WDR Surveillance Cameras: The Basics

Jon Jones ● Dec 10 ● 9 min read

When it comes to security cameras, there are a lot of different features to consider. One of the most important is wide dynamic range (WDR). But what are WDR surveillance cameras? How does wdr work? In this article, we’ll discuss what wdr is, how it works, and how it can benefit your security footage.

What Are WDR Surveillance Cameras?

Dynamic range refers to the difference between light levels in an image (e.g., the darkest vs the lightest areas). Thus, wide dynamic range (wdr) surveillance cameras have the capability of capturing images and videos with a wide range of lighting conditions. This type of camera utilizes WDR technology, which allows it to capture both bright and dark areas at the same time. By utilizing this technology, wdr surveillance cameras can be used in locations where the light may vary drastically in a short period of time or where light sources have high dynamic ranges.

Wdr surveillance cameras offer improved image clarity and contrast by combining multiple frames to create one detailed image. The resulting picture has excellent detail and color accuracy, even when faced with challenging lighting environments. Take a look above comparing the photos taken by surveillance cameras with wdr and without wdr technology.

How do WDR Surveillance Cameras Work?

Wide dynamic range (WDR) technology is a digital imaging technique that allows wdr surveillance cameras to capture both bright and dark areas at the same time. It does this by combining multiple frames together in order to create one detailed image. This technique combines pixel values from different exposures or frames of images, resulting in increased contrast and improved detail in shadows and highlights. Essentially, wdr surveillance cameras work by reducing brightness in bright areas and increasing it in darker ones to achieve a more visually appealing overall image. In short, wdr surveillance camera has a wide range of adjustments that enable it to capture an optimal image in any lighting environment, all while maintaining excellent color accuracy and detail.

Why Choose WDR Surveillance Cameras?

Wide dynamic range (WDR) surveillance cameras offer numerous benefits that make them well-suited for business security operations. These cameras can capture clear and detailed images even when faced with challenging lighting environments, such as those caused by bright sunlight and shifting shadows. This means that wdr surveillance cameras can be used in a number of scenarios where motion must be tracked, such as monitoring busy intersections or capturing activities in wide open spaces.

Furthermore, wdr surveillance cameras can reduce the appearance of overexposure and underexposure often seen with traditional security cameras, providing more balanced results across different light levels. Lastly, wdr technology helps prevent motion blur from occurring in fast-paced scenes, giving users sharp images even with quickly-moving subjects. All these features make wdr surveillance cameras an ideal choice for any security operation looking for high-quality footage without compromising on resolution or detail.

Verkada with WDR Surveillance Cameras

Here at Monarch, we will work with you to design security solutions with wdr surveillance cameras for your organization. Together, we will design, implement, and oversee a security infrastructure with live video monitoring for both safety and convenience.

Verkada offers a wide range of security products, including facial recognition cameras, access control, intrusion sensors and professional monitoring. All Verkada devices integrate with each other and are managed from a single cloud dashboard. Consider the following features of all Verkada devices:

Simple to Use

• Solid-state Storage (SSD): No NVR, DVR, or server is required. This means you pay for what you use – and that’s all. This reduces any extra overhead operations and the associated expenses,
• Regular, Automatic Software Updates: No need to worry about if your devices are working properly or are up-to-date with our Verkada devices.
• Simple Plug-and-Play Install: Just a standard Ethernet cable is required for the cameras to be brought online and fully operational within minutes.
• Accessible Anywhere, Anytime: Access archived or live feed videos on any device or browser
• Time lapse: Watch a day of footage in under 30 seconds with timelapses.
• Floor Plan: Quickly respond to incidents with real-time motion plotting. 

Scalable

• Unlimited Storage on Camera and Cloud: Reduce your organizations’ liability risk with unlimited cloud archiving offered by Verkada cameras.
• Unlimited Users Allowed: You can easily authorize admins access to an unlimited number of users.
• Infinitely Scalable: No matter how large the facility is, we can help you keep everyone on the same page. 

Limitlessly Smart

• AI-Based Video Analytics: Face detection, person of interest detection, and license plate detection are all available.
• Smart Filters: Search for specific people, vehicles, and objects without having to spend too much time scrubbing through footage.
• Live Alerts: Receive instant alerts in any meaningful event
• Shareable Live Feeds: Share your live feed via SMS. This is useful as you can send it to first responders in case of an emergency for dramatically reduced response time.
• 10-Year Warranty: Rest assured that your money is well protected

WDR Surveillance Cameras: Verkada Cloud-Based Cameras

Verkada offers a variety of wdr surveillance cameras to meet your security needs including: the Verkada Indoor Dome Series, the Verkada Outdoor Dome Series, the Verkada Bullet Series, the Verkada Mini Series, and Verkada Fisheye Series.

Verkada Indoor Dome Series

The Verkada Indoor Dome Camera is designed for indoor, high-traffic areas. It is the perfect general-purpose wdr surveillance camera. There are three models in the indoor Dome Series: CD42, CD52, and C62.

