Please Recommend Me a Dahua

[ScarletSpeedster]

Hello all,
I'm looking for a IP PoE camera to watch my driveway, but with a kind of annoying twist. See my attached masterpiece for help visualizing...

• I can't mount anything on the exterior of the building (thanks, HOA) so that leaves me the thought of putting something inside my window sill (on the interior of course)
• The wrinkle is my driveway is on the far side of the house, so I need something with the smallest lens-to-shell dimension.

What I'm doing currently is I've taken a IPC-HDW2431TM-AS-S2 apart and mounted the CCD on the window, but then the back 1/2 of the shell is hanging down, and the internal cords aren't very long, so it's precariously placed until i can come up with a better mounting solution.
This extra 1.5" of being able to get the edge of the lens against the window gets me the angle I need to capture the full edge of the driveway, but isn't ideal obviously.

Here's my ideal camera, does anyone know if it exists?

• PoE IP camera
• Lens capable of operating outside protective shell/smallest-shell-to-lens-radius possible
• Would love zoom capability, but not necessary (would really love PTZ, but those seem large to mount in a window sill & still have blinds)
• Doesn't need great night-vision, neighborhood street lights abundant, (i.e. would trade night vision for better (digital) zoom capability)

I've thought about Dahua's specialty series pinhole cameras, e.g. IPC-HUM4231's, but that lens isn't meant for 20-40ft type things.

I'm not afraid of soldering in longer wires, but don't know if bullet cams have longer internal wires vs my Eyeball/Dome camera.
Otherwise, I'll 3d print some new housing & mounting bracket, but before doing that, perhaps one of you knows a better solution?

Thanks in advance!

 

[mat200]

Hello all,
I'm looking for a IP PoE camera to watch my driveway, but with a kind of annoying twist. See my attached masterpiece for help visualizing...

• I can't mount anything on the exterior of the building (thanks, HOA) so that leaves me the thought of putting something inside my window sill (on the interior of course)
• The wrinkle is my driveway is on the far side of the house, so I need something with the smallest lens-to-shell dimension.

What I'm doing currently is I've taken a IPC-HDW2431TM-AS-S2 apart and mounted the CCD on the window, but then the back 1/2 of the shell is hanging down, and the internal cords aren't very long, so it's precariously placed until i can come up with a better mounting solution.
This extra 1.5" of being able to get the edge of the lens against the window gets me the angle I need to capture the full edge of the driveway, but isn't ideal obviously.

Here's my ideal camera, does anyone know if it exists?

• PoE IP camera
• Lens capable of operating outside protective shell/smallest-shell-to-lens-radius possible
• Would love zoom capability, but not necessary (would really love PTZ, but those seem large to mount in a window sill & still have blinds)
• Doesn't need great night-vision, neighborhood street lights abundant, (i.e. would trade night vision for better (digital) zoom capability)

I've thought about Dahua's specialty series pinhole cameras, e.g. IPC-HUM4231's, but that lens isn't meant for 20-40ft type things.

I'm not afraid of soldering in longer wires, but don't know if bullet cams have longer internal wires vs my Eyeball/Dome camera.
Otherwise, I'll 3d print some new housing & mounting bracket, but before doing that, perhaps one of you knows a better solution?

Thanks in advance!

Hi @ScarletSpeedster

Ah.. the wonderful constraints of a restrictive HOA ..

Why do you want to remove the shell of the camera?

I'd just keep the camera as a whole unit, and build a shade around the camera's glass to the window to keep internal lights off the camera's lens as much as possible.

 

[ScarletSpeedster]

Hi @ScarletSpeedster

Ah.. the wonderful constraints of a restrictive HOA ..

Why do you want to remove the shell of the camera?

I'd just keep the camera as a whole unit, and build a shade around the camera's glass to the window to keep internal lights off the camera's lens as much as possible.

Hi Mat,
Yea, the less said about HOA's the better...It's such a privilege to pay to be inconvenienced in my own home. /s

But what I've found, by removing the front cover of the HDW2431 is, I gain a not-insignificant extra few degrees coverage of my driveway.
While most days I'll be fine parking back far enough it wouldn't matter, that's not quite "the best long-term solution"... Plus, by removing that extra 1.5" space from the lens aperture to the window actually cuts down on center-lens glare enough to call it an improvement.
I may even be able to get away from having to build a full hood for the reflection from of the inside. (hey, every inch of PLA/ABS strand saving is a good thing, as I'm sure I'll have revisions)

So, I figure while I have to go through some work mounting this thing, it's better than not being able to record the extra ~5' of the driveway...

it's still all awkward as it can be though. This could so easily be solved with an external mounting...

