How to Choose a UniFi Protect Camera

Because the sensor and the AI are common across the line, image quality is not the differentiator — a G6 Instant sees the same 4K detail as a G6 PTZ. What changes between models is the body, where it can mount, how far it sees at night, how it draws power, and whether it records on its own. Those are the levers this guide works through. Browse the full lineup on the Security Cameras hub.

Form factor drives placement: the indoor G6 Instant is a compact desk or shelf camera, the G6 Bullet is a visible cylindrical deterrent, the G6 Turret is a discreet eyeball that tucks under an eave, and the G6 PTZ is a motorized head that pans, tilts, and zooms. IR night range is the next divider — the Instant reaches 6 m (20 ft) while the three wired models reach 30 m (98 ft). (G6 Turret specs)

Power and connectivity separate the Wi-Fi Instant from the wired trio, and storage decides whether you need a recorder on day one. Both are big enough to get their own sections below. The two fixed outdoor bodies are weighed directly in G6 Bullet vs G6 Turret.

This is the sharpest line in the lineup, and it is easy to get wrong because all four look rugged. IPX5 means the G6 Instant shrugs off a splash, but it is not built to sit on an exposed wall through winter — Ubiquiti rates it for indoor use, -20 to 40 °C. The G6 Bullet, G6 Turret, and G6 PTZ are genuine IP66 outdoor cameras.

Cold rating splits the outdoor three. The G6 Bullet is rated to -20 °C, while the G6 Turret and G6 PTZ reach -30 °C — the widest cold margin in the line. In a hard-winter climate that 10 °C difference is the safer spec; in a temperate one it is a non-issue and the choice falls back to form factor, as G6 Bullet vs G6 Turret lays out.

Three of the four are fixed cameras pointed once and left. The G6 Instant is the indoor pick: Wi-Fi and USB-C power mean no Ethernet run, and a microSD slot lets it record without a recorder, but the IPX5 rating and 6 m IR keep it indoors and close-range. The G6 Bullet and G6 Turret are the same $199 outdoor camera in two bodies — visible deterrent versus discreet eyeball — both with 30 m IR and IP66 weatherproofing. The indoor-versus-outdoor call between the first two is mapped in G6 Instant vs G6 Bullet.

The G6 PTZ is the outlier. It is the only camera that moves: dual wide and tele lenses, 10x hybrid zoom, and motorized 350° pan / 100° tilt with auto-tracking, so one unit can sweep a whole forecourt. That capability costs $399 — roughly double the fixed cameras — and 24.5 W of PoE+. The fixed-versus-motorized trade-off is the subject of G6 Turret vs G6 PTZ.

For an indoor room, a small business interior, or a rental where running cable is impractical, the G6 Instant is the only fit here — it is the lineup's sole indoor and Wi-Fi camera, and its microSD slot can stand in for a recorder. Step outside and the decision becomes body and climate: the G6 Bullet when you want the camera seen on a soffit or pole, the G6 Turret when you want it to disappear under an eave or you face hard winters. G6 Bullet vs G6 Turret settles that pair.

Reach for the G6 PTZ only when you have a large open area — a yard, a lot, a forecourt — that no single fixed view covers, and you want to pan, zoom, and auto-track from one mount. Be honest about the gap, though: a PTZ watches one direction at a time, so one PTZ does not replace a ring of fixed cameras for continuous all-angle coverage. The common build pairs a PTZ for the overview with fixed Bullets or Turrets on the entries, a trade-off detailed in G6 Turret vs G6 PTZ.

A UniFi Protect camera is one piece of a system, not the whole thing. The three wired models — the G6 Bullet, G6 Turret, and G6 PTZ — uplink to a PoE switch that carries both power and data over one Ethernet cable, and that switch connects to a gateway or NVR running UniFi Protect that does the recording and the AI processing. Only the Wi-Fi G6 Instant skips the switch, drawing 7 W from a USB-C adapter instead.

PoE budget is where the camera and switch have to agree. The G6 Bullet (9.9 W) and G6 Turret (12.5 W) run on standard PoE — Ubiquiti lists no 802.3 class for either, and a normal UniFi PoE switch port powers them easily. The G6 PTZ is the exception: it draws 24.5 W and requires PoE+ (802.3at), so confirm the port supplies it before you buy. If you are sizing that switch for a run of cameras, how to choose a UniFi switch covers PoE budget and port count.

Storage decides whether the recorder is optional. The G6 Instant and G6 PTZ have a microSD slot (up to 1 TB) and can record locally, but the G6 Bullet and G6 Turret have no on-board storage — their footage has to land on a UniFi gateway or NVR running Protect, which is not optional for those two. Size that recorder alongside the cameras: how to choose a UniFi gateway walks through Protect storage and how many cameras a gateway can record. Plan the gateway and switch first, then pick the cameras.