Beginner 4 Camera PoE System
A four camera PoE system with its own recorder and a 2 TB drive covers the four sides of a typical house and keeps every frame inside the building. The whole build, including cable and tools, comes in well under the five year cost of a six camera cloud subscription.
This is the cheapest route to a system that actually records everything, all the time, to a drive you own. It is deliberately built around a kit that includes the recorder, the cameras and the drive together, because buying those separately at this budget costs more and gains nothing.
Four cameras covers the front door, the back door, the driveway and one side approach. That is the minimum that leaves no unwatched way in on a typical house, and an uncovered approach makes the rest of the system defeatable by anyone who notices it.
Optimised for: The lowest total cost to a system that records continuously and needs no subscription.
| Item | Why this one | Price | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| The system itself | |||
| REOLINK 8CH 5MP PoE Security Camera System with 2TB HDD RLK8-410B4-5MP REOLINK | Four 5MP cameras, an eight channel recorder and a 2 TB drive in one box. The eight channels matter: it leaves four spare for the cameras you will discover you need. | $459.98 | Check price |
| Cable and termination | |||
| AiCat Cat5e Ethernet Cable 500ft Riser CMR, Solid Bare Copper AiCat | Solid bare copper Cat5e, riser rated. Cat5e carries a 4K stream with room to spare, so this is where to save money rather than on the conductor material. | $98.99 | Check price |
| VCE UL Listed Cat6 Keystone Jacks 10Gbps, 25 Pack VCE | Solid cable belongs in a punch down jack, not a crimped plug. A 25 pack covers a four camera house with plenty of spares for the ones you get wrong. | $25.99 | Check price |
| Cable Matters 200-Pack Nail-in Cable Clips, 7mm Cable Matters | Cable run tight to the soffit does not flap, sag or get pulled down by ice. | $6.99 | Check price |
| Tools you cannot skip | |||
| ZoeRax Ethernet Crimping Tool Kit with RJ45 Pass Through Connectors ZOERAX | Pass through connectors let you check the wire order before crimping, which removes the single most common termination mistake. | $29.99 | Check price |
| Klein Tools VDV526-100 Network LAN Cable Tester with Remote Klein Tools | Roughly one run in ten is terminated wrong the first time. Finding that out after the soffit is closed is the expensive way. | $21.00 | Check price |
| Weatherproofing and mounting | |||
| ABS Universal Junction Box for IP Camera Mount Bracket, 4 Pack Saindo | Four junction boxes, one per camera. The connector is the part that fails outdoors, and a box keeps it dry and out of sunlight. | $9.99 | Check price |
| Notice | |||
| Venicor 24 Hour Video Surveillance Sign with Stakes, 12x12 inch, 2 Pack Venicor | Front and rear notice. Some jurisdictions require it, and it is the cheapest deterrent on the whole list. | $13.99 | Check price |
| Running total, 8 items | Live prices from the product listings. Prices change often, so treat this as a guide. | $667 | |
Get this build as a printable checklist
The full item list, the running total and the wiring checklist, as one page you can take to the install.
What you can skip
Telling you not to buy something is what makes the rest of this list credible. None of the following is required for a working system.
- A PoE switch. Every camera plugs straight into the recorder, which supplies power and data on its own ports.
- A UPS, for now. It is the best upgrade to add later, but the system works without one.
- Cat6 cable. At four cameras and short runs, Cat5e is not the limiting factor in anything.
What to upgrade first
A battery backup for the recorder. Cutting the power is the oldest defeat there is, and a UPS is the cheapest meaningful upgrade to a finished system. After that, a longer lens on whichever approach you most need to identify a face on.
Where this build runs out
Five megapixel cameras on a wide lens will recognise someone you already know at moderate range but will not identify a stranger across a garden. If one approach genuinely needs identification, spend the difference there rather than upgrading all four cameras.
Compare the other builds
Before you install any of this. Aim cameras at your own property and your own boundary, never into a neighbour's windows. Cameras in bedrooms, bathrooms or anywhere with a reasonable expectation of privacy are a serious legal problem, including for guests, lodgers and anyone who works in your home. Audio is legally different from video, many US states require the consent of every party to a recorded conversation, and several recorders capture audio by default, so check your own state before enabling it. Some places require visible notice that recording is taking place, and landlords and homeowner associations often add their own rules. This is researched general information and not legal advice.
Once it is running. Change every default password, keep the firmware updated, and be clear where the footage goes. Mains wiring for a floodlight is licensed electrician work in many places, and running cable in a wall cavity has its own rules. Prices change often, so treat the running total as a guide rather than a quote.