First IP cam setup

[hnt]

Hello everyone,
I am reading this forum for some time now and I think it is time to go over to a next step and ask you guys for some advice

I want to set up few IP cameras to watch:
1. Entrances to the house (front door, driveway, window near lesuire area, exit to the roof - grey box on the attached diagram)
2. Garage (indoor)
3. Lesuire area
4. Gate

I will create a dedicated, firewalled VLAN for IP cameras without an internet access and with an ability to initiate communication only from trusted hosts (to get a stream or configure the cameras).
I want to use what I already have, that is a QNAP NAS with a QVR Pro application. It can be used for up to 8 cameras for free.
For the start, I'll use half of a 8TB WD RED HDD. I plan to install a dedicated WD Purple for ipcams (size to be defined).
I have a PoE+ switch with over 300W of power budget remaining.
I have already a VPN service from which I'll access QVR Pro remotely.

Unfortunately house is short after renovation inside and outside and I have no cables currently layed down for ipcams.
Good thing is there are some spots to which I can go with few UTP cables (these are marked with green color on the attached diagram).

Light conditions:
1. There are LED street lights outside.
2. My neighbor on the other side of the street has a LED light installed, triggered by a motion - light is somewhat strong, but I mention it due to the fact it changes the light environment frequently during the night.
3. No lights on the roof, just reflections from the street. Roof is flat (see photo of the 'hatch' )

Cameras:
From my reading, my favorite now is IPC-T5442TM-AS. I think to use it with a PFB203 wall mount bracket to watch the lesuire area, driveway (maybe from two sides), gate and front door.
I don't know however what to use on the roof. Do you think 2MP Starlight would be good for identification there? Would you advise to use any external light on the roof with motion detection trigger?
Second thing is garage (indoor). The indoor square cameras are ugly as hell for me Would like to use a turret. Any advise? (it will be mounted at a height of ~2m).

Placement:

watch lesuire room: 1 camera installed on the shed.
watch front door: 1 camera installed on the shed
watch gate + pavement (+cameras on the shed?): 1 camera installed on the house corner, closer to the front doors.
watch driveway: 1 or 2 cams on both sides of the garage door
watch garage indoor: corner, opposite side of the garage door
roof: dont know. What do you think about mounting it on the side of a vertical ventilation duct end? Installation would be at 20-30cm high. Another option would be to mount a pole and cam to the pole, but I would like to avoid that.

Please note there is a second ventilation duct exit where the green arrow points.

At first I wanted to buy one 5442 varifocal turret for a start, but it turned out there is no such product
Now I am wondering what would be the best approach. I would like to start off with a garage cam and maybe the roof one(s) (easiest installation for me at the moment). I could make use these to check few things before buying the rest of cams.

If anyone could comment on my thoughts, I will really appreciate.

 

[sebastiantombs]

There is a bullet version of the 5442 with a varifocal lens, IPC-B5442E-ZE.

Mounting a camera on a roof will not identify anyone unless you can identify them from the top of their heads or their hats. Maximum mounting height for good identification is around seven feet or two meters above the ground.

Your neighbors LED, motion, floodlight will be a PITA. My neighbor has one to watch his driveway but it gets triggered by any passing car. That produces a hot spot which is problematic both in terms of video and false triggers.

 

[hnt]

There is a bullet version of the 5442 with a varifocal lens, IPC-B5442E-ZE.

Yes, I saw that before, but if it's possible, I would like to stay with turrets.

Mounting a camera on a roof will not identify anyone unless you can identify them from the top of their heads or their hats. Maximum mounting height for good identification is around seven feet or two meters above the ground.

Sorry if my post was not clear.
On the roof itself there is an exit, a 'hatch' or I don't know how to name it.
This is the thing you can see on the a7a8PU5.jpg photo.
It's on the roof and this is why I want a cam there - to monitor it and possibly identify anyone who want to take that route to enter my house.
The thing is, the cam would be installed at 20-30cm above the ground (where by ground I mean the roof ) and I don't know if that's a good idea.

