BUYING GUIDE

Video surveillance,
done right.

A five-step guide to picking cameras, recorder and installation without regrets. Written for people who buy once — no fluff, just the decisions that actually move the needle.

  • Goal: deterrence, evidence, or live alerts
  • Sizing by entry points (not square metres)
  • Lens, IP/IK and AI features: when they actually matter
  • Italian regulations in four lines
PERSON · 98%REC · 4K · 2.8mmACUSENSE · IP67 · IK10
BUYING GUIDE

Choose the right video-surveillance system

Five decisions that matter more than the price. Spend 4 minutes here, save twice that on installation.

  1. Define the goal

    Deterrence, legal evidence, or live alerts — each goal needs different tech. Decide first, buy second.

    • Deterrence — visible bullets or domes. The deterrent is that they’re seen.
    • Evidence — 4 MP+ with ColorVu so footage stays in colour at night and faces/plates are readable.
    • Live alerts — AcuSense / AcuSeek. The camera tells people from vehicles and only alerts on real events.

  2. Size the coverage

    Count entry points, not square meters. A 200 m² villa with one gate needs fewer cameras than an 80 m² shop with a vitrine, door, and back room.

    • Small — 2–4 cameras, 4-channel NVR. Apartment, single office.
    • Medium — 4–8 cameras, 8-channel NVR with PoE. Shop, house, professional studio.
    • Large — 8–16 cameras, 16-channel NVR + dedicated PoE switch. Warehouse, condominium, hotel.

  3. Indoor or outdoor?

    The environment decides the camera body. Get it wrong and you’re replacing it after the first winter.

    • Outdoor — IP66 or IP67 mandatory, −40 °C to +60 °C operating range, metal body.
    • Anti-vandal — IK10 (rated for direct impacts). For car parks, lifts, public entrances.
    • Indoor — discreet domes, clean design. Most aren’t IP-rated — don’t mount them outside, even under cover.

  4. Resolution & smart features

    More megapixels doesn’t mean better. What matters is the combination of resolution, sensor, and AI features.

    • 2 MP (1080p) — standard, fine for overview and deterrence. Modest storage.
    • 4–6 MP — the 2026 sweet spot. Readable face/plate detail within 10 m, reasonable file sizes.
    • 8 MP+ (4K) — only where it really matters: commercial entrances, car parks, dense retail.
    • ColorVu — full-colour at 0.001 lux. Changes legal value: a plate unreadable in B/W becomes readable.
    • AcuSense / AcuSeek — 90 % fewer false alerts (no leaves, animals, rain). Saves time and sanity.

  5. Recorder & storage

    The recorder isn’t an afterthought — it decides how many days of footage you keep. Under-sizing it is the most common mistake.

    • NVR channels — always +25 % over today’s camera count (room for tomorrow’s additions).
    • Built-in PoE — powers IP cams through the data cable. No wall adapters, much cleaner install.
    • Hard drive — rule of thumb: 1 TB ≈ 7 days of continuous 4 MP H.265+ recording. For 30 days budget 4 TB+.

Italian regulations — at a glance

  • Mandatory signage before the recorded area (GDPR + Italian Privacy Authority 2010 ruling).
  • Max 24 h retention by default; longer needs a documented reason (theft, insurance dispute, etc.).
  • Workplace cameras — union agreement or Labour Inspectorate authorisation required (art. 4 L. 300/1970).
  • Neighbour’s private areas — never frame them, even accidentally. Use privacy masks in setup.
Not sure?

Send us your floor plan on WhatsApp. We reply with a proposal the same day.

VISUAL REFERENCE

Lens & height: what actually matters

Rule of thumb: pick the right lens first, megapixels second. A 2.8 mm wide-angle with 8 MP doesn’t replace the correct lens — zooming in can’t recover detail that was never captured.

Focal length → field of view

The shorter the focal length, the wider the angle — but the shorter the usable range.

STREETFENCEHOUSE10m20m30m40m50m2.8 mm4 mm6 mm8 mm12 mmCAM
LensAngleUseful rangeTypical use
2.8 mm110°3–5 mYards, wide rooms
4 mm85°5–8 mEntries, small lots
6 mm55°8–15 mHallways, single doors
8 mm40°15–30 mStreets, perimeters
12 mm25°30–50 mPlates, long range

Mounting height & angle (CEI)

Practical rule: 2.5–4 m height, ≤ 30° tilt. Above that, you lose faces.

2.5-4m≤30°Blind spotFace readable
  • Height 2.5–4 m. Above 4 m you lose faces; below 2.5 m the camera is reachable.
  • Vertical angle ≤ 30°. Steeper = unreadable faces.
  • Avoid direct backlight (sun, headlights). Even ColorVu fails in extreme backlight.
  • 1–2 m blind spot directly below the camera. Don’t mount over the entry point.
FREE TOOL

Which lens does your camera need?

Pick what you need to see and where the camera goes: we tell you the right focal length, the field of view and whether the pixels are truly enough — no formulas needed.

What do you need to see?

Where does the camera go?

Advanced: sensor size

Your result

10 m6 m33°
8.5 mmSuggested focal length
8 mmStandard lens
33°Field of view
427 px/mPixel density
Identification

A 4 MP (2560×1440) camera with a 8 mm lens lets you recognize a person at 10 m.

Browse 4 MP cameras with 9 mm lensAsk an expert

Indicative calculation per EN 62676-4, default 1/2.8″ sensor. Real-world results depend on light, mounting angle and lens quality.

NEXT STEP

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