New Delhi, Dec. 31 -- Outdoor CCTV cameras do not understand situations the way people do. They do not recognise intent, emotion or context. What they respond to is change. A shift in light, movement across pixels, contrast differences, and motion speed are what trigger recording and alerts.

This is why a tree branch moving in the wind often gets flagged while a person standing still does not. To the camera, movement equals importance. Stillness blends into the background. This mismatch between human expectation and machine logic causes much of the frustration people feel after installation.

Wide-angle lenses exaggerate this effect. They increase coverage but dilute detail. Objects closer to the camera appear larger than they are. Objec...