Need some help from the seasoned vets, I can't look at any more data sheets.

Coal_Cracker

Coal_Cracker

Pulling my weight
Aug 21, 2022
105
211
USA
I've spent the past four days scouring this forum and Dahua's website. My eyes and brain need a break.

I'm trying to find indoor cameras that check all the boxes.

In ceiling mount. Trying to keep things as concealed as possible but if I can't do it so be it.
Microphone
Good night time resolution Starlight, IR or Color makes no difference to me.
3.6mm or varifocal
Reasonable price $300 is pushing it $250 or less is ideal
Motion detection to see when the baby wakes up.

I will more than likely wind up with cameras in the following locations through the house.
Baby's room, living/dining area, kitchen, garage and in the basement/kids playroom. the primary use is for monitoring the baby, watching my older son in the playroom when we are upstairs and also to check in on the cleaning people and baby sitters.

So this is what I came up with
Does anybody have any experience with this camera? Or know of a better option for my uses. Or maybe I did my homework correctly? I also have no problems with mix and match in different area of the house.
 
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Some people dont like my 180 degree cams from Amcrest or Loryta/Empiretach, but they are low visibilty and dont scream "security Cam" and dont hang off the Sheet rock with a " target on thier back" for the next impulsive Passive aggressive. oppositionally defiant jack ass to come along wave their Gorilla paws at them.
You may possibly find one or two locations where a general overview is enough to understand whats going on in a specific area.
With hard ceilings in a 50 year old building i had to run LeGrand surface raceways for the POE ethernet cable. SO that in and of itself was gaudy, and I wasnt going to Spiderweb the the ceiling of each Elevator hallway with 3 runs of surface mount raceway to cover 5 areas of interest.
When Asshats get in the building Downstairs I want to see what floor they went to, and which way they went.

 
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Coal_Cracker said:
I've spent the past four days scouring this forum and Dahua's website. My eyes and brain need a break.

I'm trying to find indoor cameras that check all the boxes.

In ceiling mount. Trying to keep things as concealed as possible but if I can't do it so be it.
Microphone
Good night time resolution Starlight, IR or Color makes no difference to me.
3.6mm or varifocal
Reasonable price $300 is pushing it $250 or less is ideal
Motion detection to see when the baby wakes up.

I will more than likely wind up with cameras in the following locations through the house.
Baby's room, living/dining area, kitchen, garage and in the basement/kids playroom. the primary use is for monitoring the baby, watching my older son in the playroom when we are upstairs and also to check in on the cleaning people and baby sitters.

So this is what I came up with
Does anybody have any experience with this camera? Or know of a better option for my uses. Or maybe I did my homework correctly? I also have no problems with mix and match in different area of the house.
Click to expand...

Hi @Coal_Cracker

Personally, I like the mini-dome wedge form for places where I want a smaller profile ..
 
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Not readily available on Amazon and no ratings. Not varifocal either, which at $279 I would expect a bell or a whistle.
Min lux color: .006
Closest focus: 5 feet 3 inches
No LED or IR light (required to use external source)

Here is a PTZ that is cheaper, same specs or better.
In a bedroom you could zoom in enough to watch your child breathing I would expect.
I just bought this camera and am very impressed with its night time capabilities.
Note that I am using an external IR light, which truly makes a difference for critical viewing.
It is only $155:
Night time BW lux is 0.0005 Lux. This is a large improvement.
Closest focus: 3 feet 3 inches
No LED or IR light (required to use external source)

Color is great for many reasons, but it does mean you have to light up the area with visible light. So if a bright lamp or ceiling light is ok all night long, then it could work.
Keep in mind that this visible light must be much more than just a night light for good night time captures.
Otherwise BW with IR light is a good alternative. Humans can’t see IR light, so you can light a room up really bright, get good clean images and no one is bothered.

See post #9 for some pics I took of the PTZ suggested above:

Hello from Eastern USA, looking to gain knowledge so I don't waste money.

Hi, everyone! This will be my first camera setup, I have gone as far to build out a dedicated PC and buy an IP switch and have stopped there until I can figure out exactly what cameras to purchase so I don't waste time and money on junk I won't be satisfied with. So far just browsing around here...
ipcamtalk.com ipcamtalk.com
 
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If a mic is indeed key (guessing it is!) then this is the same PTZ as above, but has no dome. But the trade off is that it does have a mic and it has the same specs as the dome PTZ I listed. It goes for $169:

I bought both these cameras in the last 14 days (both PTZ one dome the other not)
Here are my thoughts:
Both work great for images
The dome unit is 100 percent silent when idling
The non-dome has a slight high pitch whine while just sitting (in my basement so not a problem for me)
The non-dome unit has a built in IR light!
The non-dome unit comes with a built in mic!
The non-dome unit is for sure just a slight tad larger than the dome unit

By the way, I did not see a mic listed on the camera you proposed but you listed that as a requirement!
 
