Camera and placement recommendations

[XtremeAaron]

Hello,

I've been on here for a while now researching and just last night 2 people were on my street breaking into cars.

That's the straw I needed to get my cameras finally.

I do not have a NVR, Poe injector, etc at this time. Recommendations for all would be appreciated.

Starting out with 2 cameras. One on the front porch covering the door and steps (see photo) and another on the corner of the garage shooting down the driveway and viewing back door ( see photo). Will expand setup on the future, we just had a baby so budget is big right now.

An NVR is probably cheaper then building a blue iris dedicated machine? (Have an older desktop but don't know if it's powerful enough?)

So what cameras would you go with for these locations? NVR? Poe injector?

I appreciate all the help! If measurements would help the camera selection let me know and I'll provide them.

Thanks.

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[FrankOceanXray]

I encourage you to have more skin in the game. If you want everything done for you, contact your local security companies so they may advise and bill accordingly.

If you care to do it yourself, you will need to have and/or develop skills. Looks like you'll need to run wire, to start.

Tons of good info here and on the net.. and look at other places and how they mount cameras... figure what you want and even need, then go from there.

Good luck.

 

[XtremeAaron]

I should clarify, I'll be doing it all, DIY. I have already wired my whole home with with cat5e and will have no problem running the lines needed. Have an open attic and conduit to the garage already.

I'm pretty sold on Hikvision unless another brand is better suited.

My big question about placement is what camera is best suited. The photos above are just me holding my cellphone , wider viewing angles on cams I'm assuming. The other is about MPs and distance for the garage one. I'll use this calculator when some cameras are recommended: https://ipvm.com/calculator

The NVR vs dedicated blue iris machine will be dependent on value. At this point just having 2 cameras would need to be scalable. I have read the threads on system requirements and will have to see if I can get my old desktop upgraded or if its cheaper to do dedicated.

Thanks .

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[FrankOceanXray]

Seema you are on the right path.

Aliexpress your gear.

Start plugging it in.

Standalone or NVR matters on your desire to control and costs. Nayer uses NVR and has some great features using his skills. I chose the PC with BI route. Found a deal on ebay. I hope to enjoy the features of BI.

Use IPVM in a backwards fashion. Place a manual camera where you intend to mount one....adjust MP, lens, etc manually. See what gives you the performance you desire. Then shop for a camera with those specs.


I recently posted a thread about doorway cameras. I have chosen Dahua. The screen shots and performance are very good for me.

 

[nayr]

im thinking a Turret above the chair on the porch, on the inside framework as low as you can get it.. around door height.. 4mm should work well here, you dont want wideangle as you'll get alot of walls, you want as little of that as possible in frame.. check out the Dahua h265 Turrets off AliExpress and consider a replacement light fixture above the door to something more powerful w/dusk2dawn

I think the car is a bigger priority at this point than the driveway, get a 6mm turret and put it dead square middle on the garage as low as you can get it.. you'll need more light back here, either visible security lights or IR.

 

[JBritt1234]

Good luck XtremeAaron. The guys here are smart, will steer you right.

I was in a somewhat similar situation, found myself wanting to get a system up ASAP.

I didn't use injectors, I went with two PoE switches. I have one on each side of the house and then of course, one single cable to connect them together. For me, and my weird house layout, that worked way better than wrapping wire all the way around the house.

I used D-Link 8 Port Gigabit w/ 4 PoE+ Ports, Unmanaged switches I picked up at Microcenter. Not bad, they seem to run quiet and not too much power draw. Should run 4 cameras fine, best I can tell.

I have two Amcrest cams I also picked up at Microcenter, just to get the ball rolling. They are good at first look, but i'm sure once you get into it, they are nowhere near as good as some of the other main brands you hear about here. I have 3 LTS cams on the way, one is has motorized Variable Focus. The thinking there for me, was like what FrankOcean was saying, so I could mount it and then play around with what works in each situation. I'll then order more cam's (I expect to have 8 when i'm done) that are a bit more thought out.

Also, after getting a couple cams up to play around with, it's given a lot more perspective on what to do. That goes from how to run wire (routes to take) down to how high up on the house. Too high, you don't really see their faces. Too low, I was afraid they would just grab it. Don't be afraid to drill a few holes in your house and just play around with positions. Some clear caulk and touch-up paint will clear up your test holes just fine. I found I could get away with just 1 or two holes, not all 3, until I found it's final resting place.

 

[XtremeAaron]

im thinking a Turret above the chair on the porch, on the inside framework as low as you can get it.. around door height.. 4mm should work well here, you dont want wideangle as you'll get alot of walls, you want as little of that as possible in frame.. check out the Dahua h265 Turrets off AliExpress and consider a replacement light fixture above the door to something more powerful w/dusk2dawn

I think the car is a bigger priority at this point than the driveway, get a 6mm turret and put it dead square middle on the garage as low as you can get it.. you'll need more light back here, either visible security lights or IR.

That SD29204S-GN, wow! I will be upgrading/updating all exterior lighting. I feel like domes are safer in a vandal standpoint, no? Dahua looks pretty good.

 

[XtremeAaron]

Good luck XtremeAaron. The guys here are smart, will steer you right.

I was in a somewhat similar situation, found myself wanting to get a system up ASAP.

I didn't use injectors, I went with two PoE switches. I have one on each side of the house and then of course, one single cable to connect them together. For me, and my weird house layout, that worked way better than wrapping wire all the way around the house.

