Recommend a Brand Please

[Imburr]

I run 3 IP cameras currently. 1 Hikvision, 1 Amcrest, and 1 China offbrand. All POE. I probable like the Amcrest the best, but the Hikvision is low end.

I do not record yet, my 3 internals are for live view only.

I need to add a POE camera to the front porch. It will be under roughly 2 feet of overhang. Bullet/Turret doesnt matter, but I prefer turret. No movement.

It needs to capture maybe 110 degrees of width. Front door will be 10ft away, driveway is 30ft away. Need to capture both, and have good night vision. I can add an IR spot of needed.

Which brand and possibly model should I go with? I was aiming for Hikvision, but a local security camera buddy told me not to due to vulnerabilities. I am not scared, it is internal only and I am secure. I will be recording this in a loop on BlueIris.

 

[mat200]

I run 3 IP cameras currently. 1 Hikvision, 1 Amcrest, and 1 China offbrand. All POE. I probable like the Amcrest the best, but the Hikvision is low end.

I do not record yet, my 3 internals are for live view only.

I need to add a POE camera to the front porch. It will be under roughly 2 feet of overhang. Bullet/Turret doesnt matter, but I prefer turret. No movement.

It needs to capture maybe 110 degrees of width. Front door will be 10ft away, driveway is 30ft away. Need to capture both, and have good night vision. I can add an IR spot of needed.

Which brand and possibly model should I go with? I was aiming for Hikvision, but a local security camera buddy told me not to due to vulnerabilities. I am not scared, it is internal only and I am secure. I will be recording this in a loop on BlueIris.

Hi @Imburr

Are the areas well lighted? Or do you need a good camera in low light?
10 feet away - what level of detail do you need?
for 30 feet away - what level of detail do you need?

Remember to check out the cliff notes.

 

[Imburr]

I only need to monitor packages and perhaps theft, that's 10ft away. Then in the driveway just keep an eye on the cars. No license plates or anything. The area is very well lit during the day, at night there is only star and moon light.

 

[VorlonFrog]

I recommend the Dahua Starlight turret cameras outdoors.
4K or 8MP are NOT a deciding factor.
Choose the original 2MP Starlight turret for best image quality.

 

[Imburr]

Varifocal? Or fixed?

 

[Q™]

Varifocal allows you to zoom the lens in/out to obtain the best possible field of view, whereas fixed can be adjusted only by physically moving the camera closer to (or further away from) the target area. So I would say that varifocal gives you the best chance of obtaining the best possible field of view without having to calculate correct lens size. Check this lens simulator demo out...

Nikon | Imaging Products | NIKKOR Lens Simulator

 

[aristobrat]

Your call. You can use the IPVM Camera Calculator V3 to pull up an image of your house, drop/position a camera on the outside, then move a little dude around and see how well he looks from various distances. With a wide fixed lens, the dude will probably get blurrier a lot quicker. With a tighter lens, you’ll get more detail further away... that’s where varifocals can be great... if your camera’s 30 feet away and you need better coverage on your driveway, you may need a 7mm, 8mm, 9mm, etc lens, which you usually aren’t options for fixed cameras.

Also for the best low-light performance, x2 on @VorlonFrog’s suggestion. Either Dahau’s 2MP Starlight models (or Hikvision’s 2MP Ultra-Low Light models). These models use a newer image sensor that’s not in lower-end professional (or consumer) level stuff.

This is the most popular varifocal turret.
Review-Dahua Starlight IPC-HDW5231R-ZE 800 meter capable ePOE

This one is a newer “light” model. No microphone, only one main stream, but $50 cheaper.
Review-Dahua IPC-HDW2231RP-ZS Starlight Camera-Varifocal

And this is probably the most popular fixed lens model.
Dahua IPC-HDW4231EM-AS review