Four Cameras in the Right Spots Beats Eight in the Wrong Ones

Driveway or street approach. Vehicles, deliveries and anyone approaching before they reach the house.

Side access. Almost every home has one path down the side that people forget about. It is usually narrow, usually gated, and usually the least visible part of the property.

Rear or yard. Back door, back gate, anything opening onto a lane or shared rear access.

Corner blocks, homes with two street frontages, and larger properties need more, because there are simply more ways in. Apartments and townhouses often need fewer.

Where people waste cameras

The most common mistake is covering the same view twice. Two cameras pointed at the driveway from slightly different angles produce two versions of the same footage and leave the side gate unwatched.

The second most common is buying a bundled kit of eight cameras because it looked like better value, then finding the house only has five sensible positions. The other three end up on walls covering lawn.

Start with positions. Then buy for the positions.

A properly planned CCTV system installation starts with the areas that genuinely need coverage, rather than choosing a camera count first and trying to find somewhere to put them.

The height mistake

Cameras get mounted high, out of reach and out of the way. It feels sensible.

The problem is that a camera high up looking down gives you a great view of the top of someone’s head and not much else. If the point of the footage is to identify a person, the camera needs to be at a height where it captures a face.

There is a genuine trade-off. Lower cameras see faces better and are easier to interfere with. Higher cameras are safer and less useful. Most homes end up with a mix: one camera positioned specifically to capture faces at an approach point, and others higher up covering the wider area.

Light is the thing that ruins footage

More cameras will not fix a lighting problem.

A camera pointing at a bright western wall in the afternoon will give you a silhouette. A camera facing a streetlight at night will flare. A camera in a dark side passage with no light at all will rely entirely on infrared, which works but has limited range.

This is why placement gets assessed on site rather than from a floor plan. The same camera in the same spot performs completely differently depending on what the sun does to that wall at 4pm.

Coastal properties have another consideration. Salt air corrodes poorly rated housings quickly, so equipment needs to be specified for the conditions rather than bought on price.

A sensible starting point

Most homes land somewhere between three and six cameras, with placement decided by the property rather than the packaging.

Fewer cameras in the right places, at the right heights, with lighting taken into account, will serve you far better than a larger number chosen from a box.

Security installation is licensed work in New South Wales. AVsion holds Security Master Licence 000103421 and Security Operator Licence 000233371, and all installation work carries a 12 month labour warranty.

More on home security camera installation and video intercoms and doorbells.

Written by Yariv, Owner and Lead Installer at AVsion. 14 years installing AV, WiFi and security systems across Sydney’s eastern suburbs.

Frequently asked questions

How many security cameras does a house need?

Most homes are well covered by three to six cameras, but the number matters less than the positions. The usual priorities are the front entry, the driveway or street approach, the side access path, and the rear yard or back gate. Corner blocks and properties with two street frontages need more. Start by deciding what you need to be able to see, then place cameras to cover those approaches without duplicating views.

Is it better to have more cameras or better placement?

Placement, clearly. Four cameras covering four different approaches give you far more useful footage than eight cameras covering the same driveway from several angles. The most common mistake is duplicating a view while leaving the side gate or rear access uncovered. Positions should be worked out first, and equipment chosen to suit those positions rather than the other way around.

How high should a security camera be mounted?

High enough to be out of easy reach, low enough to capture a face. Cameras mounted very high looking down produce footage that shows the top of a person’s head rather than identifiable features. Most homes end up with a mix, including at least one camera positioned specifically to capture faces at a main approach point, with others higher up covering wider areas.

Does lighting affect security camera footage?

Significantly. A camera facing a bright wall in the afternoon can produce silhouettes, a camera facing a streetlight at night can flare, and a dark side passage relies entirely on infrared which has limited range. This is why camera placement is assessed on site rather than from a floor plan, because the same position performs very differently depending on how light falls on it through the day.

Are coastal conditions a problem for security cameras?

Yes. Salt air and prolonged sun exposure degrade poorly rated housings quickly, and equipment that performs well inland can corrode within a couple of years near the coast. Cameras and mounting hardware should be specified for the conditions at the property rather than chosen on price alone. It is worth asking any installer what rating the equipment carries and why it suits your location.

Do I need a licence to have CCTV installed in NSW?

You do not need a licence as a homeowner, but the business installing it does. Installing security equipment for others is licensed work in New South Wales under the Security Industry Act 2003. AVsion holds Security Master Licence 000103421 and Security Operator Licence 000233371. It is reasonable to ask any installer for their licence details before they carry out work at your home.