Hi all, i'm looking to get a new cctv camera. the model im looking at on ebay comes with a bnc connector.
my question is, can I plug that into a standard composite input? I know I will need a cable of somesort to convert the bnc but just wondering if it will work?
You can buy a BNC to F adapter and then use standard RG-6 or RG-59 cables.
I doubt the CCTV camera really needs a 50 ohm termination. The BNC is typical for high end camera's. Does the camera spec mention output impedance of 50 or 75 ohms?
CCTV cameras are a composite output (unless it is an IP camera) & will work straight into a video input of your TV (I'm guessing that is what you want to do)
Hi all, i'm looking to get a new cctv camera. the model im looking at on ebay comes with a bnc connector.
my question is, can I plug that into a standard composite input? I know I will need a cable of somesort to convert the bnc but just wondering if it will work?
hi Dan,
A point to watch out for which depends upon your application is the view width angle.
I got a device a couple of years ago for night IR work, to over the car and driveway.
When I tried I found it had a view angle of only 5deg thats why it had a range of 15mtrs, to totally useless, all I could was about a square meter of the car bonnet.
I got my money back.
As Eric said the IR dispersion is very focused. The 15m range will be optimistic. They don't specify the lens but I'm guessing it is about 3.8mm. 380 line is about the lowest resolution. The type of mounting bracket used does nothing for attack resistance. If you are serious about the need for a camera then spend a bit more & get something that will do what you want. A few specs you want with CCTV cameras - at least 540 TV lines , varifocal lens , low light cabability ,
a 'branded" chipset (sony , samsung ) at least 1/3" HAD CCD (stay away from cmos) , backlight compensation. You should be able to get one in an armourdome for about 60 quid
I've experimented with all these cheapo security cameras, and found them all to be pretty much useless. I finally spent some real money and ordered good cameras from Super Curcuits **broken link removed** I'm happy wiht this camera's performance, but it doesn't do well in low light. There are special cams for that.
Be sure to order the lense if you're gonna get one of these.
I'm using two of these, **broken link removed** , and they do a good job, day or night. Replaced the lens in one with a wider angle view, get most of the backyard. Not real high resolution, but don't need to read license plate numbers. I can easily spot cats and squirrels, and send the dog out. Might post a picture of what's on my monitor later. Not bad for a cheap $25 camera...
I'm surprised it is as good as that , you must have a fair bit of ambient lighting. Still useless for recognition purposes which is the name of the game
I'm surprised it is as good as that , you must have a fair bit of ambient lighting. Still useless for recognition purposes which is the name of the game
Well, I can recognize a car in my driveway, or a cat in the yard, when the dog starts barking, so I don't have to go to a window to see what the fuss is all about. I can recognize which neighbor comes over and steals my free local newspaper... But I don't really need high detail for most things. The daytime images are better detail. Fortunately, I don't live in a high crime area, and just have the cameras out, is deterrent enough. You get what you pay for, but for $25 these aren't completely useless.
I've got a B/W board camera I bought years ago, for just under $30, C-mount lens (not included), and no case, but is 520 lines, and very low light. Unfortunately, lenses were more expense than the camera, and went for the cheap, and could only get about half my backyard in focus. Didn't want to run two cameras, just to watch my dog, so switched. Need to upgrade my DVR sometime, only 4 channels, and really need 8.