Surveillance System Videos & FAQs

We do NOT recommend doing this. It is important to note that buying a camera any color other than white will make it overheat at lower environmental temperatures even when the temperature ratings are the same.  Websites that say, "the temperature rating for black cameras and white cameras are the same, you can go with black," are publishing misleading information.  It is true that the temperature rating is the same for both black and white cameras, but temperature rating is not relevant here.  What Temperature Rating Measures VS What People Think It Measures People usually think that the temperature rating communicates the range of weather (specifically, the temperature reported by the weatherman) in which the camera is able to operate.  This is NOT what temperature ratings measure.  Temperature ratings rate the ability of the components to handle internal temperatures (how hot or cold it is inside the camera enclosure), not the environmental temperature (how hot or cold it is outside).  Both black or white cameras will fail at the same internal temperature, but a black camera will absorb far more heat and reach that internal temperature failure far sooner.   sunlight The Internal Temperature of a Black Camera in Full Sunlight is 10 to 40 Degrees Hotter Because the color black absorbs more heat than the color white, a black camera will always fail before a white camera will. In the same way that black cars heat up more than white cars, a black camera will cause the internal camera temperature to get hotter inside than it is outside. White cameras reflect light and heat, so they don't reach the same internal temperatures. Black cameras will heat up causing their internal space to become hotter than it is outside.  This increase in temperature is between ten to forty degrees depending on climate, sunlight exposure, season, and location.  For this reason, SCW only carries white cameras.   heat absorption black vs white car, thermal image This image shows the different internal temperatures between black and white cars outdoors in the sun.   While the white car is only a little hotter than the outdoor temperature, the black car is thirty-three degrees warmer. The same applies to cameras.