Security Camera vs Surveillance Camera

While the terms are regularly used interchangeably, there is a slight difference between security cameras and surveillance cameras. The difference is whether a camera is passive or active. Surveillance cameras are passive. They observe and/or record whatever is happening in their field of view. Security cameras are active. They alert people to unexpected events within their field of view. This distinction can be very subtle or very large depending on the circumstances of a particular situation. For instance, if a surveillance camera sends a constant feed to a monitor that is continually viewed by a security guard, it is essentially functioning as a security camera because simply by viewing the feed from the camera the guard would be alerted to anything unexpected happening within the camera’s field of view. However, most modern security cameras have the ability to detect motion and send alerts to owners or authorities via text or email.