The world we live in has gotten pretty bad. It’s to the point that we have security everywhere in the form of alarms and cameras. Is it a good thing? I’m not sure, but I feel safer with the alarm on my house and the cameras I have set up outside. Alarms are the most common, but security cameras on home are becoming a lot more common. You can buy pre-made surveillance kits or if you’re a DIYer like you can build you own. One of the great places for inexpensive security equipment is Geeks.com, and they’ve provided the 1/4" Sharp CCD 380 Line Color CCTV Mini Surveillance Camera that I have today for review. The camera is a pinhole style which can be hid most most place and has plenty of uses like checking up on your babysitter while you’re not at home. So read on for a quick review of a decent little camera.
1/4" Sharp CCD 380 Line Color CCTV Mini Surveillance Camera
This color camera is small enough that you can hide it anywhere! The CM320 features a 1/4-inch Sharp CCD image sensor with a 380 TV line resolution! Simply connect the CM320 Mini Surveillance Camera to a video monitor and plug it into a power outlet!
Features/Specifications:
-Black color
-Mini-sized
-1/4-inch Sharp CCD image sensor
-Resolution: 380 TV line
-TV System: NTSC
-Video out: 1.0 Vp-p. 75 Ohm
-S/N Ratio: > 48 dB
-White Balance: > 0.45
-Electronic Shutter: 1/50 (1/60) – 1/100,000 sec.
-Auto backlight compensation
-15-inch length camera with BNC and power connectors (approximate size)
Unit Dimensions: 1.75 x 1.5 x 1.25-inches (H x W x D, approximate)
Price: $18.99
The camera comes in what I would call a generic looking box.
The camera itself is wrapped in bubble wrap for protection inside of the box.
Included in the box is the camera, power supply and a brief instruction sheet. The power cord on the cable is nice and long, but the cables from the camera are short. This is normal though as you would usually use a combination video and power cable to hook the camera to your system.
The camera comes with a lens cover for protection.
The lens is adjustable, you just turn it to focus it manually. There is a stand attached to the camera that you can use for mounting it wherever you need to.
Two wires come out of the back of the camera, one for video via BNC and one for power.
Ideally you’d install this camera somewhere secret, like inside of something where it can’t be seen by people passing by. I didn’t as well it does take a bit of work, and I wasn’t quite ready to run wires around my house. I just hooked it up to my existing security system so I could get the review done.
It wasn’t hidden so my kids, especially my 6 yr old had to ham it up a bit.
Colors look good on both videos and stills.
It’s a fixed focus lens so you have to figure out what you want to focus on exactly when you install it and where you install it is going to be the key. There’s really not a zoom on it, just focus, which works fine as it’s not meant for far distance viewing uses.
For the price of $18.99 I think this little camera is worth it, especially if you’re looking to build a security system on the cheap. It’s got plenty of uses and a decent picture for the price.
