What is a PTZ camera and how do they work

Pan, tilt and zoom cameras, known for short as PTZ, are very smart cameras that have the ability to monitor a range of views from one specific camera.

The camera unit is mechanically controlled enabling the pan, tilt and zoom functions. The user of a PTZ camera can pan the camera, which moves it from left to right, tilt it up and down and has the ability to zoom in on one specific part of an image.

Many PTZ cameras are controlled via a joystick, however, other software applications are available that allow the user to achieve the same results.

These type of cameras are most suited to homes or businesses, were large areas of space would benefit from multiple imaging.

A PTZ camera can cover a large area much better than a fixed camera could do and due to its mechanical functions, the PTZ camera can be programmed to ‘tour’, which means it can be set to focus on many different areas in turn. One minute it could be focusing on the driveway, then the garage door, then the gated entrance etc..

The zoom function on a PTZ camera is a very powerful tool. If it picks up on someone acting suspiciously, the zoom function will zoom in and focus on that particualr motion and follow much more closely than a fixed camera could.

This powerful function also has the ability to record important information and on many occassions can provide super clear images which could be used as evidence. PTZ cameras are the ideal security solution for large retailers, shopping centres, big organisations or for homes with large grounds around the property.

There are a couple of downsides to PTZ cameras, the image quality is often poor compared to a fixed camera because of the CCD sensors being smaller on the PTZ camera. Room is taken up with the motorized mechanics, which means the image quality is compromised as a result.

PTZ cameras will only record the area where the operator is monitoring, meaning if they are focusing on one specific area but an incident happens out of this viewing field, then potentially the camera could miss the whole incident. A fixed camera would probably have been positioned so that it monitored the whole area constantly, so wouldn’t have missed what happened.

PTZ cameras are normally used alongside a fixed network setup, allowing the fixed cameras to constantly monitor the area, whilst the PTZ camera can focus on a specific incident or field of interest.

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