Learn about camera system options (Simplified)

There are so many options when it comes to camera systems so when someone asks how much does a camera system or a camera cost is it just like answering “How much does a car cost” The answer is it depends on brand, model, features, size and more.

Contact Larry at 801 898 6003 Larry@peakalarm.com for any questions or corrections. Larry has been in the industry for over 25 years. Larry has been certified with AXIS cameras and taken many training courses over the years. Camera technology is getting better every few months.

Basic types of camera systems 101:

WIFI cameras - These are getting better every year although if your WIFI goes out you have issues and cannot see the cameras. The typical WIFI cameras we use are ALARM.COM WIFI cameras and these have analytics.

WIFI cameras cost an extra $10-13 per month for 1-4 cameras and $8-12 per month for the recorder if you get a SVR recorder for your WIFI cameras whereas the hardwired cameras do not have a monthly fee unless you want Peak to provide an extended warranty. Some times WIFI cameras are a great option for what you need to do.

When you purchase WIFI cameras with your security system the costs can be reduced by signing up on a 36 month agreement. When we sell hardwired systems without the extended warranty there is no monthly payment so they are not subsidized.

HARDWIRED CAMERA SYSTEMS

Hardwired camera systems: Within this option you have different brands and some of the brands Peak Alarm installs are AXIS, Avigilon which are quite expensive and Peak Alarm also installs DWG Digital Watch Dog and SPECO camera systems which are less expensive.

Some camera systems require that you pay a licensing fee.

We can install 2MP (2 million lines of resolution) or 4MP or 8MP which is 4K

If you have 4K cameras and a 1080P (2MP) monitor you will not view in 4K so you would need a 4K monitor

Varifocal lenses allow you to change the view to get the best coverage and if you just buy fixed wide angle lenses you don’t have the option to adjust the view.

IR night vision - with the least expensive cameras you won’t get the best IR range so asking for the best deal or the least expensive system is an issue, you won’t be happy and I would rather not sell the system if my customer is not going to be happy so I refer these type of customers to my competitors because I would rather not sell the least expensive systems since it is not good business practice.

The normal range using a CAT6 cable is 328 feet and we can put extenders on to go farther.

If you have a direct line of sight we can put in POINT TO POINT systems that would allow you to view cameras across distances where you cannot trench or get wire pulled to those locations. This adds around $2,000 to each set of cameras for the point to point depending on the brand of point to point equipment we use.

You can put recorders on both hardwired cameras and WIFI cameras. Some of the cameras come with SD Card slots, night vision capability, analytics, adjustable lenses and more so price will depend on what features and the quality. Let your camera provider know how many days of storage you need so they can quote a recorder that will meet your needs. If you need 2 weeks of storage make sure they are doing the calculations based on high resolution, a high frame rate and the appropriate activity for your site otherwise you may get a recorder with not enough storage on it. Purchasing a recorder and cameras that do analytics is very important so you don’t get alerts when it is snowing or raining or when the wind is blowing the trees and the leaves set off the motion.

Peak Alarm can no longer install Hikvision or Dahua (FLIR) camera systems because we have government contracts and the relationship with China is such that the United States Government rules will not allow us to install these brands and some other brands made in China or brands owned by their government.

So when we are asked how much per camera the answer doe vary depending on how far the wire run is and if we have to install conduit or not or if it is inside or outside and if we need a LIFT to get up high and run the wire and the features of the camera.

A 4MP (4 million lines of resolution) camera that is varifocal (Adjustable lens) with an SD Slot and 167 feet of IR for night vision will run about $400 to $800 installed depending on the location etc…

If you go to a big box store you can get a 10 camera system for around $800 dollars and half the cost is the recorder so your camera cost is around $40 each and then you need to install them. Understand that the quality of a $40 dollar camera and the quality of a $400 or $800 dollar camera is much different. It is like buying a $4 dollar knife compared to a nice quality knife that will keep it’s edge for $38 dollars and the comparisons go on comparing brands of cars or clothes or shoes and the quality to something that won’t last.

You get what you pay for:

GOOD INTERNET REQUIRED TO FUNCTION PROPERLY: When you want to view these remotely you will need good UPLOAD speeds on your INTERNET so if you have a recorder the upload speed needs to be at least 5mbps upload or if you have WIFI cameras plan on 2.5mbps upload speeds on each camera.

Call Larry Love Larry@peakalarm.com cell 801 898 6003 with questions on pricing for Salt Lake City and Utah areas. He can come out to your site to help you get pricing or arrange a visit from another consultant at Peak in other areas such as Saint George, Idaho or Colorado.