Porch camera with recording

[Ewarwoowar]

Hi All,

First post here and just need some eyes on purchasing a camera for my parents porch and an NVR to record to.

This is my first foray into a decent camera solution and ended up on Andy's Aliexpress store having a look through the available cameras. The camera is for my parent's house and purely put in place to see who is at the door during the day while only one person is at home. It will be placed at around 6-7 feet looking down at a fairly step angle with the person at the door almost directly in front of the camera. I know a doorbell cam (possibly the hikvision) might be better suited but a camera at that height makes it easy to put your hand over.

They haven't explicitly said they want recording but it seems a bit pointless without. Something like Blue Iris just didn't seem right for a one camera system and with no requirements for the features that BI offers plus the cost of a device to put BI on just isn't right.

So, after a bit of research I've ended up on the following items for them:

IPC-HFW1320S
NVR4104-4KS2

Yes, they're pretty much the cheapest options from Dahua but for the scenario I think they'll do just fine. I doubt they'd want to shell out anymore for some higher end bullets but if they do want to get some more cameras around the house (For longer distance shots) then they can do so as the NVR has space for 3 more.

Lastly, the reason I'm asking because I'm not sure if I've missed anything blindingly obvious that means that these items just won't cut it for the requirements.

Thanks in advance!

 

[VorlonFrog]

Check out the 4231 Starlight 'wedge' mini-dome camera.
Better performance, turret is less maintenance than a bullet.

 

[Ewarwoowar]

Thanks for the recommendation. However, that camera is $48 more than the 1320, would it really be that much better at such a short distance?

Forgive my ignorance but in what way is the mini dome less maintenance than a bullet? The Cliff Notes document also says that a common mistake is using dome cameras outside due to reflection and and glare issues with IR.

 

[Dahuacamcctv]

You don't need the nvr if you just want to do recording. Just get a camera that has an sd slot and record directly to the camera.

 

[VorlonFrog]

Thanks for the recommendation. However, that camera is $48 more than the 1320, would it really be that much better at such a short distance?

Forgive my ignorance but in what way is the mini dome less maintenance than a bullet? The Cliff Notes document also says that a common mistake is using dome cameras outside due to reflection and and glare issues with IR.

I apologize, I was mixing my messages, earlier.

If the porch area is covered or semi-protected, the mini-dome will work well. If not, a turret camera is advised over the bullet.

 

[aristobrat]

Thanks for the recommendation. However, that camera is $48 more than the 1320, would it really be that much better at such a short distance?

The 4231 is a Starlight model, so in low-light it should have less noise/grain, and motion should blur a lot less. The 4321 has a newer, larger 1/2.8" sensor designed for low-light. The 1320 uses a smaller run-of-the-mill 1/3" sensor.

Unless your parents run with the porch light on literally all night, the 4231 should have better low-light image quality.

 

[mat200]

Hi All,

First post here and just need some eyes on purchasing a camera for my parents porch and an NVR to record to.

This is my first foray into a decent camera solution and ended up on Andy's Aliexpress store having a look through the available cameras. The camera is for my parent's house and purely put in place to see who is at the door during the day while only one person is at home. It will be placed at around 6-7 feet looking down at a fairly step angle with the person at the door almost directly in front of the camera. I know a doorbell cam (possibly the hikvision) might be better suited but a camera at that height makes it easy to put your hand over.

They haven't explicitly said they want recording but it seems a bit pointless without. Something like Blue Iris just didn't seem right for a one camera system and with no requirements for the features that BI offers plus the cost of a device to put BI on just isn't right.

So, after a bit of research I've ended up on the following items for them:

IPC-HFW1320S
NVR4104-4KS2

Yes, they're pretty much the cheapest options from Dahua but for the scenario I think they'll do just fine. I doubt they'd want to shell out anymore for some higher end bullets but if they do want to get some more cameras around the house (For longer distance shots) then they can do so as the NVR has space for 3 more.

Lastly, the reason I'm asking because I'm not sure if I've missed anything blindingly obvious that means that these items just won't cut it for the requirements.

Thanks in advance!

Hi @Ewarwoowar

I have both a rebranded IPC-HFW1320S and the Dahua OEM mini-dome wedge at my front door at eye level.

Get one of the Dahua OEM 2MP starlight models - even if you have the porch light on, they are better cameras and have the IVS features - while the HDW/HFW1320S does not iirc.

 

[Ewarwoowar]

Many thanks for everyone's comments!

Been looking at the 4231 models and I think we will go for that model instead of the lower end. The differences seem quite substantial in the reviews I've seen. Now just stuck between choosing the mini-dome, turret or bullet. I'm still learning but I think bullet is out as it's a larger lens so may be too zoomed in for such a short distance (When standing under it, head will be around 1meter from the camera lens).

I'm probably going to scrap the NVR for now like Dahucamcctv said and just get a 128GB SD card so can spend a bit more on the camera which I think is more worth it.

 

[looney2ns]

Many thanks for everyone's comments!

Been looking at the 4231 models and I think we will go for that model instead of the lower end. The differences seem quite substantial in the reviews I've seen. Now just stuck between choosing the mini-dome, turret or bullet. I'm still learning but I think bullet is out as it's a larger lens so may be too zoomed in for such a short distance (When standing under it, head will be around 1meter from the camera lens).

I'm probably going to scrap the NVR for now like Dahucamcctv said and just get a 128GB SD card so can spend a bit more on the camera which I think is more worth it.

Stick with a turret.