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Flintstone61 said:
This one is good for good night time resolution.

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 ipcamtalk.com
Click to expand...
I think this is one of the first cams I checked out. I’m believe I’m going to try one of these.
 
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DanDenver said:
If a mic is indeed key (guessing it is!) then this is the same PTZ as above, but has no dome. But the trade off is that it does have a mic and it has the same specs as the dome PTZ I listed. It goes for $169:

I bought both these cameras in the last 14 days (both PTZ one dome the other not)
Here are my thoughts:
Both work great for images
The dome unit is 100 percent silent when idling
The non-dome has a slight high pitch whine while just sitting (in my basement so not a problem for me)
The non-dome unit has a built in IR light!
The non-dome unit comes with a built in mic!
The non-dome unit is for sure just a slight tad larger than the dome unit

By the way, I did not see a mic listed on the camera you proposed but you listed that as a requirement!
Click to expand...
This is a nice looking unit too. I do remember looking at the comparison pictures you mentioned before. This one would be a good candidate for me to try as well with the addition of the supplemental IR light. The cost of them is fair enough for me to be willing to give them a try.
 
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Coal_Cracker said:
In ceiling mount. Trying to keep things as concealed as possible but if I can't do it so be it.
Click to expand...

Coal_Cracker said:
So this is what I came up with
Does anybody have any experience with this camera? Or know of a better option for my uses. Or maybe I did my homework correctly? I also have no problems with mix and match in different area of the house.
Click to expand...

I have that cam and it is fairly big. No IR. This is quite an old cam. Mine is from 2018.

Realize that trying to use the motion sensor in a cam to tell if a baby awakes is probably not going to work. It will be hard to differentiate between normal sleeping movement and a baby that is awake.
 
samplenhold said:
I have that cam and it is fairly big. No IR. This is quite an old cam. Mine is from 2018.

Realize that trying to use the motion sensor in a cam to tell if a baby awakes is probably not going to work. It will be hard to differentiate between normal sleeping movement and a baby that is awake.
Click to expand...
That’s how our current camera works too. If there is any type of movement we get an alert. Which is fine with me.
I get alerts all day long on my phone from other locations in the house as well which I actually don’t mind. It lets me know what’s going on while I’m at work especially when I’m on night shift.
 
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samplenhold said:
I have that cam and it is fairly big. No IR. This is quite an old cam.
Click to expand...
Yep, barely available on Amazon at this time. And because the stock is low on that camera, they have jacked up the price.
 
FYI - Andy has his sale going for next couple of days ..

EmpireTech 7 Years Anniversay Promotion Plan

yes, everyday is 40-42C, trees are hardo_O Stay safe from the storm.
ipcamtalk.com ipcamtalk.com


The following are mini-dome wedge models Andy has on his USA Amazon store right now .. which I like to have at face level by my front door, or indoors when I want a more discrete camera ( perhaps covering the entrance ways .. )


If you need better performance in low light I would get the 2MP version .. If the suspect will be close to the camera ( like at the front door .. I would get the 2.8mm model - otherwise the 3.6mm model )



1661447982044.png



1661448007527.png


1661448032141.png
 
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I have the 6MP 2.8 version of this camera. For indoor pet monitoring it is acceptable. At night it is for sure a little fuzzy when there is movement.
Not impressed, but I bought it back when I thought that MP count ruled.
No where near as sharp as the other cameras I have listed above.
But the low profile is very helpful for sure and it has built in IR!

I think the smart purchase for one of these low profile units is the first one listed above, the 2MP 2.8 sensor
It is the only low profile mentioned in this thread so far that falls into the green or acceptable category shown here:

Night time camera selection w/motion involved

Everyone shops for a camera with a different approach to what might be the best camera for their install. I always check MP against sensor size as a way to remove undesirable cameras from my search. Once I found a camera with a desirable MP and sensor combo, I would then dig deeper on FOV...
ipcamtalk.com ipcamtalk.com
 
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DanDenver said:
I have the 6MP 2.8 version of this camera. For indoor pet monitoring it is acceptable. At night it is for sure a little fuzzy when there is movement.
Not impressed, but I bought it back when I thought that MP count ruled.
No where near as sharp as the other cameras I have listed above.
But the low profile is very helpful for sure and it has built in IR!

