| What are board cameras? These tiny but very | | | | The most basic thing you should consider |
| useful cameras may just be your key to | | | | regarding a board camera or any camera for that |
| designing and building your very own home or | | | | matter is the lens. The lens is pre-mounted on a |
| office surveillance system. They're very | | | | board camera and the iris is usually fixed. That |
| affordable and easy to mount. There are also | | | | means you cannot zoom in or out without an |
| several models with nifty features to choose | | | | additional device or accessory. Lenses can also be |
| from, which helps expand their usability. If the | | | | pinhole type or full. |
| possibility of working on an easy but practical | | | | Pinholes, like their name suggests, are small lenses |
| project appeals to your tinkering soul, here are | | | | and are perfect for use as spy cameras. You can |
| some usage tips regarding the board camera: | | | | mount these on a table clock, a lamp, a baseball |
| What are board cameras? | | | | cap or even a teddy bear. Full lenses are bigger |
| Board cameras are just that - cameras. More | | | | and will work well on dome or mini cameras to |
| specifically, they are made of fixed lenses that | | | | complete your surveillance system. |
| are mounted onto circuit boards. A board camera | | | | If you plan to use a board camera for |
| is a basic component of a camera surveillance | | | | surveillance, you have an option as to whether |
| system, which means you'll have to buy it as a | | | | you prefer to view activities in black and white or |
| part that you could assemble to create another | | | | color. There are also lenses that afford you |
| device, such as a dome camera or a hidden mini | | | | low-light viewing, usually indicated as a low Lux |
| camera. You buy board cameras as is. | | | | count. A good Lux count would be at least 0.05, |
| Usage tips | | | | although there are others that can go as low as |
| Board cameras have a variety of uses, depending | | | | 0.0003. The low number means that the board |
| on your wants and needs. In most cases, though, | | | | camera lens will still work in near total darkness. |
| they are mounted in order to work as spy or | | | | Resolution is also a key feature to look into when |
| hidden cameras. As long as you know exactly | | | | considering board camera usage. Videos of |
| what to do with a board camera, you'll be able to | | | | activities are much easier to view if the images |
| choose one (or a few) that has the features that | | | | are crisp and sharp. |
| will work best for you. | | | | |