Few things can compare to having constant visibility into your home and surroundings to alleviate worries. Live and recorded footage from home security cameras keep you informed at all times.
However, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed when shopping for home cameras due to the abundance of information and options available. That’s why we put together this resource to assist you in finding the best home security cameras to meet your needs.
Are Home Security Cameras Good for Home Protection?
When it comes to keeping your home safe, there’s no better investment than a home security camera system, which can serve as both a deterrent and a means of finding out what happened if something goes wrong. Intruders are less likely to target a building that clearly displays security cameras. If a crime does happen, security cameras can also be used to collect evidence. If you have video evidence of any kind of crime, from vandalism to an actual break-in with suspects, you have a much better chance of solving the problem.
Investing in a camera with super and ultra-high-definition video is a good idea if you want to recognise vehicles, people, and other moving objects (2Kor 4K, respectively). The increased pixel density made possible by this technology allows for a greater degree of magnification, making facial features and licence plates easier to make out. You won’t get results like that, especially at night, from an HD or full HD camera.
In the end, a home security system that includes security cameras is the most effective way to keep your property safe. To conserve power, motion detectors are required for wireless security cameras to begin recording, so you may not get the full scope of events you were hoping for. Cameras installed as part of a home security system can be programmed to begin recording when certain triggers are met. These could be contact sensors, glass-break sensors, or even simple motion detectors. This increases the likelihood that the cameras will capture all activity on your property, rather than just the brief moments when something was moving in front of the lens.
If you’re looking for a home security camera, then look no further! Security Systems has you covered.
What Are the Privacy Concerns of Home Security Cameras?
Video can be recorded either continuously or only when motion is detected, so whenever you or a visitor enters the garden or uses the video doorbell, the footage will be captured. Be sure everyone in your family is okay with the idea of having cameras in and around the house before you set them up. Your camera footage could be viewed or even uploaded to the internet if it is hacked. But the precautions outlined in this guide will greatly lessen that danger.
We advise you to activate the camera’s privacy settings immediately. By way of illustration, cameras can be disabled manually in the home network management console, or automatically by geofencing technology when a smartphone user in the household checks in.
What Are Some Uses of Home Security Cameras Besides Preventing Burglary?
Today’s home security cameras are multifunctional and can be used for more than just monitoring your property for intruders. Here are just a few other uses for home security cameras:
- Use an indoor camera in your child’s room as a baby monitor and check in on them from any location with an internet connection. A constant-recording, plugged-in camera with two-way audio and motion/sound detection alerts will serve as a trustworthy watchdog if those features are present.
- You can use a Pet Cam indoors or outdoors to keep an eye on your dog, cat, chicken coop, or rabbit hutch. Some cameras have a built-in feature that will notify you when your dog starts barking, allowing you to communicate with it via a two-way talk function.
- Installing a battery-operated camera with night vision at the far end of your garden is a great way to keep an eye on potential garden-destroying deer or raccoons, or simply to take in the sights and sounds of the nighttime wildlife on your property.
- If you have other “smart home” devices installed, such as a doorbell or a smoke detector, your camera can be set up to react automatically when certain conditions are met. If the outdoor camera detects motion, say from your car in the driveway, it can activate the indoor lighting.
Why Get Security Cameras?
Before we go any further, you should ask yourself if a home security camera is necessary. Here are some indications that you could benefit from installing a home security camera:
- You do a lot of door-to-door package delivery, as you frequently shop online.
- You’re gone from the house for long stretches of time frequently.
- The doors to your house aren’t the only ones you can use.
- There are valuables in the house, making it a possible target for burglars.
- You need to keep an eye on the kids or the pets.
- You need to keep an eye on the driveway, the pool, or the gate to your property.
A home security camera can provide you with peace of mind, which is priceless regardless of your individual requirements.
What Security Camera Should I Get?
It’s crucial to get a surveillance camera that fits your requirements. In general, you’ll encounter three distinct varieties:
- external camera
- camera on the door
- camera in a room
Doorbell camera
The most common type of home security camera is the doorbell variety because it allows you to keep an eye on the main entrance. You can keep tabs on who’s delivering your packages and who’s picking them up, and with some models of video doorbell, you can even strike up a conversation with whoever’s at your door.
Try to find a doorbell camera that has the following capabilities:
- The ability to see more of your porch from a wide and elevated vantage point. An important width is 180 degrees.
- Mobile video recording and streaming capabilities
- Capability for mutual communication
- Seeing in the dark with infrared technology
- Look for 1080p or 4k cameras if you want clear photos.
