Installing your own outdoor surveillance camera is child’s play. Some legal and technical aspects must however be taken into account. We guide you.

You have decided to install an outdoor surveillance camera. If you have not chosen it yet, our free outdoor camera comparison guide can help you. And for the installation? No need to call a professional! You can easily do it yourself, provided you follow some legal and technical advice .

1. Install a camera, what does the law say?
In principle, any installation of a surveillance camera must be declared to the Commission for the Protection of Privacy . However, if the camera is installed and used by a natural person for personal or domestic purposes, the law does not require any declaration .

The camera should only film your property. It can not be directed to the public road or the garden of your neighbor. If it is directed to a place accessible to the public, the recording of images of this space must be limited to the strict minimum.

It is also forbidden to conceal your camera. This will be considered hidden if its use has not been previously authorized by the person filmed. The trick is then to put a pictogram indicating the presence of your camera.

2. Where to install the camera?

To protect your home from burglary , direct your camera to one of the access roads (your driveway, your front door, your windows, your garage …).

It is advisable to place the camera 2 or 3 meters above the ground. This height will prevent him from being accessible too easily, while allowing you to correctly visualize the face of your “visitors”. It should not, however, become the first thing an individual sees when he arrives at your property. The ideal is to slightly offset the filming bias rather than face.

To limit the effects of glare from the sun, direct your camera under the skyline. With a tilt angle of about 30 degrees, you should get adequate vision.

3. What about image storage?

Depending on the cameras, the images can be saved in the cloud or on a memory card. Each of these two options has its advantages and disadvantages.

The cloud allows, sometimes payment, to store videos on a secure server that only you can access. The SD card, meanwhile, does not need an internet connection. It therefore continues to work in case of Wi-Fi shutdown. Moreover, it is independent of any external storage. However, when the memory of the card is full, the camera automatically overwrites the oldest file.

4. And the power supply?
Some types of outdoor surveillance cameras plug into the area of ​​your home, while others use a battery. The power supply on the sector has the advantage of not being limited. The battery, meanwhile, has a battery life of about a year and is obviously practical if you do not have a close electrical input and in case of power failure. Some cameras even have a rechargeable battery with solar energy.

You now have all the cards in hand to install your outdoor surveillance camera.