CCTV Planning Tool · 01 of 10

Pixel Density (PPM) Calculator

Before you buy or install a camera, find out what it can actually see. Detect motion? Recognise a face? Read a number plate? It all comes down to pixels per meter.

What is PPM, and why should you care?

PPM (Pixels Per Meter) is the single most important number in CCTV design. It tells you how many pixels of the camera's image fall on every meter of the real-world scene at a given distance.

The further the subject, the wider the camera's view — and the fewer pixels each meter gets. A camera that can clearly identify a face at 5 meters might only see a blob at 30 meters.

The European standard EN 62676-4 defines four levels of CCTV quality based on PPM. If your camera doesn't meet the right PPM for your goal, the footage is useless — even if you have a fancy 8MP camera.

A real example: Imagine you install a 4 MP camera with a 4 mm lens (1/2.8" sensor) at your shop entrance.

• At 5 m away, it delivers ~400 PPM — you can identify a stranger by face. Court-grade.
• At 20 m away, it delivers only ~100 PPM — you can observe activity, but not recognise who is who.

Same camera, same lens. Different distance. Completely different capability — and a completely different price tag on the wrong choice.

The 5 levels of CCTV image quality

25 PPM
Detect
"Something is there." You can tell a person from a tree, motion from no motion.
62 PPM
Observe
"I can see what's happening." General activity is clear — number of people, direction.
125 PPM
Recognise
"That's my colleague." You can identify someone you already know.
250 PPM
Identify
"This is the suspect, your honour." Court-admissible identification of a stranger.
500 PPM
Inspect / LPR
Number plate reading, fine detail, signature verification.

Calculate your camera's PPM

Move the sliders and pick from the dropdowns. Results update live.
Higher resolution = more pixels = more PPM at any distance.
Sensor size affects the field of view at a given focal length.
Wider lens (small mm) = wide angle, less zoom.
How far the person/plate is from the camera.
0PPM at 10 m
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Where you fall on the quality ladder
Top-down view — coverage zones at this setup

Max distance you can achieve for each quality level

Detect
0 m
Observe
0 m
Recognise
0 m
Identify
0 m

Get this report as a PDF

A clean, branded PDF with your camera setup, PPM result, quality classification, and recommended distances. Useful for sharing with your installer or client.