- Possibility to zoom in/out
- Make sure it has WiFi and can connect to your existing network at home.
- Question of aesthetics: how does it look next to your front door?
Outdoor camera
Your home’s exterior is monitored by a network of hidden cameras. Outdoor cameras are a common addition to a home’s security system, and many people choose to set up several to cover all possible entry points.
From compact dome cameras to large surveillance cameras, the market is flooded with options for capturing the outdoors. Selecting an outdoor camera that records quality video without being visually obtrusive to your home is a top priority.
Feature-wise, you should prioritise the following in an outdoor camera:
- Extra coverage of your home’s perimeter thanks to the camera’s wide field of view.
- Vision in the dark
- Signaling siren
- a camera with a tilting and rotating lens
- Live and on-demand video streaming capabilities for mobile devices.
- Real-time, bidirectional communication
- Look for 1080p or 4k cameras if you want clear photos.
- The ability to fine-tune the recording’s starting and stopping points.
Indoor camera
Hidden cameras, nanny cams, and other varieties of indoor surveillance equipment have been around for quite some time. In many cases, the price of these cameras is much lower than that of an outdoor or doorbell camera, allowing you to instal more of them in strategic locations around your home.
Indoor cameras are more than just a useful amenity; they give you peace of mind by providing an extra set of eyes, which is invaluable if you have active children or pets.
If you’re shopping for a camera to use indoors, keep the following in mind:
- Possessing a wide field of view so that you can see the entire monitored space
- Vision at night
- Capabilities to reposition the camera
- Affords the flexibility to mount or set up separately as required
- Mobile video recording and streaming capabilities
- For clearer pictures, try a camera with a resolution of at least 1080 lines.
Wired vs. Wireless Cameras
The choice between wired and wireless cameras is an important factor.
Wired cameras have the advantage of increased security and more stable connectivity, but they can be tricky to set up depending on the wiring and surface materials in your home. The convenience of wireless cameras is tempered by the fact that they often lose connection to your home’s WiFi and therefore cannot be monitored.
Wireless cameras are convenient and offer greater freedom, but if your WiFi is weak, you may need to invest in WiFi extenders or switch to a mesh WiFi system to ensure smooth operation.
Security Systems provides expert CCTV installation for your residential or commercial infrastructure.
5 Important Benefits of Home Security Cameras
Having surveillance cameras system installed in your household as a safety precaution was once seen as an extreme and expensive undertaking. It seems strange to be a modern homeowner and not have at least a few surveillance cameras installed, given how readily available and inexpensive the necessary technology is. The quality, recording capacity, and most importantly the price of video cameras have all greatly improved thanks to technological advancements.
Deterring Criminals
Although having an outdoor camera can prevent crime, it’s risky to rely on fake ones because experienced thieves can usually tell them apart from real ones. Most burglars will scope out a house before breaking in, and if they see cameras installed by a security company, they will likely abandon the plan. In the event of a burglary, the footage captured by the cameras can be used to identify the offender and, hopefully, recover any stolen items. Now we can move on to the next topic.
Aiding the Police
In the unfortunate event of a break-in, the high-definition footage captured by your properly installed surveillance cameras will be invaluable. This footage and photos will help the police find the person responsible for the theft, stop further crimes, and hopefully get your belongings back to you.
Checking in on the Family
Cameras for surveillance have many more uses than just home safety. And they can help you keep an eye on the kids even when you’re not there. Many dual-income households face a difficult situation in the middle of the afternoon when one of their children is released from school. A parent can keep tabs on their kids at all times with the help of a camera security system, even if they’re at the office.
Don’t forget the pets!
The camera system can be used to keep tabs on your furry friends just like it can be used to keep tabs on your human children. Many people rely heavily on their pets, so leaving them alone at home can be a source of stress, and hiring a pet sitter can be costly. You can see how your furry friends are doing from the comfort of your office with a home security camera system.
Insurance Benefits
Report any vandalism or theft that occurred during the break-in to your insurance company. In this situation, a high-definition surveillance camera will come in handy. The recordings will serve as reliable evidence for an insurance claim. In addition, discounts of up to 20% are commonplace after installing a security system.
How Much Do Home Security Cameras Cost?
The price of a home security camera can range from below $50 to well over $1,000. Choosing the best camera for your needs is highly dependant on your expectations. The majority of cameras’ functions are universal, so you should focus on the specifics that matter to you.
You get what you pay for, as is the case with many other things in life. If the camera has connectivity problems, requires frequent battery changes, or fails to record in a high enough quality for you to use the footage, saving a few dollars up front may not be worth it in the long run.
