New home POE camera setup - Feedback requested

[Gemni69]

Hi guys,

Im new to this whole POE security camera system. So I am here asking for feedback from the experts =-) on what the setup should be and get some questions answered based on your guys feedback and experience.

My top priorities are
1. Longevity of the system
2. Image quality
3. Power consumption
4. Price (camera between 60 to 130 each)
5. Not impact current home network


Camera placement Setup

So below is my thought of what the house setup should be. I want to be able to capture as much as possible from the front, side and back of house. In total i count 12 camera and I think that is alot. I was hoping only 8 but that does not seem to be the case lol. it is a single story 2800 sq ft house and my lot is over 9000 sq ft.

I am thinking of using 4mm lens for all camera. Please provide feedback if that is a good choice or not? Also the placement of camera to cover what i need.

Camera Selection
So i am torn between bullet camera and dome camera. Anyone that can provide feedback on this based on my proposed above setup?

Below is the options I was thinking and hoping to get folks feedback on which would be best for the things I am trying to accomplish. I was going toward Dahua for the lower power consumption. I am also looking for a camera that has great hardware motion detection as I only will have a i5 CPU. Will share more below.

Hikvision DS-2CD2032-I CCTV POE 3MP Bullet IP HD Security Network Camera, 4mm
http://www.amazon.com/Hikvision-DS-...UTF8&qid=1460570587&sr=1-1&keywords=Hikvision
Power Consumption: Max. 5 W (Max. 7 W with IR cut filter on)


Or


Dahua IPC-HDW4300C Waterproof 3MP IP66 IR HD Network Mini Dome IP Camera POE with Audio
http://www.amazon.com/Dahua-IPC-HDW...ef_=sr_1_2&refinements=p_72:2661619011&sr=8-2
Power Consumption:<6W


or
Dahua IPC-HDW4300C Waterproof 3MP IP66 IR HD Network Mini Dome IP Camera POE with Audio
http://www.amazon.com/Dahua-IPC-HDW...ef_=sr_1_2&refinements=p_72:2661619011&sr=8-2
Power Consumption :Max 4.5W

Site purchase feedback

I am trying to figure out if I should fork up the cash and purchase all from Amazon or purchase from aliexpress. based on the # of camera I want/need there will be big cost savings and that will save but I dont want to save in the effort to cost issues down the road. So I feel I am somewhat tech savvy. I have my own Kodi SQL db, my own 30TB sysnology Nas and my home automation media servers. I know basics telnet and sql commands. I did some reading on upgrading the aliexpress firmware. What I understand today is the aliexpress camera are chinesses products and they hack them to load a English firmware. I see some that are English firmware, some multi lang. Some say they provide firmware updates for future and some dont mention anything like that.

So my question is will I really need to update firmware? Do i get added benefits for future?
How often do you guys update firmware?
What are you thoughts on what path should i choose? save money = some hassle or spend more money = no hassle???????
Anyfeedback on current sellers or experiences to use for Aliexpress or another site?

Network / PC Setup

So I do not want to impact my current home network as there will be alot of traffic with 8 plus POE camera. SO below is what I drafted.
My idea is to have a separate network for POE camera and seperate home network for internet traffic. I plan to manually set a IP for each camera as there will be no DHCP server that connects them.

Below is the POE injector I plan to buy and connect to a basic 100 mb hub.

WS-POE-8-48v60w Passive 10/100 Power over Ethernet PoE Injector for 8 IP Cameras, VOIP Phones or Access Points, 48 volts, 60 Watts Total Power


http://www.amazon.com/WS-POE-8-48v6...e=UTF8&qid=1460569613&sr=1-3&keywords=poe+hub


Will this plan work?
Has anyone setup their network like this before?
Any changes or recommendation you guys want to share?




BLUE IRIS software
So I plan to have blue iris on my PC. I have read based on the camera I want it will be heavy on the CPU load. My plan is to have all camera record based on motion for 24/7. I do plan to use the blue iris mobile app to get access on the internet via my andriod phone.
Based on my CPU/PC setup, will that be enough?
Would it be better to use hardware motion detection on the camera to save on CPU usage? = Less power consumption?
Should I use the Camera security software? I heard good things of the Hikivision software and read it uses way less resources on pc. Not sure about Dahua. Thoughts?

So i gave alot of info above and I am trying to see If I am missing anything and what I should change before I start making the necessary purchases. It will be over a grand setup and I am trying to limit my surprises. So any feedback and help you guys can give me would be awesome.
Thx you in advance.

