Camera/Placement Suggestions

T

Tic

Pulling my weight
Sep 24, 2016
204
120
Florida, USA
Hello peeps.

I need one outdoor cam to view two sides of the house...just enough to cover a wire fence gate and a rear sliding glass door. This cam will be installed under the eaves at a corner soffit which is about 8 feet and a half inches from the ground (see photo and diagram). The gutter downspout might have to be relocated.

CamPlcmnt.jpg
CamPlacement.jpg

I have narrowed down my Dahua cam choices according to preference w/c is the horizontal field-of-view (the wider, the better for two-sided coverage):

1. Dome = 120°
2. Owl Turret =110°
3. Cyclops Turret = 106°

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...dbw42a1en_asi_2_8mm_lite_series_2mp_full.html

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...y_dh_ipc_hdw42a1en_2_8mm_pro_series_2_mp.html

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...dh_ipc_hdw44a1mn_2_8mm_pro_series_4mp_hd.html

Which cam do you think would be ideal?

Since it would be facing directly at the corner where the two walls meet, will this create problems with the IR sensors, focusing, etc.?

I appreciate your suggestions.
 
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Tic said:
the wider, the better for two-sided coverage
Click to expand...

thats utter nonsence, go here: https://ipvm.com/calculator and once your PPF goes under 100 you lost all hopes of getting an ID..

any camera wider than a 90 degree FOV; your ID capabilities extend out a whopping 10ft away from the camera, or less.. thats completely worthless outdoors.

and that camera placement is about the stupidest I've seen in a while.. so 98% of the image will be walls huh with only a sliver on each side that wont ever get decent exposure.. if you want to see down both walls, you need 2 cameras.. your not getting away from that unless you put up a PTZ; and even that can only look at one side at a time.
 
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That placement will give you problems with everything. You have a problem with a 2 camera solution. The distance to the gate from the nearest point on the house is pretty short so 3.6mm turrets should suffice for both the gate and one above or slightly to the side of your sliding door. If the budget for two cams is really tight, there are cheaper places to buy than BH.
 
id say 6-8mm for looking at that gate/fence, minimum.. he has a very nice choke point to take advantage of.. use zoom and get more pixels.. a 3.6mm will get him a bunch of his neighbors yard and wall that wont help much.. the gate dont look that close to me, 20-30ft.. I bet even a 12mm would give him coverage from his neighbors wall to his own.
 
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Depends on where exactly he puts the cam and if he wants broader coverage than just at the gate. I definitely won't argue against a 6 or 8 if the main job is a face shot at the gate. Anything is a million times better than a fisheye staring at the far corner of the house though.
 
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nayr said:
thats utter nonsence, go here: https://ipvm.com/calculator and once your PPF goes under 100 you lost all hopes of getting an ID..
Click to expand...

I've been there before once but never ever figured out how to use it.

any camera wider than a 90 degree FOV; your ID capabilities extend out a whopping 10ft away from the camera, or less.. thats completely worthless outdoors.
Click to expand...

If these cams are worthless outdoors, perhaps you could point out to me their other uses.

and that camera placement is about the stupidest I've seen in a while.. so 98% of the image will be walls huh with only a sliver on each side that wont ever get decent exposure.. if you want to see down both walls, you need 2 cameras.. your not getting away from that unless you put up a PTZ; and even that can only look at one side at a time.
Click to expand...

I was hoping at least you would say it's workable but the image on the fringes will not be that great. Anyway, I was just trying to figure out if one camera can do the job. Wouldn't it be really cool if they will make a two-lens single camera so you can adjust where the two individual lenses will be facing and still be considered as one unit?

With regards to the placement (corner soffit), is that spot okay? Is 8.5 feet even feasible for a cam?
 
its not hard to use, find your house on the map.. plug in the camera's specs and look at what it tellls you.. keep playing with it til you figure it out.

2.8mm and wider are only good for indoors, where targets wont be further away than 10ft or so.. or outdoors, up high for a general overview camera.. but you have to have cameras in place capable of getting an ID before you consider such a camera.. they are also acceptable right next to an entry point, like mounted next to your door where getting targets up close wont be a problem.

They do make multiple cameras in the same housing, but they cost several times more than individual cameras and still would not be appropriate to install in a way your suggesting.\: http://www.dahuasecurity.com/en/us/pro_details.php?pid=1364

The location is fine as long as you use proper zoom, if you want to keep it wide you'll want to move closer to the front of your house so anyone at your gate/fence will be identifiable.
 
Okay fellas...I appreciate all your suggestions. Since I'm not very keen on using focal length (mm) when referring to cameras, give me time to measure the exact distance from that corner soffit marked in the picture to the mid point of the fence line (parallel to the gate).

Based on all your suggestions here, I will narrow down my choices to either a fixed (for that side of the house w/ the AC condenser/gate alone) or a PTZ to cover both sides. I would also consider putting up motion sensor security lights around these areas to serve as deterrents.
 
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Folks,

Re: IPVM Calculator...The Dahua camera database is lacking...When I try to put the exact focal length of the camera lens I get the wrong equivalent angle of view -- no way near the figure stated on the camera's specs -- so I gave up using this tool. I can still manage my way around using AutoCAD (1st Gen) but not on this one...sorry. Maybe it will take me a few more gray hairs to get a handle on this.

Anyway, as a follow-up to my last post, I already measured the distance from the fence to point C as shown in the diagram below.

CamPlacement1.jpg

In addition to that, I need suggestions on what camera to use for the front of the house. My goal is just to keep an eye on the driveway, especially the apron part where cars are parked occasionally, and of course the walkway to the entrance. Lighting will not be a problem so no need for IR here. I need to mention this -- we had an incident not too long ago when our mail box got sideswiped early in the morning by a lady driver...good thing she came back around and reported what happened. My concern is that this could happen to a car parked in the driveway near the road (as shown in the diagram above).

How I wish a single camera would be able to monitor this and can ID the plates of passing vehicles if possible. But I know that is only wishful thinking. Maybe you guys can brainstorm on something.

I am open to a dome, turret, or even a PTZ. Max megapixel count would be 5.

Thanks.
 
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