How to Choose the Right Security Camera for Your Home or Business

Picking a camera comes down to five things: where it goes, what you need to see, how much light there is, how it gets power and network, and how long you need to keep the video. Here is how we walk customers through it.

1. Pick the right shape for the spot

• Dome: low profile and vandal resistant. Good for lobbies, hallways and ceilings within reach.
• Turret (eyeball): easy to aim, no IR glare off a bubble. Our go-to for eaves and soffits.
• Bullet: long reach and a visible deterrent. Good for driveways, fence lines and parking lots.
• Fisheye / 360°: one camera covers a whole room from the ceiling.
• Multisensor: 3 or 4 cameras in one housing. Covers a building corner or large lot with one cable.

2. Resolution: more pixels isn’t always better

4MP is the sweet spot for most homes and small businesses: sharp detail without huge storage needs. Step up to 4K (8MP) when you need to identify faces or plates farther away. In very low light, a good 4MP camera often beats a cheap 4K one.

3. Lens: wide view or detail

• Fixed 2.8mm: wide view (about 100°). Great for overviews and rooms.
• Fixed 4mm–6mm: narrower view with more detail at a distance.
• Motorized varifocal: zoom and focus remotely during setup. Best when you need to frame a doorway or register exactly.

4. Night performance

Look at the IR range in the spec sheet and match it to the distance you need to cover. If you want color video at night, choose a camera built for low light (ColorVu, LumiLux, Lightfinder) or one with a white-light illuminator.

5. Power, network and recording

Professional IP cameras run on a single network cable using PoE (Power over Ethernet). Plan for an NVR or a video management system with enough channels and storage. A simple rule: a 4MP camera recording 24/7 with H.265 uses roughly 20–40 GB per day, so 30 days on 8 cameras needs about 5–10 TB.

6. Commercial and government sites

If your site is a bank, cannabis facility, school or government building, ask for NDAA-compliant equipment and check your industry’s retention and coverage rules before you buy.

Need help choosing?

Browse our camera store or request an install quote and we’ll design the system for your site.