Camera placement for new house

[dummptyhummpty]

We're having a new house built and I'd love any feedback on camera placement before we have the wiring done. It's a typical suburban housing development with houses next to and across the street. There's a different community behind us (a gated mobile home "estate").

I've attached an image with the locations I was thinking of placing cameras (model(s) TBD). These would all be on the first floor around 8 or so feet. I'd maybe add an overview camera for the backyard to the second floor to keep an eye on my dogs. I'd love to have some LPR cameras as well, but not sure where those should go. I was thinking of adding an network drop low on the front of the house to add those later.

Is there anything I've overlooked or should change? Thanks!

 

[Revo2Maxx]

You have blind spots in your current camera layout.

 

[dummptyhummpty]

You have blind spots in your current camera layout.

I'm guessing the yard along the left side of the house and the area behind the garage?

 

[mat200]

We're having a new house built and I'd love any feedback on camera placement before we have the wiring done. It's a typical suburban housing development with houses next to and across the street. There's a different community behind us (a gated mobile home "estate").

I've attached an image with the locations I was thinking of placing cameras (model(s) TBD). These would all be on the first floor around 8 or so feet. I'd maybe add an overview camera for the backyard to the second floor to keep an eye on my dogs. I'd love to have some LPR cameras as well, but not sure where those should go. I was thinking of adding an network drop low on the front of the house to add those later.

Is there anything I've overlooked or should change? Thanks!

Good start, I would probably look to have a bit more coverage on the front of the house, and would want to be able to ID any car which an attacker / or theft may use ..

Remember to look at the DORI specs and see how far away the ID zone is for each camera and that should help give you an idea of some possible coverage issues.

As you are building a new house, now is a great time to over cable .. personally I like the N+1 rule for ethernet cabling
( run one extra cable for each location )

 

[Ri22o]

My first thoughts.

Front Door - Add an additional camera under the cover, pointed at the door.
Guest Suite Door - Add an additional camera under the cover, pointed at the door.
Covered Patio - Add an additional camera under the cover, pointed at the door.
Garage - The crossing FOVs is nice. I would install the cameras under the door header, if possible, for best chance of ID. I would also add a 3rd camera as an overview.

You also need more overlapping FOVs along the outside.



See @wittaj 's post below that is going to be made in here sooner or later.

It is best to have a mix of cameras, each one selected for the goal of the camera.

I have some varifocals for IDENTIFY at distance and pinch points, and OVERVIEW cameras so I can see what is going on with one field of view.

As far as cameras, without knowing what your goals of the camera is, this thread is used as the go to for the new person here outlining the commonly recommended cameras (along with Amazon links) based on distance to IDENTIFY that represent the overall best value/best bang for the buck in terms of price and performance day and night. It might be a 2MP camera in some instances. Many here feel 4MP is the current sweet spot for these cameras.

The Importance of Focal Length over MP in camera selection

And coupled with that thread is this great thread which will show why all of the same 2.8 or 3.6mm cameras is the wrong choice (these are the common focal lengths consumer brands sell):

i-want-2-8mm-cameras-everywhere-to-see-everything-this-is-why-you-need-specific-fovs-with-purposeful-focal-lengths.70053/

We would encourage you to look at those threads in detail.

It will probably raise more questions than answers LOL.

Many of us purchase from trusted member @EMPIRETECANDY, a vendor here with an Amazon store, his own webpage, and via DM.

He sells Dahua OEM for cheaper than you can buy label Dahua.

Not many Dahua resellers sell the "good" stuff. For example, most Amcrest and Lorex cameras are consumer cams on less than ideal MP/sensor ratios.

B&H sells Dahua cams, but they are older models.

 

[Ri22o]

You can see my garage/driveway cams under the header here:

I have my 5442 driveway cams under the garage header and they have no issues with the coach lights being right there.

View attachment 164007View attachment 164008View attachment 164009

 

[dummptyhummpty]

Good start, I would probably look to have a bit more coverage on the front of the house, and would want to be able to ID any car which an attacker / or theft may use ..

Remember to look at the DORI specs and see how far away the ID zone is for each camera and that should help give you an idea of some possible coverage issues.

As you are building a new house, now is a great time to over cable .. personally I like the N+1 rule for ethernet cabling
( run one extra cable for each location )

My first thoughts.

Front Door - Add an additional camera under the cover, pointed at the door.
Guest Suite Door - Add an additional camera under the cover, pointed at the door.
Covered Patio - Add an additional camera under the cover, pointed at the door.
Garage - The crossing FOVs is nice. I would install the cameras under the door header, if possible, for best chance of ID. I would also add a 3rd camera as an overview.

You also need more overlapping FOVs along the outside.

See @wittaj 's post below that is going to be made in here sooner or later.

Thank you both, I'm not sure if this is any better. I'm struggling to find good balance and it feels like I'm overdoing it?

@mat200 Thanks for the call out on running 2x network cables to each location.

For the cameras under the patio, porch and guest entrance, should those be mounted on the ceiling looking down or is it better to mount them on the wall at the same height as the other cameras? I forgot to mention, both front entrances will also have door bell cameras.



Here's a couple of images of the guest entrance and the porch (from the left side)

You can see my garage/driveway cams under the header here:

Thanks for sharing that, I've reviewed your original thread multiple times in the past and it's been really informative!

 

[Ri22o]

There's no kill like overkill, but you will want to check some of those positions with a camera before committing, just to make sure they are good.

For looking at the doors, my thought is it is so you can see what happened, if something happened. Say you answer the door and have an altercation with whoever knocked. Do you want to have record of this? A doorbell cam likely won't capture everything you would want to see. This may be difficult with the guest door, but the front could likely be covered by one that is also covering the porch.