I used D-Link 8 Port Gigabit w/ 4 PoE+ Ports, Unmanaged switches I picked up at Microcenter. Not bad, they seem to run quiet and not too much power draw. Should run 4 cameras fine, best I can tell.

I have two Amcrest cams I also picked up at Microcenter, just to get the ball rolling. They are good at first look, but i'm sure once you get into it, they are nowhere near as good as some of the other main brands you hear about here. I have 3 LTS cams on the way, one is has motorized Variable Focus. The thinking there for me, was like what FrankOcean was saying, so I could mount it and then play around with what works in each situation. I'll then order more cam's (I expect to have 8 when i'm done) that are a bit more thought out.

Also, after getting a couple cams up to play around with, it's given a lot more perspective on what to do. That goes from how to run wire (routes to take) down to how high up on the house. Too high, you don't really see their faces. Too low, I was afraid they would just grab it. Don't be afraid to drill a few holes in your house and just play around with positions. Some clear caulk and touch-up paint will clear up your test holes just fine. I found I could get away with just 1 or two holes, not all 3, until I found it's final resting place.

Great info, thank you. I actually have an Amcrest 841 I picked up from microcenter for play around with inside the house. I like the hardware, not so much the software.

 

[nayr]

domes are shit outside, vandals are not an issue in a residental environment.. you should be recording anyone vandalizing them pretty easy.. if one gets vandalized, then put a vandal dome in its place and see if it survives any better heh.. if someone attacks it with a can of paint both will be pretty messed up but one could be repainted and glass cleaned heh.

they reflect light, attract bugs, get sunburn, bad stuff.. they are for indoor commercial environments where someone will reach up and turn it so it dont see whats going on.

99% of criminals see a camera and dont give a shit because they know its likely got a shit image that wont help, so prove em wrong.

 

[JBritt1234]

I do not have a NVR, Poe injector, etc at this time. Recommendations for all would be appreciated.
...
I actually have an Amcrest 841 I picked up from microcenter for play around with inside the house. I like the hardware, not so much the software.

Have you tried the free demo for Blue Iris yet? It's way, way better than using the crappy Amcrest software to view the cameras and will give you a good idea of it's features.

 

[FrankOceanXray]

Re: placement of camera for car at dead center of garage..

Be careful. I will be relocating a camera that was in this exact spot. A subject standing at the front doors cannot be seen and certainly not identified. I will be placing one camera to shoot towards drivers side. Another will be hitting the passenger side from a far corner.

To cover the car and get any good intel from the captures, you will need two cameras.

 

[XtremeAaron]

Have you tried the free demo for Blue Iris yet? It's way, way better than using the crappy Amcrest software to view the cameras and will give you a good idea of it's features.

Yes, I installed it yesterday and got the Amcrest 841 on it quickly. I have it running on an old desktop, Athlon II X4 640 3ghz with 4 gig of ram. The one cam on wifi has BI using about 40% cpu load. Now that I see how the software works ill build a dedicated BI machine with WD purple drives. One thing im curious about is resolution. I haven't dug into the settings really yet but I would expect better resolution. I am using the wifi signal, an old 21" LCD panel so that may contribute to the lack of quality but I haven't seen a setting to tweak the resolution in BI yet.

Re: placement of camera for car at dead center of garage..

Be careful. I will be relocating a camera that was in this exact spot. A subject standing at the front doors cannot be seen and certainly not identified. I will be placing one camera to shoot towards drivers side. Another will be hitting the passenger side from a far corner.

To cover the car and get any good intel from the captures, you will need two cameras.

I thought about this as well and am considering adding an additional camera on the corner of the house facing the garage/vehicles.

 

[XtremeAaron]

So I'm looking at the Dahua IPC-HDW4431C-A 4MP turrets for $72. I see others on the forum have purchased them and the price to quality seems pretty good. I would buy the 6mm version. Link: Dahua New arrival IPC-HDW4431C-A 4MP Full HD Network IR Mini Camera POE Mic Built-in cctv network dome HDW4431C-A
http://s.aliexpress.com/VNJFFbau
(from AliExpress Android)

What are your opinions on this camera?

I also was considering the Besafe 2mp bullets from Q's cheap shootout but I am not sure they would serve my purpose well. Link: Hot 2MP POE camera 1080P p2p ip camera outdoor IMX322 Sensor Night Vision CCTV HD Lens, free bracket, IR-CUT, H.264, ONVIF 2.4
http://s.aliexpress.com/6niQ3uIj
(from AliExpress Android)

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[FrankOceanXray]

Love my 4431s. See what your mounting options are to help decide...

 

[XtremeAaron]

From a buying safety standpoint, do I purchase these from Ali or through eBay? Is my credit card info trusted with Ali?

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[FrankOceanXray]

I never made a claim via AliExpress. I did have a seller cancel and refund. That process time for the refund was under a week.

Just use a credit card. The bank will have your back.

Do check both sites. Sometimes the better deal is on eBay. Sometimes the dollar savings is not worth it... just check it out!

 

[XtremeAaron]

Just placed an order of 2 in 6mm with Ali express. Shows paid, we will see

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[mando209]

Just placed an order of 2 in 6mm with Ali express. Shows paid, we will see

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Cool I just ordered a nvr and 4431ca from different seller on ali last night


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[XtremeAaron]

Cool I just ordered a nvr and 4431ca from different seller on ali last night


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Very nice, we should see who shows up first!

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[XtremeAaron]

Leaving customs in Beijing. Getting things ready.

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