Have you/anyone-else-reading-this ever taken apart one of the bullet cams? Do the internals have any longer wires to the MB that might help in this case? Know any better cameras for the task?
I don't mind spending $<=500 for the camera. It'll be there for a while and my time jerry building & revising something multiple times isn't something I'm super eager to do...

Thanks!

 

[AP514]

How about the Hidden Bird House Camera mod..several people here have made them you never would know a camera is inside.

 

[ScarletSpeedster]

How about the Hidden Bird House Camera mod..several people here have made them you never would know a camera is inside.

Hi AP514,
In my head, i haven't found a valid way to do anything but mount a camera in a window sill, but can you walk me through how a bird house mod would work?

There's no way i could mount a cubic-foot box directly to the house without a letter.
So, If I had to mount it on a tree in the yard, I'm sure Wi-Fi is reliable enough out that far, but how do people provide power to the camera subtly? I'm sure a Cat6 cable running from the ground, up a tree, to a bird house looks a bit strange...

Interesting thought, but I don't quite see how it's done completely...

Thanks!

 

[wittaj]

You will find mounting a camera behind glass can be problematic unless the lens is flush to the glass.

Wifi is problematic for surveillance cameras because they are always streaming and passing data. And the data demands go up with motion and then you lose signal. A lost packet and it has to resend. It can bring the whole network down if trying to use it through a wifi router. And then you are far enough away that you would not have full signal, and it will slow your whole system down.

Unlike Netflix and other streaming services that buffer a movie, these cameras do not buffer up part of the video, so drop outs are frequent. You would be amazed how much streaming services buffer - don't believe me, start watching something and unplug your router and watch how much longer you can watch NetFlix before it freezes. Now do the same with a wifi camera and it is fairly instantaneous (within the latency of the stream itself)...

Most consumer grade wifi routers are not designed to pass the constant video stream data of cameras, and since they do not buffer, you get these issues.

And that doesn't even account for the need for power.

Do a search here for how people have hidden the cameras. While it may still obvious to you seeing these, most people are oblivious.

For those who have hidden or disguised Cams in faux Bird House's, any issues with birds pecking or damaging the lens?

I want to put a few cams at lower heights in bird houses. Has anyone done this and had problems with birds pecking or damaging the lens? My plan is to cut a hole for the lens with a hole saw so the hole will be pretty much be the size of the exterior lens. Currently just playing around; here is...

ipcamtalk.com

So I roughly have installed a 5442 6mm birdhouse camera on lamp post 50' from my front door....with tire slashing incursion discussion

Broke the roof a little, will fix later. Gotta add some green leaves or fake ivy as well. But for now, it is working. 6' height aimed right down the street where it is the only entrance (it's slightly crooked for time being). It's primary purpose is to catch faces as folks walk towards my...

ipcamtalk.com

Another bird house thread

I was in need of a close up front door cam, mounted low for facial recognition. I had a spare Dahua 5231RP-Z turret lying around and bought an Amazon cedar bird house. The bird hole opening was the exact size of the camera lens, so I just had to drill our the IR LED holes and a small mic...

ipcamtalk.com

While this installation was for reading plates, a similar concept could be done to hide cameras in the yard.

LPR Case Study: Scoping, Planning, Proof of Concept, Installation, & Results

Introduction This thread is about my journey into LPR (License Plate Recognition) after having about 18 months of experience with IP cams and having quite a bit of my system finished. I am not an expert on LPR, or IP cameras either. But I have spent a lot of time working with my system and...

ipcamtalk.com

Birdhouse LPR with the HFW5241E-Z12E

So Ive been helping a buddy install a camera system over the past few months on weekends when we both can, and we've just about finished. (minus the Barn ptz GOAT cam we hope to have installed next week) Its a good sized lot and he had asked me to spec out the cameras and placement for him as...

ipcamtalk.com

 

[Flintstone61]

Garmin and other Car cam companies, have systems that will record when the car is parked. apparently they have a sensor that detects a parked car getting disturbed. might give you some more peace of mind.
if your parked outside, what can the HOA say about a 4 camera system mountedin your car? might need an extra Diehard.

