Suggestions for camera(s) for weather - looking for 360° view

pyspilf

pyspilf

Getting the hang of it
May 22, 2017
71
54
Madrid, Spain
I live in a rural area, around 3,500ft elevation, mountainy region. Weather can change very rapidly, winds can be high (so it can rain and snow almost horizontally at times...)

I was considering installing camera(s) on the roof, taking advantage of a TV/weather station mast I already have up there. It would be about about 3-6ft above the roof, around 20ft above ground.

I don't care about particularly high resolution, high fps, night vision, etc. for this application. I was thinking of the cheapest semi-reliable cameras, and was wondering:

  1. 4 x 90° field of view?
  2. 2 x 180° field of view?
  3. What about best format for mounting on poles? Bullet vs turret, etc.
  4. Small form factor (for offering less resistance when the wind picks up)
I can run 1 or 2 ethernet POE to the location.

Any suggestions / insights more than welcome, as also suggestions on what camera brand/model may be suitable based on experience.

For the rest of my more critical cameras I have a mix of Dahua / Hikvision 4mp cameras, and few older lower spec cameras in the process of being replaced.

Thanks
 
I was considering placing cameras on my roof to watch the sky, and haven't quite decided the best action.

For night sky it is recommended to use the 4K-T, so I have considered 4x90. However, two of the 180s would be nice as well (and cheaper), but they may not work as well at night.

Turrets will likely get you the smallest package when all mounted together. 2x180 turrets would definitely get you the smallest package and you would also only have 2 views to stitch together later on.

I have tested a 4K-T and know it works. I need to wait for a deal on a 180 and see if it would work for me. I also have a thought to use 4 of the 180s. 2 angled upwards at the sky and 2 more level, or down some, to get a very general overview of what is happening around my house/neighborhood.
 
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I'm glad I'm not the only one entertaining the idea... ;)

Thanks for the turret mount form factor suggestion. Is there any particular 180 brand/model you were looking at?

Ri22o said:
I have tested a 4K-T and know it works. I need to wait for a deal on a 180 and see if it would work for me. I also have a thought to use 4 of the 180s. 2 angled upwards at the sky and 2 more level, or down some, to get a very general overview of what is happening around my house/neighborhood.
Click to expand...
If you ever get round to setting that many up, I'd love to see what it looks like

I would be happy with even 4 separate views NWSE or something like that, or NS if using 2x180

Knowing where the wind is blowing from using the weather station and seeing clouds/fronts on the cameras would give quite a good indication of what's coming...
 
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I am a fan of the Empiretech/Loryta models that one of our members sells (all of my cameras are these). They are Dahua OEM rebranded for the consumer market. Andy is very present on the forums and offers great support.

I am considering the Color4K-T180 and may pick one up during his current sale to test and see how I like it.

empiretech01.com

EmpireTech IPC-Color4K-T180 4K Full-Color 1/1.8" CMOS Dual-Lens Splici

Dual 1/1.8" CMOS Image Sensor | Outputs 180° wide angle splicing image | Built-in warm light | The max. illumination distance is 40 m | Built-in Mic and speaker supports two-way talk | IP67 protection | EPTZ function | SMD3.0
empiretech01.com empiretech01.com


When/if I get to the point of the sky cams, I will definitely make a post with info. I think most would be interested.
 
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Just had a look at it, it's definitely nice! I need to figure out a total budget for this, including cameras, pole extension, extra POE switch, cable runs, junction boxes etc. If/when I get it done I will also share the setup and some pics
 
In regards to weather, if the lens gets wet or during very heavy rains the cameras won't have a clear view or picture regardless of which camera you get. I have six outdoor cameras mounted on posts, so it's just something to keep in mind regarding your performance expectations.
 
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pyspilf said:
Yes... my routine for outdoor cameras includes going round and wiping them after it rains sand/dirt... this is one of the things that was putting me off for roof top cameras...
Click to expand...

Surprisingly the lenses actually clear pretty quickly once the rain stops, but I'm amazed at how many people expect the cameras to see through the rain. Another consideration is cobwebs...spiders are attracted to the IR lights and like to build their webs covering up the lens. I have a duster on a long pole that I use the clear the spider webs, but it's annoying although spiders do look pretty cool when they crawl across the lens in night vision mode and you can almost see through them.
 
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I have an additional thing to deal with here... even the tiniest hole / gap anywhere, insects nest in... I have had cameras where the screw holes were completely sealed up with mud and the likes... outdoor maintenance of any equipment is non-stop...

I wonder if one of those sprays for windshields could be used on the cameras for the roof, to reduce the number of times one would have to climb up and clean them
 
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pyspilf said:
I have an additional thing to deal with here... even the tiniest hole / gap anywhere, insects nest in... I have had cameras where the screw holes were completely sealed up with mud and the likes... outdoor maintenance of any equipment is non-stop...

I wonder if one of those sprays for windshields could be used on the cameras for the roof, to reduce the number of times one would have to climb up and clean them
Click to expand...
Most cameras do put out some amount of heat. This does help to burn the water off of the lens and cover.
 
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I was actually thinking of something so the water doesn't "stick" so to speak to the lens cover, not so much for the purpose of viewing during rain, but because of the dirt that's left over when it dries... recently we've had lots of storms carrying sand/dirt and the view from the camera goes quite bad once dry until one actually goes over to each camera and wipes the lens cover with a damp cloth
 
You may also look into Plexus. I am not sure of it's water repelling abilities, but it is marketed for lexan, acrylic, and other similar products. It's one of the few things we would use to clean the windscreen on the racecar.
 
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I decided to order a 4K-T180 last night to test out and see how it works looking at the sky. Hopefully it works because I don't really have anywhere else to use it and would hate to return it.

Others have used cameras that are basically potatoes before now, so I would think it should be fine.
 
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I think the 4k-180T is going to be an excellent choice.

Because this is strictly for weather purposes and you are not trying to have identifiable images of strangers, you should be able to get very bright images of the sky/surroundings even at night. This is because you really won't care about shutter speed/motion blurring and can let the camera go as slow as you need to. I'm looking forward to seeing some images!
 
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I like putting up weather cameras and sharing on YouTube live. Here is one I put up a few years ago. Since a microphone would receive nothing more than wind noise, I rebroadcast the national weather service radio for this area. This camera is a Dahua 4K PTZ with a raspberry pi used as the YouTube live server.

OPS Live! 1 - Lincoln, NE Weathercam Livestream

This live camera streams HD video and has a 40X zoom lens. If you like this YouTube live stream, please give it a thumbs up, subscribe and tell your friends...
www.youtube.com www.youtube.com
 
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