LENSES

All dome and bullet cameras come with a lens fitted but this may not give the required view, most
lenses can be changed to allow a flexible solution to your needs. Lenses come in two main types
"fixed" which means it has a fixed focal length and "vari-focus" which means it has a variable
adjustable focal length, all lenses can be focused to some degree. Most body cameras do not come with
a lens fitted and so a lens must always be added unless it states that a lens is included.
Deciding which lens you require can seem complicated and it is hoped that the example below will
help - please do ask for advice if you need help.
A general rule of thump is that a wide angle lens of 2.8mm will give a wide field of view but not much
depth of field a narrow angle lens of 12mm will give a narrow field of view but a deep field of view, so
the lower the number the wider the field of view. Beware that very wide lenses (under 2.5 mm),
sometimes called "fisheye lens" will give distortion around the edges.
If Recognition is important to you then you need to use narrow lenses and the best way of achieving
this is with vari-focus lenses. Cameras that have vari-focus lenses are normally supplied with a lens
that can typically be set from about 3.5mm-9.5mm.
Camera Angles

Approximate Horizontal angles of view for CCD

Cameras
Focal
Length
2/3"
1/2"
1/3"
1/4"
2.0mm
2.8mm
4.0mm
4.8mm
6.0mm
8.0mm
12mm
16mm
25mm
50mm

83
70
56
39
30
18
10

77
67
56
44
30
23
15
7

86
67
57
48
36
25
17
12
6

82
57
47
40
32
25
17
13
8
4

Lens size differences

One of the difficult problems when setting up a CCTV system, is choosing the right lens for your
cameras as different lenses give different fields of view, and different levels of zoom. Some of the
higher-end lenses also offer features such as Auto-Iris, and manual zoom/focus adjustment. Choosing
the wrong lens can lead to a camera monitoring too small an area, or conversely not having enough
zoom to capture events with clarity.
Lens size samples
The following images demonstrate the differences in lens sizes. We set up a tripod 10 metres from an
office door, and mounted 5 High Definition Weatherproof Day/Night cameras, using one of each of
the available 4.3, 6, 8, 12, and 16mm lenses. Aside from the lens size, the cameras are all identical,
and the position of the camera does not change. This guide can also be used for comparing with lens
sizes for body camera lenses.

4.3mm Lens

6mm Lens

12mm Lens

8mm Lens

16mm Lens

Adjustable lenses are marked with their maximum and minimum sizes. Examples are 3.5 - 8mm lenses
(of which the 6mm sample above would be roughly in the middle of this range), and telephoto lenses
that range from around 5 to 50mm.