Camera placement

[restorick2378]

Hello,

First of all - thank you all for a tremendous resource here at IP Cam Talk. If I hadn't stumbled here, I'd be hip deep in Reolink by now...

Also - If this post should be moved to another forum, please let me know.

Please bear with me - I'm a noob trying to absorb as much as possible. My goal is to be able to capture accurate enough video so if we have an incident, the clips would be of use to the police.

I'm noodling on camera placement. While I'm 90% sure I'll be using a mix of 5442 zoom and fixed, I'm not sure exactly where to place them or how to best deal with what seems to be a couple of dead zones. Aerial view of my house/yard:



The numbers represent what I think should be my starting points for cams:

• Cam 1 - mostly west - driveway and side yard. My truck is parked there year-round.
• Cam 2 - south west - front out to street
• Cam 3 - north east back yard - we have a doghouse bump out garage where I can place a cam. First area of concern as deadspot is between 1 and 3.
• Cam 4 - south back yard to woodline
• Cam 5 - south east back yard to woodline
• Cam 6 - on the elevated deck
• Cam 7 - on the gable end front porch - picked up a refurb SD1A203T-GN in hopes it works
• Cam 8 - under the elevated deck - gonna try a 2nd SD1A203T-GN here

The white borders are the side yards and represent the dead zones. On the south (facing the neighbor's house), there are some windows that could be accessible without a ladder. On the north (woodline), there are no windows.

No light to speak of in the back yard, except for some motion activated lights so we can see the pups when we let them out. While you can see some neighbors through the woodline, the main area east of the backyard is a playground for the church next door. Not lit at all.

Front yard - we have uplighting on the 2 large trees, low voltage sidewalk lighting from driveway to front porch, and 3 lantern lights on the garage. Those lights are on from dusk to dawn. Not terrible - typical for this area.

I purchased a 5442 and will be running tests using a test rig to see what makes sense placement and settings-wise.

Appreciate any and all feedback on placement, dealing with the dead space, camera selection, etc.

Thanks!
Rick

 

[wittaj]

Good start, and some questions/thoughts.

Camera 1 - what is the goal - to IDENTIFY at your truck or IDENTIFY at the street? One camera cannot do both.

If your truck is parked on the driveway, you want a camera at each side of garage facing in a cris-cross fashion. Looks like you might have a 3rd garage, so you need to place cameras there too.

Cameras 3, 4, and 5 do you want to IDENTIFY close up around the house or at the 70+ distance.

Do you have a camera covering every entry point into the house (door, window, etc.)

For the deadspots, the 180 cameras are nice side cameras to see everything with one camera.

https://www.amazon.com/EmpireTech-Full-Color-Dual-Lens-Splicing-IPC-Color4K-T180/dp/B0BNN9DFFS/ref=sr_1_4?imprToken=eNnu.Pmf5hsW5hcTVECAQg&linkCode=w61&m=A329YQ83EBQGJF&marketplaceID=ATVPDKIKX0DER&qid=1678750329&redirect=true&s=merchant-items&slotNum=0&sr=1-4

 

[restorick2378]

Good start, and some questions/thoughts.

Camera 1 - what is the goal - to IDENTIFY at your truck or IDENTIFY at the street? One camera cannot do both.

If your truck is parked on the driveway, you want a camera at each side of garage facing in a cris-cross fashion. Looks like you might have a 3rd garage, so you need to place cameras there too.

Cameras 3, 4, and 5 do you want to IDENTIFY close up around the house or at the 70+ distance.

Do you have a camera covering every entry point into the house (door, window, etc.)

For the deadspots, the 180 cameras are nice side cameras to see everything with one camera.

https://www.amazon.com/EmpireTech-Full-Color-Dual-Lens-Splicing-IPC-Color4K-T180/dp/B0BNN9DFFS/ref=sr_1_4?imprToken=eNnu.Pmf5hsW5hcTVECAQg&linkCode=w61&m=A329YQ83EBQGJF&marketplaceID=ATVPDKIKX0DER&qid=1678750329&redirect=true&s=merchant-items&slotNum=0&sr=1-4

Thanks so much for the quick response and great feedback!

• Cam 1 - ideally to DETECT at the street and distinguish between animal and human. We get a lot of wildlife - deer, fox, coyote, rabbit, etc. And ideally to IDENTIFY about 15-25 ft from the garage.
• We do have a bumpout garage setback 5' from the main garage. I could place one on the corner of the bumpout and another at the north gable end or at the south edge of the garage.
• 3-4-5 - IDENTIFY within 15-25 ft. DETECT at 50'. Even with a fenced yard, we get rabbit, squirrel and the occasional hawk, so human detection is imperative
• All doors are covered, but not all windows. The south deadspot has some windows that would not require a ladder to access.

Updated pic shows purple 1 and 9 crossing paths, green 10 and 11 as placeholders for the deadspots. There are no access points at 11, but windows at 10.



Rick

 

[wittaj]

I think that looks pretty good.

The 180degree camera I posted would be a good fit for 10 and 11

 

[restorick2378]

I think that looks pretty good.

The 180degree camera I posted would be a good fit for 10 and 11

I guess the next decision is whether I need zooms all around or a mix, and where to place them. Thoughts?

 

[wittaj]

Personally I am a fan of the varifocals. Every time I went with a fixed lens I ended up wishing I had more zoom. And then if you expand/replace with newer cameras, the varifocal is more versatile to be placed somewhere else.

 

[Ri22o]

I think that looks pretty good.

The 180degree camera I posted would be a good fit for 10 and 11

Just in case the OP doesn't realize, the 180 cams are visible light only and cannot use IR light. If these areas have no light, and he doesn't want to use the onboard LEDs, then he may need to reassess.