Guides
Dome cameras: where they work and where they do not
A dome camera is a ceiling-mounted camera in a rounded housing, used indoors for shops, corridors and clinics. Its shape makes the direction it is pointing hard to see, and vandal-resistant versions resist tampering. Dome cameras suit wide indoor coverage at short range rather than long-distance outdoor viewing.
Best use
Indoor spaces under about four metres of ceiling height where you want wide coverage of a room rather than a long view down a street. Shop floors, waiting rooms, corridors and stock areas.
Where it fails
Outdoors at distance. A dome's wide lens spreads its pixels across a broad scene, so a face forty metres away becomes unusable. Use a bullet camera for that job.
The vandal-resistant version
Worth the extra where a camera is within reach — school corridors, hostels, public counters. The polycarbonate cover takes a knock without cracking, and the fixings need a tool rather than fingers.
Night vision reality
A dome's infra-red sits inside the same housing as the lens. If the cover is dusty or scratched, the IR reflects back into the lens and the night picture washes out. This is why dome lenses need cleaning more often than bullets.
What is a dome camera used for?
Are dome cameras better than bullet cameras?
Neither is better; they solve different problems. Domes give wide indoor coverage and resist tampering. Bullets see further and are easier to aim precisely. Most premises need both — domes inside, bullets on the boundary.
Can dome cameras be used outside?
Weatherproof domes exist and work fine under an awning or on a soffit. What they cannot do is replace a bullet for long-range boundary viewing, because the lens is wide by design.
Need this doing?
CCTV installation covers surveying your premises, choosing camera positions that actually cover your entrances and till, running cable in conduit, fitting the recorder with enough storage for your retention needs, and setting up phone viewing before we leave. A four-camera system typically costs PKR 45,000 to 70,000 installed.
CCTV installation — what it costsRelated pages
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