IP cameras

How to choose an IP camera

A wired IP camera is the workhorse of CCTV: the PoE cable carries both power and picture and recording goes to an NVR. Choose the housing by location, the resolution by distance and the night mode by available light.

• Resolution and lens. 4 MP is the sensible minimum today, 5–6 MP gives a readable face at 10–15 m, 8 MP or 4K suits a wide yard. A 2.8 mm lens sees wide, 3.6 mm narrower and further; a motorised 2.7–13.5 mm zoom (Z suffix) lets you change the view later.
• Housing. A bullet camera is a visible deterrent for a facade, a dome with IK10 glass withstands vandals, a turret or eyeball is the easiest to aim and has no infrared reflections. A PTZ camera pans and zooms 25× to cover a car park.
• Night vision. Infrared sees in the dark in black and white for 30–80 m. A dual-light model (Dahua Smart Dual Light, IL suffix) switches on a white LED on motion and records in colour at night.
• AI analytics. Person and vehicle detection (Dahua WizSense, TP-Link VIGI, Ubiquiti) keeps cats and branches out of your alerts.
• Weatherproofing. Outdoors choose an IP67 housing and an operating temperature of –30 °C or lower; an Estonian winter is harder on a camera than rain.
• Compatibility. A camera and NVR from the same maker set themselves up automatically; over ONVIF a camera joins another system, but AI alerts may not come through. Ubiquiti cameras work only with UniFi Protect.

IP cameras in our range

The core of the range is Dahua: bullet cameras HFW1xxx–HFW5xxx from 2 to 12 MP, dome cameras in the HDBW series with IK10 glass, turret cameras HDW2xxx–HDW5xxx, versions with WizSense and WizMind analytics, Smart Dual Light and WizColor models with full-colour night mode, PTZ cameras in the SD series at 4–8 MP with 25× zoom, PT domes for the home, the ITC413 ANPR camera, the TPC hybrid thermal camera and the EBW 360° fisheye. Axis covers the premium end: M30 mini domes, M31 and M32 outdoor domes, P14 bullets up to 8 MP. Ajax DomeCam Mini 5 and 8 MP, BulletCam 5 MP and IndoorCam slot into the Ajax alarm system. Ubiquiti UniFi Protect G5 Flex, G5 Turret Ultra, G5 PTZ, G6 Turret 4K and G6 Pro 360 at 12 MP; TP-Link VIGI C340S, S345, S385 and S245ZI at 4–8 MP; Imou PS3E, PS7F and PS8D PoE cameras for the home.

Brands

Dahua is the standard in professional CCTV, with a model for every budget, and works with Dahua NVRs with no setup. Axis is the Swedish top tier: the best image quality and cyber security, priced accordingly. Ajax cameras are the logical choice when the alarm is already Ajax. Ubiquiti UniFi Protect offers the most elegant app and licence-free recording, TP-Link VIGI the cheapest way to build a 4K PoE system and Imou simple home surveillance.

Related products

A camera needs an NVR recorder and a 24/7 hard drive; power comes from a PoE switch. If no cable can be run, see wireless cameras. The full selection is in video surveillance.

Frequently asked questions

Does a camera work without an NVR? Yes, most record to a microSD card and show the picture in the app. An NVR is needed for a longer archive and viewing several cameras.

How long a cable can I run to a PoE camera? The standard allows 100 m of Cat5e or Cat6 cable. A switch with an extended PoE mode reaches 250 m at a lower speed.

Dome or bullet? A bullet is visible and deters; a dome is vandal-resistant and hides where it points. A turret sits in between: easy to aim.

How many megapixels for face recognition? Recognition needs about 250 pixels per metre: a 4 MP camera with a 2.8 mm lens manages up to 5 m, an 8 MP one up to 8–10 m.

How quickly does a camera arrive? A camera ships as a small parcel: to an Omniva, DPD or Venipak parcel locker in 1–2 working days.