 

[bguy]

I'm no camera expert by any means, I'm more of a networking expert. So on the network side, a switch and hub are different, you can't really get hubs anymore. A switch should direct the traffic only to the port it needs to go to. So on a 16 port 100 Mbit switch you should be able to have 8 systems sending data to 8 other systems at 100 Mbit each. So you don't want to have the data from a camera cascading through multiple switches on the way to the BI system. That would consume bandwidth of the uplink ports. The best way is to have POE switch(es) for the cameras, and have those switches connected directly to the BI system. Even if the switches are on the same network as the rest of your house, it shouldn't impact the network. Of course just for security reasons, you probably want keep the cameras on a separate network.

There's no need for a PoE injector unless you already have a switch and want to add PoE. It's neater to just have a PoE switch. And while it's unlikely 12 cameras will exceed 100 Mbit total bandwidth, I would aim for a switch with at least 1 Gbit up-link port to connect to BI.

As far as cameras, you can use this tool to get an idea of what a camera will be able to see in a given location. http://ipvm.com/calculator It's limited to 1 camera at a time in the free version.

I think I'd suggest starting with 3 or 4 cameras, see what works for you, and add on later. 4mm cameras are going to be too wide of an angle for details off of your property. I also don't see the need for so many cameras on the back and side of the property. It looks like the backyard access is from the front only, so focus on people coming from the front.

I'm all for buying cheaper items from China. But you have to accept the money saved by buying from China may come with hidden costs. Namely, time and money if there are problems. There's no local support. And if something goes wrong, expect to have to pay to ship it back to China. That's assuming you get someone willing to replace/repair under warranty.

Bradley

 

[Gemni69]

Thx Bradley for the feedback.
I will look into getting POE switch as you make some good points and help fill in my knowledge gap about the network traffic.
Also thx for the website link. I never knew that existed this will help with getting idea what i will be seeing based on camera.
What lens would you recommend for front side and back?
if you dont mind sharing, can you share your setup so I have a idea what you have setup and what items you have.

Thx for info.

 

[bguy]

I recently got a LaView 1080p system, with NVR and 4 cameras. So I'm still in the learning stages of what I want/need. The NVR has a built in PoE switch, so that part is easy. All of the cameras are 4mm, and the 2 I have crossing the front overlap too much. The picture looks great, but the wide FOV makes it hard to recognize a moving face beyond about 20 feet in the day. I'd like to have a more zoomed in view down each direction of the road, and a single wide view to overlook the front. That's why I think I can safely say you will be disappointed if you get all 4mm cameras.

I rent right now, but own a house I plan on moving into soon. So I got this system to test out, and installed it last December to get familiar with how to use it.

 

[Gemni69]

Cool thx for the info.

So want to see if anyone else can share some wisdom on some of the items I have listed above. Thx in advance.

 

[Abbell]

There are several varifocal cameras that you can choose from. These allow you to tweak the zoom levels.

 

[Gemni69]

There are several varifocal cameras that you can choose from. These allow you to tweak the zoom levels.

Do you have any recommendations?

 

[bguy]

Abbell's comment is probably just backing up my opinion that you won't want all 4mm cameras. The Varifocal lets you change the focal length to suit the installation location, but they also cost a little more. And once you put them in a location, you aren't going to change the lens. There's really no substitute for trying out a camera in a location before installing it there. So start with a few lenses, and see what works in each location.

 

[Abbell]

Just so happens I was testing a camera in another thread. Here is an example of a varifocal camera range. Supposedly 2.8-12mm although I suspect it is probably closer to 3.2 to 11mm.


One, we don't discuss the cleanliness issue. *cough
Two, the piece of paper against the far wall is 8.5x11 at 28ft.
BGuy is absolutely right. You really can't know how a camera will do until you actually use it.

 

[nayr]

thats a pretty good example why ppl need zoom on there driveway.. 12mm will get you a much better ID at night and thats a great chokepoint to take advantage of.. no need to waste pixels to look at hoods and bumpers and walls

just look at the text on the bag of crab grass preventer.. that shot can get tattoo's and great details.

people think the distances are so small that zoom wont help, i mean look your garage is no bigger than most driveways.. but they could not be more wrong imho.

 

[Gemni69]

Thx for the screenshots. What camera did u test with?

 

[Abbell]

Thx for the screenshots. What camera did u test with?

I am reviewing the camera HERE. So far I am happy with it...other than the POE that you have to request apparently. As a standalone camera they are mediocre, but with a NVR or Blue Iris they work out real well so far.