What is a Bullet Camera? Outdoor IP bullet use cases + specs

What is a Bullet Camera?

A bullet camera is a cylindrical surveillance camera with a visible lens at one end, mounted to a wall, soffit, or pole on an adjustable bracket. The shape gets its name from the resemblance to a rifle bullet. Bullets dominate exterior perimeter, parking-lot, loading-dock, and long-range installs because the cylindrical body holds a longer lens and a high-output IR illuminator, and the wall-mount bracket lets the installer aim the camera precisely along a property line or driveway.

The short definition

A bullet camera houses sensor, lens, and IR illuminator inside a long cylindrical shell. The shell mounts on an adjustable bracket bolted to a wall, soffit, or pole, and the bracket's three-axis joint lets the installer aim along a target axis and lock it down. Power and data enter through the back on a single PoE Cat6 or, on older installs, separate coax and 12V leads.

The cylindrical form factor accommodates a longer focal-length lens (up to 22mm or higher on enterprise bullets) and a higher-output IR illuminator than a dome can fit. That's what makes bullets the default for long-range exterior capture.

Bullet vs dome: when each wins

Use bullets outside. Wall-mount, long-range, IR-heavy, deterrent-valuable. Parking lots, building perimeter, loading docks, gates. See the dome camera entry for the indoor counterpart.
Use domes inside. Ceiling-mount, short-range, low-profile. Retail floor, office, hospitality, healthcare common areas.
Use multi-sensor where one drop covers a wide scene. Atrium, large lobby, parking-lot corner. See the multi-sensor entry.

Weather, IK, and IR ratings

IP rating (weather). IP66 is the floor for exterior use. IP67 adds temporary submersion. IP68 adds continuous submersion (rare and overkill for most installs). IP66 is the right spec for normal exterior pole and wall mounts.
IK rating (impact). IK08 for general exterior. IK10 for cameras within reach of public ground level (parking decks, school exteriors, apartment-complex entrances).
IR range. Stated in meters. Object detection at advertised range; face-readable capture at roughly half. 50m IR is typical for entry-level; 100 to 200m for high-end perimeter cameras.

Focal length and capture distance

The biggest install mistake on bullet cameras is the wrong lens. Quick reference for face-readable capture distance at 4MP:

2.8mm lens. 110-degree field of view. Face-readable to 18 feet. Use for entry vestibules and short-throw scenes.
4mm lens. 80-degree field of view. Face-readable to 30 feet. Use for parking-lot entries and dock doors.
6 to 8mm lens. 50-degree field of view. Face-readable to 60 feet. Use for parking lots and loading bays.
12mm or higher lens. 25-degree field of view. License-plate-readable to 100-plus feet. Use for property-line and gate-entrance plate capture.

A varifocal 2.8-to-12mm bullet covers most exterior installs and lets the installer dial in field of view at commissioning. Fixed-lens bullets are cheaper but commit you to one zone.

Where bullets are the right call

Building perimeter. Wall-mounted under soffits, aimed along the building face. The visible cylindrical body is also a deterrent.
Parking lots and structures. Pole-mounted bullets at light standards cover lanes, intersections, and entry points. Pair with LPR-tuned bullets at the gates.
Loading docks and warehouses. One bullet per dock door at the rolling-door header captures driver, plate, and trailer in a single field of view.
Construction sites. Tower-mounted bullets with high-output IR for after-hours intrusion detection. Pair with voice-down deterrence and verified monitoring.

When to ask Tec-Tel about bullet selection

Lens, IR range, and pole vs wall mount decisions show up early on exterior installs. We'll walk a site, lay out coverage zones with capture-distance math, and scope the right bullet model and lens per zone. We install Axis, Hanwha Vision, Avigilon, Bosch, and Verkada.

Frequent buyer questions

Bullet vs dome, which is better?

Different jobs. Bullets are wall-mount, longer-range, and visually obvious, which is why they dominate exterior perimeter, parking-lot, and warehouse-loading-dock installs. Domes are ceiling-mount, low-profile, and aesthetically subtle, which is why they dominate indoor retail and office installs. The deterrent value of a visible bullet on the building exterior is real; the discretion of an indoor dome is also real. Most commercial designs use both.

Do bullet cameras work indoors?

Yes. Indoor bullets exist, but they're less common than dome variants for indoor work because they're aesthetically aggressive. Where they win indoors: warehouses, manufacturing floors, and parking decks where you want long-range capture and don't care about looks. The IR range of a bullet (50 to 200 meters) usually exceeds what an indoor dome offers.

What does IP66 vs IP67 mean on a bullet camera?

IP ratings (IEC 60529) describe dust and water protection. IP66 means full dust protection plus water from heavy seas or strong jets, sufficient for any normal exterior install. IP67 adds temporary submersion (1 meter depth, 30 minutes), useful for direct-rain or below-grade mounts. Most exterior bullets ship as IP66 or IP67. Pole-mount cameras in flood-prone areas should spec IP67.

What focal length should an outdoor bullet have?

Depends on capture distance. A 4mm lens covers up to about 30 feet for face capture (an 80-degree field of view). A 6mm or 8mm lens covers 50 to 75 feet. A 12mm lens covers 100-plus feet, useful for parking lots and loading docks. Varifocal bullets (2.8 to 12mm motorized) cover most exterior distances and let the installer dial in the field of view from the VMS.

How far does the IR on a bullet camera reach?

Built-in IR LEDs on enterprise bullets typically reach 30 to 100 meters in total darkness. High-end models (Axis Q-line, Hanwha Wisenet PNO-A, Avigilon H5A) reach 150 to 200 meters with adaptive IR that adjusts intensity based on subject distance. The advertised range is for object detection, not face capture; readable face range is roughly half the advertised IR distance.

Start with a free consultation.

Tell us what you're protecting and what's already in place. The Tec-Tel team reviews it and comes back with a written plan.

Tell us how many sites you run and what's already in place. We'll show you what a build or upgrade looks like.

Straight answers from the team that does the work. We're platform-agnostic, so you get the system that fits your sites, not one brand's catalog.

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