SECURITY CAMERA BASICS: MOTORIZED ZOOM LENS VS MANUAL VARIFOCAL LENS
Today, security camera manufacturers can provide HD security cameras come with motorized zoom lenses. Compared with the conventional manual vari-focal lens, a camera has the motorized zoom lens can automatically adjust the focal length of camera to get clear auto focused image. This makes security camera installation become much quicker and easier. Additionally, the motorized zoom lens can be controlled through Zoom/Focus buttons on web interface, smartphone App, or even the Joystick PTZ controller (RS485).
What is the advantage of motorized zoom lens?
If the video surveillance projects require installing multiple security cameras, choosing the cameras equipped with motorized zoom lens can significantly reduce the installation and debug working load, there is no need to adjust each camera physically.
The advantages include:
- Adjust the camera's field of view (FoV) to find the optimum view of the area for your video monitoring application e.g. face recognition, vehicle license plate number recognition.
- Avoid losing focus, automatically correct the focusing to obtain clear image. The installed cameras may lose focus which could cause from the effects of natural forces, such as shrink and expand due to operating in a wide range of temperatures and the vibration generated by wind.
- No need to adjust the FoV when cameras move to new location.
- Offering optical zoom, no need to physically adjust the lens. Normally this require small and precise adjustment which is hard to practice by hand.
In conclusion, it's recommended to choose the HD cameras equipped with motorized lenses, especially for users don't want to use the expensive IP/CCTV Camera Testers. Most HD network cameras don't have analog video signal output for on-site debugging purpose, also IP cameras exist video latency problem, all these reasons make lens adjustment become very difficult.