If you've just set up a new CCTV system or you're about to mounting height is the one decision that trips up most DIYers. Get it wrong and your camera either gets vandalised, or it only captures the tops of people's heads. Neither is useful when something actually happens. This guide cuts through the confusion.
Why Mounting Height Matters More Than Camera Resolution
A lot of people focus on megapixels. That's understandable — but a 4K camera mounted in the wrong spot will always produce worse evidence than a 4MP camera in the right one.
Mounting height affects three things directly:
- Face detail — can you actually identify someone from the footage?
- Tamper resistance — can someone grab or spray-paint the camera without a ladder?
- Field of view — are you covering the zone that actually matters?
Get the height right first. Then worry about resolution.
The Core Rule: 2.4m to 3m for Most Australian Homes
For standard residential properties, the sweet spot is 2.4m to 3m above ground. It matches what experienced installers use across Australia every day.
At this height:
- A person walking up your driveway will be captured from shoulder height up, giving you a usable face shot
- The camera is high enough that most people can't reach it without a step ladder
- The downward angle works with standard 2.8mm or 4mm lenses without needing extreme tilt
If you mount significantly higher — say under a high roofline at 5m or above. You shift into what installers call "overview" territory. That's fine for general surveillance, but it won't give you identification-quality footage.
Mounting Height by Location
Different spots around your home call for slightly different heights. Use this as a reference.
| Location | Recommended Height | Primary Goal |
|---|---|---|
| Front door / entry | 2.4m – 3m | Face identification |
| Driveway (side mount) | 2.4m – 3m | Face + vehicle capture |
| Garage door / apron | 2m – 2.5m | Plate capture at stop point |
| Backyard / side access | 2.5m – 3m | Movement detection + ID |
| Under eave / soffit | 2.4m – 3m (if eave permits) | Overview + deterrence |
| Perimeter / large property | 3m – 4m | Wide coverage |
The driveway and garage apron entries are where Australians get this wrong most often. The instinct is to go high — under the soffit looks clean and avoids drilling through brickwork. But as the experienced installer community consistently notes: soffit height is too high for face identification if someone is standing next to your car. You'll capture the hoodie, not the face.
How to avoid installing wrong height
Mount at head height, not roofline
The consensus from contributors with thousands of real installations was clear — soffit is "entirely too high". Seven to eight feet (roughly 2.1m to 2.4m) is ideal for identification purposes.
Use a wall mount on the garage door frame
Mounting on the sidewall of the garage door opening — rather than directly under the eave — puts the camera at the right height, avoids drilling through brick, and keeps the cable path manageable. Most people won't even notice it, especially with a dark-coloured camera against a matching trim.
Test before you commit
Before drilling anything permanent, build a test rig — a length of timber, a bucket, and some sand or rocks as ballast. Position the camera at your target height for a full day and night cycle. Every site is different. External light fixtures can cause washout at night. Reflections off white garage doors can destroy IR performance. Testing costs you 30 minutes and saves you hours of rework.
Watch the light fixture
If you're mounting near an exterior light, keep the camera at least 400mm to the side. Aim across the driveway rather than directly into the light's throw. Test both day and night — what looks fine at noon can be completely washed out at 10pm.
Soffit vs. Wall Mount: Which Is Better?
The honest answer is: it depends on your goal.
| Consideration | Soffit / High Eave | Wall Mount at 2.4–3m |
|---|---|---|
| Face identification quality | Poor – mostly top-of-head | Good – captures face and shoulders |
| Protection from weather | Excellent | Good (IP67 camera handles rain) |
| Tamper resistance | High | Moderate – still out of easy reach |
| Cable routing | Clean – cable goes straight up | May need to route around brick |
| Installation difficulty | Often requires drilling into eave | Usually straightforward |
| Recommended for | Overview / large property | Face ID / entry |
If you need to identify people — not just detect movement — go with the wall mount at 2.4–3m. If you're covering a wide backyard or side fence line and identification isn't the priority, soffit height works fine.
Some experienced installers run two cameras per driveway: one high for overview coverage, one lower and positioned perpendicular to foot traffic for identification. This is the best of both worlds and works especially well if cars park on the driveway overnight.
The Correct Tilt Angle
Height alone isn't enough. You also need the right tilt.
Angle the camera down between 15° and 30° from horizontal. This is the sweet spot for capturing a walking person from the chest up — which is what you want for identification purposes.
Common mistakes:
- Pointing too far down (straight at the ground) — you'll capture the crown of a head, nothing else
- Leaving it level — you'll capture the horizon and whatever is at eye level 10 metres away, not the person at 3 metres
- Pointing at a white wall or garage door — IR will bounce back and blow out your night footage
For driveways, aim the camera so that it captures the space where a person would naturally be walking or standing next to a car. Walk through that zone yourself and check the live feed before tightening the mount.
Night Vision and External Lights
External light fixtures and CCTV cameras are not always friends. Here's what to watch for:
Keep lights out of the camera's field of view. If a porch light, sensor light, or garage light is shining directly into the lens, it will create glare and severely degrade night footage. Position the camera so that light sources are behind or to the side — not in front of the lens.
Mount the camera below the light fixture, not above it. When the light is above the camera, the illumination fills the scene the camera is looking at. When the camera is above the light, the light is often in the frame and causes blowout.
Test at the times that matter. Dusk, full dark, and dawn will all behave differently. A position that looks ideal at midday can produce terrible footage at 10pm when the sensor light fires. Do your testing across a full day-night cycle before committing to permanent mounting.
Consider cameras with built-in warm LEDs. Cameras like the Dahua TiOC and Hikvision ColorVu range include their own warm-light illumination. This means you're not dependent on external lights and you get full-colour night footage rather than black-and-white IR. 
FAQ
Q1 Do I need to drill through brick to mount a camera at this height?
Not always. On garage door frames and timber-clad homes, you can often surface-mount and route the cable around the frame without touching masonry. On brick homes, drilling through the mortar joint (not the brick face itself) is the cleanest approach. Use a masonry bit and seal the penetration with silicone after cabling.
Q2 Can I use a varifocal camera to compensate for mounting too high?
Partly. A varifocal lens lets you tighten the angle and "zoom in" to a choke point like a gate or doorway, which partially compensates for greater height. However, the geometry still means you're looking more steeply down at the subject, so face capture will never be as clean as a camera at the right height. Get the height right first.
Q3 What cable do I need for outdoor runs in Australia?
Use UV-stabilised external-grade Cat6. Standard indoor cable (blue or white) will crack and fail within 6–12 months exposed to Australian sun, even under an eave. Always leave a drip loop — a small downward U-bend — where the cable enters the camera to stop rainwater tracking into the connector.
Q4 How do I test the camera position before permanently mounting?
Build a simple test rig: a 2.4m length of timber, a 20L bucket, and some sand or rocks as ballast. Clamp or tape the camera temporarily at your target height and aim it at your intended zone. Watch the live feed through the NVR or mobile app across morning, afternoon, evening, and at night with IR active. This 30-minute test can save hours of rework.
Smarket Recommended Products for This Install
If you're setting up a driveway or entry camera at 2.4–3m, here are the relevant product categories at Smarket:
- CCTV Camera Kits(Hikvision, Dahua, HiLook) — complete systems with NVR, cameras, and cables
- Individual IP Cameras — if you're adding to an existing NVR
All Smarket products ship free on orders over $300 and include a 3-year Australian warranty with local support.