Cost of a 4 camera system varies
In the last couple of days I have bid out several different camera systems for different customers and I would like to share some of those general quotes to help you understand how the price varies according to features, difficulty of getting cameras to certain locations and brand as well as storage.
One four camera system ended up being $20,000 with 2 verifocal cameras and 2 thermal cameras with a 4TB NVR recorder, a 4K monitor, a UPS Surge protector, switch, wire and installation. This Avigilon system has analytics which will allow special notifications to be sent via email.
A four camera system could also run as low as $2.500 to $5,100 depending on the distance of the cameras and the headend. The difference is vast.
Another 10 camera system ended up being over $20,000 because they wanted 30 foot poles installed and special wire ran overhead to the cameras which also required special equipment to be rented. This system had a 4TB drive with another mirrored 4TB drive in case there is an issue with the first drive.
I bid out this same location right around $10,000 although the poles were not included and the cameras were entry level cameras rather than the higher quality cameras with a longer night vision range and with less resolution.
Another Speco four camera system in a small shop only ended up costing $2,500 but the monitor was not a 4K monitor and the cameras were fixed not verifocal cameras.
When conduit is required or if special cable is needed such as burial rated which is also UV rated the price will change. The distance to the cameras and penetrations through walls also will add to the cost. If there is drop tile ceiling the cost of the system will normally be less than if we have to install wiremold on the ceilings or walls.
I have had to include trenching on camera systems with underground conduit and burial cable which will affect the pricing.
At my previous company we installed several different camera brands some of which are: AXIS, Avigilon, Digital Watchdog and Speco.
The prices vary and these manufactures have entry level, mid range and higher level systems.
Often you can find camera systems that cost about $600 per camera installed although the quality will not be the same as a system that costs around $900 per camera installed. There are cameras that cost $30 dollars each and comparing one of those to a $400 dollar camera you will see that there is a great deal of difference.
When installing PTZ Pan Tilt Zoom cameras you will also find that the price will vary depending on the specifications of the different models.
When figuring out how you want to configure your recorder we can make suggestions after we know how many days of storage and if you need analytics or not and what type of analytics that you need.
When you install several 2.8mm fixed wide angle lens cameras you will get wide angle views. Often people will appear very small with you use a 2.8mm lens when the camera is mounted outside looking at a large parking lot. If you install the same 2.8mm camera in a normal room inside it is a great camera to use. When you look at each camera and what you want to look at you may end up picking verifocal cameras in order to get the better views. Verofical cameras cost a bit more but it is wise to use them where needed.
I currently work at Johnson Controls. I did not want to delete all my blogs because I put allot of work into them and much of the information is still useful. I would not use the pricing because it is not current and the pricing depends on the brands and model numbers.
Call me at 801 898 6003 Larry.Love@JCI.com
Pricing varies by the system and the features you need and how much storage.