Best 8-Camera Security System

An 8-camera security system is a great way to boost the security of your home or small business. 8 channels is usually enough to cover the perimeter of most homes and small businesses and there is usually economies of scale in purchasing a kit, over the cost of purchasing the cameras and recorder separately.

These systems record high-quality footage, include decent night vision capabilities, and can be customized to perform a variety of functions such as operating on a schedule, sending notifications whenever it detects something unusual, etc.

Modern security camera systems are easy to install, and if you are handy enough, you can even set up an 8-channel security system all by yourself.

Below, we’ve gathered the best 8-camera security systems for homes and small businesses. We have detailed their most important specs, weighed their pros and cons, and picked out the best 8-camera system for different scenarios.

Best 8-Camera Security System

The Lorex Nocturnal 8-camera 16-channel system is considered our top pick. This security camera kit includes a 16-channel Lorex NVR (N882A64B) and eight bullet-type cameras (LNB9252B / LNB9242B).

The NVR can record 4K footage from 16 channels at the same time in clear 30 fps. It comes with a 4TB hard drive pre-installed, but you can easily take it out and install two separate hard drives. (For maximum capacity, we recommend installing two 10TB HDDs.)

The smart features embedded into the NVR include person and vehicle detection, customizable motion zones, and privacy masking. The privacy masking feature is convenient when you want to blackout specific regions of a camera’s FOV. (Such as the inside of a house, public areas you’re not allowed to record, etc.)

The NVRs can effortlessly record continuous footage, and if you prefer to save space (or improve privacy), you can also set up scheduled recording or motion-activated recording as well. Also, during motion-activated recording, the camera includes five seconds of pre-recorded footage. (Before the motion-trigger event.)

The eight cameras include general-purpose bullet-type cameras that can record footage at 4K resolution. The cameras have low-light sensors that allow them to perform full-color night vision at a maximum distance of 150ft. On top of that, it has infrared, which can record at a maximum IR distance of 98ft.

The Reolink RLK16-812B8-A bundle is our runner-up. This security camera bundle includes a 16-channel Reolink NVR and eight Reolink bullet-type spotlight cameras.

The NVR (RLN16-410) comes with a 3TB hard drive pre-installed, with the option to customize the storage configuration for a maximum capacity of 12TB. The NVR seamlessly integrates with Reolink to provide you with live viewing, instant notifications, and controlling system settings.

The NVR can set up person and vehicle detection on a select number of cameras. On top of that, it can be configured to perform scheduled, continuous, or motion-detected recordings.

The eight spotlight cameras (RLC-812A) utilize an 8MP sensor to record footage at UHD 4K resolution. They have an IP66-rated enclosure and will be able to withstand heavy rain or snow, making them ideal candidates for outdoor installations.

For night vision, the RLC-812A cameras use their 400 Lumen spotlights to capture full-color night-vision footage. The cameras also include two-way communication facilities and an integrated siren for extra security.

Montavue’s 8-camera 16-channel system is a decent security camera system that includes Montavue’s MNR8163-16 4K NVR and eight turret-style add-on cameras.

The NVR supports continuous recording of 4K resolution footage for 16 channels, and it comes with a 3TB hard drive pre-installed. However, if you need more storage capacity, you can upgrade the existing system and replace it with 20TB of maximum storage.

Several intelligent motion detection features can be carried out by this NVR. These include tripwire, intrusion, motion detection, and configurable motion zones (with four sensitivity levels). Unfortunately, there is no person and vehicle detection.

The turret-style add-on cameras can record 4K footage at 15fps. They have a dual infrared LED configuration with a maximum IR range of 98ft. These cameras do not include spotlights, but they can record full-color night vision using a low-light sensor.

These Montavue turret add-on cameras have an IP67-rated enclosure, which is more than enough for outdoor installations.

ANNKE’s H800 system includes a 16-channel NVR along with eight bullet-type cameras. This ANNKE NVR offers 24/7 recording and linking the cameras to the ANNKE vision app. On top of that, this NVR is capable of detecting humans, vehicles, and custom zone motion, after which it can instantly notify the user via the mobile app.

Before purchasing, you can select the amount of hard drive storage space you want pre-installed on the NVR. These include capacities ranging from 1TB to 12TB. Regardless, you can order the NVR without pre-installed storage (0TB option) if you already have an HDD.

The eight cameras that come with this bundle are sturdy IP67-rated bullet-type cameras. These devices can record footage in 4K Ultra-HD resolution thanks to 8MP cameras and have a dual IR LED setup for capturing infrared night vision footage with a maximum range of 100ft.

