Factors when installing camera systems
When someone asks me how much a camera system costs I have a few different answers.
How much does a car cost? The answer is “it depends” which many people don’t like. You can buy a ten camera system from a big box store where the cameras end up costing you $30 each but believe me the $30 cameras are much different than the $300 dollar cameras. It would be like paying $30 for a NIKON or CANNON camera, you might get a NICON or CANEN camera but the quality is not the same.
I have a student Clarinet that cost me $200 dollars and it plays alright and I have a $1,200 dollar clarinet that sounds much different.
I have seen installation done with wires hanging out and it just looks tacky so having a professional installation done is also important.
Do you want an entry level system, mid range or high end system installed? Do you need analytics?
Do you want to be able to see the cameras with your phone?
How many days or weeks of storage do you need?
How difficult will the system be to install? Do you have attic access or drop tile and will the installation company need to drill or run cable through any difficult areas?
Have the sales person explain the difference between a fixed camera and a verifocal camera.
Ask the consultant to explain what WDR does and if the cameras you are getting have WDR and if they need it.
What do you want to look at and why? Knowing this will help the sales person pick the right cameras for you. Do you need to look at people or cars in the middle of the night? Some of the entry level cameras have IR but they only see 30 feet at night and others can see much further.
If you are looking for the least expensive option the sales person may not even mention the higher end items.
I had a man tell me last week that he did not want to spend more than $1,500 for a camera system. When you factor in decent cameras, the monitor, the recorder, the UPS and then you add the cost of the cable, labor and programming you don’t get much for $1,500 so I did not even mention all the options to him because he limited what his choices were.
Imagine going into buy a gun for home protection and you tell the person behind the counter that you do not expect to pay more than $200 dollars for a gun. Have you limited what products they may show you? Have you limited the quality of the products? There are guns that are very cheap although they also have issues so do not look for the least expensive items when it comes to protecting your assets and lives .
Camera systems help mitigate and deter crime they do not stop it although having a good system can alert you to what is going on in your home and in your yard when you have email alerts or push notifications.
Once you have all the information you need and want from a sales consultant based on what you want and need they can give you options and then you can compare with other companies. Many companies just do cookie cutter systems that are based on low price.
You will also need at least 2.5mbps upload speed on your internet to have to decent connection to view the cameras remotely with your phone.
What if I told you a camera system costs around $750 per camera installed? Would that scare you away? You could then look for a camera system that was $200 per camera installed? Remember you get what you pay for.
Peak Alarm has camera systems that are less than $750 per camera installed but when you go under $500 dollars per camera installed including the recorder you are on the border of lowering the quality level and professional installation cost.
I just went to the dealer to have my car serviced for the 100K mile service and I had a few extra items done such as the transmission, break fluid, radiator flush, oil change with full synthetic oil and more and the bill was not cheap, in fact I have found other places that do some of these services for less but I have also found places that claim to change your oil and filter when they cut corners and trust is a big issue with some shops so paying more does not always equate to better quality although many times it does.
Call Larry Love 801 898 6003 Larry@peakalarm.com for a free consultation
Peak Alarm has been doing business for over 50 years, we have 6 offices in 3 states and we are the only alarm company that has their own UL listed Central Station and their own Guard and Patrol Division.