How to check the viewing angle of a surveillance camera?

The effective functioning of a video surveillance system is affected by a variety of factors, from the class and quality of the equipment used, to its parameters, to the viewing angle of the cameras used in it. So how to check this parameter and is wider in its case always better?

What is the viewing angle of cameras?

The viewing angle of a camera is the amount of the image that it is able to cover during its registration. This parameter is affected by two factors. The first of them is the size of the matrix. The larger the matrix of the camera, the greater its viewing angle. The size of the matrix is usually given in camera specifications as fractional values, e.g. ½, ¼, ⅓.

The second parameter influencing the viewing angle is focal length of the lens, expressed in millimeters. On the market there are cameras with fixed focal length (2.8 mm or 3.6 mm), and cameras with variable focal length (from 2.8 to 12 mm)

How to choose the camera for the desired viewing angle?

In practice, these parameters should be selected strictly according to the user’s needs. If he wants to see the widest possible image, he should choose a camera with the largest sensor and the smallest focal length

However, it is worth remembering that such a wide view of the camera may cause distortion of the recorded image, which may result in problems with identification of, for example, intruders on the property