6 Best Security Cameras 2019

We did the research and talked to professionals in the safety industry to help bring you everything you want to know to choose the very best security cameras to your business. Belowwe cover security cameras and security camera systems that you (or a contractor) can set up yourself. They do not include using an alarm system or a security firm monitoring the feeds.

If your business has high security dangers, we recommend a full safety system. ADT can safeguard your establishment with video surveillance, burglary monitoring, panic buttons, and a number of other services that will help safeguard your assets. Click here to get a free quote.

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If your business has complicated security requirements, we recommend a complete safety system.

You will almost certainly have cameras pointed at your cash registers. For an additional layer of safety, make sure you’re using a POS which has an integrated inventory management system. We advocate Lightspeed for their excellent theft-prevention tools like live-tracking stock amounts and images that make it clear what item is attached to which barcode. Click here to begin a free trial.

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Best Security Camera Systems for Small Firms

To begin with, we have chosen the very best security camera systems at multiple price points from budget-friendly to high-end. These include multiple cameras that link to a DVR or NVR to record and save their footage. In case you’ve got a bigger space to track from several angles, a safety camera system may be the best solution to suit your requirements.

We are going to explore the technical details more in depth below.

Customer Rating	4.0	4.0	3.6
Client Reviews	3,046	254	5
Indoor Use	✔	✔	✔
Topical Use	✔	✔	✔
IP Rating	IP66	IP66	IP66
Resolution	480p SD	1080p HD	1080p HD
Field of View	Bullet 75°	Bullet 85° Dome 98°	130° – 20°
Night Vision	✔	✔	✔
Motion Sensing	✔	✔	✔
DVR/NVR	DVR	NVR	NVR
Onboard Storage	500GB	2TB	2TB
Cloud Storage	✔ (additional )	✕	✔
Mobile App	✔	✔	✔
Alerts/Notifications	✔	✔	✔

Greatest Standalone Security Cameras for Small Businesses

Next, we have chosen the very best standalone security cameras for small companies at comparable price points. These cameras are usually plug-and-play and comprise internal storage via MicroSD cards or cloud storage in newer models. If you’ve got a smaller space to monitor with few angles, then a standalone safety camera could be the best solution for your needs.

We are going to discuss the technical details more in depth below.

Customer Rating	4.1	4.0	4.0
Client Reviews	4,784	107	4,221
Indoor Use	✔	✔	✔
Topical Use	✕	✔	✕
IP Rating	N/A	IP66	N/A
Resolution	720p HD	1080p HD	1080p HD
Field of View	78°	78°	130°
Two-Way Audio	✔	✔	✔
Wireless	✕	✔	✕
WiFi Enabled	✔	✔	✔
Night Vision	✔	✔	✔
Motion Sensing	✔	✔	✔
Onboard Storage	MicroSD up to 32GB	MicroSD up to 128GB	✕
Cloud Storage	✕	✕	✔
Mobile App	✔	✔	✔
Alerts/Notifications	✔	✔	✔

Common Features of Security Cameras

It can be tricky to compare security camera choices if you are unfamiliar with the technical terms used to explain them. Many of the technical characteristics are only applicable for very specific demands, so it helps to down them to the most useful ones for most small companies.

Below are a few of the most important terms to get familiar with until you compare your alternatives.

Indoor vs. Outdoor

The primary differences between indoor and outdoor cameras would be their light and distance requirements and protection against the elements.

The International Protection code (aka IP code, aka Ingress Protection code) rates cameras on how protected they are from dust/grit (rated 0-6) and just how secure they are from humidity/water (rated 0-8). The rating lists the dust amount initially and liquid number second, so the rating will read IP24, IP67, etc.. The greater the number, the greater your safety camera will have the ability to stand up to the elements.

Keep in mind that although many indoor cameras can’t be used outside, many outside cameras are acceptable for both indoor and outdoor usage.

Dust/Grit (1st IP Number)		Humidity/Water (2nd IP Number)
Rating	Protection	Rating	Safety
0	No protection provided	0	No protection provided
1	guard against 50 mm bigger objects, such as the back of the hands, etc..	1	Protects against dripping water
two	Protects against >12.5 mm objects how big hands, etc..	Two	shield against vertically dripping water when tilted up to 15° from its regular place
3	Protects against >2.5 millimeter objects like most gear, thicker wires, etc..	3	shield against water falling (spray or drip ) at angles of 60° or less
4	Protects against >1 millimeter objects, like many wires, many insects, etc..	4	Protects against splashing water from any direction
5	Dust-protected — dust Isn’t totally prevented from entering, but it won’t allow in enough to damage the gear	5	shield against water sprayed from a nozzle out of any direction
6	Dust-tight — no dust may get in	6	Protects against water sprayed from a jet from any way
		7	Protects against immersion in water up to 1 m (low pressure)
		8	Protects against immersion in water of greater than 1 m (higher pressure)

Resolution

There are two chief factors which lead to a camera’s picture quality: resolution and frames per minute. However, for the purposes of the review, we concentrated on the settlement as it’s the most commonly promoted and understood measure.

