When you’re looking to equip your commercial property with a security system, you probably first think about the obvious security measures such as locks on entrances and exterior security cameras. If you’re looking to increase the security in your building, don’t overlook your elevators, too. The vast majority of elevators today have cameras inside to help improve security and decrease crime. Security footage from elevators can help you determine who is in your building and where they are.
While it’s common to have security cameras in elevators, in most cases, it is not legal to record audio inside elevators. Unless a person has given permission to have their voice recorded, it is against the law to record audio. Nonetheless, video recording alone can be very helpful if an incident occurs in your building.
Here, we’ll explore a bit about how security cameras in elevators work, and we’ll also take a look at some of the best cameras on the market in 2023.
Are There Cameras in Elevators?
The short answer to this question is yes. While a lot of people may feel like they are alone in an elevator, most elevators do have security cameras, and they’re not difficult to spot, either. An elevator security camera is typically hardwired into a security system that monitors the entire building. Next time you step into an elevator, don’t assume you are alone just because the doors are closed. In some cases, security cameras are hard to spot, but often elevator cameras are easy-to-spot dome cameras.
How do Elevator Security Cameras Work?
Most elevator cameras work alongside a security system that monitors the entire building. They may also be tied into an access control system that controls who can and cannot get on the elevator.
The camera, of course, needs a power source, which in many cases is power over Ethernet. This helps reduce the number of wires and cables that need to be run through the elevator.
Because they only record a small area, elevator cameras are usually fixed cameras that can see most if not all of the elevator. Unlike other cameras that need to be able to view a larger area, they don’t typically pan or zoom but rather are fixed cameras.
The Best Elevator Cameras
There are various types of elevator cameras you can use in your building to increase security and monitor activity in your elevators. Some of the most common types of elevator cameras include mini dome cameras, pinhole cameras, and corner cameras.
A good elevator camera is a fixed camera that is able to monitor the entire elevator without any lapses in security footage. It should also have good image quality, especially since it doesn’t need to record a large area and doesn’t need to view things that are far away. Because of the continuous recording and good image quality, footage from an elevator security camera can be very helpful when investigating an incident on your property.
Below, you’ll find some of the top mini dome cameras on the market for use in an elevator. All of these cameras use power over Ethernet and are able to capture high-quality footage in your elevators.
Verkada Mini Dome Camera
According to Verkada, their mini cameras have enterprise-grade security with powerful performance. The mini dome camera comes with many features, including AI-based video analytics, a 10-year warranty, automatic updates, unlimited cloud archiving, adaptive quality, person-of-interest alerts, 30-day cloud backup, and live link sharing.
The camera has high-quality 5 MP image resolution and a 128-degree diagonal field of view. This field of view is the best of any of the cameras on our list. It also has a 49-foot IR range. On the camera itself, you’ll get up to 2 TB of onboard storage. It also has a fixed lens and focus, which is common for elevator cameras.
Openeye Mini Dome Camera
The Openeye Mini Dome Camera has a motorized auto-focus lens and adaptive IR technology. It also features smart compression, which reduces storage requirements by up to 70% while still providing high resolution. This can help you save a lot of money on your video storage costs.
Depending on what works best for your setup, you can position the camera on the wall or the ceiling. You can also set up and view the camera remotely, with multiple user viewing. The camera has 3-axis positioning and 3 MP image resolution. It also has a 99-degree field of view.
Rhombus Mini Dome Camera
With the Rhombus Mini Dome Camera, you’ll get impressive AI analytics and up to two times digital pan, tilt, and zoom. It also has a 111-degree diagonal field of view, which is the second highest of any camera on our list.
You’ll be able to store some of your footage on the camera itself with 128GB or 20 days of onboard storage. You can also opt for unlimited cloud archiving. Rhombus offers a 10-year warranty, so you can be sure your camera is high-quality and will stand the test of time.
Eagle Eye Mini Dome
With automatic image stabilization and digital noise reduction, the Eagle Eye Mini Dome camera is ideal for elevators. It has a 100-degree field of view, and 4 MP image resolution. The camera is specifically designed to be high-performance for small areas such as an elevator.
It has a fixed lens and a built-in microphone. Be sure to review wiretapping laws before recording audio in an elevator, however. The camera also has a vandal-resistant dome, which is ideal if your building is particularly susceptible to vandalism or if you’ve had cameras break in the past.
