What is a PTZ Cameras?

A PTZ camera, or a Pan-Tilt-Zoom camera, is a camera housed within a motorized enclosure that gives it the ability to Pan left to right, tilt up and down, and Zoom in and out. This allows PTZ cameras to cover a wide field of view.

PTZ cameras can be remotely controlled by camera operators or automated software, and multiple PTZ cameras can be controlled from a single switcher. This gives a lone camera operator the ability to single-handedly manage a multi-camera production.

When To Use a PTZ Camera

Although the first PTZ cameras were designed for CCTV and surveillance use, the PTZ camera market has expanded significantly recently.

Today, PTZ cameras are applicable across many industries in a variety of different applications. Examples include event coverage (sporting events, live concerts, etc.), houses of worship, e-learning, livestreaming (eSports, conferences, etc.), and even television/film productions.

Other markets using PTZ cameras include:

  • Broadcast Television
  • Houses of Worship
  • Sporting and Event Production
  • Education: Distance Learning
  • Corporate Training

It’s become a buzzword in the tech industry, but many people may not know what the term PTZ camera means.

Cameras are pan, tilt and zoom robotic video cameras that allow an operator to control the camera remotely.

Cameras can pan horizontally, tilt vertically and zoom in on a subject to enhance the image quality without digital pix elation.

Those cameras are sought after solutions because they serve a variety of applications, including live video production, sports broadcasting, video conferencing, telemedicine and security. PTZ Optics cameras, for example, can be used with SDI video production switchers, HDMI extension systems, IP video workflows or USB video conferencing.

PTZ cameras are designed for their specific applications. Many camera lines offer unique features, including the ability to pan, tilt, and zoom to a preset location, providing an easier workflow.

Camera presets are generally stored on the camera, and they can be recalled to robotically move the camera to a specific location.

For example, preset one may be zoomed into a location on stage and preset two may be a wide-angle shot of a crowd.

In this way, pan tilt zoom cameras allow camera operators to quickly recall multiple positions inside their space with ease. In this way, a single camera operator can control multiple cameras remotely.

These cameras are often used in video production and educational scenarios.

Disadvantages of PTZ Cameras:

  • Limited View: PTZ cameras are unable to record areas that the camera isn’t specifically looking at, which is a major con, leading to gaps in coverage. Cameras can pan, tilt and zoom to cover potentially huge areas, but not simultaneously. It is possible for incidents to occur and intruders to slip undetected from under the camera’s field of view (FOV).
  • Shorter Lifespan: Because PTZ cameras contain many moving parts (including motors to pan, tilt, zoom) prone to fail eventually, they are less durable than fixed solutions. Due to their high failure rate, the total cost of ownership tends to be higher than the initial camera price.
  • Surveillance Blind-Spots: PTZ cameras have a reputation for pointing the wrong direction, especially when set on “auto” or “home”. A camera may pan continuously to the next preset, regardless of what is happening in its field of view. The ideal way to use a PTZ camera is to have a guard manning the camera at all times, but blind spots are still a risk of human error if the controller is left in the wrong position.
  • High Cost: Often, a single or multiple fixed cameras (such as Fisheye cameras) can give more coverage at a lower cost compared to one PTZ camera. A 4K Fisheye camera, for example, may be configured to cover the same area as a PTZ camera and permit digital zoom on high-resolution footage, without running the risk of being repositioned incorrectly.
  • Latency Sensitivity: A common issue that many PTZ cameras face is high command latency. The command latency is the lag time between which an operator issues a command to adjust the camera FOV, to when the FOV changes on the monitor. It’s important to be aware that high latency can sometimes cause PTZ controls to malfunction and shift out of gear.
  • High Risk of Malfunction: PTZ cameras that are not properly installed can lead to trouble from both a mechanical and legal perspective. On the mechanical side, camera hardware that is not installed correctly could malfunction under changing weather conditions. On the legal side, PTZ cameras that accidentally include even an inch of private property in their field of view could land the installer and owner in deep trouble.

Features and Advantages of PTZ Cameras:

  • Large Field of View: the cameras are used to monitor a large area, and often recommended using with a fixed camera to avoid gaps in coverage. Depending on the model, cameras can move anywhere between zero pan/tilt and the full 360 degree pan/180-degree tilt. Some solutions also have digital pan and tilt, which allows for video to be adjusted after recording – though the resulting video would be grainer and lower res.
  • Motion-Based Auto-Tracking: Auto-tracking is a function that enables PTZ cameras to adjust their field of view to follow moving objects automatically. The use case for this function is typically best applied in quiet areas with minimal movement (for example, a museum after closing).
  • Time-Based Auto-Scan: the cameras can be configured with autopilot to scan pre-defined areas and move in patterns (tours). Preset positions can be programmed to change positions based on time. For example, a PTZ camera can be configured to pan, tilt, or zoom every 30 seconds to capture different areas of interest within the camera’s overall surveillance area.
  • Remote Camera Control: Conventional, the cameras can be manually and remotely adjusted to track suspicious activity. This allows users to change the camera’s field of view without having to go onsite.
  • Zoom Capabilities: Most cameras support optical zoom, which is used to view and capture faraway objects like license plates or faces. Optical zoom (i.e.: 20x, 30x, 40x) refers to the maximum focal length divided by the minimum focal length – the larger the number, the further the zoom.
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