The site decides the camera type before you ever compare image specs: is there Ethernet, is there mains power, is there any network at all?
If you can pull a network cable, PoE is the professional default: one Cat5e/Cat6 run carries both power and video up to 100m, the camera reboots with the switch, and there is no WiFi password to expire. Fixed PoE cameras draw roughly 4–12W, so even large sites budget easily.
No cable and no grid power? That is exactly what 4G solar cameras are for: a panel plus battery runs the camera, a local data SIM carries the video, and the site needs nothing else — farms, construction sites, remote gates, telecom towers. WiFi cameras fill the middle ground indoors: power is available, but cabling is not worth it for a shop counter or an office corridor.
Walk each camera position through this list and the spec writes itself.
One habit that saves projects: read the DORI table on each product page. "Identify" distance — not the IR range — tells you whether a face or plate is actually usable in court, and it varies enormously between a 2.8mm and a 4.0mm lens.
This is our fastest-growing category, and the questions are always the same three: SIM, cloudy days, and no-network recording.
They take a standard local data SIM — always confirm the model's LTE bands against your carrier before ordering, because band lists differ between versions built for different regions. Video streams are compressed hard (a few hundred Kbps to ~2Mbps), so a modest monthly data plan is enough for event-based viewing.
On autonomy: panels recharge the battery daily and the cameras sleep between events, so several cloudy days are survivable on most models. And recording does not depend on signal — footage writes to the local TF card (commonly up to 256GB or 512GB depending on model), so a network outage never means lost evidence.
Each of these has cost someone a re-order and a month of delay.
MISTAKECameras arrive, the third-party NVR sees nothing, and the job stalls while everyone blames everyone.
DO THISONVIF support varies model by model — it is listed on each product page when the datasheet confirms it. Mixing brands? Tell us; we check compatibility before you order.
MISTAKEThe camera powers up but never registers on the local carrier — the version was built for another region's LTE bands.
DO THISSend us your country and carrier with the enquiry; we match the correct regional version (bands are listed per model) before anything ships.
MISTAKESignal was fine during the handheld test; mounted on steel sheeting 40m from the router, the stream drops every night.
DO THISWiFi is for indoor, router-adjacent positions. Warehouses, yards and anything through metal or concrete should be PoE — or 4G if cabling is impossible.
MISTAKEStorage fills in a third of the planned retention days and the uplink saturates — the NVR starts dropping streams at peak bitrate.
DO THISPut 8MP where wide coverage genuinely pays (parking, perimeter); keep 4MP at doors and corridors. Size NVR disks from real bitrates, not from the brochure.
Short answers you can forward to your own customers.
PoE, without debate: one cable carries power and data up to 100m, immune to WiFi interference and password changes. Choose WiFi only for indoor spots where cabling genuinely is not worth it, and 4G solar where neither cable nor grid exists.
Yes — that is the entire point. The panel and battery handle power, a local data SIM handles connectivity, and footage also records to the TF card locally, so even a network outage does not lose evidence.
IR gives you a grey silhouette; warm-light color night vision gives you a red jacket and a blue pickup. For identification and police reports that difference is decisive. The trade-off is a visible soft glow near the camera at night.
Often yes via ONVIF, but support is model-specific — it is stated on each product page when the factory datasheet confirms it. Send us your NVR brand and model with the enquiry and we verify before you commit.
Yes, and we encourage it: test 2–3 units on your own site, on your own carrier and NVR, before scaling the order. Small batches and mixed-model cartons are normal business for us — say so on WhatsApp.
Camera count, indoor/outdoor, cable or no cable — an engineer replies within 24 hours with models and a shipping estimate.