Best Spotlight Cameras

Do I need a professional to install a spotlight camera?

No, you don’t need a professional to install a spotlight camera. Most models are designed for easy installation and set up, and don’t require any complicated wiring or setup. However, if you need help with the installation process, there are technicians available to assist.

A spotlight camera is an excellent choice for anyone looking to protect their home or business from potential intruders. With its easy installation process and powerful features, it’s definitely worth considering if you’re in the market for a security camera.

How far do spotlight cameras reach?

The range of a spotlight camera varies from model to model, but most have an effective range of 40-50 feet. This means that you can keep an eye on your property from up to 50 feet away. The exact range will depend on the specific model and environment where it is installed.

With a spotlight camera, you can keep an eye on your property from up to 50 feet away, and ensure that any suspicious activity is caught before it becomes a problem. Whether you’re looking for a home security system or want to beef up your small business’s security, spotlight cameras are an excellent choice for anyone looking to protect their property.

What are the 3 types of spotlights?

The three main types of spotlight cameras are bullet, dome and box.

Bullet cameras are cylindrically shaped and feature a lens that protrudes from the body. They’re typically used outdoors to capture activity in areas like driveways, porches or pools.

Dome cameras have a spherical shape with the lens embedded into the body, and are often used to monitor indoor activity.

Finally, box cameras have a rectangular shape with a built-in lens. This type of camera is usually mounted on walls or ceilings and used for general surveillance purposes.

All three types of spotlight cameras feature LED illumination that helps you identify suspicious activity more easily, as well as video recording capabilities for later review.

Where to mount a spotlight camera?

Where you mount your spotlight camera will depend on its type and purpose. Most bullet cameras should be mounted at least 8 feet high, as this is the optimal height for outdoor monitoring. Dome cameras can be placed anywhere, as their shape and design make them less visible. And box cameras should be mounted on walls or ceilings for general surveillance purposes.

No matter where you mount your spotlight camera, it’s important to choose a location that provides an unobstructed view of the monitored area. This will help ensure that the LED light illuminates any suspicious activity more effectively, and that the camera can record clear images of any potential intruders.

What’s the difference between spotlight cam and floodlight cam?

Spotlight cams are security cameras that feature a built-in LED light for illuminating the area when motion is detected. They’re usually used to monitor outdoor activity and provide an added layer of protection when identifying potential threats.

Floodlight cams are similar, but they have much brighter lights which can be used to flood larger areas with illumination. They’re usually used in more high-risk locations, such as warehouses or parking lots, and provide a wider area of coverage than spotlight cams.

How to watch footage from a spotlight camera?

Most spotlight cameras come with a mobile app that lets you connect to the camera and watch live footage. You can also replay video recordings from the app, which is helpful for investigating suspicious activity or reviewing past events.

Some models also feature cloud storage, so you can access your footage anywhere, anytime. This makes it easy to keep track of any activity and review recordings from your smartphone, tablet or computer.

Whether you need to monitor outdoor activity or investigate suspicious events, a spotlight camera can be an invaluable tool for protecting your home or business. With its easy installation process and powerful features, it’s definitely worth considering if you’re in the market for a security system.

Which is brighter spotlight or floodlight?

Floodlight cams are much brighter than spotlight cams, as they’re designed to flood larger areas with illumination. This makes them ideal for monitoring high-risk locations, such as warehouses or parking lots, where a wider area of coverage is needed. However, spotlight cams still offer the advantage of illuminating suspicious activity when motion is detected, so it’s really up to you which type of camera is best suited for your needs.

The bottom line is that both spotlight and floodlight cams are useful in helping you protect your home or business, so it really comes down to the specific needs of your property. If you’re looking for a wider area of coverage, then a floodlight cam is the way to go. If you’re looking for a more discreet solution, then a spotlight cam may be your best bet. Whichever type of camera you choose, it’s important to remember that they both offer superior coverage and an added layer of protection when identifying potential threats.

Lumens of a spotlight camera?

The amount of lumens a spotlight camera produces typically depends on the specific model. Most models produce between 150 and 300 lumens, which is enough to provide sufficient illumination for identifying potential threats. The exact amount may vary depending on the environment in which it is installed.