I think the smart purchase for one of these low profile units is the first one listed above, the 2MP 2.8 sensor
It is the only low profile mentioned in this thread so far that falls into the green or acceptable category shown here:

Night time camera selection w/motion involved

Everyone shops for a camera with a different approach to what might be the best camera for their install. I always check MP against sensor size as a way to remove undesirable cameras from my search. Once I found a camera with a desirable MP and sensor combo, I would then dig deeper on FOV...
ipcamtalk.com ipcamtalk.com
Click to expand...
Wow thanks for forwarding me that thread when I get some time later tonight I’ll read through it thoroughly.
I see they touched on the 5442 as well there. That was another one I was curious about. They are so highly regarded here in the bullet form. They are undoubtedly going to be in my outdoor array.

I will look into that low profile also later tonight.
 
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Coal_Cracker said:
Wow thanks for forwarding me that thread when I get some time later tonight I’ll read through it thoroughly.
I see they touched on the 5442 as well there. That was another one I was curious about. They are so highly regarded here in the bullet form. They are undoubtedly going to be in my outdoor array.

I will look into that low profile also later tonight.
Click to expand...

Now that you mentioned about looking at the outdoor solutions, and to go along with @DanDenver comment about not chasing MP, take a look at this thread that talks about the importance of focal length over MP in selecting the correct camera for the area you want to IDENTIFY, complete with camera recommendations that many on this site would suggest for these distances (myself included have every one of them for those distances).

The Importance of Focal Length over MP in camera selection

At the urging of several folks here, I created a thread to show the importance of focal length and how focal length can be more important than megapixels (MP). I mentioned some of this in the post regarding The Hookup’s latest video demonstrating different cameras, including one sold from a...
ipcamtalk.com ipcamtalk.com
 
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I have one of the Dahua 4239 dome's, nice camera but not the latest greatest. I picked it up after buying a Dahua 4239 bullet (from Andy) camera which I was impressed with the F1.0 6MM and running it in full color with the assistance of a very bright LED streetlight. As mentioned, no infrared, and this is really a big camera compared to the smaller domes you often see. I know domes are not recommended here for the most part but I bought a N22AL12 dome and a 4239 dome to compare the two and these were intended to be used on the front porch where I had to deal with the wife acceptance factor. The wedge cameras are the most easy to disappear visually in the background in my opinion.

Pay close attention to the size of the 4239 dome and also, if you need the mount, the 130 as I recall, it really gets visually large.
 
After reading through the thread a second time I wanted to add a couple comments, the Dahua varifocal, like the 2231 or similar, is much larger visually than the 5442 when paired with the proper mount (203/204). I have both in active use and the 5442 fixed lens is just a great camera.
 
So I've decided to go with three different cameras to start out with.

store.ipcamtalk.com

2MP Lite AI IR Vari-Focal Eyeball IP Camera - IP Cam Talk Store

Dahua re-branded 2MP Lite AI IR Vari-Focal Eyeball IP Camera, POE.
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Hot Selling IPC-T5442T-ZE 4MP Starlight IR Vari-focal Eyeball Network Camera , free DHL shipping - IP Cam Talk Store

4MP WDR IR Turret Smart Network Camera 2.7mm - 12mm motorized varifocal lens Outdoor Rated - IP67 PoE (802.3af) or DC 12V (±30%)
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I figured regardless of which I favor over another for a specific location I will use all three somewhere in my setup. The only thing I am uncertain of is which prime lens to get. I'm favoring the 3.6mm because the room I want to put it in is only 12' wide. It would be the living room which is a semi open floor plan so it flows into the dining area for a total length of 38'
The 2mp camera I'd imagine putting in the baby's room zoomed in on the crib because everyone raves about the night vision. With possibly an auxiliary IR light. The 4mp camera I'd imagine using in the kids basement playroom or in my garage. Nobody is ever down there without the lights on and in the garage there is plenty of ambient lighting from the street light on the opposing corner. Which I believe will be a nice advantage when I go to put the outdoor cams in.
 
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Note that the 2MP that you mentioned that may go into the babies room does not have a mic. So no triggers/alerts will be possible from sound. This may or may not be a concern, just mentioning
 
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DanDenver said:
Note that the 2MP that you mentioned that may go into the babies room does not have a mic. So no triggers/alerts will be possible from sound. This may or may not be a concern, just mentioning
Click to expand...
Okay, now I'm confused. On the amazon listing it has built in mic. Same model numbers but different branding, one has a mic the other doesn't? I just want to be certain before I buy these tonight.
 
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