PTZ CCTV Camera
What is PTZ CCTV Camera
A PTZ camera is a camera with pan, tilt, and zoom functionality. These movements can be manually controlled by using monitoring software or a joy stick, or automatically set up using camera management software. Being able to move the camera necessary by a security guard allows your security staff to respond quickly to events they spot with the surveillance system.
PTZ Cameras have the ability to move up, down, right, left, and even zoom.
How PTZ Works
Panning: The camera can swivel to the left and right, allowing it to have a wide area of coveragePan can range from a complete 360 circle to smaller areas
Tilting: The camera can tilt up and down, giving it a wide vertical range of coverageThe amount the camera can tilt will vary by camera model, but goes up to 180 degrees
Zooming: Optical zoom physically adjusts the camera lens, changing the focal length to zoom in and out; this allows the camera to maintain image qualityThe amount of optical zoom is expressed as #x, such as 18x, and represents how much the camera can zoom (change the lens focal length)Digital zoom blows up the image using software, often resulting in pixilated images when zoomed too far, and is not recommended.
Advantage of PTZ CCTV Camera
It’s helpful to understand the advantages and disadvantages of PTZ cameras. Here is a list of PTZ camera pros or advantages.
Large Field of View
PTZ cameras move anywhere between zero pan/tilt and the full 360 degree pan/180 degree tilt. This gives control over the required field of view (FOV). PTZ cameras can be paired with stationary cameras to augment monitoring capability.
Motion-Based Auto Tracking
Auto tracking adjusts the field of view on the fly to follow moving objects in many PTZ cameras. It’s typically best applied in quiet areas with minimal movement.
Time-Based Auto Scan
Pan, tilt and zoom presets can be timed to capture different fields of view (FOV) over a surveillance zone.
Remote Camera Control
Tracking suspicious activity has never been easier with PTZ cameras. Remote camera control allows users to change the camera’s field of view without having to go onsite.
Zoom Capabilities
Optical and digital zoom features are useful features for PTZ cameras that allow you to see objects from miles away or focus on the details important for surveillance.