3-Camera Home CCTV System in Leicester
Three cameras is the sweet spot for most Leicester homes. A properly designed 3-camera system covers your front door, rear garden, and side access - the three routes that account for the vast majority of residential break-ins. No wasted hardware, no blind spots, just effective coverage where it counts.
By the Doberman install team · CCTV system designers & installers, Leicester · Last reviewed February 2026
By the Doberman install team
CCTV system designers & installers, Leicester
Last reviewed February 2026
What you get
Site survey
We walk your property and identify exactly which three positions give you full coverage - including the approach routes most homeowners overlook.
System design
Camera models, lens types, and mounting heights chosen for your specific layout. Three cameras, zero guesswork.
Professional installation
Cat6 cables routed through lofts and cavities. NVR set up, app access configured, and everything tested before we leave.
Night commissioning
We return after dark to verify IR performance, adjust angles, and confirm every camera captures usable footage at night.
How it works
Survey
We visit your property, walk every side, and confirm that three cameras will cover all approach routes. If it needs four, we will tell you.
Design
You get a clear layout showing camera positions, fields of view, and cable routes - plus a fixed quote with no hidden extras.
Install
Cameras mounted, cables run cleanly, NVR configured, and the full system commissioned - typically completed in a single day.
Why 3 cameras work for most Leicester homes
Three cameras is not a budget compromise - it is the right number for the majority of terraced and semi-detached homes across Leicester. The typical layout covers the front door and street approach, the rear garden and back door, and the side return or alleyway access. These are the three routes an intruder is most likely to use, and covering all three gives you a complete picture of who is approaching your property and from where. We have installed hundreds of 3-camera systems across Leicester, and for most properties this configuration eliminates blind spots without adding unnecessary hardware.
The key is not how many cameras you have - it is where they are placed. A single camera on the front of the house might capture someone walking up to your door, but it will miss the side gate, the rear garden, and any shared alleyway access. Our camera placement approach is designed around approach routes rather than simply covering the largest area possible. Each camera has a specific job, and we choose the lens and mounting position to match the distance and angle involved.
If you live in a mid-terrace in Clarendon Park, a semi in Wigston, or a smaller detached in Oadby, three cameras will almost certainly cover everything you need. For larger detached properties, corner plots, or homes with multiple driveways, a 4-camera system may be more appropriate - and we will be honest about that during the survey rather than underselling you on coverage.
Typical 3-camera layouts by property type
Victorian and Edwardian terraces in Stoneygate and Clarendon Park are one of the most common property types we install 3-camera systems in. The typical layout puts one camera covering the front door and pavement approach, one on the rear elevation covering the garden and back door, and one covering the side return or passage that runs between your property and the neighbour. These terraces often have narrow side passages that are easy to overlook but provide direct access to the rear garden - exactly the kind of route that needs covering. Cable routing through the loft from front to rear is usually straightforward in these properties.
Semi-detached homes in Braunstone, Glenfield, and Hamilton follow a similar pattern but with more flexibility on camera angles. The front camera typically covers both the front door and part of the driveway. The rear camera covers the garden and patio doors. The third camera picks up the exposed side of the property - usually the side gate or the passage between your home and the boundary fence. For semis with an attached garage, we often mount the third camera to cover both the garage door and the side access in a single field of view.
New-build homes in Thorpe Astley, Hamilton, and Lubbesthorpe tend to have more compact plots, which actually makes 3-camera coverage easier. Front elevations face the street at close range, so a wide-angle lens handles the front approach and driveway. The rear camera covers the garden, and the third covers whichever side has the gate or bin storage area. Cable routing in newer builds is generally simpler because wall cavities are accessible and loft spaces are clear. Our full overview of home CCTV installation in Leicester covers how we adapt to different property types in more detail.
What goes into a 3-camera system
Every camera we install uses Power over Ethernet (PoE) - a single Cat6 cable carries both power and video data from each camera back to the NVR. This means no Wi‑Fi dropouts, no battery changes, and no reliance on your home broadband for recording. The NVR sits inside your property - usually in a cupboard or utility room - and records continuously to its own hard drive. With three cameras recording at 4MP or above, you typically get 20-30 days of continuous footage on a standard 2TB drive before the oldest recordings are overwritten.