Your neighbors LED, motion, floodlight will be a PITA. My neighbor has one to watch his driveway but it gets triggered by any passing car. That produces a hot spot which is problematic both in terms of video and false triggers.

This is what I'm afraid of.

 

[sebastiantombs]

20 or 30cm above the roof would actually be fairly good if placed in just the right spot. People look down when they walk, especially when being careful like on a roof, so you'd probably get a good face shot.

The motion activated LED light is more of a pain than a serious problem, at least in my case. The light is on a faux well, the roof, and points almost directly at the camera about 50 metres away. It does produce a hot spot, similar to what headlights can do, and I had to fine tune detection zones to avoid it triping motion detection.

There is a varifocal turret version of the 5442 coming out quite soon. It is due by the end of the month if everything stays on schedule. It may not perform quite as well in low light due to a higher F stop on the varifocal lens, but it should perform quite well in spite of that.

 

[samplenhold]

I think to use it with a PFB203 wall mount bracket

The IPC-T5442TM-AS has a small 4-hole mount and will not fit on the PFB203. I know as I have two 5442 turrets and a spare PFB203 and just checked for another member about it. The proper mounts for that turret are the PFB204W and the PFA130-E. Realize that the PFB204W is not water proof like the PFA130-E. You will have to caulk the mount where it meets the wall to stop water from getting to the RJ45 connector stored in the mount.

For the roof, why not use another 5442 turret?

For the driveway, we always recommend two cams, one on each side of the garage pointing in a cross pattern.

For inside the garage, I use two of the following:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000959166445.html?gps-id=pcStoreJustForYou&scm=1007.23125.137358.0&scm_id=1007.23125.137358.0&scm-url=1007.23125.137358.0&pvid=052cee3f-d9bd-429a-b098-ef933b9e5d07&spm=a2g0o.store_home.smartJustForYou_750469131.2

If you do not want to wait for the 5442 varifocal turret, the 3241 varifocal turret is supposed to be good. Link below to cam and to review.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000506413694.html?gps-id=pcStoreJustForYou&scm=1007.23125.137358.0&scm_id=1007.23125.137358.0&scm-url=1007.23125.137358.0&pvid=052cee3f-d9bd-429a-b098-ef933b9e5d07&spm=a2g0o.store_home.smartJustForYou_750469131.6

Review-OEM IPC-T3241-ZAS 2mp AI Lite series Varifocal

IPC-T3241-ZAS from EMPIRETECANDY 2MP WDR Turret Varifocal AI Network Camera Review unit courtesy of Andy (@EMPIRETECANDY) in exchange for a fair and honest review. Purchase in the IPCT Store Andy's ipcamtalk vendor forum: link Andy's AliExpress store: link Andy's Amazon store: link Price...

ipcamtalk.com

 

[hnt]

There is a varifocal turret version of the 5442 coming out quite soon. It is due by the end of the month if everything stays on schedule. It may not perform quite as well in low light due to a higher F stop on the varifocal lens, but it should perform quite well in spite of that.

This is a good info! Thanks for the headsup, I'll wait then for the varifocal model for testing

The IPC-T5442TM-AS has a small 4-hole mount and will not fit on the PFB203. I know as I have two 5442 turrets and a spare PFB203 and just checked for another member about it. The proper mounts for that turret are the PFB204W and the PFA130-E. Realize that the PFB204W is not water proof like the PFA130-E. You will have to caulk the mount where it meets the wall to stop water from getting to the RJ45 connector stored in the mount.

Man! Thank you for this information
Do you think a gasket cut by myself would do the trick?

For the roof, why not use another 5442 turret?

Just wondering if it's reasonable to save few bucks there.

For inside the garage, I use two of the following:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000959166445.html?gps-id=pcStoreJustForYou&scm=1007.23125.137358.0&scm_id=1007.23125.137358.0&scm-url=1007.23125.137358.0&pvid=052cee3f-d9bd-429a-b098-ef933b9e5d07&spm=a2g0o.store_home.smartJustForYou_750469131.2

It looks nice

 

[samplenhold]

Do you think a gasket cut by myself would do the trick?

Maybe?