Where to put CCTV cameras at home without upsetting the neighbours
Mount outdoor cameras about 2.4 to 3 m up, close enough to the door, drive or gate to identify a face, and angled down only gently. Cover the front door, drive, side passage and back door first. Then aim each camera at your own property, mask anything beyond your boundary in the app, leave sound recording off unless you need it, and tell the neighbours. Below are the sums, the UK rules and the Ajax cameras that fit.
Why the doors? The Office for National Statistics' 2017 overview of burglary (Crime Survey for England and Wales) found about seven in ten burglars who got in used a door, and about three in five burglaries happened between 6pm and 6am. So each camera needs a view of a way in and a picture that works after dark.
What height and angle will catch a face?
Ajax suggests about 2.4 to 3 m for outdoor cameras, so they are hard to tamper with from the ground. Whether you get a usable face depends more on how steeply the camera looks down and how far away the person is.
A worked example: a camera at 2.7 m, and a face taken as 1.6 m off the ground.
| Distance out from the wall | Camera looks down at | Lens-to-face distance |
|---|---|---|
| 1 m | about 48° | 1.5 m |
| 2 m | about 29° | 2.3 m |
| 4 m | about 15° | 4.1 m |
| 6 m | about 10° | 6.1 m |
| 8 m | about 8° | 8.1 m |
Right under the camera you get a cap peak. Further out the angle flattens but the face shrinks. Ajax rates the 5 MP TurretCam, BulletCam and DomeCam Mini with a 2.8 mm lens to identify a person at up to 6.5 m, and the 8 MP TurretCam at up to 9 m. So at this height a 5 MP camera should give usable faces from about 2 m to 6 m out. Place it so the path or gate sits in that band.
- Outside the glass: a camera behind a window fills the night picture with glare from its own infrared.
- Pale walls and bright light: Ajax warns that white walls reflect infrared, and advises against fitting cameras in direct bright light. A MountCam wall mount holds the camera clear of eaves, walls and pillars, with room inside to tidy the cables.
Which parts of the house need a camera?
Around a semi or detached house, four areas usually need covering:
| Spot | What you want from it | Ajax camera that fits |
|---|---|---|
| Front door | Who rang, what was left on the step, and two-way talk | Ajax DoorBell, fitted 1.2 to 1.5 m up as Ajax recommends |
| Drive | The car, people approaching the house, and which way they left | TurretCam (5 MP), infrared up to 50 m |
| Side passage and back door | Anyone coming round out of sight of the street | DomeCam Mini, infrared up to 15 m for short runs |
| Rear garden or shed | Movement across the lawn, the shed door | BulletCam (5 MP), infrared up to 60 m |
The wired cameras share a 100 to 110° horizontal view and are rated IP66 and IK08. For which shape suits a wall, see turret, bullet and dome cameras compared.
Should you put cameras indoors?
Most trips through a house pass the hall or landing, so one camera there often covers the lot. The IndoorCam is an indoor-only Wi-Fi camera with a 110° view, two-way talk and a PIR sensor reaching 4 m. It records to an Ajax NVR or Ajax Cloud Storage, not a memory card. Keep cameras out of bedrooms and bathrooms, and tell everyone who lives in or regularly visits the house.
When does the law start to apply to home CCTV?
The ICO's line is your property boundary. Once a home camera captures anything beyond it, such as a neighbour's garden or windows, a shared drive or the pavement, data protection law applies. The ICO counts voices as personal information, and smart doorbells are covered. You then need to:
- have a clear reason for the coverage, and capture no more than it needs;
- put up a sign saying CCTV is in use;
- keep footage secure, limit who sees it, and delete it regularly;
- give people a copy of footage of them when asked, usually within one calendar month;
- stop recording someone who objects, unless you have a legitimate reason to carry on.
The Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner's guidance on GOV.UK adds: tell your neighbours when you fit the system, and do not share recordings on social media. The ICO tells an unhappy neighbour to talk or write to you first; it considers complaints, but says it will not usually make anyone move or remove a camera. Its guidance is under review following the Data (Use and Access) Act. This is general guidance, not legal advice; see our CCTV law FAQs.
How do you keep the neighbours out of shot with Ajax cameras?
- Aim first: point each camera at your own door, drive or garden, with the street out of frame. Masks back up good aim.
- Privacy zones: Ajax's manuals allow up to four on each camera named here and on the DoorBell. A zone shows as a black box and nothing inside it is recorded or detected. Put them over a neighbour's windows, garden or door.
- Detection zones: limit motion and object detection to your own ground, so people on the pavement do not trigger alerts.
- Line crossing: on the wired cameras, draw up to four lines with a direction, such as across your gateway, so only people coming in raise an event. Detectors on an Ajax wireless alarm can also tell chosen cameras to record.
- Sound off: Ajax cameras only record sound when audio capture is switched on. The GOV.UK guidance asks whether you need audio at all.
- Doorbells on a terrace: the DoorBell's 155° view can take in next door. Mask their doorway and set the PIR sensitivity to Low, so fewer passers-by set it off.
What does a front-and-back set-up cost?
| Item | Where it goes | Our price inc VAT |
|---|---|---|
| Ajax DoorBell | Front door | £229.32 |
| TurretCam (5 MP, 2.8 mm) | Drive | £122.89 |
| DomeCam Mini (5 MP, 2.8 mm) | Side passage | £122.89 |
| BulletCam (5 MP, 2.8 mm) | Back garden | £122.89 |
| Total | £597.99 |
The wired cameras run on PoE or 12 V and take a microSD card of up to 256 GB (not included), or record to the 8-channel Ajax NVR at £199.22. The DoorBell needs a wired low-voltage supply and records to an NVR or Ajax Cloud Storage. A MountCam A2 is £54.10; ask us which mount suits your camera. See our Ajax cameras and recorders and Ajax video doorbells. Prices include VAT, delivery is extra, and prices can change.
Our take
Settle positions before you buy. Hold a phone up where each camera will go; if a neighbour's front room is on screen, move the camera before reaching for a privacy zone. We would start with a DoorBell at the front and one wired camera on each other way in, then add an IndoorCam if you want to check the house while you are out. Our CCTV buying guide covers recorders and storage.
We are a supplier, not an installer, trading since 2012 from our Wolverhampton trade counter. We can recommend a qualified installer depending on the job and area.
Send us a sketch of the spots to cover and we will suggest cameras and mounts. Call 01902 902251 or contact us online. We ship nationally to England, Scotland and Wales.
Quick questions
What height suits a doorbell and outdoor cameras?
Ajax suggests about 2.4 to 3 m outdoors, and 1.2 to 1.5 m for its DoorBell.
Can my camera see my neighbour's garden?
It can, but data protection law then applies, with the duties listed above. Mask what you do not need.
Can I record sound on home CCTV?
The ICO treats voices as personal information, so the same duties apply. Ajax cameras only record sound when audio capture is on.
Do I have to tell my neighbours?
Guidance on GOV.UK advises telling them about your system and thinking about how they will feel.
Source: Ajax Systems blog, Where to place security cameras for maximum protection, and Ajax product specifications and user manuals. UK sources: ICO, Home CCTV systems; Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner, Guidance on the use of domestic CCTV; ONS, Overview of burglary and other household theft.
