Swann ADS-120 User Manual

English

Advanced-Series

ADS-120

M120CAM041012E

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About the Camera

Congratulations on your purchase of this ADS-120 from Swann! You’ve chosen a
great little self contained, easy to install entry-level CCTV camera. This manual will
walk you through positioning, installing, connecting and using your camera, and
offer some tips to help you get the most out of your security monitoring system.

What will it see?

The ADS-120 has a 3.6mm, 53° lens built-in which allows it to focus its attention
onto one specific area. What does this mean for you when placing it?

• The camera will focus on the one particular area in
front of the lens, but won’t see much happening to the
sides of it. You’ll need to aim the camera specifically at
what you want to see.

• Objects and people will look like they are slightly closer
to the camera than they really are. You’ll be able to
monitor a space which is as long (or longer) than it is
wide.

The ADS-120 is great for monitoring long, narrow spaces
such as hallways or corridors. It’s also great for monitoring a
specific space, such as a doorway, smaller room or staircase.

It’s best mounted high-up in a corner looking down into the room, so that it
can look over intervening obstacles. Also, the higher the camera is mounted, the
harder it’ll be for an intruder to access the camera or interfere with it.

Rules is Rules

Regardless of all the tweaking of the lens and image processing you do, there are
a few immutable things that are true for all cameras, CCTV or otherwise.

• The closer the camera is to what you want to see, the more detail
you’re going to get. Really, there’s no substitute for proximity.

• Areas with varied lighting conditions are hard to view completely,
with any camera. If the bright bits are exposed correctly, then the shadows

will “black out”. If the shadowy areas are exposed correctly, then the bright
bits will overexpose and “white out”. Aiming the camera at an evenly lit

area will always give the best results.

• That “image enhancement” stuff that they do on CSI or 24 is all lies. You
can’t zoom in indefinitely on a video image. Licence plates are only readable
from a dozen or so feet (a few meters) away. If someone’s head is represented
by three pixels, that’s it. Sorry. This is technology, not magic. This is a great
entry-level CCTV camera, but it’s still an entry-level CCTV camera - it can’t see
much better than you can! Still, it does make for good television.

37°

53°

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Choosing a Location

The ADS-120 can be mounted just about anywhere indoors, provided there is
some protection against direct sunlight.

Some of the things you’ll have to consider when choosing a location are:

• What you want to monitor, and where you’ll get the best view of it.

• How you’re going to connect the camera to your monitoring system.

• How to keep the camera out of harm’s way. Up high in protected corners is a
good option.

Mounting

The camera mounts onto a flat surface using screws. The surface must have
sufficient strength to hold the camera. Materials such as hardwood, brick or
masonry are good options, and we’ve included all the gear you’ll need to mount
it there (except the tools - sorry, you’ll still need your own drill). You can mount
the camera onto a metal surface, but you’ll need to supply your own mounting
hardware.

To mount the camera:

• Using the holes on the camera stand as a guide, mark the locations on your
wall/ceiling to drill. Make sure the wall/ceiling is thick and strong enough that
you won’t drill through it.

• If the wall is masonry, brickwork or similar, use the provided wall plugs. If the
wall is made of wood, then the camera can be screwed directly onto the wall.

• Once the camera has been mounted, ensure that it is securely fixed in place.

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