What each UniFi camera actually sees, how far it sees it in the dark, and what it honestly costs.

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First, the number nobody tells you about

Camera marketing talks about megapixels. The number that decides whether a camera is useful is how far it sees at night — because that’s when you need it.

Ubiquiti publishes this honestly: an IR range in metres. That’s how far the camera can see with no other light at all, using invisible infrared light it shines itself. Video goes black-and-white when this kicks in. That’s normal, not a fault.

The second number is field of view in degrees — how wide it sees.

A note on lenses: Ubiquiti publishes field of view in degrees, not lens focal length in millimetres. Most of its fixed cameras list only “Fixed focal length” with no mm figure at all. We won’t invent one. And frankly, degrees is the more useful number anyway: standing in the room you can see what 110° covers. You cannot see what 4mm covers.

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The comparison table

Specs from techspecs.ui.com. Prices from ca.store.ui.com, checked 2026-07-16. All prices CAD.

Camera	Sees at night	Sees this wide (FOV)	Resolution / sensor	Power draw	Price (all-in)	Indoor / outdoor	IP + IK	Colours
G6 Turret	30 m	H: 109.9°, V: 56.7°	8MP 3864×2160 · 1/1.8″	12.5W (PoE)	$307 ($285 base + $22)	Outdoor	IP66 · IK04	Black or white
G6 Dome	30 m	H: 109.9°, V: 56.7°	8MP 3840×2160 · 1/1.8″	9.25W (PoE)	$431 ($400 base + $31)	Outdoor	IP66 · IK10	Black or white
G6 Bullet	30 m	H: 109.9°, V: 56.7°	8MP 3840×2160 · 1/1.8″	9.9W (PoE)	$307 ($285 base + $22)	Outdoor	IP66 · IK04	Black (white not confirmed available)
G6 180	20 m	H: 180°, V: 56.7°	16MP 7680×2160 · dual 1/1.8″ · 20 FPS	15W (PoE+)	$462 ($429 base + $33)	Indoor/outdoor	IP66 · IK04	Black (white not confirmed available)
G6 Pro 360	15 m	H: 180°, V: 180° (fisheye)	12MP 3504×3504 · 1/1.6″ · 24 FPS	13.5W (PoE+)	$771 ($715 base + $56)	Outdoor	IP66 · IK10	Black (white not confirmed available)
G6 Mini Dome	20 m	H: 109.9°, V: 56.7°	8MP 3840×2160 · 1/1.8″	9W (PoE)	$462 ($429 base + $33)	Indoor only (no IP rating)	— · IK08	Black or white
G6 Instant	6 m	H: 109.9°, V: 56.7°	8MP 3840×2160 · 1/1.8″	7W (USB adapter, PoE optional)	Not in our verified price data	Indoor (IPX5)	IPX5 · IK04	Not recorded
Doorbell Lite	5 m	H: 95.8°, V: 131.2°	5MP 1920×2560 (3:4 portrait)	8W (PoE)	$151 ($140 base + $11)	Outdoor (IPX5)	IPX5 · —	Black (white not confirmed available)
G4 Doorbell Pro	6 m	Main H: 138° · package cam H: 97.5°	2MP main + 2MP package cam	10W (AC or USB-C, not PoE)	$441 — basis unconfirmed	Outdoor (IPX4)	IPX4 · —	Not recorded
AI Turret	40 m	H: 109.9°, V: 56.7°	8MP 3840×2160 · 1/1.8″	20W (PoE+)	Not in our verified price data	Outdoor	IP66 · IK08	Not recorded
AI Dome	40 m	H: 109.9°, V: 56.7°	8MP 3840×2160 · 1/1.8″	10W (PoE)	Not in our verified price data	Outdoor	IP66 · IK10	Not recorded
AI MS-2 (multi-sensor)	20 m	Two lenses, independently aimed. Wide H: 108.8° · Tele H: 42.8°	2× 8MP · 1/2.8″	25W (PoE+)	$1,005 ($1,005 base + $0 surcharge)	Outdoor	IP66 · IK10	White
G5 Turret Ultra	30 m	H: 102.4°, V: 54.9°	4MP 2688×1512 · 1/2.4″	4W (PoE)	Not in our verified price data	Outdoor	IP66 · IK04	Not recorded
G5 Dome	9 m	H: 102.4°, V: 54.9°	4MP 2688×1512	5W (PoE)	Not in our verified price data	Indoor (IPX4 covered)	IPX4 · IK08	Not recorded
G5 Flex	6 m	H: 102.4°, V: 54.9°	4MP 2688×1512	4W (PoE)	Not in our verified price data	Indoor (IPX4 covered)	IPX4 · IK04	Not recorded

“Not in our verified price data” means it isn’t in the price file we maintain — ask and we’ll price it live. “Basis unconfirmed” means the store price we captured may be a base figure that grows at checkout. See the pricing note below.

