Where to put the cameras.
Placement decides whether footage is evidence or just something that happened on screen. A cheap camera in the right place beats an expensive one in the wrong one, every time.
- Every way inFront door, back door, side gate, the window nobody thinks about. Entrances are where identification happens.
- The approach, not just the doorA camera watching the path gives you somebody walking towards it for several seconds, instead of the top of a head.
- Where the vehicles areThe driveway or the lane, framed for the plate if you want it read.
- Where the value isThe shed, the stock room, the tills, the server cupboard.
- Around 2.5 to 3 mHigh enough to be out of easy reach, low enough to get a face. Mount it at 4 m and you photograph scalps.
- Keep it close to levelThe flatter the angle, the more of a face or a plate you see. A steep downward view is the most common self-inflicted failure.
- Do not point into the sunA camera facing east or west will be blinded twice a day. Check the view at the times of day that matter.
- Mind the infrared bounceA wall, a fence or a porch roof close in front of the lens reflects the camera's own infrared and washes out the picture at night.
- Under cover where you canA camera out of the rain stays clean, and a clean lens is worth more than a higher specification.
- One camera trying to cover everythingA wide view of a whole yard identifies nobody. Two narrower views beat one panorama.
- Including the neighbour's propertyPoint cameras at your own ground. It avoids a dispute and cuts false alerts at the same time.
- Mounting where the cable is easyConvenient rarely coincides with useful.
- Not checking at nightLook at every camera after dark before you call the job finished. That is when it will be needed.
Plate cameras follow different rules: a tight view of the lane, a low angle, a fast shutter and infrared close to the lens. The LPR setup guide covers the camera, lens and illumination properly.
Quick answers.
How many cameras do I need?
Start with the ways in, then the places value sits. Most homes are well covered by three or four; a shop usually wants the door, the till and the stock room.
Should cameras be hidden or visible?
Visible cameras deter; hidden cameras record what happens when somebody is not deterred. Most sites want both, and laws on recording vary, so check what applies locally.
Indoor cameras through a window?
It rarely works at night — the infrared reflects off the glass and blinds the camera. Either turn the IR off and rely on room light, or mount outside.
Try it on one camera.
The free license is the complete program — recording, alerts, plate recognition, QR reading and access control. It does not expire.