Security Camera Locations? (With house pics)

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randy66

Getting the hang of it
Apr 6, 2022
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SF
I already have a door bell camera. I want to add a camera that covers my circular driveway and another camera that covers the front (side) of my garage. For the circular driveway, I’m considering location 1 (on wall) vs 2 (under overhan). Is there a general rule on which location would be better? I will likely install a turret POE camera.

Any thoughts on location 3 (also turret camera)?
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I would have two cameras above the garage door. Either location one or two. I would also have one at the other end of the garage looking towards the front door. You want the cameras to crisscross one another. Maybe around a 45 degree angle. As to location 3, If you want to put a 180 degree camera there, I can see it as an overview camera. Dahua and Hikvision both sell fine 180 cameras. I also see spots for a lot more cameras. :D
 
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randy66 said:
I already have a door bell camera. I want to add a camera that covers my circular driveway and another camera that covers the front (side) of my garage. For the circular driveway, I’m considering location 1 (on wall) vs 2 (under overhan). Is there a general rule on which location would be better? I will likely install a turret POE camera.

Any thoughts on location 3 (also turret camera)?
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Hi randy66

Plan for more cameras, start by getting one good IP PoE varifocal camera, length of quality cat5e cable, small poe switch, and testing rig .. test your locations .. example 1 & 2 above the garage ..

As you have a corner house with multiple parking locations .. you will need more cameras on the front for good coverage .. I'd consider cameras in the following locations :
 

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Nice house. It looks like the walls are in cement (?). If that is the case, how you plan to “run” the cameras cables (CAT6)? Do your house include a centralized box (hub), to “run” all data/cable distribution for different areas? If included, please comment. The garage (upper right side) include a 1-gang wall plate (electrical?). Any other similar wall plates around the property?
 
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Parley said:
I would have two cameras above the garage door.
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Thanks—I’ll have to see if that passes the wife test.

mat200 said:
I'd consider cameras in the following locations
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That’s a lot of cameras! I’ll likely pick a few of those spots.

eggsan said:
Nice house. It looks like the walls are in cement (?). If that is the case, how you plan to “run” the cameras cables (CAT6)? Do your house include a centralized box (hub), to “run” all data/cable distribution for different areas? If included, please comment. The garage (upper right side) include a 1-gang wall plate (electrical?). Any other similar wall plates around the property?
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Thanks, and good point. It is a stucco house. Front left corner (basically where the back of the car is, but on the other side of the pony wall) already has a POE line pulled that goes back to a network closet (upstairs). The 1-gang you identified is also POE and the line goes back to the network closet. I opened the garage ceiling and have access to that POE line, which I plan to pull into the garage itself, add a 120V powered POE switch, then can add as many POE lines as I want all around the garage. I’m familiar enough with drilling holes through stucco (and even pulling line voltage) that I think I can do it myself. The right side of the house (not in the photo) also already has a POE drop.
 
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Plan on more cameras, once you get a few up you will want more. Cameras that look at cameras are a good idea, like on both sides of the garage door to cover different approaches different angles.

Buy a Dahua varifocal to get an idea of views, focal length, etc. The 5442 varifocal would be one solid recommendation. TEST FIT with a temporary setup before mounting. The 5442 fixed focal on a PFB mount looks very professional and is very unobtrusive.

:welcome:
 
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I will look into the Dahua 5442. My existing side yard camera is Amcrest.

Any suggestions for a PTZ that automatically tracks for the full driveway coverage? My plan is to get the cameras into HomeKit (already using scrypted) and also record via a proper 24/7 recorder.

To add to my post, these two circled locations already have POE drops for cameras (one on fence, one on house).
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Any suggestions for a PTZ that automatically tracks for the full driveway coverage? My plan is to get the cameras into HomeKit (already using scrypted) and also record via a proper 24/7 recorder.
 
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randy66 said:
Thanks—I’ll have to see if that passes the wife test.



That’s a lot of cameras! I’ll likely pick a few of those spots.



Thanks, and good point. It is a stucco house. Front left corner (basically where the back of the car is, but on the other side of the pony wall) already has a POE line pulled that goes back to a network closet (upstairs). The 1-gang you identified is also POE and the line goes back to the network closet. I opened the garage ceiling and have access to that POE line, which I plan to pull into the garage itself, add a 120V powered POE switch, then can add as many POE lines as I want all around the garage. I’m familiar enough with drilling holes through stucco (and even pulling line voltage) that I think I can do it myself. The right side of the house (not in the photo) also already has a POE drop.
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If cabling could be an issue, depending on the location of the existing network 1-gang boxes (normally horizontally installed at 18” above floor level), my proposal will be installing the camera on a “back-to-back”, while using the existing data cable for poe/data. You may still add switches and WAP as extension/coverage. Just drill a hole from 1-gang back box (toward the outside wall), installing a camera junction box or wall plate, to accommodate the camera connectors.

Since those considered data boxes belong to the upper level, the cameras will be a little higher than the recommended height.
 
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eggsan said:
my proposal will be installing the camera on a “back-to-back”, while using the existing data cable for poe/data.
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thanks—this is a good idea that I hadn’t considered. Just yesterday I added an exterior 120v line by doing the same with an existing receptacle. For now, I can’t think of any location where I would want a camera that I can’t pull a new line to (except at the doorbell! I wish the builder had pulled POE to that).
 
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randy66 said:
thanks—this is a good idea that I hadn’t considered. Just yesterday I added an exterior 120v line by doing the same with an existing receptacle. For now, I can’t think of any location where I would want a camera that I can’t pull a new line to (except at the doorbell! I wish the builder had pulled POE to that).
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Most builders never seem to do what we need for security camera setups well enough ..

note, new homes are using house wrap .. so you do want to be aware of that and will probably need to appropriately finish the holes you make to keep water from getting under that wrap to the vertical mulch ( OSB )
 
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mat200 said:
Most builders never seem to do we need for security camera setups well enough ..

note, new homes are using house wrap .. so you do want to be aware of that and will probably need to appropriately finish the holes you make to keep water from getting under that wrap to the vertical mulch ( OSB )
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Important to consider. If drilling through the wall, remember to add silicone around the “pass-through” cable, also around the outside junction box to seal all surrounding.
 
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btw - use bulk cat5e / 6 cabling .. it will allow you to make smaller holes ..

also run N+1 cables to each location .. that is run an extra cable ..
 
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Between #1 and #2, I am a fan of position #2. That is where my driveway cams are mounted. This location will also (likely) reduce the need for a junction box and make the install package much smaller.

See my threads below for info on my installs.

Looking for advice on my install locations.

After posting my thread on where/whether to install the 4K-X I realized I may need to adjust the locations of some of my cameras and with Andy's sale coming up I wanted to get some opinions so I can buy any new hardware I may need. A little about where I live: My street is lit primarily by...
ipcamtalk.com ipcamtalk.com

"I want 2.8mm cameras everywhere to see everything..." - This is why you need specific FOVs with purposeful focal lengths.

I am treating this as a living document and will update it with new captures, information, etc from time to time since the journey and knowledge gained never ends. Even though it was originally posted in May of 2023, it is still very much relevant. I have gained a lot of knowledge since I...
ipcamtalk.com ipcamtalk.com
 
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Ri22o said:
Between #1 and #2, I am a fan of position #2. That is where my driveway cams are mounted. This location will also (likely) reduce the need for a junction box and make the install package much smaller.
Click to expand...

Thank you for answering my actual question (and for the links!)!
 
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