Every camera above is PoE-powered except two: the G6 Instant (USB adapter included; PoE needs an adapter that is not included) and the G4 Doorbell Pro (AC doorbell transformer or USB-C).

Why the store looks cheaper than our quote

Ubiquiti adds a per-unit “memory surcharge” at checkout. It’s invisible on the product page and only itemised in the cart. A G6 Turret shows $285 and rings up at $307. A G6 Dome shows $400 and rings up at $431.

It’s not a markup and it’s not us. It’s Ubiquiti’s checkout. We quote all-in so there are no surprises — which is exactly why our number looks higher than the one you found online. It’s the same number; ours just includes the part theirs left out.

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What the shapes actually mean

Forget the marketing. Here’s what the four shapes mean when you’re standing under one with a ladder.

Turret — a ball in a cradle. You aim it after mounting, in three axes. The IR light sits behind the same glass as the lens but in a separate chamber, so you don’t get the halo of reflected glare that domes can suffer in rain or spider-web season. This is the default for a reason. Aimable, no glare, cheapest of the good ones. Its weakness: it’s a sticking-out lump and only IK04 — grabbable, twistable, and it will move if someone puts a hand on it.

Dome — a smooth bubble flat against the surface. Nothing to grab. IK10 on the G6 — the top of the vandal-resistance scale. Discreet, and people can’t easily tell where it’s pointing. But you aim it under the bubble, and the bubble collects dust, rain spots and spider webs right in front of the lens. Pick a dome when it’s within reach of the public. Pick a turret when it isn’t.

Bullet — the obvious cylinder on an arm. It’s a deterrent shape: everyone knows exactly what it is and where it’s aimed. Long reach on the arm makes it easy to get out from under a soffit. Same 30m IR and 4K sensor as the turret, same price, only IK04. Choose it when you want it seen.

180 — two 8MP sensors side by side, stitched into one wide panoramic image. Covers a full wall or a long yard from one point. The catch: 20 FPS (not 30) and a 20m IR range rather than 30m. You’re spending resolution on width.

360 (fisheye) — one lens looking straight down, seeing the entire room at once, 180° in every direction. You pan and zoom within the recording afterwards — nothing is off-camera, ever. The catch: 15m IR (the shortest of any wired G6), a circular image that takes getting used to, and 24 FPS. IK10. One of these in the centre of a ceiling can replace three cameras in the corners. Sometimes.

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Why 4K isn’t always better

This is the most expensive misunderstanding in cameras, so here it is plainly.

1. 4K costs you days of footage. Storage is the hidden bill. Look at what the same gateway does with different resolutions — the UDM-Pro handles 24 HD cameras, or 14 at 2K, or 8 at 4K. Same box. A 4K camera consumes roughly three HD cameras’ worth of everything. More cameras or more days — pick one. See Storage and Retention.

2. 4K can be worse at night. Here’s the physics: a sensor is a bucket for light. Cram 8 million pixels onto it and each pixel gets a smaller share than if you’d cram in 4 million. Smaller share = more noise in the dark. Sensor size matters more than pixel count, which is why we quote it: the G6 Turret’s 1/1.8″ sensor is physically larger than the AI MS-2’s 1/2.8″, despite both being 8MP. Bigger bucket, better night.

3. It only helps if it’s pointed somewhere useful. 4K across a whole parking lot gives you 4K of parking lot. A well-aimed 4MP camera at head height by a door beats a badly-aimed 8MP one on the roofline, every time. Placement beats resolution. Always.

Where 4K genuinely earns it: faces at a doorway, plates on a driveway, tills. Anywhere you’ll want to zoom in later on something you didn’t know mattered at the time. That’s the real case, and it’s a good one.

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Wired PoE vs the wireless G6 Instant

The G6 Instant is the easy one — plug it into a wall socket, done. And it’s a genuinely good 4K sensor in a tiny body.

The trade is real:

	Wired PoE camera	G6 Instant
Night vision	30 m (G6 Turret)	6 m — one room
Power	One cable, from the switch	Wall socket, always
If Wi-Fi congests	Unaffected	Video suffers
If power blips	Stays up on the rack’s battery backup	Drops
Outdoors	Yes (IP66)	No — IPX5, indoors
Install	Cable pull	Two minutes

Use the G6 Instant for what it’s good at: a nursery, a workshop, a rented flat, a spot you couldn’t cable. Don’t build a security system out of them. Six metres of night vision and a dependency on both Wi-Fi and a wall socket is not a perimeter.

⚠️ A gotcha worth knowing: the G6 Instant includes a USB power adapter. The PoE-to-USB-C adapter is not included. If you’re planning to PoE it, that’s a separate part.

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The G6 Dome comes in black and white

Correction (17 July 2026). This page previously said the G6 Dome was black-only. That was wrong. The white variant (UVC-G6-Dome-W) is a real, purchasable SKU — cart-verified.

