Security Cameras 101 -- Info Guide to Security Cams, CCTV & Video Surveillance

Day-Night Security Cameras

Day-night cameras, also called low-level cameras, employ a very sensitive digital chip that can capture scenes in very low-level lighting conditions. During the day, the camera takes images in color while at night it automatically switches to black-and-white mode when the light level drops a certain amount. These cameras do need some light in order to take images, even if it is the light of the moon or stars.

Some people confuse day-night cameras with infrared cameras but they are not the same. The latter use infrared illumination for their operation to see without any light at all. For more info, see infrared cameras.