I need to get an exterior camera that can record clearly at night as well as in the day. I understand that the expensive part is the video which I've been told is circa £400 for a 24hr jobbie.

Does anyone know where I can get the video and camera from, also any advice would be great.

Fittings not a problem I will undertake this myself.......

 

have a look at www.maplin.co.uk.

 

You'd be better of with a black and white camera, you get better pictures at night, also a infrared spot light for even better results.
When you get a camera, make sure its got an auto iris, this means that the camera knows when the light changes and adjusts it's lense aperture according( cuts out sunclare etc).

Try Sensormatic in Harefield (directories will have the number)
they WILL be the dearest but sell the best.
(I used to work for them but no connection now)

Hope this helps

J uk

 

Thanks J.

I'll call them on Monday.

Anybody out there in the game that wants some business?

 

Yeah my Girlfriend is in the buiness I am sure she will 'ave a butchers when she getts home.

 

Thanks Dave,

I'm up your way this weekend - Wellingborough

 

Yeah, I am in the business, but only deal with Digital Video Recording which I think is well out of your price range Mo!

Anyway, it is right that you will be better off with a B&W camera for night time recording, and infra red will improve picture even more without being able to see any light. Depends whether or not it is to be used for evidence purposes. Colour is better for indentification. There are actually cameras which switch to B&W when the light is low, but don't know how much these are!

Go to a specialist dealer like Gardiner Security - there is bound to be one in your area, probably Chelmsford I think. They will probably try and get you to go for more than you want, but will be able to at least point you in the right direction. Companies like Maplins and Farnell etc. will do the equipment, but they will not be as specialised and will not give you the technical support you require.

Hope this helps, unfortunately I cannot make any money out of you which is a crying shame!!!

Take care
Clare

 

It's probably worth having a look at http://www.cpc.co.uk/
They are a sensibly priced electronics supplier (though the PC stuff they do is randomly priced, used to buy IBM speakers for £30 from them which we could sell all day long for £99, but there motherboards were about 50% dearer than others)

Definately worth a look for CCTV camera's etc.

Jon

[Edited by polarbearit - 11/16/2001 10:24:18 PM]

 

Never had any trouble with these people for bits:

http://www.rfconcepts.co.uk/index.htm

Cheers

Ian

 

Have u got a local "senate" dealer/ good electrical wholesaler near u? I think they all sell cctv equipment now.Depends how complex u want to go/price wise. If u r going to spend a lot get a quote from installers, u never know u might be surprised, there again i dont think there is that much to fitting them, more the technical preference of what u want it to do.

Hel

 

I bought a couple of different camera from B&Q and Maplins and they are rubbish at night.

You need to find somewhere that will give you the Lux rating of the camera, the lower the number, the more you will see at night.

I eventually got one with 0.02 Lux rating, and it can see pretty well at night, you can't see faces clearly, but you can easily tell what make of car is driving passed.

It cost me £100 a year ago, I'm really sorry but I have lost the web address and I can remember what the company was

BUT, I'm pretty sure this was the place.

http://www.henrys.demon.co.uk/cctv/guardian.htm

and this is the camera

High Resolution Models
"GA420" B/W Camera With Audio System
420 TV Lines, "Ultra Low Light" 0.02 Lux
"Ideal for Watching Your Car At Night with only Street Lighting..."
£76.55

I hope this helps.
Regards
Mark

 

What are you going for then ?

 

Try www.alarmcom.co.uk. U might find some info that could help decide what camera setup u want.
Hel

 

Finally ordered all the gear from Gardiners. Excellent technical support. It seems that most CCTV fitters use their kit although they were very dubious in letting me have this info.

Have gone for weatherproof camera etc with vari focal lense and auto iris. Infra red spot light and time lapse VCR. Sounds the dogs danglies.

Thanks everyone for your help and suggestions.

Hopefully fitting it this weekend so I will let you know the results.

I run an IT cabling firm but if this goes OK I may be tempted to offer CCTV aswell. It's shocking how much most companies are charging for installation, and very patronising with it. When I informed certain companies of what I wanted they all said that I would be better off with a kit (for domestic use) from B&Q as what I was after was very expensive. Yes I'm bl00dy aware of how expensive it is but I want it for piece of mind.

watch this space.....