A system and method for providing privacy regions in a picture or video. In one example embodiment, a camera is provided which has a lens system and detector, image processing circuitry, compression and formatting circuitry, and control circuitry. Images or video taken from the camera are preferably corrected for distortion (such as that introduced by an anamorphic lens system) and sent to an operator's workstation, where a privacy region is defined. The privacy region is merged with the rest of the image, whether constant or dynamic, and displayed. Other processing, such as object tracking and alarms, can also be implemented at varying points in the process.