No matter what type of camera you choose, it’s important to remember that spotlight cameras offer superior coverage and an added layer of protection when identifying potential threats. With their powerful built-in LED lights, they can help you keep an eye on your property around the clock, ensuring that any suspicious activity is caught before it becomes a problem.

What are Lumens?

Lumens (lm) are the unit by which visible light is measured. The larger the number of lumens, the brighter the light given off will ultimately be.

It is a common misconception that higher Wattage is equal to brighter light. This is not the case. Remember, if it’s brightness you want – always look at the lumens.

A great lumen count for a spotlight or floodlight would be anywhere between 700 and 1500, any higher and you’ll be lighting up the entire neighbourhood. However, a lower lumen count is more environmentally responsible (see above), as well as generally being acceptable. A good security light will only need to put out between 300 and 700 lumens in order to be effective.

The lumen count, however, does not take into account the actual distribution of light. For this, you would be better served by an understanding of candela.

Candela describes the intensity of light at a distance of 1m from the original light source. This measurement is useful to know if you’re buying a floodlight or spotlight cam. 1 candela is roughly equal to the light given off by a single candle (measured at around 12.57lm).

Are Security Lights an Effective Deterrent?

Outdoor security lights can sometimes act as a deterrent to home invasion, but not always. Interviews with reformed or convicted burglars tend to yield mixed answers on this subject.

Part of the problem with security lights appears to be that they can be set off so easily. Anything from neighbourhood cats to people walking past the front door late at night can cause them to be activated.

This regularity tends to inspire complacency on the part of the homeowner. Neighbours too are unlikely to be alarmed by the house next-door’s security light going off if it happens too often.

Evidently, some burglars simply make use of the extra light, while others are discouraged either by the increased visibility of their actions or by the prospect of other, trickier security devices on the premises.

The point is that security lights alone are not sufficient to stop an experienced and determined burglar from gaining access to your home.

Since the average UK home has a 1 in 43 chance of being burgled, this is quite a worrying statement to make.

Light-Based Security Strategies

When it comes to securing your premises, a deterrent more likely to work than outdoor lighting is the strategic use of your home’s indoor lighting.

It is possible, via the use of lighting control technology, to program your household lights to switch on or off at random or timed intervals. This has the effect of making it look as if an occupant is moving from room to room. Visually, this is vastly more off-putting to a would-be burglar than a simple security light at the front or back door.

As a deterrent, this method is superior to simply switching your lights on when you go out or leaving them on when you go to bed.

A smart burglar will often check a house a few times before actually attempting to gain entry. Statistically speaking, a burglar is highly likely to live in or around your local area – and will probably be able to regularly observe your home without you noticing. If you think your home is safe because you leave the lights on when you go out for Friday night drinks, you are mistaken.

For its part, exterior lighting can be employed in multiple ways, from ambient lighting (hanging or wall-mounted light fixtures), accent lighting (lighting an area for a specific effect, usually aesthetic) and task lighting (lighting with a specific purpose, such as pathway lighting or security lighting).

If you are so inclined, it can be useful to mix these three forms of lighting, ensuring that your outdoor areas are always well lit (or can be lit up at a moment’s notice). This tactic effectively robs prowlers of their hiding places – and by itself can discourage them from trying to enter your home.

To make proper use of outdoor lighting, then, all entrances to the property should be well lit. Wall-mounted lights on either side of doors are recommended, as is the use of motion-sensitive spotlights to illuminate any darker areas around the building.

A combination of a well lit garden, reliable security lighting and programmable indoor lights should act as a significantly better deterrent than any of these technologies would individually.

Which Motion Detection Method is Best?

There are several available types of motion detection technology, each with their own benefits and drawbacks. The three types you are most likely to encounter (active ultrasonic, computer vision and passive infrared) are the three we will focus on here.

Active ultrasonic motion sensors emit ultrasonic sound waves (inaudible sound waves above 20KHz) that reflect objects in their vicinity before ‘bouncing’ back to their emission point in a manner not entirely dissimilar to a bat or dolphin’s use of echolocation.