A camera’s resolution is based on the number of pixels it captures to write its own images. This is the same concept as with our televisions, but cameras are the input whereas televisions will be the output. Standard resolution is 480p, HD begins at 720p, and total HD is considered 1080p. The pixels from the image captured by your safety camera, the better the picture will be. However, that extra information will also take up more memory .

Field of View (FOV)

The camera FOV steps the area that it is able to see and catch. The wider the angle, the more it can see; nonetheless, the longer it could see, the more detail that the image will have. Furthermore, the narrower the angle, the less it will have the ability to see; nonetheless, the less it can see, the further detail the image will have.

Night Vision

Being able to capture usable images in low to no light conditions is essential to ensure absolute security for your company. Infrared security cameras have LED lights placed around the edge of the camera lens, adding surrounding light which significantly increases the quality of the picture it captures.

Motion Sensing

Cameras with movement sensing can utilize this feature in a few ways:

• They will Start recording just when they detect movement, which conserves memory space since the camera will not be recording when there is nothing to record
• They’ll send an alert by email, text, or push notification through a smartphone app when motion is detected and you can view the video feed if your camera is also equipped with remote access
• When detected, the source of the motion can be tracked and focused on by the camera to Improve the image quality

Storage

Gone are the times of security cameras recording their footage to bodily videotapes, which are then cataloged away and/or recorded over. Modern security cameras typically save their footage in one of three ways:

DVR/NVR

A digital video recorder (DVR) and network video recorder (NVR) largely differ in the number of cameras that may be linked to them. NVRs are more scalable, allowing more cameras to be connected to every one and added NVRs to be added to your system.

However, in both scenarios, the footage from the cameras is saved on a physical hard disk found in the DVR or NVR. The bigger the hard drive’s capability, the more footage that may be stored on it.

MicroSD Cards

MicroSD cards are the same as those you might already be familiar with from digital cameras. They are little cards, often the size of a postage stamp or smaller, which inserts into the security camera directly. The benefit of this type of storage is that it’s relatively cheap, dependable, and simple to keep the physical cards as soon as they’re full. The drawback of using this as a main method is that your data’s security is directly linked to the camera’s security. Loss through theft, injury, or tampering has been increased.

Cloud Storage

Cloud storage is the most modern method of storage. In reality, you may already be knowledgeable about the concept if you use services such as Dropbox or Google Drive at your business.

Security cameras are linked to the internet, either directly or via a central hub if part of a bigger system and also their footage is automatically uploaded to the internet and stored. This can be utilized as your primary storage method or as a backup for additional onsite storage, like a DVR. When the footage is saved online, you can get it from anywhere and it’s safe from any loss through theft, accident, or tampering at your business.

10 Questions to Ask Before Installing Security Cameras — Advice from the Experts

We spoke with Scot MacTaggart, Product Manager for Security
in PSX, a national security company. Aside from his over 12 years of industry experience, he shared with us the best ten questions a business owner should inquire prior to installing security cameras.

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1. Why am I doing this?

Is it realistic to expect this investment to repay? Video is very good for grabbing a thieving employee, but grabbing strangers is harder. Many small business owners get their hopes up that the police can identify and arrest suspects with video. That is not always the situation.

2. Is there enough light in the regions I’m watching?

Yes, many cameras have night vision capabilities, but night vision still misses a lot of detail.

3. Are we doing enough to reduce or discourage crime?

Better natural sight lines, better morale, electronic access control, each one of these things reduce crime. Any of these choices are far better than taking a reduction than attempting to recover from it.

4. What can I afford?

Budget is an uncomfortable question for a whole lot of individuals. The dilemma is that there is a system for each budget. Simply because you can afford it doesn’t mean it is the ideal system. Going back to functional and lenses details, a less costly system is made for broad perspectives, not fine details. If you need to capture the moment when someone is putting a stolen wallet in their pocket, a low-cost system likely won’t work.

5. How much will a reduction cost me?

It’s true that you hate graffiti, but just how much did it cost you? You’re already paying for the paint and the labor to apply it. Might it be worth hundreds or even thousands of dollars in video investment to grab a tagger?

6. Have I considered all the possible uses?

If you are buying a system to capture a vandal, the system may not pay for itself. However, maybe you are able to expand the system to get rid of time clock fraud, vending machine vandalism, and be certain that the sales floor is always covered in ordered to enhance the return on investment.

7. What do I have?

A good deal of times, this query is about cable and community resources. There’s a lot we can do in order to reuse existing wire and jacks these days.

8. How long will it take to notice a theft or loss?

If your video proof overwrites itself every 3 days, you’d better be sure you don’t ever close to get a three day weekend.

9. How can I group up with my landlord and neighbors?

Even though it is currently less expensive than ever, video is still pricey for most small businesses. Talk to the neighbors and landlord prior to committing to a go-it-alone plan.

10. Do I have a good region to install the storage?

For optimum stability and life, the storage area should be approximately 70 levels, 50% humidity. The location shouldn’t be so clear that an intruder can quickly find and destroy your video proof.

Bottom Line on Greatest Security Cameras

Security camera technology has advanced significantly in the past few years. Nowadays, most consumer and small business models are plug-and-play and easily installed with a wide assortment of alternatives available for many needs.

If your location or type of business requires more high-risk safety, or you want to incorporate different systems such as an alert, then click here to get a free quote from ADT.

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