Comparison Xiaomi Mi 360 Smart Camera 2K vs Xiaomi MIJIA Smart Home Camera 360

The case type describes not only its shape, but also some layout features that can affect the functionality of the product.

— Dome. In accordance with the name, on the body of such a camera there is a characteristic transparent dome, inside of which there is a lens — and, usually, controlled by PTZ (see "Camera capabilities"). The dome not only protects the optics from various adverse factors (such as dirt or moisture), but in many models it also hides the position of the lens; for this it is darkened. Thus, the object of observation does not know where the camera is pointed, which is useful in some cases (for example, when observing a suspicious visitor in a supermarket). At the same time, for a number of reasons, this option is poorly suited for advanced optics with large dimensions.

— Directed. Directional cameras are called cameras in which the lens "looks" along the body. This arrangement allows the use of powerful lenses with good aperture and optical zoom (see below), but the cameras are also quite bulky.

— Directional ( without a lens). A variation of the directional cameras described above, which has interchangeable lenses; The lenses themselves are usually not included in the kit, they must be purchased separately. The meaning of such a configuration is that the user can independently choose optics for specific needs. This categor...y includes mostly fairly advanced models.

— Hidden. This category includes cameras of a small size, which allows them to be installed discreetly — for example, in a wall niche. However, even with an external installation (this option, usually, is also allowed), such devices are also very inconspicuous due to the mentioned compactness. By itself, the body shape of hidden cameras is most often close to directional (see above), although there may be different options.

— Desktop. Cameras designed to be mounted on a tabletop or other flat, horizontal surface. For this, an appropriate stand is provided in the design; it can have movable mounts that allow you to tilt the camera and rotate it from side to side. The main advantage of such cameras is the utmost ease of installation; this, in particular, makes them almost perfect for home use.

— Portable with fastening. In fact, it is a kind of desktop cameras (see the relevant paragraph), in which the stand can be used not only for installation on a horizontal surface, but also for wall mounting. From other "wall" varieties — hidden and directional (see relevant paragraphs) — cameras of this type differ in layout: their body is usually flat, rectangular or oval, and the lens is located on the widest edge (similar to how it is done in mobile phones ). The mount is often made movable, to adjust for tilt and/or rotation.

The largest capacity of a memory card with which a video surveillance camera can work correctly.

High-capacity drives require fairly high processing power and may use special technologies that are not supported by all cameras. This is the reason for the limitation on the volume of supported media.

Camera sensor resolution in megapixels (millions of pixels).

The higher the resolution of the matrix, the higher the video resolution can be (see below), the more detailed the image is capable of providing the camera. At the same time, note that as the number of megapixels increases (without changing the size of the matrix), the size of each individual pixel decreases, which increases the likelihood of noise and deterioration in the overall image quality. Therefore, high resolution in itself is not necessarily a sign of high quality — a lot depends on other things, for example, on the size of the matrix (see above).

As for specific values, in the most modest matrices it does not exceed 1.3 MP, which corresponds to the maximum HD resolution. 2 MP sensors allow for already Full HD resolution (usually 1920x1080 or 1600x1200), 3 MP, 4 MP, 5 MP and 6 MP are capable of better resolution, but still do not reach 4K, which is typical for 8 MP.

The maximum video resolution that the camera can capture.

The higher the resolution of the video, the more details you can see on it, the less details will be blurry. On the other hand, high resolution means large volumes of video materials, which, accordingly, requires capacious media for their storage and fast communication channels for broadcasting video in real time. Yes, and this indicator significantly affects the cost of the camera.

The maximum frame rate in the video captured by the camera.

The higher the frame rate, the clearer the image, the less noticeable blurring when moving in the frame (especially fast). On the other hand, this indicator affects the amount of information recorded during shooting, as well as the cost of the camera itself. Therefore, it makes sense to specifically look for a video surveillance camera with high-speed shooting(45 fps and higher) only if a clear recording of fast moving objects is important to you.

Aperture of the lens installed in the camera.

Aperture characterizes the degree of attenuation of the light flux when passing from the front lens of the lens to the matrix. It is denoted as the ratio of the diameter of the active aperture of the lens to the focal length, while the size of the active aperture is designated as f and is taken as a unit — for example, f / 1.4 or f / 2.0. Moreover, the smaller the number in the designation, the higher the aperture (in our example, the second lens will be darker than the first). And for lenses with a variable focal length (see "Focal"), the actual aperture, usually, changes with a change in focal length; for such models, either the range of aperture values, or its maximum value, can be indicated.

By itself, this parameter characterizes, first of all, how light the image taken through the lens turns out, all other things being equal. High values are important, first of all, when shooting in low light conditions: a fast lens allows you to get a fairly high-quality image without increasing the sensitivity of the matrix, which is fraught with noise and “blurring” of the picture. On the other hand, the actual quality of camera operation (including in dark conditions) also depends on many other factors — the type and size of the matrix, signal processing features, etc. Therefore, aperture in most cases is more of a reference than a practically significant parameter.

Type of camera lens by focal length. Here are the options:

— Permanent. Fixed focal length lenses have a fixed angle of view — in other words, they work at a constant zoom level and are not able to change it (the only option available for such cameras is electronic zoom). The advantages of CCTV cameras with a fixed focal length are simplicity, reliability, almost zero power consumption, small size and low cost. The main disadvantage is the inability to work with optical zoom (see below); and said electronic magnification is less advanced, since when approaching, the clarity of the “picture” decreases.

— Variable (varifocal cameras). Zoom lenses are more complex than "fixed" lenses, are larger, are considered somewhat less reliable, and are noticeably more expensive. However, this type of optics has an important advantage: it is the only one capable of providing optical zoom (see below), which allows you to “zoom in” the image without compromising its quality.

Horizontal viewing angle of the surveillance camera. For models with a variable value, the maximum value is indicated, since it is the width of the image that is important, and when zooming in, the zoom factor is more important than the angle. This paragraph also indicates the general angle of view for models with a circular field of view – in particular, cameras with a fisheye lens (see above)

The wider the viewing angle, the more space the camera captures and at the same time, the smaller the images of individual objects in the frame are obtained. Therefore, when choosing by this parameter, it is worth deciding what is more important – the ability to view a large scene or the visibility of small details in a relatively narrow field of view. Also note that with a wide field of view (100° or more), characteristic distortions can be observed at the edges of the frame, and the wider the angle, the more pronounced they are. This phenomenon can be eliminated by panoramic shooting (see "Design and features"), but this feature, in turn, complicates and increases the cost of the camera.

The video compression format used by the camera.

Compression is used to reduce the file sizes of captured video; different technologies can be used for this — the so-called codecs, their list is given in this paragraph. From a practical point of view, compatibility with external recording and playback devices primarily depends on the supported codecs. If you plan to use a computer as a recorder / player, you can ignore this list: modern PCs and laptops usually support a very extensive list of formats, and in extreme cases, the missing codecs can be installed separately. But if we are talking about specialized registrars, individual players (like home media centers), etc. — codec compatibility should be clarified further. So, if the advanced modern H.265 standard is very widely supported nowadays, then the more specific H.265+, originally created for surveillance systems, is much less common even in specialized equipment.