NCJ Number
125186
Journal
Security Volume: 27 Issue: 7 Dated: (July 1990) Pages: 38-40,42
Date Published
1990
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Surveillance cameras of the 1990's pose new issues and questions for security managers, and chip cameras have generally replaced traditional tube cameras for new security applications.
Abstract
Chip cameras, also called solid state or CCD cameras, have zero maintenance. They produce a lower resolution picture than tube cameras, but chip resolution is improving. Small size and ruggedness make chip cameras advantageous, and camera cost is steadily decreasing. A 2/3-inch high resolution chip camera that cost $2,000 in 1989 now costs about $1,100. Chip camera pricing, however, is less competitive when it comes to low-light applications where intensified images are needed. Intensified tube cameras are 40 to 50 times more sensitive to light than the human eye and cost about $9,500. A comparable intensified chip camera costs roughly $12,000 or more. The influx of both color and black-and-white chip cameras is revolutionizing closed circuit television accessories. Smaller, downsized housings for outdoor cameras are new to the market, joining new designs for indoor dome housings and mounts. The use of a chip camera system at an urban renewal project in New Jersey is described.