Where to Place and Install Home Security Cameras
Prior to making a purchase, you should plan out the optimal locations for your home security cameras. Where should I put them? I have no idea. Some advice is as follows:
- Make a written inventory of the weak points in and around your home. The front door, the back door, and the garage door are the most common ones.
- Find out if there is anything else you’d like to keep an eye on. Driveways, the side of the house, the entire backyard, the interior of the house facing the entryway, and other high-traffic areas inside the home are all common places to instal them.Google Maps likely has a satellite view of your home if you look for it.
- Take a look around the outside of your home to find good spots to instal cameras. Never forget to think about the camera’s field of view and how much space it can actually capture. Whether or not you need a second camera can be ascertained in this manner.
Cameras for home security should be installed after they are purchased. The majority of indoor cameras are either plug-and-play or run on batteries, making their installation a breeze.
Installing a doorbell camera does require some technical know-how, but most come with instructions and only take about an hour to set up. Depending on the camera’s field of view, you may need to rethink your prefered placement for the doorbell camera. You can usually place a camera right next to your door if it has a 180-degree field of view.
The installation of outdoor cameras is the most complex and time consuming option. Mounting outdoor cameras at a height of 11 feet provides adequate protection from direct sunlight. This places the camera beyond the reach of vandals and those who would seek to disable it, allowing for a more thorough capture of the area. It’s not low enough to miss out on important details like people’s faces.
Powering an outdoor camera is a necessity, so you’ll have to figure out how to do so. Even if you go with a PoE solution (Power over Ethernet), you’ll probably still need to run some wires, which means you’ll have to make some holes in your walls and crawl around in your attic. It could also be difficult to get your WiFi signal to your outdoor camera.
If the idea of installing security cameras in your home fills you with dread, know that many camera retailers, as well as home security providers like Vivint, offer professional installation services. Each fully-integrated intelligent home security system we sell comes with expert installation to guarantee proper setup and seamless operation of all components. That should give you a lot less stress and a greater sense of calm.
Getting the Most Out of Your Cameras
You should be able to use the cameras’ recording and streaming features once they’ve been set up. Think about the advice below if you want to get the most out of your cameras.
- You’ll need a lot of space to keep all of the videos. This is dependent on the specific camera model. Some can store recordings locally on a hard drive for a predetermined amount of time before uploading them to the cloud. When it comes to data storage, others use a card that can be removed. Don’t let yourself lose precious video footage by neglecting to regularly back it up on your computer or mobile device.
- Adjust the controls to perfection. Many home security cameras have settings that can be modified, giving you control over when and for how long your camera records. If you’re going to have to sift through a lot of irrelevant footage, continuous recording might not be the best option. When motion is detected, or at a set time of day, many cameras can be set to automatically start recording.
- Put in place alerts. Not having to keep an eye on your camera feed is one of the most significant advantages of smart cameras. Make sure you know whenever a new video is being recorded by setting up push notifications on your phone.
- Make sure your cameras are spotless at all times. The lenses of outdoor and doorbell cameras often become clouded with a thin layer of dust or water. Regularly use a fresh microfiber cloth to dust off and polish your camera.
What Are Some Other Ways to Prevent Burglary?
Installing a home security system with motion detectors, glass-break detectors, and a connection to a monitoring station so that the police can be notified even when you’re not there is one of the best ways to deter burglaries. Installing virtual physical security devices like padlocks, door and window locks, grates, bars, and bolts on any accessible entries is an inexpensive way to deter burglars. When resources are limited, security experts recommend investing in hardware like a security door brace to keep intruders from kicking in the door. As an alternative, you can instal a transparent security film on your window panes to make them more robust against breakage.
Bright lights can serve as a deterrent as well. Motion-activated outdoor lighting or lighting set to turn on at dusk and off at dawn can keep your home well-lit and make it more difficult for a burglar to remain undetected. If you want to get rid of hiding places, one way to do that is to keep your landscaping neat and trimmed.
Theft can be reduced by keeping outward signs of occupancy even when you’re not there. You can do this in a number of ways, such as by cancelling newspaper and package deliveries while you’re away and using automated shades and programmed bright lighting to make it look like someone is home. It’s also helpful to have a dog that barks a lot (even if it’s not particularly large).
Keep your vigilance over your home or establishment around the clock with Security Systems’ extensive range of security access control system services.
