Outdoor security cameras are important tools in business security for any space with outdoor areas to monitor. These may include parking lots, building perimeters, walkways, alleys, courtyards, and construction areas. Choosing the right outdoor camera system helps to ensure your camera system holds up over time without taking damage due to rough weather, wildlife, and vandalism. Read on to find out our top 4 picks for the best outdoor security cameras in 2020.
1. VIVOTEK
VIVOTEK cameras have durable hardware, high-quality design, and range of area monitoring features that make them perfect for your outdoor camera system. VIVOTEK offers reasonably priced security cameras and video analytics to protect your outdoor area around the clock. Using smart analytics, VIVOTEK cameras analyze everything that happens on your property, gathering intelligence to portray an accurate picture of any security threats. Thanks to a mobile app that pairs with the VIVOTEK surveillance system, you can get alerts about your business safety on your mobile device anytime, anywhere.
VIVOTEK Object Sensing Technology
Facial and object recognition technology enables VIVOTEK security cameras to accurately tell the difference between people, objects, vehicles, and movements to upgrade their threat detection abilities. Many outdoor cameras would be thrown off by things blowing the wind, swaying tree branches, and birds or other animals moving in the camera’s field of view, causing them to send needless security alerts. This could negatively affect your ability to respond when a break-in actually happens. VIVOTEK, on the other hand, avoid these false alarms by identifying things and telling the difference between harmless objects and intruders trying to break into your business.
VIVOTEK Behavior Sensing
VIVOTEK’s smart technology features include unattended object sensing, loitering detection, intrusion sensing, and crowd detecting abilities. This lets your outdoor camera system pick up on suspicious activity going on around your facility. VIVOTEK cameras use the information they gather to prevent crimes before they happen, alerting you to situations that could put your business in peril.
- People counting reports
- Displays business analytics information in visual charts and tables
- Line crossing detection
- Failover solution
- Web-based E-map that provides easy video management and playback
- Video wall that can display hundreds of security camera feeds at once
VIVOTEK cameras are ideal for any outdoor camera system paired with security guards or live video monitoring. Security personnel can receive regular alerts from the VIVOTEK system when it detects unusual activity in the area. Live agents can then keep an eye on the activity to maximize awareness and prevent crimes.
Smart IR Lighting
VIVOTEK cameras provide great options for capturing clearly visible images outdoors in any weather and lighting. VIVOTEK’s smart IR (infrared) feature uses intelligent technology to automatically adjust the lighting of your images. This means even footage captured at night or in the glare of street lamps and headlights will be clearly illuminated, with all the details visible to the eye.
Wide Area Monitoring
Another reason VIVOTEK cameras are ideal for outdoor monitoring is their ability to capture wide areas, such as parking lots, side streets, building perimeters, and building corners. VIVOTEK’s 180 and 360-degree multi-sensor cameras use several sensors built into one piece of camera hardware, letting you use one camera to do the work of several cameras. Fisheye cameras also provide wide area monitoring. VIVOTEK provides high-quality PTZ (pan-tilt-zoom) cameras as well, which make a great addition to fixed security cameras, letting you capture the entirety of your outdoor area while having the flexibility to zoom and focus on specific things you want to track.
2. Axis
Axis security cameras come in an extensive range of types and configurations, offering the highest quality of durable hardware and high-definition recording. As one of the world’s leading security camera providers, Axis equips their surveillance cameras with many high-end features, letting you customize your outdoor camera system into the best security solution for your specific area.
Axis License Plate Recognition
Axis offers license plate reading cameras that scan the number of every license plate on vehicles that enter your business. Axis cameras store each license plate number they read in a database, letting you easily review all vehicles that have entered and exited your business area, linked to time stamped video footage from your security cameras. If someone commits a crime in your business or causes a disturbance, you can flag their vehicle plates in your database.
- Program your Axis cameras to send an alert to your mobile device when they sense blacklisted vehicle plates. You can tell the people to leave, or simply keep an eye on the situation.
- Combine your security cameras with access control, and program your system to automatically lock out any cars with blacklisted license plates — or, conversely, to open for approved cars.
- Add Axis license plate cameras to your security system at the entrance of your parking lot or garage. You can also position them out front to capture the plates of every car that parks there.
Axis Time Lapse
Axis provides advanced time lapse capabilities, letting you quickly view hours or days of footage to track progress or scan the video for incidents. You can get daily time lapse videos at the end of the day, summing up everything that happened in the area, which are available to view any time in an online portal. Axis’s high-definition monitoring, which can capture clear images no matter the weather or time of day, ensures you get clear time lapse videos that are visible all the way through.
Advanced PTZ and Multisensor Cameras
If you have a wide outdoor area to monitor, Axis cameras have the functionality you need. Axis offers PTZ cameras that let you pan, tilt, and zoom the camera lens to track movement in the area. You can also program PTZ cameras to cycle through different orientations on a fixed schedule, providing shifting views of your complete outdoor area.
The Axis 360 degree cameras are another smart solution for capturing large areas, as they can monitor a 360-degree view using only one piece of camera hardware. These are useful if you have a large area to monitor, and you don’t want to spend unnecessary money and installation time on more security cameras. These panoramic camera expands your business security system’s awareness, and are especially useful when installed on the corners of your building.
