Re: Camcorder as video source for 24x7 monitoring?

[J. Sloud <jsloud@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On 10 Jan 2006 11:42:38 -0800, "Jeff Sutter" <lurkeroo@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

>Greetings.
>
>I need to videotape activity (vandalism) some 200 feet away, 24x7, for
>about two months, from two camera positions.  Standard mini-DV
>camcorders with 20x zoom lenses would provide the best image, but I
>wonder if I'm asking for trouble - has anyone tested the duty-cycle on
>such camcorders?

"mini-DV camcorders would provide the best image" Compared to what?  A
high resolution CCD camera and a lens with correct focal length should
do what you need much better than a camcorder.


>
>Would there be a more practical way to obtain a 10-20x zoom setting on
>a security camera?

How wide is the shot that you are looking to monitor?  Since you know
the distance, you simply must know the width and height of the scene
to determine the proper lens to view what you need.  For instance,at
200ft, if the scene is 20 feet across you'll need  a 50mm lens with a
standard 1/3" CCD camera.  A 75mm zoom lens would show about 13ft
across at 200 feet.

As for recording, a motion-based DVR set-up on a unit with
multiplexing capabilities would simplify searching and archiving
greatly.