Parts of a Security Camera – Labeled Diagram

All 12 parts on the diagram

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The camera 9

Lens It gathers the light. With the image sensor behind it, it decides the quality of the picture. Some lenses can be adjusted for a wider or a closer view.
Infrared LEDs They light the scene with infrared light. The camera still gets a picture at night, even in complete darkness.
Sunshield A separate cover that slides onto the top of the camera. It is held with a screw.
Image sensor The chip that captures the picture. It is a CCD or a CMOS sensor. Strong light aimed at the camera for a long time can damage it.
Mounting bracket It is screwed to a wall or a ceiling. Its joint lets the camera be aimed, and the angle is fine-tuned once the camera is on.
Memory card slot A microSD card goes in here. It stores video and snapshots in the camera itself.
Reset button Held down, it restores the camera's factory settings. It is pressed and held with a small tool.
Network port An Ethernet cable plugs in here. On many cameras the same cable also brings the power, which is called Power over Ethernet, or PoE.
Power input A power supply plugs in here. A camera that takes its power over the network cable does not need it.

The system 3

Ethernet cable It joins the camera's network port to the network or the recorder. It carries the video as data.
Recorder (NVR or DVR) It records the video, usually on a disk drive. A network video recorder (NVR) gets its video over a network; a digital video recorder (DVR) takes a direct video cable from each camera.
Monitor The screen where the cameras' pictures are watched. Closed-circuit means the pictures go only to a limited set of monitors.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30, a name kept only where two independent sources use it. (1) Camera makers' guides, read as full text on the Internet Archive: an infrared bullet camera manual, https://archive.org/details/manualsbase-id-411070 (sunshield, lens, infrared LEDs, base, monitor); two more infrared bullet camera manuals, https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-5735151 (CMOS image sensor, lens, IR LED, sun shield, DC 12V input, DVR) and https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-5922681 (sensor, lens, IR-LED, power input connector, monitor, DVR); a mini bullet network camera quick guide and its user's manual, one source, https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-5725042 and https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-5691969 (lens, microSD card slot, default button, RJ-45 connector for network and PoE, Ethernet cable, sunshield, mounting bracket, IR LED module); and a dome network camera quick start guide, https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-5691277 (network port, power input port, reset button, Micro SD slot, bracket, lens). (2) Wikipedia, text only: Closed-circuit television camera (lenses and image sensors), IP camera (Power over Ethernet, micro-SD card, network video recorder), Network video recorder, Digital video recorder and Closed-circuit television (monitors, hard disk drive). Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; no maker's camera, nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

The parts of a security camera in two views: a bullet camera from the front and from the side, with its front cut away, and the system it belongs to, with the cable, the recorder and the monitor.

Read the full guide

The camera, then the system

Numbers 1 and 2 are on the front: the lens and the ring of infrared LEDs round it. Numbers 3 to 5 are on the side view: the sunshield, the image sensor behind the lens, and the mounting bracket. Numbers 6 and 7, the memory card slot and the reset button, are under a hatch, enlarged in the circle. Numbers 8 and 9 are the two sockets on the cable. Numbers 10 to 12 are the system: Ethernet cable, recorder and monitor.

A camera with a network port is a network camera, or IP camera. Older analog cameras send their picture down a video cable instead.
With Power over Ethernet, one cable carries both the video and the power.

Questions and answers

What are the lights around a security camera lens?

They are infrared LEDs. They light the scene with infrared light so the camera can still get a picture at night, when there is little or no visible light.

What is the difference between an NVR and a DVR?

Both record video. An NVR, a network video recorder, receives video over a network from cameras that encode it themselves. A DVR, a digital video recorder, takes a direct video connection and does the encoding in the recorder.

What does PoE mean on a security camera?

Power over Ethernet. The Ethernet cable that carries the camera's video also supplies its power, so the camera works without a separate power supply.

Where does a security camera store its video?

On a recorder's hard disk drive, on a memory card in the camera itself, or in the cloud. Recordings are kept for a set time and then overwritten, archived or deleted.