Three cameras can have the same sensor, the same lens, and the exact same price, yet yield very different results on the same wall. The difference isn't in the datasheet: it's in the shape. Bullet, dome, and turret are not three styles to choose from based on taste; they are three solutions to three different mounting problems.
The bullet: when you need to aim far and be seen
This is the cylinder-shaped camera, mounted on an adjustable arm. Its elongated body allows for larger lenses and a greater number of infrared LEDs, which is why, within the same class, a bullet reaches further at night: 50, 60, even up to 80 meters, where a dome stops at 30.
The arm is both its advantage and its limitation. It lets you orient the camera precisely even on a crooked wall or under an eave, and it keeps the body away from the wall, which helps to avoid filming the wall itself when the infrared turns on. But that arm is also a lever: anyone who wants to move it can do so with one hand, and the camera is visible from a distance. If you need a deterrent effect, that’s a plus. If you prefer it to be unobtrusive, it's the wrong model.
There is a practical flaw that is rarely discussed: the top of the cylinder and the sunshield collect dust, leaves, and cobwebs. On a system in the countryside, a bullet requires cleaning twice a year, and if you don't do it, the cobwebs in front of the infrared will fill your nights with false motion alerts.
The dome: when aesthetics and impact resistance matter
The transparent dome under which the camera sits hides two things: where it is looking and how robust it is. From the outside, the orientation isn't clear, which discourages those who want to know which corner to stand in. And the dome, in versions certified IK08 or IK10, withstands impacts that a bullet could not: this is why you find them in school hallways, apartment building entrances, and shops.
The price to pay is optical. The dome is a piece of transparent plastic between the sensor and the world: it collects scratches, becomes opaque over time, and above all, reflects infrared light toward the sensor. Well-made cameras have a rubber ring that isolates the lens from the dome for this very reason; poorly made ones, at night, return a milky image that is not the fault of the sensor. If an outdoor dome starts seeing poorly in the dark after two years, nine times out of ten the dome needs replacing, not the camera.
The turret: the compromise that almost always wins
The turret—also called an eyeball—is a sphere that rotates inside a base fixed to the wall. No arm, no dome. It is the model we recommend most often, and the reason is simple: it takes the best of the other two without their main drawbacks.
Not having a dome, it has no internal reflections: the night performance is as clean as a bullet's. Not having an arm, it sits flush against the wall or ceiling, collects much less dirt, and offers much less of a handle for anyone wanting to move it. It is adjusted by rotating the sphere in its housing, with three degrees of freedom.
Its limitation is infrared range, because the more compact body houses fewer LEDs: a mid-range turret reaches 25-40 meters, not 80. For a courtyard, an entrance, or a small yard, it is more than enough. For a warehouse one hundred meters long, it is not.
How to choose, in three questions
How far do you need to see at night? Beyond 40 meters, bullet. Below that, turret.
Can someone reach it with their hands? If yes and the risk is vandalism, anti-vandal dome. If yes but the risk is them moving it to avoid being filmed, turret mounted high up.
Should it be visible or disappear? If the deterrent is part of the goal, bullet in plain sight. If the system should be discreet, white dome or turret on the ceiling.
A note on height, which applies to all three and matters more than shape: above three and a half meters, a camera frames heads and not faces. If you need to recognize someone, not just notice that they passed by, the camera should be at two and a half meters, three at most, even at the cost of having to protect it better.
What you will find with us
The catalog is divided by shape, so you can start from the choice you have just made: bullet cameras, turret cameras, dome cameras, and for large systems, motorized speed domes. Brackets are a separate chapter and it is worth looking at them before climbing the ladder: the right bracket solves installations that seem impossible.
If you have a floor plan of the site and don't know what to put there, send it to us at info@elettricity.com or call 351 969 5157: we will tell you how many cameras are needed, what type, and where, before you buy.