Which camera

malanden

malanden

n3wb
Aug 16, 2024
11
13
Toronto, Ontario Canada
Hello. Lots of information on this board. Been reading alot. I am looking for camera recommendations for my home.

I am not concerned with OEM, rebranded, refurbished, using eBay, AliExpress et

Our Canadian dollar is absolute dog shit against the greenback.

I am looking to buy about 4 cameras. My driveway is just big enough to fit my truck for a measurement example. I would put two cameras above each garage door. Garage exterior light is always on at night.

My front door has a roofed porch. I would put a camera there to grab the front porch. Porch light is always on at night.

Not interested in filming the street. Just looking for good on my property cameras.

I know dahua 5422 is recommended, but I think that's probably overkill for such a small property that has its lights on at night.

8MP would be nice, but would also settle for a good 4MP. Looking towards the cheaper end of the spectrum. You know, good bang for your buck type.

I should add, I don't need all the special AI processing. I am going to use either Blue Iris or the Linux equivalent with the Google AI processing USB for that stuff.
 
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Many here will say that the 5442 / 54IR is the best bang for the buck and I would need to agree with them.

I started with Lorex (they use Dahua cameras). I bought and installed a Lorex analog MPX system. They were 2MP cameras in 2.8mm focal lengths. I then won a Lorex giveaway and was sent a 2K IP camera system with 2 turrets and 4 bullets and ran the two systems in parallel.

I managed to get a usable capture of a neighborhood vandal, but it wasn't all that great. It mainly confirmed the suspect, but wasn't good enough to search someone down.

What ultimately pushed me to using Blue Iris and Loryta/Empiretech cameras was when my house was struck by lightning; it took out my Lorex systems and I needed to start over. Cameras multiply like rabbits; once you can see part of your property you will want to see all of your property. This is especially true when something happens and you realize there is a hole in your coverage.

A properly spec'd Loryta/Empiretech camera and system may increase your budget a little, but the goal is to have usable footage. I look at my camera system as an investment; let's say the whole thing has cost me $5000. That is a lot of money, but I now have a higher chance of catching the vandals, thieves, stranger dangerers, etc that come around my house and, because of this, have a greater chance of recovering my loss. If I had not made the investment I would likely be out my loss PLUS adding on the cost of the system for the next time it might happen. We get posts all of the time with people reacting to a loss Stolen Lawn Equipment and Tools

I have had a couple friends get interested in putting in a system, but it never goes anywhere once I tell them it's more than just slapping up a couple cameras from Costco. It does take work, but once set up with quality equipment you should be good to go.

I have come a long way in a short amount of time and have been fortunate enough to be able to retain the footage to document my learning journey. Check out my thread below. The first group of captures are from my Lorex systems. You can see the difference between a basic system of just wanting to see around your house vs a purposefully installed system of wanting to ID.

Buy once, cry once, and get experience and knowledge along the way.

"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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I agree the 5442 is a great camera, it's probably overkill for 20 feet of driveway and a 12 foot porch, both with lights on all night. That camera is almost $250 Canadian dollars with taxes.

I have been keeping an eye on Andy's website for refurbished stuff as those were reasonable in Canadian dollars.
 
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malanden said:
I agree the 5442 is a great camera, it's probably overkill for 20 feet of driveway and a 12 foot porch, both with lights on all night. That camera is almost $250 Canadian dollars with taxes.

I have been keeping an eye on Andy's website for refurbished stuff as those were reasonable in Canadian dollars.
Click to expand...
I have a couple refurb EmpireTech 8MP 4K Full-Color Ultra Low Light 8MP Smart AI Starlight Turret IP Cameras sitting here from Andy if your interested. He sends them to me occasionally from amazon.ca returns.


 
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malanden said:
I agree the 5442 is a great camera, it's probably overkill for 20 feet of driveway and a 12 foot porch, both with lights on all night. That camera is almost $250 Canadian dollars with taxes.

I have been keeping an eye on Andy's website for refurbished stuff as those were reasonable in Canadian dollars.
Click to expand...

Not at all. Almost anything else will be trading off quality
 
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malanden said:
I agree the 5442 is a great camera, it's probably overkill for 20 feet of driveway and a 12 foot porch, both with lights on all night. That camera is almost $250 Canadian dollars with taxes.

I have been keeping an eye on Andy's website for refurbished stuff as those were reasonable in Canadian dollars.
Click to expand...
 
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$129 US varifocal with audio and zoom.
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if you go really cheap, these were popular budget choice but with limited application where outdoor light is available or indoors.
But they don't " lock" hard into position. you cam force them to move which amy be good or bad depending on your situation. I installed 5 of these at the condo...3 in the laundry rooms and 2 in well lit areas of the indoor garages.
 
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