Newbie - Camera Suggestion

[harmandeep]

Hi,

I am really excited to be part of IPCT and this is my first post. I am going to upgrade my cams and I have been going through forums. I am hoping to get expert opinions for the upgrade.
My setup is in a small town in Northern India and these cams were installed in 2017.

Currently, I have Dahua 2mp analog camera's installed with ethernet CAT6 cabling. We use video ballons to get analog cameras working. CAT6 cabling was used considering Future Upgrades.

My current outdoor bullet cam model is DH-HAC-HFW1220S which has FOV of around 80 degrees. Spec sheet is attached.

As pointed in below image, there are two cams, one for general oberservation and the other close up view at the gate entrance. Given the analog cam and video ballons, the image quality is flaky to say the least.
The yellow area is the current blindspot which I want to omit with upgrade. if necessary, I can change the position of CAM4 to remove blindspot and to handle street pole light, see in below images. If a single observation camera cannot handle the blindspot, then I can install another CAM4 on the opposite side, above CAM5.




Backside - Observation CAM4 - Day Image


Backside - Gate CAM5 - Day Image



Backside - Observation CAM4 - Night Image without IR lights. There is a street light mounted on the pole which emits a lot of light straight on our home. Due to this light, IR lights never turn on.


Backside - Gate CAM5 - Night Image. Without IR lights.



Frontside - Observation - CAM1 - Day Image


Frontside - Gate CAM2 - Day Image


Frontside - Observation CAM1 - Night Image with IR


Frontside - Gate CAM2 - Night Image with IR





For Observation CAM4 (Backside):

• For CAM4, My idea to upgrade to 8mp camera for general observation. I want a clear feed where I can zoom in digitally to see some details and wanna enjoy watching the birds feed.
• Will 4K-X work in my setup? If yes, 3.6mm or 2.8mm?
  • My current cam FOV is 80 degrees. 4K-X 3.6mm is 90 degrees and 4K-X 2.8mm is 112 degrees. Given how I have installed the camera's even 80 degrees FOV is a lot I think. Please correct if I am wrong.
  • Will 4K-X handle flares from street light?
  • I am worried about shallow DOF of 4K-X.
• If 4k-X is not suitable, which would be the second best option for general observation?

For Blindspot:

• What will be the best approach to handle blindspot?
  • 2 observation cameras or single 2.8mm installed in the middle? I think single will not work, but please comment.

For Observation CAM1 (Frontside):

• 4K-X will not work since there is no street light. What is the alternate here?

For Gate cam (CAM2 and CAM5):

• I think 4K-X will not work given the close distance between Gate and Gate Cam. Which camera is preferred here? I was thinking a general 4mp 1/2.9 or 5mp 1/27 would do the job for GATE CAMs here which has Close Focus Distance/CFD of approx 1 meter.
• For CAM5, we have street light but for CAM2, there is no street light.

Your expert inputs please

Regards
Harmandeep

 

[harmandeep]

I went ahead with Reolink RLC811A (approx 128 USD). First, I bought one and did the testing. It seems that reolink has fixed the stream issues with latest updates. After testing, I got 6 more, so total of 7.
Night vision won't be an issue since I have ample amount of night lights from street lamps. Without enought ambient lights, night vision is really bad especially for moving subjects.

I also needed few indoor camera's with PTZ and Auto tracking. I got TP-Link Tapo C220 and they are really good given the price (30 USD in India). QHD @ 25FPS with H.264. The only con is narrow FOV but that is ok since it is installed at locations where narrow FOV is ok.

 

[harmandeep]

Also added few Tp-link Tapo C120 cams for outdoor usage to cover up blindspots.

 

[CanCuba]

Welcome to IPCT! Looking forward to see what solutions you come up with!

 

[mat200]

Hi,

I am really excited to be part of IPCT and this is my first post. I am going to upgrade my cams and I have been going through forums. I am hoping to get expert opinions for the upgrade.
My setup is in a small town in Northern India and these cams were installed in 2017.

