Surveillance Cameras Get Smaller and Better Every Year

Nearly twenty years ago I applied for a job in the surveillance industry not knowing what to expect but in desperate need of any employment. Once hired, I was exposed to an interesting side of life I had never seen before. Surveillance is a word in everyone's vocabulary these days. Home surveillance and business security are an essential aspect of modern day living. The surveillance camera in particular, is at the heart of it all. Back in the early 1990's, the surveillance camera industry was really taking off. Although surveillance cameras were available for many years prior, the idea of recording everyday life as a crime deterrence and as a tool in aiding conviction of criminals was spreading far and wide.

Typically surveillance cameras of the time recorded motion in black and white. Although color cams were available, the camera and the color capable monitor were an added cost that not many individuals deemed unnecessary. The cameras themselves were housed in cases sometimes as large as a small shoebox. The lens protruded from the camera. The cameras required a power supply as well as a cable to carry the video signal to the monitor or recording equipment. Cameras placed outdoors in geographical locations susceptible to inclement weather, needed an weatherproof enclosure, which was, in most cases heated to prevent the camera and lens from freezing. The resolution and overall picture quality was neanderthal by today's standards, but a blurred or grainy sequence of activity was better than nothing at all. Recording was a chore, but we didn't realize it back then. The VTR, or video tape recorder, was an innovation like no other. It enabled those of us in the video surveillance industry to record and maintain the images captured by the cameras. This was replaced in short time by the time lapse recorder which used less tapes to record longer periods of time. We no longer needed an entire closet to store surveillance tapes, just a shelf or two.

Times change and the technology of today leaves us wondering how we ever got by in the past. Surveillance cameras produce motion images in near high definition. Camera size and weight have been reduced dramatically thanks to innovative design and manufacture. Many cameras are available wireless totally eliminating the need for a video cable. Monitors have fallen in price and increased substantially in resolution and clarity. Recording has evolved into hard drive space and dvd media requiring far less storage space with light-years more capability than methods of yesterday.

Interesting security and surveillance footage has become the talk of the town and the basis for many interesting television programs. The impact these cameras have made on society is incredible, the list of examples goes on and on. I'm certain the concept of filming and recording criminal activity and capturing just about anything else on video will continue to evolve in line with technology.