-resolution images
- Reliable surveillance
- Still shot programming
- Or continual recording
- Peace of mind
The reasons to add in the motion-activated sensor are a no-brainer.
- Record function starts up immediately on movement
- No wasted recording space
- You get to see exactly the moment of intrusion
- Alarm can be set once movement sensed
- Set the sensor to height and size so as not to pick up stray animals moving around
But, how do you decide on which security camera? There are a few aspects to consider.
Color or Black and White
The amount of light in the area you are filming will depict whether or not to invest in a color recording or black and white recording security camera. For the period of nighttime, which is what we are concerned about more here, given that there is less light at night, consider the following:
- Does the focused area have a night-light?
- Is the night-light focused directly on the recorded area?
- Are there streetlights close by?
- Are there large trees with heavy foliage close by?
If the answers are yes to these questions then you may want to consider a color recording system rather. Reason being that unnatural light and dense foliage can skew the picture of the person entering your premises. Shadows mixed with the light angles, in black and white imagery, won’t give you a good and clear picture of their face. And if you are wanting to, down the line, catch the wanna-be assailant, you want a good mug shot. On the flipside, consider this:
- Is the area lit by natural light, i.e. the moonlight?
- Is the area clear of heavy foliage like overhanging trees, shadows from surrounding trees
- Is the area clear of vehicles?
- Is the area near a high wall or surrounding walls?
If you answered yes to these questions, then the black and white recording option will work fine. The black and white option works best with natural light and clear spaces.
If you are not so much concerned with identifying the face of the intruder, but more about the camera picking up the movement and alerting you, then black and white is the way to go.
Light Sensitivity and Lux
A step further is to consider the Light Sensitivity or LUX, which will determine the clarity of your picture. From direct sunlight to a full or half moon, unnatural lighting to twilight, there is various Lux options to choose from.
Wired or Wireless
Another consideration is whether to go wired or wireless.
Wired Systems
They require a little more work to set up and you want to hide those wires so that they are not visible or accessible to the public. You don’t want to alert the intruder to the fact that there is a camera watching him.
Wireless Systems
Easy to install and generally easy on the pocket as opposed to their wired brothers. One small downfall is that often times tree foliage or branches can impede the signal, so just consider this when setting it up.
So, not such a daunting task, but good reasons to consider a motion activated night visions security camera.