Also, the cameras can perform two-way communication, but you will need to connect an external speaker.

Amcrest’s rendition of the 8-camera security system includes a 16-channel Amcrest NVR along with eight proprietary bullet-type security cameras.

Despite supporting 16 channels, only eight ports of this NVR are PoE-supported. Therefore, if you hope to integrate more cameras in the future, don't forget to get a PoE switch or power those devices individually. (Since the remaining eight ports will only transfer data.)

For storage, the NVR comes with a 3TB hard drive. 3TB is plenty for many applications, but if you feel like you want to store more hours, you can always upgrade the storage setup to a maximum of 6TB.

The NVR includes several recording methods, these include manual, scheduled, and motion-activated recording. For motion-activated recording, you can set a custom clip length that ranges between 1-120 minutes. Unfortunately, the NVR does not support intelligent motion detection features, it only has room for tripwire and intrusion detection.

The Amcrest bullet cameras record 4K footage at 3840x2160 maximum resolution. However, their videos will not contain audio since they don’t have any microphones built-in. (Also, no speakers or audio interfaces.)

The camera has decent night vision capabilities that include 98ft infrared and full-color night vision (using starlight sensors.)

Night Owl’s BTD2-81-8LSA system includes an 8-channel DVR along with eight analog bullet-type cameras.

The DVR comes with 1TB of storage and supports continuous recording for all eight cameras/channels at 1080p resolution. It can also effortlessly perform human, vehicle, and face detection, after which it can notify the user via the Night Owl App. (Although, make sure that the DVR has access to the internet.)

The included add-on cameras are analog-based devices that use 2MP sensors to record footage at 1080p HD resolution. These cameras have an IP65-rated enclosure and can perform spotlight-assisted full-color night vision for a maximum distance of 100ft.

Also, the cameras have audio-based deterrence features that include a siren or preset voice alerts.

The Hikvision 8-channel security system comes with a DS-7616NI-K2/16P NVR and eight DS-2CD2143G0-I dome-style cameras.

This NVR supports 4K recording for 16 channels, and it can display (decode) four streams of 4MP (2688x1520) footage at the same time. There is space for two hard drives, with each drive bay supporting a maximum capacity of 10TB. Therefore, you can achieve a maximum capacity of 20TB with two 10TB HDDs.

The NVR supports intelligent motion detection features such as intrusion, line crossing, and face detection.

The dome-style cameras can record footage at the same 2688x1520 resolution, thanks to their 4MP sensors. On top of that, the cameras include both infrared (98ft max range) and full-color night vision (using low-light sensors).

Unfortunately, since these cameras include the interfaces for audio-based devices (microphones, speakers, and sirens), you will have to connect these devices separately in order to carry out two-way communication and activate the alarm/siren.

Also, these Hikvision dome cameras have an IP67-rated waterproof enclosure.

The 8-camera security bundle offered by Swann includes the NVR-8980 and eight NHD-900BE bullet-type spotlight cameras.

The NVR comes with a 2TB hard drive pre-installed. However, you can swap it out for a maximum storage capacity of 6TB. The NVR can easily carry out person, vehicle, face, and everyday object detection for multiple cameras simultaneously. (Everyday object detection includes packages, furniture, computers, TVs, etc.)

The cameras included in this bundle can record footage at 4K resolution. It has a spotlight that allows it to perform full-color night vision for a maximum range of 32ft.

Nonetheless, if you want more range during low-light, you can easily switch over to infrared, which has almost four times the range of full-color night vision (130ft).

The usual audio-based deterrence features such as two-way communication and sirens are also integrated into the camera itself; hence, you won’t have to worry about setting external devices for this. Also, the IP66 rating on these cameras will ensure they are protected against the elements.

Defender’s 8-channel system is a budget-friendly alternative. However, the entire system is analog-based, and you won’t have many of the smart features or interoperability aspects of other IP-based counterparts.

The DVR supports 4K recording of all eight channels simultaneously, and it comes with 2TB of storage space pre-installed. When configuring the NVR, you can set it up to record either motion-activated, scheduled, or continuous footage. (Defender says you can get 408 hours of 4K resolution footage with this much storage space.)

Unfortunately, the camera includes no support for intelligent motion detection features, despite having complete integration with the Defender 24-7 mobile app.

The eight bullet-type cameras included in this bundle can record 4K resolution footage. However, since they are analog devices, these cameras cannot record audio or perform other audio-based functions like two-way communication and sounding the alarms.

These Defender bullet-type cameras have an impressive IR LED system that can reach a maximum range of 100ft. Also, their enclosures are rated at IP67, rendering them as completely weatherproof.

