How to Choose a CCTV Camera for Your Shop or Office

A surveillance system is only as good as the cameras behind it. Whether you are protecting a single shop or a multi-storey office, a few decisions made at the start determine how useful your footage will be later.

Analogue HD or IP?

Turbo HD (analogue) cameras connect over coaxial cable to a DVR and are the budget-friendly choice for small premises, with 2 MP and 5 MP models widely available. IP cameras send video over your network to an NVR, support higher resolutions, and make it easy to add cameras later. If you already have structured network cabling, IP is normally the better long-term investment.

Resolution and low-light performance

Two megapixels is enough to recognise faces at a shop counter; four or five megapixels helps when a camera covers a wide car park or a warehouse aisle. For night coverage, cameras with white-light or ColorVu-style sensors keep colour detail after dark, which matters when you need to identify a vehicle or clothing.

Where to place cameras

• Entrances and exits, facing people as they enter.
• Cash counters and stock rooms.
• Corridors and stairwells in offices.
• Outdoor approaches, using IP66 or IP67 rated housings.

Storage and remote viewing

Plan recorder capacity around the number of cameras, resolution and how many days you must keep footage; a surveillance-grade hard drive such as the Toshiba S300 is designed for continuous recording. Most modern recorders offer a mobile app so owners can check the premises from anywhere.

Our engineers survey the site, recommend the right mix of Hikvision, Dahua or TP-Link VIGI cameras and handle installation. See our CCTV range.