Security cameras, installed right.
My dad and I install professional camera systems for local shops, offices and homes around Lake County. Clean wiring, no monthly fees, and you can pull up every camera on your phone from anywhere.
(847) 772-7892 call or text
Free walkthrough and quote, no pressure. I'll tell you exactly what it costs before any work starts. Waukegan, Gurnee, North Chicago, Zion, Libertyville, Lake Forest and the rest of Lake & Cook County.
Why shop owners put cameras in
It's rarely about catching someone in the act. Most of the value shows up on the ordinary days.
Researchers at UNC Charlotte interviewed 422 convicted burglars about how they pick a target. Roughly 6 in 10 said they check for cameras first, and 40% said cameras alone would send them looking for somewhere easier. Understanding Decisions to Burglarize from the Offender's Perspective, UNC Charlotte Dept. of Criminal Justice & Criminology
Most break-ins never happen
A visible camera over the door is the cheapest security you can buy. Someone looking for an easy target sees it and keeps walking. That's the whole job done before anything goes wrong.
Proof instead of "he said, she said"
If something does happen, you hand the police actual footage instead of a description. Same for an insurance claim. A clear recording turns a long argument into a short one.
Protection from false claims
Someone slips on your floor, or says you damaged their car in the lot, or disagrees about what happened inside. Footage settles it. Without it, you're paying to defend yourself either way.
You can check in from anywhere
Pull the place up on your phone from home, from vacation, from wherever you happen to be. See who opened, see the front door, see that the lights are off.
Peace of mind at close
Get an alert if there's motion at 2am and look at it right then, instead of finding out in the morning. You'll know within seconds whether it's a raccoon or something real.
Your insurance may care
A lot of commercial policies knock something off the premium for a recorded camera system. Worth one phone call to your agent once it's in, and it can offset the cost.
Places we set up
Small businesses are most of what we do. We size the system to the space, not the other way around.
What a shop setup actually looks like
Here's a typical four-camera layout for a small shop. Every space is different, which is exactly why we walk it first.
How it works
We walk the place
Free, and usually 20 minutes. We look at your doors, your register, your lighting and where the internet comes in, then tell you what we'd put where.
You get a real number
One price covering equipment and installation. You approve it before we order anything. No surprise line items at the end.
We install it clean
Cable run properly and out of sight, not stapled across your ceiling. Most shops are a one-day job and we work around your hours.
We set up your phone
Before we leave, it's on your phone and working, and we show you how to find a clip and save it. Call me later if you forget. That's included.
What we install
We're not tied to one brand, so we pick gear that fits the building and the budget instead of selling you whatever we have a deal on.
- Sharp enough to actually identify someone. There's a real difference between seeing that a person was there and knowing who it was.
- Night vision that works. Most of what you'll care about happens after close, so we test the night picture before we call it done.
- Recording stored on site. Footage lives on a recorder in your building, so there's no monthly cloud bill just to keep your own video.
- Weeks of history, not days. We size the storage so that when you finally go looking, the day you need is still there.
- Phone and computer access. Every camera, live or rewound, from anywhere with a signal. Multiple people can have it.
- Motion alerts you can live with. Tuned so a person at the back door pings you and a passing car doesn't.
- Outdoor cameras built for here. Rated to keep working through a Lake County January, not just a mild one.
- Wired wherever we can. One cable carries video and power, so there's nothing to recharge and nothing to drop off the WiFi.
Why us
You get the two people who quoted the job actually doing the job, and the same phone number afterward.
It's my dad and me. He's been working in this area for over 25 years, and between us we've been inside a lot of these buildings before they were even finished going up. There isn't much around here we haven't had to run cable through.
No call center, no sales rep who disappears after the contract, and no locking you into a monthly plan to watch your own footage. If you have a question a year from now, you text the same number you texted the first time.
We're local. Lake Forest Digital is based here and we work across Waukegan, Gurnee, North Chicago, Zion, Libertyville, Lake Forest and the rest of Lake and Cook County. Take a look at the rest of what we do if you're curious.
Common questions
Is there a monthly fee?
Not for the systems we normally install. The footage records to equipment in your building, so watching it and saving clips costs you nothing every month. Some people want cloud backup on top of that, which does have a fee, but it's optional and we'll tell you straight whether you need it.
How much does it cost?
It depends on how many cameras and how hard the wiring is, so we won't invent a number here. We come out, look at the space, and give you one price for everything before any work starts. The walkthrough and the quote are free.
How long does the install take?
Most small shops are a single day. We can work around your schedule or come in before you open so you're not losing business while we're on a ladder.
Do I need internet at the shop?
The cameras will record without it. You need internet only for the part where you watch from your phone somewhere else. If your connection is weak, that's fixable too, and it's the kind of thing we do anyway.
Can I see it on my phone?
Yes, and we set that up before we leave. Live view, rewind to any time, and save a clip to text to someone. We can put it on more than one phone if a partner or a manager needs it too.
What about recording sound?
Illinois is strict about recording conversations, so we normally set systems up for video only. That covers what almost everyone actually wants, and it keeps you out of a problem you didn't know you had. If you want audio anywhere, talk to your attorney first and we'll set it up to match what they tell you.
Where can't cameras go?
Anywhere people expect privacy. Bathrooms and changing areas are off limits, full stop. We'll lay out coverage that protects the business without putting a camera somewhere it shouldn't be, and we'll say so if you ask for one we won't install.
I rent the space. Does that matter?
Usually not much, but check your lease before we drill. Most landlords are fine with it, and some want to know where cable runs. We'll do the install so it can be taken down cleanly if you ever move.
The walkthrough is free and takes about 20 minutes
We look at the space, tell you what we'd put where and why, and give you one number. If you decide against it, you've lost twenty minutes and nothing else.
Get a free quote
Text is fastest, and a photo or two of your space helps. Or fill this out and we'll get back to you.