Ditto on the Camo system. It's all we use now.

But I prefer cedar to plastic.

Would a paver patio be a better option as far as cost, maintenance and durability?

If you are close to ground level I'd go with either a paver patio or a stamped/stained concrete patio any day over a deck. That is what I did when I had a yard with a backdoor a couple feet off the ground. IMHO your landscaping options are better with a patio than a deck.

I'm originally from the Buffalo area and now live in the Rochester area. Pavers constantly move with the seasons, especially when the frost line is almost 5 ft deep!! You also get to put up with all of the "stuff" that wants to grow up in the cracks, no matter what you fill them with. I have lived with my 12X12 deck for about 25 years and it is nothing but a maintenance PITA!!! I wish I had done a 6" thick patio instead. My deck is only about 6" above the ground, but some critter or other is always burrowing under there. Anything put on a PT deck has to be done yearly. Forget the semi-transparent stains because, after many years, it's not semi-transparent anymore. The latest thing that seems better than others is the stuff made by Behr and sold at Home Depot. I always doubted it until I tried it.
There are plenty of concrete contractors out there. As long as you can get the concrete to where you need it to go, DON'T put up a deck!!!!!
Another bit of advice for a fellow Western New Yorker, get garage floor mats to keep the salt off your garage floor!