Decision Factors when Choosing an 8-Camera Security System

Recorder Storage

Since an 8-camera security system will always come with an NVR/DVR, it’s best to consider the amount of storage space you are hoping to install into the security system. 4K footage can take up quite a lot of space, so if you want to record footage continuously and be able to store at least a week of footage from all eight cameras, we recommend going for at least 2TB. More is always better, and since these storage devices are hard drives, they aren’t as expensive as MicroSD cards or cloud services.

Recorder’s Maximum Channels

The number of channels that a recorder can support will determine how many security cameras you can connect to that device. Most NVRs/DVRs designed for 8-camera systems usually support 8 or 16 channels. We highly recommend getting a system with a 16-channel recorder since you will have room for another eight cameras.

Intelligent Motion Detection

High-end NVRs have better AI features such as human and vehicle detection. These AI features can drastically minimize false-positive motion alerts since the camera has a second opinion. (Other than relying on infrared-based motion sensors.) We highly recommend such a high-end recorder that can perform these functions. Also, if these NVRs detect humans and vehicles, they will likely include other low-level object detection functions such as line crossing and configurable motion zones. 

Camera’s Night Vision Capabilities

The future is full-color night vision, so if you aren’t getting a camera that can carry this out, you’ll be missing out on many essential details in your footage. Therefore, we always recommend cameras with full-color night vision. Also, these cameras will always include infrared as a second option; hence, you can always switch back if it gets too dark or if you need to cover more distance. 

Audio Features

Although microphones, speakers, and alarms aren’t included in almost every 8-channel camera system, it’s better to have these features for extra protection. Intruders will think twice about breaking in when there are sirens going off or when the cameras are warning them to back off.

What is an 8-Camera Security System?

An 8-camera security system, as the name suggests, comes with eight security cameras and a recorder. These usually include general-use cameras such as bullet-type or dome-type cameras that are inexpensive yet record high-quality footage at 4K resolution.

The cameras are all wired devices; hence, you will need to provide power through a wall outlet or by tapping into the building’s AC wiring. Also, you will have to maintain a wired data transmission medium such as an ethernet cable or BNC between the cameras and the recorder. Otherwise, the cameras won’t have any storage medium to transfer their footage.

Common Questions related to 8-Camera Security System

What’s the difference between 8-Camera and 8-Channel systems ?

In the context of security cameras and recorders, the “channel” represents how many streams (or cameras) the recorder device is capable of managing simultaneously. If an NVR/DVR spec sheet mentions that it’s an 8-channel 4K recorder, this means the device has enough processing power to store eight streams, each having 4K footage into its hard drives. Most 8-camera systems, including ones on this list, will have either an 8-channel or 16-channel recorder. If you get an 8-camera 4K system that includes a 16-channel NVR, you have the option to install an additional eight cameras into the system.

Do I need professional installers to set up an 8-camera system ?

You don’t need to hire professional installers to set up an 8-camera system if you understand the basics of your home’s electrical wiring and know how to install wall outlets and manage cables in and around your home. However, we recommend getting a professional installer if the camera system is urgent because they will be able to get an 8-channel system up and running before the day is done. 

Do 8-camera security systems have night vision ?

Yes, almost every camera system nowadays includes some form of infrared night vision. However, if you want the best low-light footage, we recommend getting an 8-camera system that supports full-color night vision or spotlights cameras. 

Do the cameras in 8-camera security systems record audio ?

Yes, most cameras used in these camera kits have microphones built-in to record audio. However, it can be illegal in some states to record audio, so we recommend disabling the microphones on your cameras if your state has laws against security cameras listening in. 

How much does an 8-camera security system cost ?

The prices vary a lot depending on the camera specs. Nonetheless, you are looking at a range of around $500-$2000 for a reliable 8-camera system. Despite supporting the same resolutions and having the same storage capacities, most high-end camera systems may include better app functionality and intelligent object detection features. Therefore, the cheapest option may not always be the most future-proof.

Can an 8-camera security system work with an app ?

Yes, almost every brand that offers 8-camera security systems has a desktop client or mobile application that allows users to control the security system. However, you need to provide internet access to the NVR. (Usually by plugging in an ethernet cable.)

Conclusion

So there you have it, eight of our best 8-camera security systems. From what we’ve uncovered, it’s safe to say that modern 8-channel security systems (even the analog-based ones) are one of the best starter security systems you can get for your home or small business.

For a homeowner or small business, an 8-camera security system has a very reasonable price tag. It's got impressive specs that are good enough to deter intruders and keep track of family, employees, and valuables.

So, do you agree with our top pick? Let us know in the comments.