Which version to buy? Using Visio for CCTV Design?

[stevie.thompson]

Hey Guys please be gentle with me as I am a Visio Virgin.

I have been a CCTV installation engineer for 20years but recently made the move to technical system design. I am currently using a mix of excel, paint and Draftsight but these do not really give me what I need.
I am now looking for a simple(ish) system to assist me with design drawings. It will only ever 2d drawings and nothing overly complex.
After doing some research Visio may be the product for me but thought id come ask the experts.

I need to be able to create 2d site drawings of buildings and external areas (roadways, fencing etc) and I also would like to be able to insert symbols for CCTV camera, PIR's etc.
Another thing that I need to be able to show is a cameras field of view and how it is obstructed when a solid object is in its path.

I will also need to create cabling and system schematics and think this will be easy with visio.

Is visio capable of giving me what I need? Also what version of visio 2016 should I purchase? I don't mind buying the more inclusive version but I don't want to buy it for features I will never use.

Please be honest guys I can take it.

[wapperdude]

For starters, you might look at this:  https://products.office.com/en-us/visio/microsoft-visio-visio-version-comparison

There are other alternatives to Visio...Smartcard, Lucidchart come to mind.  I tried Smartdraw, was disappointed, felt like a knockoff.  Don't know anything about Lucidchart.

I believe Visio still allows 30 day trial.

Data linking:  this might be a feature worth upgrade to "pro".  Allows importing / exporting info between Visio / Excel.  Perhaps others can share, I'm still using V2016.

  Camera field of view obstructions.    Visio doesn't do ray diagrams which allow shadowing, etc.  But you could do simple block out regions manually with a bit of creative effort.

Wapperdude

[stevie.thompson]

Wapperdude
Thanks for the reply, I have downloaded the trial version of Visio and I am having a play about with it now. Seems relatively easy to pick up not sure it can give me everything I need but I have discovered the benefits to downloading additional shape packs.
I will look into the alternatives.

Cheers 

[wapperdude]

Good.

Don't be afraid to ask questions! 

What is lacking?  Might be a not so obvious solution.

Happy evaluating!

Cheers.
Wapperdude