Thinking about HDW5442TM-AS - looking focal length suggestions - pictures inside

[foghat]

Hi,

I am looking at finally pulling the trigger on a NVR5216-16P-4KS2E and 3 (to start) HDW5442TM-AS cameras.

I am thinking of positioning the cameras where the red circles are in the pictures. Blue circle would be a potential future camera and would be facing the front door. I am, of course, open to other placement suggestions if mine seem off.

What I am not sure about is which focal length:

Was thinking of 2.8mm for the camera next to the front door - given how narrow my porch is and how close a person at the door would be to the camera (and given it is 2K/4mp) I suspect 2.8 will be plenty for facial recognition; I also wonder if going with a narrower focal length may cause a person at the door to be out of the frame?

For the 2 looking out onto the driveway/street I am considering 3.6mm; I am most concerned with what goes on in the driveway and the street spot occupied by the white car (mostly hidden by the bush in the picture with blue circle). Or maybe even go 6mm for the one camera above the garage door that would be pointing in the direction of the white car/street spot?

Any thoughts/suggestions are very much appreciated.

 

[sebastiantombs]

Don't forget you can "flip" the video 90 or 270 degrees to achieve "corridor mode" for your porch. 2.8mm should be fine there. Ideally, I'd try to get it in the corner and lower down, say at six feet, but installation may be more difficult.

The 3.6mm for the garage should be fine out to about 20 feet for identification. Again, try to get them lower. You don't want to just get the tops of heads when they're up close.

 

[foghat]

Don't forget you can "flip" the video 90 or 270 degrees to achieve "corridor mode" for your porch. 2.8mm should be fine there. Ideally, I'd try to get it in the corner and lower down, say at six feet, but installation may be more difficult.

The 3.6mm for the garage should be fine out to about 20 feet for identification. Again, try to get them lower. You don't want to just get the tops of heads when they're up close.

Thx. Do you mean the corner on the right/doorbell side?

If so, I was thinking about that but was not sure because of the light and if it would block too much of the view or cause the focus to go goofy (but since the camera is not autofocus, I guess that shouldn't be much of a concern). The very bottom point of of the light is 6 feet from the ground. It would be preferable from an install perspective and an even easier install if the camera could be on the same wall as the light.

On the garage, I can go as low as the vinyl siding goes. I suppose I could even place on the aluminum trim right under the vinyl.

 

[sebastiantombs]

Yes, on the doorbell side but on the wall where the door is and below the light, at least the glass of the light. You could make a test rig out of a bucket full of rocks and a 2x4 to test, just to make sure the light doesn't blind the camera before installing it permanently.

The 5442 is a great camera and I think you'll have good results with them. Keep in mind that Dahua is way behind in production due to Chinese New Year being followed by the COVID19 outbreak and that's complicated by Sony being in the same boat with producing sensors.

 

[foghat]

Thx. I had been wondering about supply these days - I have been in touch with Andy it sounds like he has the NVR and some 5442s ready to go. But I will double check that with him.

 

[bugsysiegals]

Here’s 2 x 5442’s @ 2.8. This is using the camera icon on Blue Iris iPhone app so I’m not sure how the quality comes across but you can see the wide angle. This is perfect for my back yard as I don’t need facial recognition, although It would probably be halfway decent at the window entries, and only to know if there’s somebody back there.




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[foghat]

Here’s 2 x 5442’s @ 2.8. This is using the camera icon on Blue Iris iPhone app so I’m not sure how the quality comes across but you can see the wide angle. This is perfect for my back yard as I don’t need facial recognition, although It would probably be halfway decent at the window entries, and only to know if there’s somebody back there.


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Looks great. What do you mean by '2 x 5542'? Is that somehow the view from two cameras combined?

 

[bugsysiegals]

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[bugsysiegals]

I’ve 2 of them covering the backyard. The last one failed to load as I hit a bad reception area. Lol


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[sebastiantombs]

Here's a screen clip of a 5442, 3.6mm , both day and night. Night is with just ambient light from a street light about 200 feet away.

 

[looney2ns]

Cams mounted here instead, on the siding is too high. One 6mm, and one 3.6mm. both looking across the drive.
I would put the 6mm on the right side, as that would cover the car.

 

[foghat]

Cams mounted here instead, on the siding is too high. One 6mm, and one 3.6mm. both looking across the drive.
I would put the 6mm on the right side, as that would cover the car.

Thanks. That is sort of what I was thinking with the 3.6mm and 6mm. Do you think the blue would work? I guess I could mount on the stone, but would rather not.

 

[samplenhold]

Something to consider. It is always to your advantage to test first. Consider buying one varifocal camera to start with, like an IPC-HDW5231R-ZE, mount it on a 2x4 (like @sebastiantombs stated) and see what focal lengths you like at different locations. It is a great camera and you could still use it once you use it for testing, most probably on the porch.

That is what I did. That one camera allowed me to decide on what other cameras to get (currently 11 Dahuas, with plans for about five more) for specific positions.

Make sure you test both in daylight and at night, with a person walking towards, away, and across the camera view. Which way do the cameras point on your garage? Are they towards the sun? A test rig can help you decide if the sun will cause issues at certain times of the day.

Do you ever have a car parked in the driveway that could be of interest to door checkers? Park it there and test with the test rig. Will a person walking up the driveway and trying the door handle have a good enough angle for a face ID? Are the garage door carriage lights on all night?

 

[foghat]

Something to consider. It is always to your advantage to test first. Consider buying one varifocal camera to start with, like an IPC-HDW5231R-ZE, mount it on a 2x4 (like @sebastiantombs stated) and see what focal lengths you like at different locations. It is a great camera and you could still use it once you use it for testing, most probably on the porch.

That is what I did. That one camera allowed me to decide on what other cameras to get (currently 11 Dahuas, with plans for about five more) for specific positions.

Make sure you test both in daylight and at night, with a person walking towards, away, and across the camera view. Which way do the cameras point on your garage? Are they towards the sun? A test rig can help you decide if the sun will cause issues at certain times of the day.

Do you ever have a car parked in the driveway that could be of interest to door checkers? Park it there and test with the test rig. Will a person walking up the driveway and trying the door handle have a good enough angle for a face ID? Are the garage door carriage lights on all night?

Thanks. Yes, I have thought about doing that as well. But was thinking it would be best to use a 4mp varifocal as well. Seems in Dahua's lineup (or at least what is available to Andy right now) the only 4mp varicam is a bullet style - which I know are not favorites due to spiders finding them appealing.

 

[looney2ns]

Thanks. That is sort of what I was thinking with the 3.6mm and 6mm. Do you think the blue would work? I guess I could mount on the stone, but would rather not.
View attachment 57741

That will work, but lower is always better. You don't want to be above 8ft if you can help it.
If you haven't study this: Cliff Notes.

 

[tibimakai]

This is a 6mm one(in a birdhouse), check out post #56:

I need ideas, on where to install a camera at the entrance

I have a Jaguar XJ6 Vanden Plas Canary Red paint for example. I'm thinking, that it may work for the roof section. Some paints require primers first or else it will peel off. I believe automotive paint would be in this category. When you first said your daughter was going to paint this, I...

ipcamtalk.com

 

[Bryan]

Thanks. That is sort of what I was thinking with the 3.6mm and 6mm. Do you think the blue would work? I guess I could mount on the stone, but would rather not.
View attachment 57741

Could find some way to mount it to the lights?