Why good footage is important

Why good CCTV footage is important

When you first look at installing CCTV security, you often just try to cover all bases quickly, this means that your cameras are not the best. We look at why it is important to gather good footage from the setup you have and how you can improve it.

Black and white

When crime is committed, gathering evidence is important if we are to catch and prosecute the offenders. Unfortunately, when security cameras came out, they gave a grainy black and white picture. It was often difficult to make out faces. Even if Police could name the criminals, by the time it got to court, the jury were not always satisfied with the identification and there was enough doubt to mean the case was dropped. So, all those carefully placed cameras were little more than a slight deterrent. Black and white cameras have since improved and can give much better pictures today.

Colour

These days the norm is to have cameras that film in colour. Images are now captured in High Definition (HD), these can be as good quality as TV pictures.

Day/Night

As crime is often committed outside business hours, night vision cameras are worth considering. You can get cameras that work both day and night.

Motion Detection

Having a sensor that can detect movement, will help if you do not want to run your cameras 24/7 and have lots of recording to review.

Lens

This is probably, the most important part of the camera in terms of getting good pictures. As it is the lens that gathers the light to produce the pictures and is, essentially, the eye of the camera, it is worth spending a little more on the lens. A zoom lens will be most useful for zooming in on any details, such as number plates and faces for recognition.

Recording

Recording the footage will be valuable, so that it can be played back to review the evidence. A DVR that can fast forward and slow motion, will aid the investigation.