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DMS Security Camera Lenses
Our Security Cameras are High Quality and Sony, Panasonic or Sharp CCD chips
CCTV Lens Chart and Information
CCTV Lens LUX Chart
CCTV Visual Lens Comparison Chart
CCTV Technical Lens Comparison Chart
35mm to CCTV Focal Length Conversion Chart

Tips on CCTV Security Camera Lens selection by DMS Security

How to select a proper security camera lens in 3 easy steps and save money doing it?

1. Should I use Manual Iris, Auto Iris or DC lens?

  • You can save money and use manual iris lens only when scene illumination never changes.
  • If the light changes a lot it is recommended using auto-iris.

2. What focal length lens do I need?

  • Guide: smaller the focal length number => wider is field of view. 
  • If you have security camera in the office or warehouse and you want to see as much as you can,
    you should go for 2.8 or 4 mm lens (makes wide, somewhat distant view)
  • If you want to observe limited area, like entrance you should go for 8mm or 
    (makes narrow view and objects are closer).
  • Give us a call and we can help you determine what security camera lens will best suit your location.
  • Use varifocal lenses to get flexibility for choosing best field of view.

3: Order your security camera lens from DMS. We have all the security camera lenses
you will ever need!!

The CCTV security camera lens chart and field-of-view diagrams are designed to assist you
in selecting the right lens size for your application. Please contact us if you require additional information or assistance Keep in mind all of the security cameras we sell come equipped with
lenses that will achieve 95% of your surveillance applications.

CCTV Lens LUX Chart

Lux and low lighting chart
Condition Illumination Details
(FTCD) (LUX)
Sunlight
Full Daylight
Overcast Day
Very Dark Day
Twilight
Deep Twilight 		10,000
1,000
100
10
1
.1 		107,527
10,752.7
1,075.3
107.53
10.75
1.08 		Daylight
Range
Full Moon
Quarter Moon
Starlight
Overcast Night 		.01
.001
.0001
.00001 		.108
.0108
.0011
.0001 		Low Light
Level Range

During the day the amount of illumination reaching a scene depends on the time of day and atmospheric conditions. Direct sunlight produces the highest-contrast scene, allowing maximum identification of objects. On a cloudy or overcast day, less light is received by the objects in the scene, resulting in less contrast. To produce an optimum camera picture under the wide variation in light level (such as occurs when the sun is obscured by clouds), an automatic-iris camera system is required. Typically, scene illumination measured in foot-candles (ftcd) can vary over a range of 10,000 to 1 (or more), which
exceeds the operating range of most cameras for producing good quality video images. The chart
above summarizes the light levels occurring under daylight and these low light level conditions.
The equivalent metric measure of light level (lux) compared with the English (ftcd) is given.

CCTV Visual Lens Comparison Chart

The following chart displays the comparison of CCTV lens with the regular 135mm film camera lens.

CCTV lens 135mm lens    
Focal Length Angle Angle Focal Length
2.5mm
120°
114°
14mm
3.6mm
92°
94°
20mm
4.3mm
78°
75°
28mm
6.0mm
53°
51°

45mm

Standard lens for 135mm camera Regular angle of our eyes vision
12mm
25°
24°
100mm
25mm
18°
18°
135mm

 

CCTV Technical Lens Comparison Chart

Indicates total viewable area (WxH) at a given distance based on focal length used
Focal Length 5' (WxH) 10' (WxH) 20' (WxH) 40' (WxH) 50' (WxH) 100' (WxH)
2.5 mm 9.4x7.1 19x14 38x28 75x57 94x71 188x142
2.9 mm 8.6x6.4 17x13 34x26 69x51 86x64 171x129
3.6 mm 6.9x5.1 14x10 27x21 55x41 69x51 137x103
4.0 mm 6.0x4.5 12x9 24x18 48x36 60x45 120x90
4.3 mm 5.7x4.3 11x8.6 23x17 46x34 57x43 114x86
5.5 mm 4.5x3.4 9x6.8 18x14 36x27 45x34 90x68
6.0 mm 2.0x1.5 4x3 8x6 16x12 20x15 40x30
8.0 mm 1.5x1.1 3x2.3 6x4.5 12x9 15x11 30x22
12.0 mm 1.0x0.7 2x1.4 3.8x3 7.7x6 9.6x7 19x14

Use your 35mm camera and this chart to help make your lens decision.

35mm to CCTV Focal Length Conversion Chart

35 mm
1/4"
1/3"
1/2"
2/3"
1"
Angle
10
0.9
1.4
1.8
2.5
3.7
120.6
35
3.2
4.8
6.4
8.8
12.8
53.2
60
5.5
8.2
11.0
15.1
22
32.6
85
7.7
11.6
15.6
21.3
31.1
23.3
110
10.0
15.1
20.1
27.6
40.3
18.1
135
12.3
18.5
24.7
33.9
49.4
14.8
160
14.6
21.9
29.3
40.2
58.6
12.5
185
16.8
25.3
33.9
46.4
67.7
10.8
210
19.1
28.8
38.4
52.7
76.9
9.5
235
21.4
32.2
43.0
59.0
86.0
8.5
260
23.7
35.6
47.6
65.3
95.2
7.7

CCTV focal length numbers shown converted from a 35mm camera zoom lens.

View Our Lens Products

 

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