Surveillance Camera Systems come in all shapes and sizes and trying to figure out which surveillance system that will fit your needs can be very frustrating, but most cameras and systems today requires very little experience to install and operate. This article describes several factors to consider before purchasing a surveillance camera system.

General things to ask yourself: Should I buy Wireless or Wired surveillance cameras? Wireless is much easier to install than wired. How many cameras should you buy? Using too many cameras will be expensive, not enough will only give me limited coverage. Should I use Indoor or Outdoor type cameras? Does my application require recording of the surveillance activity? If not, the cost can be reduced because a DVD recorder will not be necessary. Does my surveillance system require that I can monitor over the Internet when away from my business or home.

Let's describe the different types of surveillance cameras and systems which will be helpful to determine which one to buy depending on the type of use.

Hidden Cameras: These types of cameras are for indoor use only and come in a variety of different kinds of ordinary looking objects. For instance a small hidden camera are embedded in everyday objects like an Alarm Clock, Air Freshener, Fan, CO2 Detector or even a vanity Mirror. They are usually installed in one room and used to catch any suspicious activity in the room installed. Most of them use a 12-hour rechargeable battery pack with no wires or cords to plug in. Most all of these type of cameras are wireless but some can be wired. By far, you are better off choosing a wireless kind, which takes minutes to set up. To view or record the activity a 2.4 GHz Receiver attaches to your TV or VRC or DVR, which also only takes just a few minutes.

Surveillance Camera Systems: For business type applications you make want to consider a bundled system that includes all the components need to watch you business when you are there or way from it. Your business may need 4, 8 or 16 cameras also referred to as channels. For instance a small but location may need 8 cameras or as many as 16. They can be wireless or wired. If you are looking for an easy installation choose wireless, that way no messy wires to deal with.

A 4 Channel Wireless Complete System is also perfect for a small business or even a small house. A wireless surveillance camera system will allow you to install 4 wireless cameras to digitally record all the activity in your business. These types of systems come with a DVR with full networking capability and use a GeoVision DVR card, which allows you to view live video surveillance on the Internet. This type of system is designed strictly for indoor use only, and the perfect video recording system for smaller areas. You now have the flexibility to leave and still record activity and store and retrive for later viewing. Many businesses have a panic button they press when they see a would be thief in their store and now have the proof stored if needing to use in it in court.

For Personal Home Surveillance Camera System, there is the 4 Channel Wireless VISEC Surveillance System that is perfect for monitoring 4 rooms in a small house. The cameras that come with type of system work in day or night because of the high quality digital CCD chips that automatically switches from color to black & white in low light conditions. This type of a system requires what known as a 'quad'. A quad is an accessory to your surveillance system that splits a video monitor into 4 screens. Without a quad viewing would only be able possible with one camera at a time. This type of a system also comes with a GrabBee II. It allows wireless or hidden cameras to connect your camera(s) to your computer. The GrabBee II is the bridge between the wireless or hidden camera and your computer. This device converts analog video signal to digital through a USB port.

Designed For Simple Personal Use, there is a camera called the Cyber Eye. This infrared B/W digital surveillance camera takes pictures automatically whenever someone moves in front of it and then digitally stores the pictures within the micro-camera. You can then extract the images later on just by plugging the camera into your TV/VCR to either view or record. This type of camera is great for catching someone snooping around your house. It is so small and compact you can even put it in your car and aim it out the window. This personal surveillance camera works by changes in the picture and not motion. Video images can be even taken through glass and the wireless surveillance camera will still work like a charm. The pictures are taken at 1-60 second intervals (UP TO 680 pictures). Video images will even have the time and date stamp added to each picture.

For Outdoor Surveillance Cameras, Dome cameras are used in many places including retail stores, restaurants, casinos and apartment buildings. You can even see them at your local McDonalds restaurants. Dome cameras are simply board cameras built into a weatherproof dome housing. In addition to these surveillance cameras being weatherproof, many of these types of dome surveillance cameras are vandal-proof dome and built with protective casing that can withstand the direct hit of a sledgehammer or other brute force means to disable it. Dome Surveillance Cameras are generally wired and can be connected to a Digital DVR to record all suspicious activities.

Surveillance Camera Recording One of the most important pieces of a surveillance system is the surveillance video recorder. Whether you have one, four, eight or sixteen cameras you have to take what those cameras see and store that video for reference or possible evidence. Obviously DVR system can record much longer than old style VCR tapes. Generally these recorders come in 4, 8 and 16 channel models. Channels refer to amount of cameras that can be attached for recording. Some units are small, some large and have different features. One of the best DVR portable surveillance camera recorders perfect for body worn & covert applications and fits easily into a purse, pocket or backpack is the DVR-9800 touted as the Worlds Smallest Wearable DVR Recorder. This recorder can record a whopping 40 hours of video and about 910 hours of audio.

This article gives you the basics on what to look for when shopping for a surveillance camera system for either personal or business use. In a future article, we will discuss detailed directions on how to connect and set up the most common types of surveillance camera systems.