Conclusion
The best way to ensure the safety of your home and belongings is with a home security camera system. A building with visible surveillance equipment is less likely to be broken into. The cameras in your home security system can be set to start recording automatically in response to events you define. In addition to keeping an eye out for intruders, home security cameras have a wide range of other potential applications. Continuous video recording is possible, as is recording only when motion is detected.
If your camera is hacked, the data it records could be viewed by anyone with access to the network. It is essential to find a surveillance camera that can fulfil your needs. There are three main types to look out for: exterior cameras, doorbells, and individual rooms. Adding outdoor cameras to a home security system is a common practise. As a result, many elect to put up multiple systems, one for each potential entryway.
Having an extra set of eyes in your home, such as a surveillance camera, is a great way to feel secure, especially if you have young children or active pets. Thanks to technological advancements, video cameras have gotten better in terms of quality, recording capacity, and, most importantly, price. It’s crucial to consider whether you’d prefer wired or wireless cameras. Surveillance cameras’ applications extend far beyond that of simple home safety. Having them around will allow you to rest assured that your children are safe even when you can’t be there.
In the event of a break-in, a high-definition surveillance camera will prove invaluable. Home security cameras can be purchased for as little as $50 or as much as $1,000. After purchasing surveillance cameras, the next step is to have them set up. Most indoor cameras are either completely plug-and-play or operate on batteries, making installation a breeze. Using cameras in the outside world is the most difficult and time consuming alternative.
An aerial view of your house can be found on Google Maps, most likely. Keeping all of the videos would require a large amount of storage space. Until they are uploaded to the cloud, some recorders can keep your files locally on a hard drive. Professional installation is included with the purchase of every intelligent home security system we offer. You can often alter your home security camera’s settings to determine when and for how long it records.
Many cameras have an automatic recording feature that begins when motion is detected or at a predetermined time of day. Set up push notifications on your phone to alert you whenever a new video is being recorded. Theft can be avoided if visible signs of occupancy are maintained even when no one is home. The installation of virtual physical security devices is a low-cost method of deterring intruders. Outdoor lighting that turns on when it gets dark and off when it gets light is a great way to ensure your home is always well-lit.
Content Summary
- Live and recorded footage from home security cameras keep you informed at all times.
- In the end, a home security system that includes security cameras is the most effective way to keep your property safe.
- We advise you to activate the camera’s privacy settings immediately.
- Selecting an outdoor camera that records quality video without being visually obtrusive to your home is a top priority.
- Hidden cameras, nanny cams, and other varieties of indoor surveillance equipment have been around for quite some time.
- You can see how your furry friends are doing from the comfort of your office with a home security camera system.
- In this situation, a high-definition surveillance camera will come in handy.
- Prior to making a purchase, you should plan out the optimal locations for your home security cameras.
- Take a look around the outside of your home to find good spots to instal cameras.
- Depending on the camera’s field of view, you may need to rethink your prefered placement for the doorbell camera.
- Think about the advice below if you want to get the most out of your cameras.
- You’ll need a lot of space to keep all of the videos.
- When it comes to data storage, others use a card that can be removed.
- Adjust the controls to perfection.
- Put in place alerts.
- Make sure your cameras are spotless at all times.
- Installing virtual physical security devices like padlocks, door and window locks, grates, bars, and bolts on any accessible entries is an inexpensive way to deter burglars.
- If you want to get rid of hiding places, one way to do that is to keep your landscaping neat and trimmed.
FAQs About Home Security
Is It Better to Have a Security System or Cameras?
The most notable difference between security and CCTV systems is that security systems are more comprehensive. Many security systems include camera systems or at least video doorbells. But they also track potential intruders through sensors and detectors, not just by sight.
Are Indoor or Outdoor Cameras Better?
The only difference between indoor and outdoor security cameras is that they can help the outdoor camera detect motion from further away. The indoor security cameras should be able to see movement when anyone enters a room.
Do Outdoor Cameras Deter Burglars?
Security cameras will generally deter and reduce burglary. If you install a security camera, your home is 300 % safer from break-ins than a home without a camera. Criminals don’t want to be watched, or recorded-this is one of the major reasons they are so effective.
Do Security Cameras Attract Thieves?
Security cameras don’t attract burglars to your property, but at the same time, they probably won’t keep burglars away from your property. More than likely, your security camera will go unnoticed by burglars. Here’s the bottom line: security cameras, for the most part, aren’t designed to deter crime.
Is It Better to Have Wired or Wireless Security Cameras?
While wireless cameras have their benefits, including ease of installation and flexibility, we recommend wired security camera systems for most cases due to their reliability and security. That being said, whichever camera you choose will depend on your personal security needs.
