{"id":392,"date":"2024-03-07T08:36:09","date_gmt":"2024-03-07T08:36:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jmcsecure.co.uk\/blog\/?p=392"},"modified":"2026-06-07T22:34:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-07T21:34:09","slug":"how-many-mp-is-good-for-cctv","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jmcsecure.co.uk\/blog\/how-many-mp-is-good-for-cctv\/","title":{"rendered":"How Many MP is Good for CCTV? Ultimate Guide Revealed"},"content":{"rendered":"

The honest short answer: for most homes and businesses in the UK, 5MP is the sweet spot<\/strong>. It gives you enough detail to identify faces and read number plates at sensible distances, without the storage cost of 8MP. Drop to 4MP to save a little money, or step up to 8MP (4K) for large areas or where you want to digitally zoom right into recorded footage. Below is how the resolutions actually compare, and the things that matter more than the megapixel number itself.<\/p>\n

We have sold and tested Hikvision and HiLook cameras since 2008, so this is based on what our customers actually choose and what we see when we set these cameras up, not just the numbers on the box.<\/p>\n

The resolutions at a glance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Resolution<\/th>\nPixels<\/th>\nBest for<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
2MP \/ 1080p<\/td>\n1920 x 1080<\/td>\nEntry-level HD. Fine for general monitoring of small areas.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4MP<\/td>\n2560 x 1440<\/td>\nA good all-round step up from 1080p. Noticeably sharper.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5MP<\/td>\n2560 x 1920<\/td>\nOur most popular choice. Excellent detail for most homes and businesses.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
6MP<\/td>\n3072 x 2048<\/td>\nHigh resolution, useful for wider area coverage.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
8MP \/ 4K<\/td>\n3840 x 2160<\/td>\nFour times the pixels of 1080p. Great for large areas or fine detail.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
12MP (IP only)<\/td>\n4000 x 3000<\/td>\nVery high resolution for wide coverage where detail is critical.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Why higher resolution actually matters: the zoom<\/h2>\n

Here is the part most people miss. A live view of a 2MP, 5MP, or 8MP camera can look very similar at a glance on a monitor, and you might wonder why you would pay more for the higher resolution. The difference shows up when something has happened and you need to zoom into the recorded footage to read a face or a number plate.<\/p>\n

A higher resolution image holds far more detail to zoom into. As a rough example, you can digitally zoom around four times into an 8MP recording and still be looking at roughly the quality of a 2MP camera, where a 2MP camera zoomed in the same amount would be a blur. That extra detail, kept in the recording, is what you are really paying for, and it is exactly what you want on the day you actually need the footage.<\/p>\n

More megapixels is not always better<\/h2>\n

It is tempting to assume the highest number wins, but there are two real trade-offs to weigh up.<\/p>\n