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Security Cameras & Doorbells

Cameras that show you what you need

A camera system is only worth what you can actually see when something happens. Most of the ones we're called out to fix are pointed at a wall, storing seven days of nothing, and sending forty motion alerts a day for a palo verde moving in the wind. We install and configure systems that show you the driveway, the door and the gate, and only tell you when it matters.

Get a free quote (520) 891-9682

from $175 per camera · see how pricing works

  • Wired PoE and battery systems installed
  • Video doorbells that actually catch faces
  • NVR setup and storage sized to your retention
  • Remote viewing on your phone, set up and tested
  • Motion zones tuned so alerts mean something

Placement is most of the job

Camera quality matters far less than camera position. A 4K camera mounted too high catches the tops of heads. One facing west into a Tucson sunset is blind for two hours a day. We place cameras at the choke points people actually pass through — driveway, front door, side gate, back slider — at heights and angles that produce usable identification.

Mounted too high

A camera mounted too high under the eaveA camera mounted high under the eave looks steeply down at the ground in front of the house, so a person approaching is captured as the top of a head and shoulders with no usable face.12 ftwhat you getTop of a headSteep angle, no face, no identification

At the right height

The same camera at the right heightThe same camera mounted at head height plus a couple of feet looks along the approach rather than down onto it, so the person walking up is captured face-on and can actually be identified.7–8 ftwhat you getA usable faceLooks along the approach, not down onto it
  1. Mounted high under the eave, the camera looks steeply down on the approach.
  2. So the person walking up is recorded as the top of a head.
  3. Lower, looking along the approach, the same camera catches a usable face.
Same camera, same night, same footage quality. Height is what decides whether it's worth anything when you need it.
  • Driveway, entry, gate and yard coverage planning
  • Mounting height and angle for face and plate capture
  • Sun-angle and glare planning for west-facing walls
  • Night performance and IR versus spotlight tradeoffs

Wired, battery, or a mix

Battery cameras are easy and go anywhere, but they miss the start of events while they wake up and need charging a few times a year. Wired PoE cameras record continuously and never need a battery, but need a cable run. Most houses end up with a mix, and we'll be straight with you about which locations deserve which.

What a wired camera and a battery camera each record of the same visitA timeline of someone walking up to the house. The wired camera records the whole time, so its recording covers the entire visit. The battery camera is asleep when the visit begins, senses motion, wakes, and only then starts recording, so the first part of the visit is missing from its footage.Someone walks upWired PoE camerarecording the whole timeBattery cameraasleepwaking…recordingmissed the start
  1. A wired PoE camera is already recording, so it has the whole event.
  2. A battery camera sleeps to save power. It has to sense motion and wake up first.
  3. By the time it's recording, the start of the event has already happened.
Battery cameras go anywhere, but they need charging a few times a year and can miss the first moments. Most houses end up with a mix.
  • Reolink, UniFi Protect, Lorex, Amcrest and similar wired systems
  • Ring, Nest, Eufy and Arlo battery systems
  • PoE cable runs and switch setup
  • Existing-system takeover, repair and expansion

Storage and recording

How long you keep footage is a decision worth making on purpose. We size local storage to the retention you want, set up recording schedules, and make sure you can actually find and export a clip when you need to hand it to somebody.

How a camera recorder fills its drive and overwrites the oldest footageA recorder's drive shown as a row of day-long blocks of footage, oldest on the left and newest on the right. When the row is full, the oldest day drops out and the newest is written at the end. Below, a drive of the same size recording more cameras or higher quality has bigger blocks, so it holds fewer days.The recorder's driveoldestnewestFull: the oldest day gets recorded overSame drive, more cameras or higher qualityEach day takes more room, so fewer days fit
  1. Each day of footage is written to the recorder's drive, in order.
  2. When the drive is full, the oldest day is recorded over. That's your retention window.
  3. More cameras or higher quality use more room per day, so the same drive keeps fewer days.
We size storage to how far back you want to be able to look, then show you how to find and export a clip.
  • NVR install and configuration
  • Storage sized to your desired retention window
  • Local recording versus cloud subscriptions, explained honestly
  • Exporting and sharing a clip — walked through with you

Alerts that mean something

The most common reason people stop using their camera system is alert fatigue. We draw motion zones that exclude the street and the swaying tree, set person and vehicle detection where it's supported, and tune sensitivity until the alerts you get are alerts you want.

Untuned

An untuned camera alerting on everything that movesA camera view of a front yard. The palo verde swaying in the wind and a car passing on the street are both boxed as motion, and a stack of motion alerts piles up.MotionMotionMotionMotionMotion

Tuned

A tuned camera that only alerts on a person on the pathThe same front yard with a detection zone drawn over only the driveway and front path. The tree sways and the car passes with no alert. A person walks up the path and a single person alert arrives.Person
  1. Untuned, every gust and every passing car sends another alert.
  2. We draw a zone over the driveway and path, and leave out the street and the tree.
  3. Tuned, the tree and the traffic stay quiet. A person on your path gets through.
Person and vehicle detection depends on the camera. We'll tell you whether yours has it before you buy.
  • Motion zones drawn to exclude streets and moving plants
  • Person, vehicle and package detection where supported
  • Notification schedules by camera and time of day
  • Remote viewing tested on every phone in the household

What we don't do

We install and configure camera systems. We don't install or service monitored burglar alarm systems, and we don't sell monitoring contracts — that's separately regulated work in Arizona and it needs a different credential than ours. If you want monitored alarm service, we'll happily make sure your cameras and network play nicely with whoever provides it.

We install and set up

  • Security cameras
  • Video doorbells
  • Smart locks
  • Recorders and remote viewing

Not us

  • Monitored burglar alarms
  • Monitoring contracts

Separately regulated in Arizona, and it needs a credential we don't hold.

If you want monitored alarm service, we'll make sure your cameras and network play nicely with whoever provides it.

Questions

About security cameras

Can you add cameras to the system I already have?

Usually. Most systems expand cleanly if you stay in the same ecosystem, and we can often rescue a half-finished install someone else abandoned. Send us the brand and model and we'll tell you what it'll take.

Do I need a subscription?

Not necessarily. Wired systems with a local NVR record without any monthly fee. Most battery and doorbell brands need a subscription to store more than a few clips. We'll tell you which category your system is in before you buy it, not after.

Do you install alarm systems?

No. Cameras, doorbells and smart locks yes — monitored burglar alarms no. That's regulated separately in Arizona and needs its own credential. We'll make sure everything else in your house works alongside whatever alarm provider you use.

Where we do this most

Oro ValleyMaranaCatalina FoothillsVailSahuaritaCorona de Tucson

While we're there

Wi-Fi & networking

from $179

Ethernet wiring

quoted per project

Smart home

from $129

Need security cameras sorted?

Tell us what's going on and we'll give you a straight answer on what it takes and what it costs.

Get a free quote (520) 891-9682
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