Christmas is an amazing time of year. But unfortunately, not everyone gets in the festive spirit of giving gifts and being kind to one another. Some people will go out and still deem it necessary to commit crimes to people properties during the Christmas period, and this is becoming even more common as time passes.

With homes across the UK being filled with new gifts, Christmas decorations inside and out, it’s no wonder why criminals target homes at Christmas time.

This is why we all must do what we can to protect our homes during this time. Whilst we are likely to be home, this does not mean criminals will not enter whilst we are sleeping or the short periods when we are out on school runs or shopping. So, to protect your home we would recommend installing CCTV cameras. This way you will have 24hour footage of your home, if anything were to happen, you would be able to look back on the footage and gain a clear view of the criminal to be able to report this to the police.

How many times have you watched Crimewatch only to be asked to help identify an individual on the screen? Quite often they are completely pixelated and you really don’t have any chance of identifying them at all. That said, the CCTV systems we use at home are much clearer, so why is it such a problem with public CCTV? Well, it’s mainly because of costs. It will take time for the government to improve CCTV cameras across the UK, but with many shops, homes and vehicles now fitted with cameras, it’s often quite easy for the police to find some footage when they need to investigate a crime. We do hope with all of the latest technology available today that the government will start using it, but it will take time, and we’d rather it be a slow process that burning taxpayers money all at once.

Startups and SME (Small Medium Enterprises) may find securing their premises extremely expensive, however, there are some ways to cut costs and protect your business at the same time. CCTV cameras are incredibly useful to shops, restaurants and virtually any commercial environment where customers are entering and exiting, but they’re also very cheap too. These prices have come down considerably, and you can buy very basic systems with just a few cameras. Of course, you will need to manage them yourself or have a trusted member of staff do it for you, but it’s a very cheap yet effective method, especially to counteract thievery and burglary. Following this, you can add alarms and signs to the workplace such as ‘you’re on camera’ to make people think before they act, and it’s these very shrewd methods that are often the most effective, so investing in a solid metal bulletproof door can certainly wait!

It might seem like an obvious choice to use wireless cameras. The convenience of wireless technology can be extremely useful when installing a security system. However it can often be the case that the wireless nature of the cameras becomes a huge disadvantage, especially when compared to wired cameras.

Unfortunately, wireless cameras seldom meet their published wireless distances. This can mean having to place wireless cameras in undesirable spots. On top of this wireless cameras also require power connections making placement more difficult.

Another disadvantage is that wireless cameras tend to use up a lot of internet bandwidth. Sometimes a wireless security system can use all of the bandwidth available, even on 100Mbs internet speeds, rendering other internet dependent machines useless. Combined with the issue that certain wireless cameras require a certain connection frequency, a new router or high speed internet connection might be needed for certain systems.

More Is Better

Wireless security cameras are now relatively affordable for the average user, so there’s no reason why a security system should have more than one. Multiple inexpensive cameras will provide greater visual coverage than a single expensive camera. Also remember that a multiple camera setup will work best with the cameras zoomed in, as opposed to a zoomed out image which can tend to pixelate easily upon viewing.

Position Well

Much like taking a photo, positioning a camera at an angle that captures an area accurately will produce a better images. Try not to point the camera at the ground and consider what might obstruct the viewing angle. It’s also important to angle the cameras away from areas that emit a lot of light, as it will cause the images to get washed out. Finally make sure cameras are located in an area that has access to a reliable WiFi signal.

Keeping security cameras clean is an important part of maintaining a good security system. Security camera lenses especially require regular cleaning so as to not become cloudy or dirty. After all, if a camera lens becomes even a little dirty, it may render it unable to see at all.

Cleaning a camera lens is pretty straight forward, a simple spot clean with water and a cloth is enough for most cleaning jobs. But the important part is the regularity of the cleaning. Preventing build-up of dirt and moisture on a regular basis will keep the camera in good working condition, making sure its visual ability is maintained.

There are self-cleaning lenses available for security cameras. As the name suggests these lenses clean elements like dirt, moisture and spiderwebs from camera lenses automatically. Saving the hassle, as well as the potential risk, of climbing up on a ladder and cleaning it manually.

Security cameras are only as good as what they can see. After all thier entire purpose is to record video, so the better the video quality the more effective the security coverage.

The best way to improve the visual imagery of existing cameras is to use better quality optical elements. These will offer better contrast over all imagery, and fewer colour fringes around object’s edges (chromatic aberration).

With the better resolution high quality lenses provide, tiny details will be clearer and brighter. Especially at the edges of the image where all lenses have imperfections, also straight lines will show less curvature (geometric distortion).

‘Aspherical’ optics are particularly finely crafted to maximize light transmission, hence impressive F0.8 capabilities. Infrared in daylight and electric light can focus in a different place to visible light thereby defocusing your image. IR-corrected lenses reduce this effect.

A good camera should have a good quality lens.

More expensive, high-end cameras usually more features than cheaper models. But not all of the features are always helpful, in some instances they may simply be unnecessary and a waste of the extra money spent. This list looks at several features of higher-end cameras and why they are useful in certain scenarios.

Saving Video and Images

The ability to save video and pictures externally can be a useful feature to have; it certainly comes in helpful for law enforcement purposes. If a crime is caught on camera, the ability to play back video at high speed will help you find the event, and slow motion will help you determine exactly what happened.

External Recording

Higher-end models come with a separate DVR to record video. This helps if a great deal if your cameras running all the time.

Night Vision

Night vision comes at a high priority as crimes have a tendency to occur after dark. However, if a area is already well lit, the night vision may not be needed.

An effective way of making use of surveillance systems. CCTV camera kits are great value for money if you are getting started in home or business security, or if you want to survey a large area.

The cameras that come with a CCTV kit are often weather resistant, so there’s no reason why they cant be placed outside as well as in, or even a mixture of the two. This adds to the versatility of the kit in general.

Camera kits are also effective as they allow you to watch from anywhere with the use of wireless networking. This works as the DVR can be connected to your home network, allowing footage to be streamed live and securely to your smartphone, tablet or laptop.

Cameras are often HD 720p ready. This means they offer excellent footage through to your monitor or viewing device. Allowing events to be captured in high visual clarity.

One of the biggest threats to a security system is the effect of outdoor heat. Hot weather and sun glare can have an adverse effect on security equipment, which may put what you are surveying at risk.

To avoid this issue, it is recommended that different systems are used in relation to the current time of year. Roughly speaking, there are warmer months and colder months, between these two periods different systems should be used.

During the colder months, general visibility is reduced as a result of the less daylight hours available. Because of this, cameras that operate well in low light conditions are recommended. Including night vision, and thermal cameras.

During the warmer months hot weather can have adverse effects on cameras. Heat damage is a common problem with systems that operate all day in high temperatures. Its recommended that systems are switched between to avoid over, and unnecessary use in hot weather conditions.