We select camera models based on what each position demands. A front door camera covering a short approach might use a fixed 2.8mm lens for a wide field of view. A rear garden camera covering a longer distance might need a 4mm or 6mm lens to maintain detail at range. If one of your cameras needs to cover a scene with mixed distances - say a side passage that also overlooks part of the garden - we use a varifocal lens that we dial in during installation. Every camera includes WDR (wide dynamic range) for handling mixed lighting and IR LEDs for clear night footage out to 30-50 metres depending on the model.
The system is designed to work independently of your broadband. If your internet goes down, all three cameras continue recording locally. Remote app access lets you check live views and playback from your phone, but the recording itself never depends on a cloud connection. There are no subscriptions, no cloud storage fees, and no third-party access to your footage. For a breakdown of how hardware and installation costs add up, see our CCTV cost guide.
Pricing
A typical 3-camera PoE system starts from around £850 for hardware (cameras, NVR, hard drive, and network switch), with installation on top. Final cost depends on cable routing complexity and the camera models required for your specific layout. We provide a fixed quote after the site survey - no surprises on the day.
Why Doberman
Hardwired PoE, not Wi‑Fi
Every camera runs on a dedicated Ethernet cable. No signal drops, no battery swaps, no competition with your household broadband.
Designed for your property
We do not sell a standard 3-camera package. Each system is designed around your layout after a proper site survey.
Night commissioning included
We check IR performance after dark and adjust angles on site. This is where most installs fall short - and where usable footage is won or lost.
No subscriptions, no cloud
Footage stays on your NVR at home. No monthly fees, no cloud dependency, no third-party access to your recordings.
About Doberman
Doberman is a Leicester-based CCTV installer specialising in hardwired PoE camera systems for homes and businesses. Every installation is carried out by our own team - we do not subcontract any part of the work.
We focus on one thing: wired CCTV that works reliably. No alarm bundles, no smart home add-ons, no maintenance contracts you did not ask for. Clean installations, properly commissioned after dark, and handed over so you know exactly how to use the system.
If you want to understand how we work before getting in touch, our installation guides cover everything from camera placement to system specs to what drives the cost of a CCTV installation in Leicester.
Areas we cover
We install 3-camera home CCTV systems across Leicester and the surrounding areas, including Clarendon Park, Stoneygate, Knighton, Oadby, Wigston, Braunstone, Hamilton, Thorpe Astley, Glenfield, Groby, Belgrave, Birstall, and everywhere in between. If you are not sure whether we cover your area, just ask.
Frequently asked questions
- Is 3 cameras enough for my home?
- For most terraced and semi-detached homes in Leicester, yes. Three cameras cover the front approach, rear garden, and side access - the three main routes to your property. During the site survey we confirm whether three cameras provide full coverage or whether a fourth is needed. We will not recommend fewer cameras than you need, and we will not oversell you either.
- What does each of the 3 cameras cover?
- The typical layout is: one camera on the front covering the door and street approach, one on the rear covering the garden and back door, and one covering the side return, alley, or gate. The exact positions depend on your property layout - we design around your specific approach routes, not a template.
- Can I add a fourth camera later?
- Yes. We install NVRs with spare channels as standard, so adding a camera later just means running one additional cable and mounting the camera. We can also pre-run a cable to a likely fourth position during the initial install if you want to keep the option open without the cost of a fourth camera straight away.
- How long does a 3-camera installation take?
- A typical 3-camera install is completed in a single day - usually five to seven hours including cable routing, camera mounting, NVR setup, app configuration, and testing. Night commissioning may be done the same evening or on a follow-up visit depending on the time of year.
- Do I need to pay a monthly subscription?
- No. Everything records locally to the NVR in your home. There is no cloud storage, no subscription, and no ongoing fees. Remote app access uses your existing broadband and is free.
- Will the cables be visible on the outside of my house?
- No. We route cables through loft spaces, wall cavities, and existing conduit wherever possible. The aim is hidden runs that are invisible from outside. We plan cable routes during the survey and will not clip cables across brickwork.