Mace CAM81C Color Camera in Non-Operating Smoke Detector

This camera utilizes a 0.25-inch color Sharp CCD (charge-coupled device) image sensor, with 270,000 effective pixels. Constructed with a standard 3.6-millimeter fixed lens, the Mace CAM81C has a high resolution of 420 horizontal TVL (TV lines), and achieves a S/N (signal-to-noise) ratio of 45 dB or better. This unit operates on the NTSC signal format, and is decent in low-light conditions with a minimum illumination of one Lux in color. The CAM81C uses a standard video output, and runs on 12-volts of DC power. The CAM81C comes complete with a built-in automatic electronic shutter with speeds ranging from 1/50 to 1/100,000 of a second.

Technical Features:

• Lens: 3.6 millimeter fixed
• S/N ratio: better than 45 dB
• Sensitivity: 1 Lux in color
• Horizontal resolution: 420 TVL

About Surveillance Camera Technical Features
Lux rating is the measurement used to indicate how sensitive a camera is to light, and stands for the level of light reflected off a piece of paper by a candle from one meter away. Thus a sensitivity of three Lux would mean a camera could generate an acceptable picture of a piece-of-paper-sized object that was illuminated by the equivalent of three candles from one meter away. The lower the Lux level, the better the camera's ability to work in low-light conditions. The camera's resolution should be greater than or equal to the resolution supported by the system's recorder or monitor. The S/N, or signal to noise ratio, is an important measure of a camera's quality. A poor camera, low-light conditions or poor wiring causes "noise" which consumes processing power and disk space. A camera with a wide dynamic range is ideal, especially for recording areas in which both indoor and outdoor light are present. CCD (charge-coupled device) sensors provide high-quality images that are less susceptible to noise. CMOS (complimentary metal-oxide semiconductor) sensors offer less image quality, but are usually more cost-effective and energy efficient.