Tips on Choosing a Security Camera (From Someone Who's Owned a Few)

If you're looking to buy into a security camera ecosystem, it's easy to fixate on resolution or night vision. But take it from someone who has gone through multiple systems, there are other factors to consider as well before investing your time and money, or drilling permanent holes in your building.

Don't Overlook Image Bandwidth

It goes without saying that image quality should be part of the consideration when looking at cameras. Resolution plays a big role in picture clarity, especially when trying to discern critical details. However, before you go all-in on resolution, understand that there is another easily overlooked cost besides the initial outlay for the camera itself: bandwidth.

There's no getting around it, if you want to store recordings online, higher definition will place greater demands on your internet bandwidth. To keep your bandwidth in check, be strategic about where you need higher resolution.

I made the mistake of maxing out with 4K cameras everywhere and I hit my ISP's monthly data cap. It was either pay my ISP for unlimited data or dial back my camera's video quality. I chose the former since I had already installed multiple cameras capable of high-definition recording.

Check How the Night Vision Works

All the cameras I have used offered effective night vision capabilities that were not very differentiated between brands and models. That said, how they saw in the dark may be important to you.

All cameras with night vision use an unobtrusive array of infrared lights to illuminate their subject, but models that feature color night vision also have a motion-activated spotlight. Some higher end cameras even have sensors and optics that can deliver full color video at night without resorting to a spotlight.

Once again, how you choose will depend on what your priorities are. Would you rather scare off a would-be intruder with a spotlight or clandestinely record them?

Cameras by themselves already pose a sizable investment, but you may need to pay for a recurring subscription plan to take full advantage of their advanced features and view recorded footage, or even to use the camera at all.

Without a subscription plan or local storage (built into the camera or in a centralized hub), you will only be able to view live footage. In practice, this means that unless you're already actively viewing the feed or open those notifications right away, you may miss the action entirely.

Smart features like automatically identifying people, objects, and sounds are often activated as part of a storage plan subscription (even the most basic tier). Plans are priced based on camera count and video storage duration, and most offer a tier that covers all cameras in your home.

Look at the pricing tiers offered by the provider and make sure they have one that will fit your needs. Some may offer longer storage periods than others or have tiers that scale better as your camera counts go up.

Consider How the Cameras Record

Depending on the manufacturer, cameras will either be recording continuously or only when motion or sound is detected. This will determine how you interact with your recorded footage, which falls into two general styles: a timeline you swipe through or a list of clips that you tap to view.

Having used both, I prefer using continuously recording cameras for a couple of reasons:

Using an event list is a clunky process as there will be a delay between clicking on an entry and starting the footage. These small delays can add up if you need to click on multiple items before finding the footage you want. I've had it where a camera didn't detect an event, meaning it was never recorded. This wouldn't have been the case with a continuously recording camera. (To be fair, this may have been due to how my detection zones were configured, but I'll never know.)

Whether or not you have a preference, it's worth taking some time to get to know the apps behind each camera system, since that is where you will be spending your time interacting with them.

Look at Options for Powering the Cameras

One area that is often overlooked is what power sources the camera ecosystem can use. This is particularly critical with outdoor cameras, where you may not have the same access to power for all locations. You can generally choose between plug-in, hard-wired, battery-operated, or solar-powered cameras. Below are some pros and cons to consider for each:

A camera with great image quality does you no good if the camera's subject is long gone before you can load the footage. So be sure to see how quickly live views are accessible.

With my second system, I missed several deliveries because the video loaded so slowly that the driver had already left by the time I hit the answer button. Unfortunately, too few online reviews touch on loading speed, but you can find or ask for anecdotal experiences through forums like Reddit.

Assess the Effectiveness of Smart Notifications

Lastly, consider how good the system's smart notifications are. Can the camera distinguish between people, animals, packages, or vehicles? Being able to categorize objects or events allows for advanced filtering and notification capabilities that let you focus on what is important to you. But not all smart notifications are created equal.

In addition to looking at how many unique objects and events a system can identify, make sure they're also reliable. With my last system, I was inundated with vehicle alerts even though I specifically turned them off. That problem alone was enough to push me into looking at another system even though that meant replacing six cameras.

In closing, I hope that I have provided you with some important factors to consider when putting in a security camera system. In my experience, none are perfect, but with a good understanding of your use-cases and priorities, you can still find one that will delight you for years and years.