Currently, I have Dahua 2mp analog camera's installed with ethernet CAT6 cabling. We use video ballons to get analog cameras working. CAT6 cabling was used considering Future Upgrades.

My current outdoor bullet cam model is DH-HAC-HFW1220S which has FOV of around 80 degrees. Spec sheet is attached.

As pointed in below image, there are two cams, one for general oberservation and the other close up view at the gate entrance. Given the analog cam and video ballons, the image quality is flaky to say the least.
The yellow area is the current blindspot which I want to omit with upgrade. if necessary, I can change the position of CAM4 to remove blindspot and to handle street pole light, see in below images. If a single observation camera cannot handle the blindspot, then I can install another CAM4 on the opposite side, above CAM5.

View attachment 186481


Backside - Observation CAM4 - Day Image
View attachment 186473

Backside - Gate CAM5 - Day Image
View attachment 186475


Backside - Observation CAM4 - Night Image without IR lights. There is a street light mounted on the pole which emits a lot of light straight on our home. Due to this light, IR lights never turn on.
View attachment 186477

Backside - Gate CAM5 - Night Image. Without IR lights.
View attachment 186479


Frontside - Observation - CAM1 - Day Image
View attachment 186482

Frontside - Gate CAM2 - Day Image
View attachment 186484

Frontside - Observation CAM1 - Night Image with IR
View attachment 186485

Frontside - Gate CAM2 - Night Image with IR
View attachment 186487




For Observation CAM4 (Backside):

• For CAM4, My idea to upgrade to 8mp camera for general observation. I want a clear feed where I can zoom in digitally to see some details and wanna enjoy watching the birds feed.
• Will 4K-X work in my setup? If yes, 3.6mm or 2.8mm?
  • My current cam FOV is 80 degrees. 4K-X 3.6mm is 90 degrees and 4K-X 2.8mm is 112 degrees. Given how I have installed the camera's even 80 degrees FOV is a lot I think. Please correct if I am wrong.
  • Will 4K-X handle flares from street light?
  • I am worried about shallow DOF of 4K-X.
• If 4k-X is not suitable, which would be the second best option for general observation?

For Blindspot:

• What will be the best approach to handle blindspot?
  • 2 observation cameras or single 2.8mm installed in the middle? I think single will not work, but please comment.

For Observation CAM1 (Frontside):

• 4K-X will not work since there is no street light. What is the alternate here?

For Gate cam (CAM2 and CAM5):

• I think 4K-X will not work given the close distance between Gate and Gate Cam. Which camera is preferred here? I was thinking a general 4mp 1/2.9 or 5mp 1/27 would do the job for GATE CAMs here which has Close Focus Distance/CFD of approx 1 meter.
• For CAM5, we have street light but for CAM2, there is no street light.

Your expert inputs please

Regards
Harmandeep

I went ahead with Reolink RLC811A (approx 128 USD). First, I bought one and did the testing. It seems that reolink has fixed the stream issues with latest updates. After testing, I got 6 more, so total of 7.
Night vision won't be an issue since I have ample amount of night lights from street lamps. Without enought ambient lights, night vision is really bad especially for moving subjects.

I also needed few indoor camera's with PTZ and Auto tracking. I got TP-Link Tapo C220 and they are really good given the price (30 USD in India). QHD @ 25FPS with H.264. The only con is narrow FOV but that is ok since it is installed at locations where narrow FOV is ok.

Welcome @harmandeep

Remember to test your camera setup at night and see if you get the images and image quality you need.

Normally Reolink cameras do very poorly in lower light conditions on moving subjects .. so test for that.

What NVR / VMS software are you using ?

 

[harmandeep]

Thank you guys .

RLC811a had an update which improves night vision, especially ghosting with comprise on quality. Needless to say that its night vision is not good at all but I do have a lot of street lights, so it really won't matter in my use case. Initially I ordered 4K-X but then cancelled it.

I have a old Dahua XVR (analog and ip combo) for 24x7 recording and BlueIris for analysis and realtime viewing via ui3 html5 player.

Regards
Harmandeep