So the colour-mismatch problem we used to warn about here doesn’t exist. White turrets under white soffits plus a white dome for the vandal-prone spot is a perfectly orderable combination. Both the G6 Turret and the G6 Dome ship in black or white.

Prices were verified on the white variant; black is listed at the same price.

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On value — the honest version

We won’t give you a “value score” out of ten. It’d be a number we made up, and you’d rightly ignore it.

Instead, here’s arithmetic you can check. Cost per metre of night vision, and cost per megapixel, from the all-in prices above:

Camera	All-in	IR range	$ per metre of IR	Megapixels	$ per MP
G6 Turret	$307	30 m	$10.23	8	$38.38
G6 Bullet	$307	30 m	$10.23	8	$38.38
G6 Dome	$431	30 m	$14.37	8	$53.88
G6 180	$462	20 m	$23.10	16	$28.88 ← best
G6 Pro 360	$771	15 m	$51.40	12	$64.25
Doorbell Lite	$151	5 m	$30.20	5	$30.20

What this actually tells you:

• The G6 Turret and G6 Bullet are the value leaders on both measures, and it isn’t close. Same sensor, same 30m IR, same $307. Choose between them on shape alone.
• The G6 Dome costs $124 more than the turret for identical optics. You’re buying IK10 and a flush profile. Within reach of the public, that’s money well spent. Under a 20-foot soffit, it’s $124 for nothing.
• The G6 180 wins on $/MP and loses badly on $/metre. Correct, and it explains the camera: it’s bought for width, not reach. Judge it against the two or three cameras it replaces, not against a turret.
• The G6 Pro 360 looks terrible on both. Also correct, also missing the point — a fisheye means nothing is ever off-frame, and no arithmetic captures the shot you didn’t know you needed. Sometimes worth every dollar. Sometimes an expensive way to watch a hallway.

These are objective figures, not a recommendation. $/metre says nothing about whether you need 30 metres. The final value judgement belongs to Mark — it depends on your building, your risk, and what you’re actually trying to see. That’s what the site walk is for.

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Best for — our honest recommendation

Camera	Best for	Reasoning
G6 Turret	The default. Start here. Eaves, soffits, driveways, back gates — anywhere out of arm’s reach.	30m IR, 4K, 1/1.8″ sensor, aim-after-mount, no dome glare, cheapest $/metre in the range. If you’re buying six cameras, five of them are probably this.
G6 Dome	Anywhere the public can reach it. Entrances at ground level, retail floors, loading bays.	IK10 and nothing to grab. Identical optics to the turret for $124 more — that’s the vandal premium, and it’s fair. Black or white.
G6 Bullet	When you want it seen. Front of a shop, a yard, a gate. Also good on a long arm out from under deep soffits.	Same optics and price as the turret. The whole difference is that it announces itself — which is the point.
G6 180	One long wall, one long yard, one open-plan floor. Replaces two or three cameras aimed at the same expanse.	180° from a single mounting point and a single cable pull. Accept 20 FPS and 20m IR — that’s the trade.
G6 Pro 360	The middle of a ceiling in a room where anything could matter. Open-plan office, shop floor, warehouse.	Nothing off-camera, ever, and you zoom in after the fact. IK10. 15m IR is the shortest of any wired G6 — needs some ambient light to shine.
G6 Mini Dome	Discreet indoor spots. Reception, hallway, small retail.	4K in a very small body. Indoor only — no IP rating. Don’t let anyone put it outside.
G6 Instant	The spot you can’t cable. Nursery, workshop, rental.	Real 4K, two-minute install. 6m IR, indoor only, needs a wall socket. A supplement, not a system.
Doorbell Lite	Front doors. Almost all of them.	$151 all-in, PoE, and that 131° vertical field of view is deliberate — it’s a portrait shot, so you see a face and the parcel on the step. 5m IR is plenty at a doorstep.
AI Turret / AI Dome	When 30 metres genuinely isn’t enough. Long driveways, acreages, big yards.	40m IR — a third further than the G6. The AI Dome does it at 10W on plain PoE and IK10, which is a quietly excellent combination.
AI MS-2	One post that has to watch two different directions. Corners, junctions, forecourts.	Two independently aimable 8MP lenses, one cable, one PoE+ port, IK10. Note the smaller 1/2.8″ sensors — better coverage, not better night.
G5 Turret Ultra	Tight PoE budgets and long camera counts.	4W. Three of these draw less than one G6 Turret, and it still does 30m IR. 4MP rather than 8MP. Genuinely underrated when the switch is full.

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Related

• Storage and Retention — how many days you actually get
• Choosing a Gateway — what records them, and the limit that bites first
• Switches and PoE — what powers them
• Glossary — IP, IK, IR, FOV explained

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Which camera goes where depends on your sight lines, your ceiling heights, and where the light already falls at 2am. That’s a walk around the building, not a table. AVNFi is glad to do it.