What's the difference between a dome and a bullet camera?

Domes are discreet, ceiling-mounted, and used mostly indoors for general coverage; bullets are visible, cylindrical, built for outdoor and longer-range views, and act as an obvious deterrent. Image quality is comparable. The choice is about placement and how visible you want the camera to be.

When should I use a multisensor camera?

At corners and intersections where you'd otherwise need several cameras pointing different directions. One multisensor covers all of them from a single mount, cable, and license, which is usually cleaner and cheaper.

Is one fisheye camera enough for a room?

For an open room where you want general coverage, often yes. A ceiling fisheye sees the whole space. For areas that need detail (faces at a register, a cash drawer), pair it with a fixed dome or bullet aimed at that spot.

Security Camera Types Explained: Dome, Bullet, PTZ, Multisensor & Fisheye

Why camera type matters

Spec the wrong camera and you either leave a blind spot or pay for coverage you don't need. The choice is mostly about field of view (the area a camera can actually see) and the environment it lives in. Here's how the common types differ.

Dome cameras

The default indoor camera: a low-profile dome that mounts to a ceiling. It's discreet, hard to tell which way it's pointed, and vandal-resistant versions handle tougher spots. Use domes for general coverage of rooms, hallways, lobbies, and retail floors. Field of view is typically fixed when you install it, so aim matters.

Bullet cameras

The visible, cylindrical camera you see under eaves and on walls. Bullets are an obvious deterrent and are built for outdoor, longer-range views: parking lots, perimeters, entrances. The form factor makes it easy to see where they're aimed, which is sometimes the point.

PTZ cameras (pan-tilt-zoom)

A PTZ can physically pan, tilt, and zoom. It's usually driven by an operator or a tour preset. Use one where someone is actively watching a large area (a yard, a lot, a public space) and needs to follow activity. The catch: a PTZ only points one direction at a time, so it complements fixed cameras rather than replacing them.

Multisensor cameras

One housing with several independent lenses, each aimed a different direction. A multisensor at a corner or intersection covers multiple hallways from a single mounting point, one cable, and one license, which is often cheaper and cleaner than three separate cameras. On a plan it shows as several field-of-view cones radiating from one spot.

Fisheye / 360 cameras

A single ceiling-mounted camera with an ultra-wide lens that sees an entire room at once, then de-warps the image in software. Great for open floors, retail, and offices where you want one camera instead of four. The trade-off is resolution spread over a huge area, so it's coverage over fine detail at the edges.

Choosing the right one

Match the camera to the area: domes for general indoor coverage, bullets for outdoor and deterrence, PTZ where someone's actively watching, multisensor for corners and intersections, fisheye for whole open rooms. The fastest way to get it right is to draw the field of view on the plan for each candidate and look for gaps and overlaps before you commit.