Camera types: which one do you actually need?
Buying the wrong CCTV system in South Africa is almost as bad as having no system at all. You end up with footage you can’t use, cameras that stop recording when the power goes out, and a system nobody knows how to operate.
Let’s start with the cameras themselves.
Dome cameras
Best for indoor areas – reception, retail floors, offices. They’re discreet, hard to vandalise, and have a wide viewing angle. The trade-off is they’re harder to adjust once mounted and don’t reach as far as bullet cameras.
Bullet cameras
Best for outdoors – perimeters, parking lots, building entrances. Long range, weatherproof (IP67 rated), and visible enough to act as a deterrent. Downside is they’re conspicuous and can be knocked out of alignment.
Turret cameras
The best all-rounder for most SA businesses. Works indoors and outdoors. No infrared reflection issues (unlike dome cameras), easy to adjust the angle, compact. Shorter range than bullets, but good enough for most setups.
PTZ (pan-tilt-zoom) cameras
For large outdoor areas – gate control, big car parks, open ground. You can control them remotely, get 360-degree coverage, and zoom up to 500 metres. They’re expensive and they only look one direction at a time, so they’re a single point of failure. Most small businesses don’t need them.
Resolution: how much detail do you need?
| Resolution | What you can identify | Use for |
|---|---|---|
| 2MP (1080p) | Face at 5-8m, number plate at 3-5m | Basic indoor monitoring |
| 4MP | Face at 8-12m, number plate at 5-8m | Most businesses – the sweet spot |
| 5MP | Face at 12-15m, number plate at 8-10m | Perimeters, car parks, entrances |
| 8MP (4K) | Face at 15-20m, number plate at 10-15m | High-security, large perimeters |
For South African businesses, 4MP is the minimum we recommend. You need to identify faces and read number plates – anything less and the footage is useless for investigations or insurance claims.
Storage: how long do you need to keep footage?
South African law doesn’t mandate a minimum retention period, but insurance companies and common sense do:
- 30 days minimum for most businesses
- 60-90 days recommended
- 90-180 days for high-risk businesses (jewellery shops, cash-heavy operations)
| Cameras | Resolution | 30 days (H.265) | 30 days (H.264) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 4MP | about 1TB | about 2TB |
| 8 | 4MP | about 2TB | about 4TB |
| 16 | 4MP | about 4TB | about 8TB |
| 4 | 8MP | about 2TB | about 4TB |
| 8 | 8MP | about 4TB | about 8TB |
Always choose H.265 compression. It halves your storage needs with barely any quality loss.
Load shedding: the part other guides skip
Your CCTV system is useless if it goes down every time the power does. In South Africa, this isn’t optional – it’s the first thing you should plan for.
- UPS for the NVR/DVR. At minimum, your recorder needs 2-4 hours of battery backup. Non-negotiable.
- PoE switches on the same UPS. If your cameras get power through Ethernet, put the PoE switch on the same UPS. Each PoE camera draws about 7-15W, so a 4-camera system needs roughly 40-60W.
- 12V cameras with individual battery backup. For non-PoE cameras, put a 12V UPS module at each camera. More expensive, but it works.
- Consider solar-powered cameras for remote spots on your property – South Africa gets plenty of sun.
Budget rule: Add 20-30% to your CCTV budget for power backup. It’s not optional in South Africa.
Remote viewing from your phone
All Hikvision and Dahua NVRs support remote viewing through their mobile apps (Hik-Connect and DMSS). To get it working you need:
- The NVR connected to the internet through your router (not directly – always behind a firewall)
- Port forwarding or P2P cloud access – P2P is easier to set up and more secure for most people
- At least 2Mbps upload speed for smooth remote viewing of 4 cameras
- Your router on a UPS too – during load shedding, your router goes down unless you back it up
Legal requirements in South Africa
- POPIA compliance – You must display signs telling people they’re being recorded
- Data protection – Footage must be stored securely and not shared publicly
- No audio recording without consent – It’s illegal under RICA and POPIA
- Neighbour boundaries – Don’t point cameras at neighbouring properties
- CCTV signage – Clear signs at all entrances: “CCTV surveillance in operation”
How many cameras do you need?
| Business type | Cameras | Key locations |
|---|---|---|
| Small office (under 200m2) | 4-6 | Entrance, reception, parking, server room |
| Retail shop | 6-8 | Entrance, till points, shop floor, stock room, parking |
| Medium office (200-500m2) | 8-12 | All entrances, reception, parking, stairwells, server room |
| Warehouse | 12-16 | All roller doors, loading bays, perimeter, offices |
What we recommend
Small business starter kit – R4,000 to R6,000
- 4x Hikvision 4MP turret cameras
- 1x 4-channel NVR with 1TB HDD
- 1x 8-port PoE switch
- 1x 600VA UPS (for NVR + switch)
- Cables and accessories
Medium business kit – R8,000 to R15,000
- 8x Hikvision 4MP turret/bullet cameras
- 1x 8-channel NVR with 2TB HDD
- 1x 16-port PoE switch
- 1x 1000VA UPS
- Cables and accessories
Shop CCTV systems at Remote Help – Hikvision authorised reseller, nationwide delivery, VAT included.
Need help designing your CCTV setup? WhatsApp us on 081 358 4869 with your floor plan and we’ll recommend the right system.