	CD42	CD52	CD62
Type	Indoors	Indoors	Indoors
Image Resolution	5MP	5MP	4K
Type of Lens	Fixed, with 3x Zoom Digitally	Zoom, with 3x Optical and Digital Zoom	Zoom, with 3x Optical and Digital Zoom
Standard Retention	Up to 365 Days	Up to 365 Days	Up to 90 Days
Standard Storage	Up to 2TB	Up to 2TB	Up to 2TB
Audio	Yes	Yes	Yes
IR Range	15m	30m	30m
Rating	IK08	IK08	IK08

The Verkada Outdoor Dome Series

The Verkada Outdoor Dome Series is both weather- and tamper-resistant.  Its capabilities function well even in areas with limited bandwidth and connectivity. They are perfect for monitoring the parking lot and the exterior of buildings (e.g., to capture key license plates). There are three models in the Outdoor Dome Series: CD42-E, CD52-E, and C62-E.

	CD42-E	CD52-E	CD62-E
Type	Outdoors	Outdoors	Outdoors
Image Resolution	5MP	5MP	4K
Type of Lens	Fixed, with 3x Zoom Digitally	Zoom, with 3x Optical and Digital Zoom	Zoom, with 3x Optical and Digital Zoom
Standard Retention	Up to 365 Days	Up to 365 Days	Up to 90 Days
Standard Storage	Up to 2TB	Up to 2TB	Up to 2TB
Audio	Yes	Yes	Yes
IR Range	15m	30m	30m
Rating	IK10 & IP67	IK10 & IP67	IK10 & IP67

The Verkada Bullet Series

The Verkada Bullet Series is an wdr surveillance camera. It is built to withstand harsh environments. The Verkada Bullet camera is available in two lens types: wide angle and telephoto. There are four models in the Bullet Series: CB51-E, CB61-E, CB51-TE, CB61-TE.

	CB51-E	CB51-TE	CB61-E	CB61-TE
Type	Indoor and/or Outdoor	Indoor and/or Outdoor	Indoor and/or Outdoor	Indoor and/or Outdoor
Image Resolution	5MP	5MP	4K	4K
Type of Lens	Zoom, with up to 3x Optical and Digital zoom	Telephoto Zoom, with 8-20mm focal length	Zoom, with up to 3x Optical and Digital zoom	Telephoto Zoom, with 8-20mm focal length
Standard Retention	Up to 2TB	Up to 2TB	Up to 2TB	Up to 2TB
Standard Storage	Up to 365 Days	Up to 365 Days	Up to 90 Days	Up to 90 Days
Audio	–	–	–	–
IR Range	30m	50m	30m	50m
Rating	IK10 & IP167	IK10 & IP167	IK10 & IP167	IK10 & IP167

The Verkada Mini Series

The Verkada Mini Series offers flexibility and wdr for crystal clear footage. The Mini Camera is a compact size that can fit any space, anywhere indoors. There are three models in the Mini Series: CM41-S, CM41, and CM41-E.

	CM41-S	CM41	CM41-E
Type	Indoor	Indoor	Outdoor
Image Resolution	5MP	5MP	5MP
Type of Lens	Fixed, with up to 3x Digital Zoom	Fixed, with up to 3x Digital Zoom	Fixed, with up to 3x Digital Zoom
Standard Retention	Up to 90 days	Up to 365 Days	Up to 365 Days
Standard Storage	Up to 385GB	Up to 2TB	Up to 2TB
Audio	–	Yes	–
IR Range	N/A	15m	15m
Rating	N/A	IK08	IK10 & IP67

The Verkada Fisheye Camera

The Verkada Fisheye Camera provides a panoramic view of the entire property – both indoor and outdoor. This camera allows for total surveillance coverage.

	Fisheye CF81-E
Type	Indoor and/or Outdoor
Image Resolution	12MP
Type of Lens	Fixed, with 3x Digital Zoom
Standard Retention	Maximum of 90 Days of Standard Quality Retention
Standard Storage	Up to 2TB of Onboard Storage
IR Range	20M
Angle of View	180°
Rating	IK10 and IP67
Audio	Yes
NDAA Compliant	Yes
Analytics	Ambarella Chipset for People and Vehicle Analytics
Viewing Modes	Panoramic; Four–Way Split; Pan-Tilt–Zoom

The Verkada Fisheye Camera (CF81-E) is an ideal wdr security camera. With the option to switch between circle, ePTZ, 2-view, 3-view, or 4-view modes on the CF81-E, you can do away with the need for multiple camera installations. You can also take advantage of features like digital pan-tilt-zoom to increase coverage and lessen blind spots.

Three different view modes are supported by the CF81-E. You can customize the view mode to meet the requirements of the install location.

• 180° Panoramic: A wide-angle view that is ideal for an open area or a corridor.
• Four-way split: Use a single camera to watch four distinct fields of view.
• Pan-tilt-zoom (ePTZ): Provides a panoramic, all-encompassing view of your environment.

Explore Security Cameras

Monarch: Purchase WDR Surveillance Cameras Today

WDR surveillance cameras are a type of security camera that is designed to produce clear images even in conditions with extreme lighting contrast. These cameras use advanced image processing techniques to merge multiple images taken at different exposures into one final image. This allows the camera to recreate a more balanced and realistic view of the scene than would be possible with a single exposure. WDR surveillance cameras can provide superior performance in low-light conditions and help you capture important details that might otherwise be missed – ideal for businesses seeking to up their security. Monarch is here to help you make the right decisions when it comes to selecting wdr surveillance cameras for your business.

Updated: Dec 10