Home security is of utmost importance. And sometimes finding the right equipment can be difficult. The security market has a lot of products to offer when it comes to surveillance of your home. Many go for a proper security camera system for home whereas some homeowners are considering and installing an unusual option called trail cameras.
Also called as game or remote cameras, trail cameras are rapidly gaining popularity as an alternative to security cameras for homes. Today, we will unpack more about the differences between a professional security camera and a trail camera and which suits home surveillance needs the best.
What is a trail camera?
Trail cameras are actually used by wildlife photographers and in some places, hunters to keep a track of the wildlife activity and animals’ behaviour patterns. These cameras only wake up when they sense a motion. Moreover, trail cameras detect relative temperature change. Once they do detect a motion, they wake up and take several pictures and videos.
These pictures and videos are large in size and have a higher resolution. Additionally, their detection ranges from 20 ft. to 120 ft.
The trail cameras are usually set up by wildlife photographers at strategic points, blending in the environment to not scare away the fauna. For home security, these cameras can be set up at some height with a clear view of the whole area.
Okay, so now that we understand, let’s dig into a few differences trail cameras have with a professional home security camera.
Basis of differences | Trail Cameras | Professional Security Cameras |
| Purpose | Trail cameras are made for tracking wildlife. | Security Cameras are specially designed for security and surveillance of a home or workplace. |
| Duration of the video feed | As discussed before, trail cameras only take pictures and very short video when they sense a motion or temperature change. | Security Cameras give you 24 hours live feed with no breaks, capturing every single activity. |
| Design | Trail cameras are designed to blend in the surrounding nature with their camouflage patterns. | Security Cameras are much more obvious and help in protecting a home or workplace better. |
| Visibility | These cameras are not visible to everyone due to their design and therefore don’t pre-maturely keep burglars, robbers, intruders, etc., away. | A security camera is out there and can be positioned to be very visible in the home. This works as a preventive measure. |
| Functions | These cameras cannot pan or tilt. Therefore, they only focus on large and high-resolution pictures. | Security Cameras can pan and tilt to capture surrounding background too offering more flexibility. |
| Mobile application support | Trail cameras don’t have very sophisticated mobile application backup. The apps have limited functions, | Since professional security cameras are designed for home surveillance, their mobile apps come with many monitoring options needed for home security. |
| Zoom Feature | These cameras don’t have the zoom feature. | Can zoom and record. |
| Multiple Viewing and monitoring | It is not possible. | You can connect security camera with an NVR (Network Video Recorder) system to monitor multiple cameras together. |
| Wi-Fi functions | Only new models support wireless transmission of files over Wi-Fi. | All models have supported wireless or PoE transmission of data. |
| Temperature detection | Trail Cameras can detect change in temperature. | These cameras can’t detect change in temperature. |
These are a few differences between a trail camera and a security camera.
Should you get a trail camera for your home?
While a trail camera has multiple good features like motion and temperature change detection, taking high resolution and large size images, trail cameras are not particularly designed for home security.
A professional home surveillance system can help you record 24X7 live feed with features like person and motion detection. Moreover, their mobile apps and technology is more sophisticated and fit for home security purposes. You can use the app to save data on cloud and download it for viewing and monitoring later.
But in case, you have already bought a trail camera for your home, don’t worry. It’s not money down the drain. You can repurpose the trail camera for your home surveillance. Position the camera in a strategic position outdoors. These cameras run on battery. So, you need not worry about a power source here. It will work just fine for your home.
Although if you haven’t yet purchased the camera and mean business when it comes to your home’s security, you should really opt for a wifi-enabled wireless or wire-free home security system. Airtel Xsafe is one such product line.
Hope this article helped you understand more about trail and security cameras. Happy shopping and securing your home!