Weather Resistant Cameras
Axis cameras are built to last, even when used outdoors in rough weather. They resist damage from strong winds and rain, dust, and debris, standing up to the weather with world-class camera hardware. Axis even provides explosion-proof cameras and special vandal-proof domes, showing the high caliber of their durable systems.
Axis Video Analytics
Axis uses a variety of smart analytics features to safeguard your business. These include line crossing detection, which forms a virtual tripwire around your outdoor area, then instantly detects anyone who enters the area. This is a great option if you want to use your Axis cameras to only record when they sense movement after hours. This alerts you every time an intruder breaks in, without consuming too much bandwidth and storage. Axis also provides top-notch license plate reader cameras to catalogue all the license plates of vehicles that enter the area.
3. Digital Watchdog
Digital Watchdog (DW) cameras provide versatile, mobile app-compatible surveillance with durable camera equipment to protect your outdoor area. DW cameras can capture clearly visible images in a wide range of lighting conditions, making them perfect for outdoor monitoring where the light shifts throughout the day. DW’s sturdy security cameras, reasonable prices, and mobile app compatibility guarantee it will be a great choice for your outdoor camera system.
Digital Watchdog Camera Types
Digital Watchdog makes bullet cameras, dome cameras, corner-mount cameras, PTZ cameras, thermal cameras, and more, with a wide range of features to give you a flexible and customizable outdoor system. DW’s flexible surveillance systems capture many views of your area, with the variety of camera types needed to design the perfect camera system for your area. Digital Watchdog also offers its signature CleanView Coating, a treatment that enhances your cameras’ resistance against moisture, dirt, dust, debris, and other substances that could damage your cameras. The CleanView treatment prevents harmful buildup in the cameras and keeps them at top performance.
DW License Plate Reader
Digital Watchdog license plate reader cameras are an ideal addition to any outdoor area where cars will be parking. DW license plate readers give you high accuracy in reading and storing license plate numbers, so you can easily track who was in your business at the time of specific incidents, and trace crimes back to individuals. DW license plate cameras offer high functionality: In fact, the DW MEGApix CaaS 4MP LPR can accurately read the plates of vehicles moving up to 60 miles per hour.
Digital Watchdog Video Management
Digital Watchdog VMS centralizes your surveillance system, letting you easily view and manage your security footage, as well as searching footage for specific people, vehicles, and events. DW cameras also feature built-in video analytics, which let them execute line-crossing detection, defending a specifically defined area against intruders. If you have a clearly defined outdoor area, you can use DW analytics to get alerts on your mobile device any time someone crosses the line into it. You can then view the footage remotely on your device to see if an intrusion is happening.
Lighting Correction Technology
DW cameras are great for recording outdoors around the clock, as they have advanced lighting correction technology that lets them render clear images around the clock. DW’s Star-Light Plus feature lets your outdoor cameras capture color images in total darkness. Wide dynamic range (WDR) guarantees high-definition footage in any lighting, while Smart IR uses infrared to auto-correct the exposure of your images for more visibility. DW cameras ensure your video footage is clearly visible and detailed at all times.
4. Hikvision
Hikvision produces excellent outdoor cameras that incorporate high-quality night vision features, durable cameras, advanced analytics, and ultra clear video recording to keep your business safe. Hikvision also brings innovative night vision features to the table, including multiple infrared camera models that provide ultra-clear video feeds at night. These cameras are a top-notch option for your outdoor camera system if you want high-quality, cutting-edge video surveillance.
Hikvision Night Vision Cameras
Hikvision night vision cameras record over long distances with high resolutions to give you detailed footage and varifocal lenses for customizable viewing. Hikvision’s Darkfighter line of cameras use advanced IR technology, digital noise reduction (DNR), and wide dynamic range sensors to provide top-notch monitoring in any lighting environment. Darkfighter cameras produce a clear video stream while using various security features to detect unusual activity and combat security risks.
Another great option is Hikvision’s Mini IR series of cameras, which use IR LEDs, 3D DNR, and low-light capabilities to capture high-definition video, no matter the level of darkness or glaring light in your area. Hikvision ColorVu produces crisp color images at night, helping you see everything that happens.
Hikvision Software
Hikvision’s video management software integrates your commercial security system into one centralized, easily accessible solution. The HikCentral VMS solution provides a sleek and modern interface for viewing and managing your security camera footage. This is also great for integrating your outdoor security cameras with access control, intercoms, and alarms, giving you complete control over your business security. HikCentral offers high flexibility in integrating third-party systems and adding extra functions to your system. Hikvision cameras also pair with a mobile app, making it easy to access your video viewing and management features from any device, on the go.
- Remote server management
- Easy management of system users
- Active directory integration
- Event and alarm management features
- System health monitoring
- Alerts via text, email, or mobile app
Hikvision Temperature Screening
If your outdoor security camera system is guarding the entrance of your business, Hikvision’s fever-detecting cameras could be the best system for your needs. Hikvision’s temperature reading solution is ideal for office buildings, shopping centers, and other business facilities that need non-invasive temperature screening of everyone entering the area, to prevent the spread of bacteria and disease. The cameras can screen multiple people coming in at once, giving you efficient and safe building entry 24/7. Hikvision also leverages facial identification and mask detection technology to strengthen the safety of your business.
Want to learn more about outdoor security cameras? Get in touch with Safe and Sound Security today. Our experts know how to choose the best outdoor security camera system for your business’s unique needs.