When the waves are disturbed by the presence of a moving object, the device automatically triggers the alarm, switches on the light or activates the spotlight cam (or all three).

Passive infrared (PIR) systems detect the infrared energy given off by living things as heat. When an excess of infrared energy is detected, the device is activated. A major positive of PIR sensors is that they may be customised to exclude smaller heat sources such as pets or someone switching the central heating on.

The third type of motion sensor you may encounter is called computer vision (CV). This newer method of motion detection uses the spotlight cam’s internal software to analyse video footage frame-by-frame, activating the relevant devices when there is a big enough change in the overall image. Once again, this method can be heavily customised to avoid the movements of things like pets or branches blowing in the breeze.

As to which is better, each method has its advocates and critics. PIR, for example, is very good at filtering out false alerts, but it can take too long to activate, since it requires the spotlight cam to spend extended periods in ‘standby’ mode. On occasion, this means that the camera will only activate after the object has passed its field of view, capturing useless images as a result.

PIR sensors are also unable to detect movement through glass, due to the lack of detectable body heat.

Active ultrasonic sensors will not be triggered by false activations such as changing weather conditions. They also have a very high sensing distance.

However, active ultrasonic sensors suffer from an extreme sensitivity to changes in temperature and also struggle to detect objects of certain shapes, such as curved and thin objects.

CV, while still rather new, has a major upside in the form of facial recognition software, which is sometimes included with it, but has a clear downside in that you never quite know what you’re going to get. Every company seemingly designs their CV system differently, which means that the same motion detection system put out by two different developers could vary greatly in terms of performance.

CV also suffers from some versions being very ‘tech heavy’ and often requiring additional system support (which you will have to pay for separately). This is probably not the best option for a technophobe.

Ultimately, there are no right or wrong answers here. It is upon you to choose the spotlight  cam (and, in so doing, the method of motion detection) that best fits your home and circumstances.

How Does Night Vision Work?

Some night vision cameras rely on infrared light, which is invisible to the naked eye, as well as to most animals (though some species can detect it as heat). A night vision camera emits infrared light like a sort of invisible floodlight that stretches out in front of it. The spotlight cam detects this light, enabling it to film in dark conditions.

Infrared cameras are not typically used in the day, because infrared light can interfere with colour footage. Accordingly, once the spotlight cam detects lower light levels (e.g. the coming of night), the spotlight camera’s filter shifts to allow infrared light to pass through the lens.

The images captured by IR night vision cameras are usually rendered as black and white because this makes it easier for human eyes to see.

In the case of Infrared cameras, the infrared LEDs do not typically throw light out very far. This means that even the best infrared night vision camera is limited mainly to capturing movement that is relatively close to it. It is always worth knowing the exact distance the night vision can stretch to if you’re purchasing any kind of night vision camera.

Infrared night vision will always require at least some light source in order to work properly and will not commonly operate in pitch black conditions.

Another type of night vision camera converts photons (light particles) into electrons (negatively charged particles), thereby effectively converting light into an electrical signal. A device known as a photomultiplier is then used to multiply these electrons, brightening the image, which in turn passes through a green phosphor screen.

The effect is that whatever the spotlight cam films is greatly brightened, while the green filter increases our ability to see details still further (human eyes are very sensitive to the colour green). This is the same basic technology as you find in night vision goggles.

This type of night vision’s downsides are largely based on a slight loss of detail, as well as the human eye’s tendency to equate the loss of sharpness with a widening of distance. Accordingly, this type of night vision can make things appear further away than they actually are. By the same token, light sources captured on spotlight cams may appear to be much closer when viewed through this type of night vision device.

Once again, both styles have benefits and drawbacks, detractors and supporters. You are more likely to encounter PIR night vision on your spotlight cam – and that’s OK, because it’s good technology. You just need to find out how well it’s likely to suit your needs before you buy.

Remember that 60% of UK home invasions take place under the cover of darkness, so a reliable night vision mode – capable of discerning details such as facial features and vehicle number plates, is very important when buying a home security spotlight camera.