What are board
cameras? These tiny but very useful
cameras may just be your key to
designing and building your very own
home or office surveillance system.
They are very affordable and easy to
mount. There are also several models
with nifty features to choose from,
which helps expand their usability. If
the possibility of working on an easy
but practical project appeals to your
tinkering soul, here are some usage tips
regarding the board camera:
What are
board cameras?
Board cameras are just that – cameras.
More specifically, they are made of
fixed lenses that are mounted onto
circuit boards. A board camera is a
basic component of a camera surveillance
system, which means you'll have to buy
it as a part that you could assemble to
create another device, such as a dome
camera or a hidden mini camera. You buy
board cameras as is.
Usage tips
Board cameras have a variety of uses,
depending on your wants and needs. In
most cases, though, they are mounted in
order to work as spy or hidden cameras.
As long as you know exactly what to do
with a board camera, you'll be able to
choose one (or a few) that has the
features that will work best for you.
The most basic thing you should consider
regarding a board camera or any camera
for that matter is the lens. The lens
is pre-mounted on a board camera and the
iris is usually fixed. That means you
cannot zoom in or out without an
additional device or accessory. Lenses
can also be pinhole type or full.
Pinholes, like their name suggests, are
small lenses and are perfect for use as
spy cameras. You can mount these on a
table clock, a lamp, a baseball cap or
even a teddy bear. Full lenses are
bigger and will work well on dome or
mini cameras to complete your
surveillance system.
If you plan to use a board camera for
surveillance, you have an option as to
whether you prefer to view activities in
black and white or color. There are
also lenses that afford you low-light
viewing, usually indicated as a low Lux
count. A good Lux count would be at
least 0.05, although there are others
that can go as low as 0.0003. The low
number means that the board camera lens
will still work in near total darkness.
Resolution is also a key feature to look
into when considering board camera
usage. Videos of activities are much
easier to view if the images are crisp
and sharp.