Your outdoor security camera uses a light sensor to create an image from the light entering through the lens. The light sensor is made up of many pixels which determine how much light is coming through and generates the corresponding number of electrons. Brighter lights generate more electrons per pixel. When it comes to image sensor technology, there are two main types.

The CCD, or charge-coupled device, and the CMOS, or complementary metal-oxide semiconductor are often viewed as rival technologies. However, each actually has its own strengths and weaknesses so that one is more appropriate than the other depending on the application.

The CCD image sensors were developed in cameras specifically for the purpose that they serve today. Meanwhile, CMOS sensors were originally adaptations of standard technology already in use for other applications such as the memory chip of computers. However, as technology advances CMOS sensors becoming more suited for cameras and the image quality is improving at a very impressive rate.

CCD sensors are still slightly better in light sensitivity and produce cleaner images than CMOS sensors. Because of higher light sensitivity, the CCD produces sharper images in low light conditions than CMOS sensors.

The downside is that CCD sensors are more expensive and harder to build into a camera. Also, a CCD sensor uses much more power, almost 100 times more, than the equivalent CMOS sensor.

Recent advancement in technology is quickly making the CMOS sensor a close rival to the CCD sensor in terms of image quality. CMOS based cameras are lower cost because the CMOS sensors make it easier to build the cameras around them.

The CMOS sensors allow for much more integration possibilities and functions than the CCD could. It also has a faster readout which is important when you get into megapixels and require less energy and a smaller system size. You will find megapixel CMOS cameras much more than a megapixel CCD sensor simply because of the cost differentiation.

When it comes to megapixel sensors in cameras, the sensors themselves are about the same size or only slightly larger than traditional VGA sensors. This means that the size of each pixel is smaller. So while the megapixel camera can provide higher resolution and greater detail, it is less light sensitive since the pixel size is smaller and light reflected from an object is spread to more pixels.

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