Why some suppliers prefer to dazzle, baffle and bewilder potential customers with a plethora of odd-shaped application-specific choices of cameras is beyond me. Perhaps the wide selection of camera choices takes the customer's focus off the fact their district is about to be taken advantage of by some high-pressure commission sales rep more interested in a fat monthly bonus than the customer's ability to recycle the cameras in other applications in the future if necessary.

Propriety Camera Connectors

American school districts have been getting ripped off for years now with this "propriety cameras" scam from both foreign and domestic manufacturers who will remain unnamed. It is time to send a clear message that American school districts have had enough of this raw deal and start exercising our freedom of choice by choosing to spec a system we will not be forced to pay up to 4 times more for an additional or replacement camera from some predatory manufacturer. By only accepting a non-propriety informal industry-standard camera system, your district will never be tied to any product manufacturer for future camera replacements.    

Informal industry-standard cameras incorporate BNC Video connectors, RCA Audio connectors, and 2.1 mm DC power connectors.


The Environment

"Waste not" is a principle tried and proven for the conservation of all things worth having, so the sheer volume of discarded and useless cameras I often find at customer locations is not only an example of the wasted value and loss of capital for the customer but an unnecessary example of waste brought on by overspecialization of the cameras. This type of product waste is environmentally damaging, and in most cases, the reason they are discarding the cameras is they have such specific application parameters they are simply trashed when that specific application is no longer required because they are not suitable for general use or utility.

Some examples might help to illustrate my point:
One of the largest distributors of CCTV surveillance systems has no less than 56 different cameras to cover many different specific applications, including bullet cameras, pinhole cameras, wedge cameras, box, dome, turret, mini, some with built-in audio, some with IR LEDs, some variable lens, some fixed, almost half of them with remote Pan Tilt Zoom features, some are even explosion-proof!


Conservation Through Foresight

From a pragmatic and environmental viewpoint, it makes more sense to offer a small number of camera choices that are well suited to a large number of applications. In this way, the customer is not financing the manufacturer's attempt to overcome their low self-esteem about their much higher product pricing.

Twenty-four years of selling and servicing the mobile digital recording industries, and in the last ten years, all vehicle camera surveillance customers were satisfied with one of 2 different camera models. Our customers do not suffer the same application-specific camera problems when they try to move them from one vehicle to another. They are well suited for general vehicle camera surveillance, and the primary difference between them is related to the mounting requirements.

The only noticeable change we have made in the last decade to our cameras was changing the 6 or 8mm camera for front of school bus camera applications to a much wider angle 3.6 mm lens for greatly enhanced Field of View, as now, more than one camera is being installed with 2-3 cameras the norm for a school bus-sized vehicle. Past customers have moved their general-purpose cameras from bus to bus as they retired older buses, moved them into service trucks, some moved as shop video surveillance, and several customers now monitor their fuel island pumps with 15-year-old cameras sold to them more than a decade ago after they retired the bus they were originally purchased for.



Named as such due to widespread application in police cars for recording interior car activities.
Very hi-resolution 700 TVL  from the 1/3" Sony Super HAD CCD, with a very wide-angle 2.8 mm lens that provides an exceptional wide Field of view. The built-in audio is very clear, and the light sensor automatically switches the camera from color in normal ambient light to Night Vision via IR LEDS in low-light environments. The heavy-duty metal shell provides a much longer service life than the cheap plastic camera cases polluting the market.


This camera is generically a dome camera with widespread application in school buses for recording interior bus activities while protecting the camera with a metal vandal resistant shell. Vandal-resistant qualities include a built-in microphone, metal shell or casing,  metal shoulder, and metal base for a very durable camera. Steel adjustment set screws are provided, making it rock solid when locked down and much less likely to be bumped out of adjustment during hostile assaults by children or, in some cases, prisoners, as we have offered this camera to several prisoner transport services with zero complaints or damage to date. Very hi-resolution 700 TVL  from the 1/3" Sony Super HAD CCD, very wide-angle 2.8 mm for the rear of a school bus or stairwell/driver camera offering an exceptional Field of View in a large vehicle like school bus front camera, school bus middle camera, transit bus or train.

Built-in audio recording, with customer adjustable gain on an audio amplifier,   light sensor automatically switches the camera from color in normal ambient light to Night Vision via IR LEDS in low light environments.

Very hi-resolution 700 TVL  from the 1/3" Sony Super HAD CCD, very wide-angle 2.8 mm for the rear of a school bus or stairwell/driver camera offering an exceptional Field of View in a large vehicle like school bus front camera, school bus middle camera, transit bus or train.

ExCAM permits quick adaptation for Side vehicle cameras with horizon leveling for proper image view or conventional horizontal image for proper video playback from Side View camera applications.


Named as such due to widespread application in police cars for recording interior car activities. High Definition 1280x720 TVL  1MP  with a very wide-angle 2.5 mm lens that provides an exceptional wide Field of view. The built-in audio is apparent, and the light sensor automatically switches the camera from color in normal ambient light to Night Vision via IR LEDS in low-light environments. The heavy-duty metal shell provides a much longer service life than the cheap plastic camera cases polluting the market.High Definition 1280x720 TVL  1MP  with a very wide-angle 1.7 mm Fisheye lens that provides an exceptional wide 170-degree Field of View. The built-in audio is very clear, and the light sensor automatically switches the camera from color in normal ambient light to Night Vision via IR LEDS in low-light environments. Those who require vandal-resistant metal cases should choose the BTC-A cameras listed below.

This camera is generically a dome camera with widespread application in school buses for recording interior bus activities while protecting the camera with a metal vandal resistant shell. Vandal-resistant qualities include a built-in microphone, metal shell or casing, metal shoulder, and metal base for a very durable camera. Steel adjustment set screws are provided, making it rock solid when locked down and much less likely to be bumped out of adjustment during hostile assaults by children or, in some cases, prisoners, as we have offered this camera to several prisoner transport services with zero complaints or damage to date. High Definition 1280x720 TVL  1MP  with a choice of 2 lenses for different applications in a vehicle:  super-wide-angle 2.1 mm for the rear of a school bus or stairwell/driver camera, offering an exceptional Field of View and 2.6mm for all other applications in a large vehicle like school bus front camera, school bus middle camera, transit bus or train. Built-in audio recording, with customer adjustable gain on the audio amplifier, light sensor automatically switches the camera from color in normal ambient light to Night Vision via IR LEDS in low light environments.
ExCAM-A is a weatherproof IP67 rated vandal resistant‚ auto activating, an infrared camera that can easily adjust to point in almost any direction‚ without the need to disassemble the camera housing or worry about back reflection from the IR illuminators. It is the size and shape of a very small dome camera‚, but its versatile “turret” style system allows for faster installs and easier adjustments.
ExCAM-A permits quick adaptation for Side vehicle cameras with horizon leveling for proper image view or conventional horizontal image for proper video playback from Side View camera applications. High Definition 1280x720 TVL  1MP camera has two lens options available, 2.1mm Super Wide and 12mm for license plate capture applications such as Stop Arm Camera.