Buying a home security camera is something every homeowner should consider. It goes a long way to the overall security of your home and helps you identify an offender if something happens in your home.
The problem is that you have many different models on the market. This makes choosing the right one a daunting task. And this is especially true if you’re not really well-versed in the industry because it’s easy to fall for marketing tricks and pay for something you won’t use, or get a subpar camera.
That’s why we have a buying guide for you. We’ll talk about a few things that will certainly help you choose the right camera, and we’ll discuss the features that are worth paying a little extra for. Now, without wasting any more of your time, let’s take a look at the things you need to consider when buying a home security camera.
You need more than one
This is the first thing you need to consider because it will have a big impact on your buying decision, especially if you are looking at your budget. A single camera may be good for one room, but you don’t have just one room, do you? You have a few rooms inside, and you want a camera or two outside as well.
Therefore, make sure your budget accounts for multiple cameras. To add to that, the ones you use outdoors need to be more robust and somewhat waterproof, so they can even be a bit more expensive.
Note the resolution
The resolution is the most important thing from the specification, because it directly affects the quality of the video you get from the camera. Fortunately, where higher resolution cameras used to be expensive at one point, they are now quite reasonably priced, so you can get good resolution.
The bare minimum you should go for is 720p, or 1280 x 720. This is considered HD, and anything below that should be avoided. However, if you can, go for 1080p, which is 1920 x 1080. As you’ll notice, this has quite a few more pixels than 720p, which translates directly into more captured detail and better footage. A higher resolution like this lets you distinguish faces more easily, which can be crucial.
Now you come across cameras that have even higher resolutions, such as 4K. While this means even more detail, chances are you’ll be overpaying quite a bit for such a camera, and it’s rarely worth it.
The field of view is also important
This relates to the multiple camera factor. Each camera comes with its field of view, which is indicated in degrees and tells you how much of the room it captures. A wider field of view means that a single camera captures a larger portion of the room. Therefore, if you have a large room, you can either have more cameras with a narrower field of view or fewer cameras with a wider field of view.
In any case, it’s a smart call to go for a camera that has a wide field of view. There is a downside as a wide field of view often results in some loss of quality at the edges, but the alternative is either multiple cameras, which is expensive, or a camera with a rotating head, which is also expensive. In any case, it is not worth it.
Note any additional features
The last thing you want to note with a security camera for your home is the addition of extra features. Lately, we’re seeing a trend with wireless cameras that don’t require an Ethernet connection and don’t use a video feed cable, but instead transfer data wirelessly. This is useful for indoors, but you may notice a loss of quality if you opt for such cameras outdoors.
Another thing you’ll notice is two-way audio. Not only can you record audio (but note the legality of this, as it is not allowed everywhere), but you can also talk through the camera, as it has a built-in speaker. This can come in handy when you want to scare someone.
Within “Extra Features” you will also find intelligent integration with other devices, and this is something that is actually worth investing in. If you already have smart home devices, getting a smart or “connected” camera that integrates with them can be very useful.
Pack things up
At the end of the day, a security camera is the core of any home security system and it’s definitely worth investing a little extra. Hopefully, with the things we talked about above, you can choose the right camera for your needs.