Types of CCTV Camera Explained: Dome, Bullet, Turret, PTZ and What Each Is Actually For
By the DC Fire & Security engineering team — installing and maintaining fire and security systems since 2010. Updated July 2026.
Quick answer
There are five camera shapes that cover practically every UK installation: dome (discreet, vandal-resistant, the indoor and public-area default), bullet (visible deterrent with longer range, the outdoor default), turret (the installers' favourite — bullet performance without the glass dome's IR bounce and spider problem), PTZ (remotely steerable and zoomable, for large sites with someone watching), and fisheye/360 (one ceiling camera covering a whole room). Shape matters less than three real decisions: wired PoE vs wireless, resolution (4MP is today's sensible floor), and proper low-light performance.
The five shapes, and where each one earns its keep
| Type | Best at | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Dome | Indoor spaces, shops, offices, communal areas — discreet, vandal-resistant (IK10 rated versions), hard to tell where it's pointing | The glass dome can bounce infrared back into the lens at night if cheap or dirty — halos and glare |
| Bullet | Outdoor perimeters, driveways, yards — the shape everyone recognises, which is half its value as a deterrent; longer IR range than domes | More obviously directional (people can see what it misses); a perch for birds and spiders if badly sited |
| Turret (eyeball) | The quiet default of professional installs — bullet-grade image and IR in a compact ball with no dome glass, so no IR bounce and fewer spider-web false triggers | Slightly less vandal-resistant than a proper IK10 dome; almost no downside otherwise |
| PTZ (pan-tilt-zoom) | Large sites with active monitoring — car parks, yards, schools: one operator or auto-tracking covering acres, 25×+ optical zoom | Expensive, and pointless without someone (or decent analytics) driving it — a parked PTZ is just a dear bullet camera |
| Fisheye / 360° | One ceiling point covering a whole open room — retail floors, warehouses, reception areas; software de-warps the image | Detail at the edges is limited; not the camera for identifying faces at distance |
The specialists
- ANPR cameras — tuned for number plates: fast shutter, plate-height mounting, works at barriers and entrances. A general camera that 'can read plates' mostly can't once vehicles move
- Thermal cameras — detect heat, not light: perimeter protection on large or zero-light sites, fire-risk hotspot monitoring. Identification still needs an optical partner camera
- Covert cameras — legitimate in specific investigations, but for everyday security a visible camera prevents what a hidden one merely records — and workplace covert use carries serious data-protection obligations
- Doorbell and consumer Wi-Fi cameras — fine as a doorstep extra; not a security system. No continuous recording without subscriptions, dependent on your Wi-Fi and their cloud
Wired, wireless, or analogue — the decision that outlasts the cameras
Wired IP (PoE) is what we fit on effectively every new system: one network cable per camera carrying power and data, recording to an NVR on site, no batteries, no Wi-Fi dropouts, 4K-capable. It costs more to install and it's the right answer for anything you'd call a security system.
Wireless cameras trade installation ease for reliability — they still need mains power (or battery swaps), they compete with everything else on your Wi-Fi, and footage quality bends to bandwidth. Reasonable for a rented flat or a stopgap; a compromise everywhere else.
Analogue HD (existing coax) matters for one reason: upgrades. If a building already has coax runs from an old system, modern HD-over-coax cameras can reuse them at 4–8MP for a fraction of a full rewire. We do this constantly on older commercial buildings — the CCTV cost guide shows how the numbers compare.
Resolution and low light — the two spec lines that matter
Resolution buys you identification distance: 2MP (1080p) tells you *someone* was there; 4MP tells you *who* at reasonable range; 4K earns its cost on wide areas and anywhere you'll need to zoom into recorded footage. Today's sensible floor for new installs is 4MP — the price gap to 2MP has almost closed.
Low light is where camera ranges genuinely differ. Standard infrared gives clean black-and-white night footage to a stated range — treat the range on the box as optimistic. The step up (Hikvision's ColorVu and equivalents) keeps full colour at night, which matters more than megapixels for evidence: clothing and vehicle colour survive. Where night performance is the point of the system, spend there first.
One spec line people over-buy: frame rate. 12–15fps is fine for security; smooth 25fps mostly just eats your recording storage — how much storage CCTV actually needs is its own guide.
What actually gets fitted (so you can sanity-check any quote)
A typical house: turrets at front and rear elevations, maybe a dome under a porch — 2 to 4 cameras. A shop: fisheye or domes inside covering floor and till, turret or bullet on the frontage and rear delivery door — 3 to 5. A small commercial unit: turrets on each elevation and entrance plus domes at goods-in and internal choke points — 4 to 8. A construction site or large yard: bullets or thermal on the perimeter with a PTZ overseeing, often tower-mounted.
If a quote is all one camera type regardless of position, or leads with 'HD' and no megapixel figure, or specs a PTZ for an unmonitored site — those are the tells that you're buying stock, not design. Try our camera-count calculator for an honest starting point before anyone quotes you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is better, dome or bullet CCTV cameras?
What type of CCTV camera is best for home?
Are wireless CCTV cameras any good?
What's the difference between IP and analogue CCTV?
Do I need planning permission or to follow GDPR rules for CCTV?
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