A lot of people who buy CCTV cameras and systems form us do so to protect their car when it is parked at their home either overnight or during the day. There are a few things to bear in mind if you are thinking of using CCTV to protect parked cars either at home or in the workplace.

One of the biggest considerations with a car or other vehicle is that it is quite a large object and you can't see through it. This means someone on the far side of the car from the camera will be shielded from the camera's view. Consider using 2 cameras, one either side of the vehicle.

Try to zoom in as much as you can on the car with the camera. As you will know from elsewhere on the site we are big fans of varifocal or zoom lens cameras because they allow you to zoom in or out maximising the detail you capture. All too often people fit a wide angle lens camera thinking it will cover the whole of their driveway and front garden. The problem is that as you move away from the camera you quickly loose detail.

A car is approximately 5 metres long and the camera is unlikely to be fitted right at the bumper, so you are potentially looking to film people 10 metres or so from the camera as they move around the back of the vehicle. Our 2.8-11mm lens cameras generally give good results in this application. Particularly if 2 cameras are used the 2.8-11mm lens would prove ideal for monitoring cars.

In terms of which type of CCTV camera to use the following guidelines may prove useful.

This style offers the most protection in vulnerable areas. They mount close to the surface and the camera position can not easily be altered. A Traditional full vandal dome is a little tricky to position though once installed particularly if wall mounted. The infra red illumination is less powerful than some other styles because the I/R leds are located behind a clear dome cover and it is important to avoid reflection back into the camera lens.

These cameras offer most of the protection of a Traditional Vandal dome camera, they have a tough metal body, once positioned and locked in place the camera positioning can not easily be moved. Infra red is good, the same as a normal day-night camera. These cameras can be easily fitted to a wall or overhead mount.

These are the cameras you immediately think of when picturing a CCTV camera. Fitting is simple, particularly our premium body day - night CCTV cameras which can be mounted to any angle surface. Like the open faced vandal dome cameras positioning once fitted is easy. The disadvantage over an open faced vandal dome camera is their position can be altered relatively easily. The advantage is they come with a wider range of lenses particularly if the subject you are trying film is some distance away.

When using CCTV to protect parked cars at home the open faced vandal dome CCTV camera is probably a good choice of camera providing it can be located relatively close to the car. If the car is going to be some distance away from the camera consider using a standard day - night camera so you can fit a camera with a more telephoto lens.

Top tip - when trying to protect your car at home using CCTV don't worry about filming the whole of the front of your property. Concentrate on where the car is going to be parked and where someone would walk as they approach the front door or side entrance.