Home CCTV Using a Digital Camera

[Andy_con]

I know there is a fair amount of interest on this forum about cctv.

now cctv cameras, lets be fair the quality isn't really up to much. even a half decent IP camera is just about ok, again nothing special.
why hasn't someone come up with a way to use a digital camera or mobile phone as a CCTV camera?

digital cameras and mobile phones record in HD with good spec sensors - xperia range have a 20mp sensor the nokia pureview has a 41mp sensor.
even a cheap compact camera could record in good enough quality to be able to read a number plate

all the camera has to do is be able to record on an external hard drive, record permanently and if using a mobile phone turn the screen off. is it really that hard to achieve??

anyone got any thoughts?

 

[DannyR]

Because you can buy 1080p IP cameras for a few hundred quid.

 

[Andy_con]

indeed and it will have some shitty 1mp sensor in it

 

[Gus]

Not necessarily, check out the hikvision cameras , they are top quality
https://www.google.co.uk/shopping/p...-w&ei=DffYVO3dCMGV7Abm1oHoCA&ved=0CJ8BEKYrMAM

 

[SharkyUK]

indeed and it will have some shitty 1mp sensor in it

As above, that is not always the case mate. It depends very much on the CCTV camera; there are some very good units out there. You tend to get what you pay for though. Some of the cameras I worked with recently had a good quality 24x optical zoom and could easily read a licence plate from 1200 feet, perform facial recognition on subjects some 60 metres away, IR modes, etc... but were the best part of 3.5 grand each (just for the unit). As @optical says, there are some decent systems around for a couple hundred quid these days.

 

[DannyR]

Not necessarily, check out the hikvision cameras , they are top quality
https://www.google.co.uk/shopping/p...-w&ei=DffYVO3dCMGV7Abm1oHoCA&ved=0CJ8BEKYrMAM

HIKVision are also cheap and cheerful (<£100) so imagine what you get with a little more money.

Some of the Lilin stuff at £300 is epic.