 

[Rob2020]

Hi AP514,
In my head, i haven't found a valid way to do anything but mount a camera in a window sill, but can you walk me through how a bird house mod would work?

There's no way i could mount a cubic-foot box directly to the house without a letter.
So, If I had to mount it on a tree in the yard, I'm sure Wi-Fi is reliable enough out that far, but how do people provide power to the camera subtly? I'm sure a Cat6 cable running from the ground, up a tree, to a bird house looks a bit strange...

Interesting thought, but I don't quite see how it's done completely...

Thanks!

A bird house cam does not need to be close to one cubic foot, more like 5 x 6 inches, if you mount it on a post you can hide the cable, several ways to do this and yes you would have to use some burial rated cable.

 

[mat200]

Hi Mat,
Yea, the less said about HOA's the better...It's such a privilege to pay to be inconvenienced in my own home. /s

But what I've found, by removing the front cover of the HDW2431 is, I gain a not-insignificant extra few degrees coverage of my driveway.
While most days I'll be fine parking back far enough it wouldn't matter, that's not quite "the best long-term solution"... Plus, by removing that extra 1.5" space from the lens aperture to the window actually cuts down on center-lens glare enough to call it an improvement.
I may even be able to get away from having to build a full hood for the reflection from of the inside. (hey, every inch of PLA/ABS strand saving is a good thing, as I'm sure I'll have revisions)

So, I figure while I have to go through some work mounting this thing, it's better than not being able to record the extra ~5' of the driveway...

it's still all awkward as it can be though. This could so easily be solved with an external mounting...

Have you/anyone-else-reading-this ever taken apart one of the bullet cams? Do the internals have any longer wires to the MB that might help in this case? Know any better cameras for the task?
I don't mind spending $<=500 for the camera. It'll be there for a while and my time jerry building & revising something multiple times isn't something I'm super eager to do...

Thanks!

Thanks @ScarletSpeedster

Question:
Do you have power to your carport?
What is allowed in the carport?

 

[Flintstone61]

Dammit Scottie I need a Nuclear Powered Drone!

 

[samplenhold]

If you mount cams indoors behind glass, you will not be able to use IR. So you will need plenty of white light at night.

I have three different cams mounted in windows that are tasked with different jobs.

#1: I have three Dahua HDBW4231FP-AS (mini wedge) cams at my front door. Daytime there are no reflections but at night there can be some issues but they are minimal and have not been a problem for me. There are two on one side of my door and one on the other side. There are sheer curtains behind them with a can light fixture outside in the ceiling. There is a newer version of this cam that came out since I installed them over two years ago.



#2: I have two Dahua SD12203T-GN PTZ cams in second story windows. One over my driveway and one over the corner intersection. They function as overview cams and have helped with tracking comings and goings of people and cars. They are mounted on a piece of wood placed across the window with black cloth draped behind them, between the cam and the wooden blinds. This has almost totally removed reflections and gives the added bonus of making it look like the blinds are just raised up. The cams are almost invisible from the street. Below are shots from the driveway window cam. Again, there is probably an updated version since I installed these over two years ago.



#3: One Dahua HDBW4239R-ASE which is a fairly large footprint dome. I had bought it early in my jaunt into cams, for a specific purpose, but that did not work out as I was inexperienced. So I repurposed this cam to look over the side road from a second story window as an overview cam. Mounted just like the cams in #2 above. There would be better cams for this purpose now but it is not worth it to me to change it out at this time. There are more reflections of the window frame on this cam. But it is still useable.



Hope that gives you something to think about, options. As others have stated, consider putting a cam outside not mounted to your house, like in a bird house, mailbox post, or any other decretive yard ornament. There are even folks that have placed cams in fake rocks and low voltage lights.

 

[AP514]

@ wittaj..great links for the Bird house idea I posted..thanks

 

[EMPIRETECANDY]

PTZ

SD1A203T-GN 2mp
SD1A404XB-GNR 4mp

Both can be ok.

 

[ScarletSpeedster]

Wow, this is great y'all!
I haven't read 1/2 these links yet, but going to bed & waking up to this is awesome!
I really appreciate the suggestions!
I'm sure I'll have followups after digesting...