Security Cameras

We offer and install a variety of residential and commercial security camera systems, and we repair and expand existing systems. We design around what you actually need to see: walking the property first, working out the angles that matter, and picking equipment that suits the distances and the lighting.

Most of what we install is Ubiquiti's UniFi Protect, which is updated constantly and keeps adding products that integrate with it: doorbells, lights, and locks. It pairs with UniFi Access, so a door entry and the footage of it sit in one place. We also install Bosch cameras.

We also take on systems somebody else installed. If yours has cameras that stopped working, footage you cannot find, or an app nobody can log into, we can usually repair and expand what is already there instead of starting over.

A few things worth thinking about before you buy

Sensors and lenses

There are many brands and models of security camera and they are not all the same. The size and quality of the sensor makes a difference, and so does the lens. Good-quality plastic lenses give a good picture when new, but exposed to the sun they tend to degrade and yellow over time. Glass lenses last longer and hold their image quality. Better sensors and better lenses cost more.

Field of view

One of the main differences between cameras is field of view, the viewing angle. Most standard cameras are around 90 degrees, give or take, and that is usually a good starting point.

Where an area is wider or narrower there are options besides simply adding a second camera. But image quality has to be part of the decision: a wider field of view covers more ground, and at the same megapixel count it gives you less detail at the same distance. When detail matters, two cameras with a tighter field of view often beat one wide one.

There are specialty cameras that cover a full 360 degrees, though without more resolution you lose detail again. A PTZ (pan, tilt, zoom) camera lets you change the view remotely as needs change. As with most specialty products, they cost more. And there is a catch worth knowing: if a PTZ is covering something vital and someone swings it round to look at something else and does not put it back, you may miss the thing you bought it for.

Detection and analytics

What you intend to use the system for matters when you buy it. Most systems will notify you on motion. More sophisticated ones tell the difference between a person or a vehicle and a branch blowing in the wind, a bird, or an animal.

Sometimes you need more than that. Some systems count people in and out, so you know the occupancy at any time. Others can tell you something is blocking an emergency exit, or that a vehicle is parked in a fire lane. As you would expect, the more a system can tell you, the more it costs.

Ease of use

How often the system gets looked at, and how comfortable the person looking is with technology, makes a real difference to how you feel about it afterwards. Most brands have both a web interface and a mobile app for remote viewing. Some let you use third-party apps; others only work with their own.

Updates and future features

Some systems get little or no future development. Others improve steadily, adding features and refining the interface as time goes on. If having the latest functionality matters to you, that is worth weighing. Ubiquiti's UniFi Protect line is updated constantly, and they keep adding products that integrate with it: doorbells, lights, locks.

Reliability

A security camera is useless if it is not working when something happens. Some systems, connected to the internet, will alert you when a camera drops offline or a fault is detected. Ubiquiti's UniFi Protect line and Bosch both do this, though with Bosch there may be a fee involved.