Best location for Camera
- Thread starter davw
- Start date
looney2ns
IPCT Contributor
Use this to help you determine the location. Keep PPF >100
Camera Calculator / Design Software
then setup a portable test rig, and try the cam in those spots for 24hrs to see if they get the view you want.
Test=Rig= 2x4, 5 gal bucket, Rocks.
Camera Calculator / Design Software
then setup a portable test rig, and try the cam in those spots for 24hrs to see if they get the view you want.
Test=Rig= 2x4, 5 gal bucket, Rocks.
just some dude
Pulling my weight
- Feb 23, 2017
- 201
- 122
I see that camera layout calculator mentioned all the time. If I'm not mistaken the minimum cost in order to make use of it is $99 for quarter year. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
looney2ns
IPCT Contributor
just some dude
Pulling my weight
- Feb 23, 2017
- 201
- 122
I don't see how you can do that with just one camera, unless you're looking for more of an "overview" kind of shot.
Normal advice is to keep the camera as close to head-level as possible (so you can capture faces), but if you do that, I don't see how you could cover the garage door, front door, and parking area in the same shot.
You could put the camera higher up on one corner, but the sacrifice would be be seeing more "tops of heads" than actual faces.
If you wanted to start with just one camera, see how it goes, and maybe add more, maybe put it to the upper left of the garage door (under the roof underhang), so it'd capture everything in front of the front door and in the parking area? Wouldn't get much of anything in front of the garage door, though?
I'm new to all of this, so that's just a random thought until some of the more seasoned pros come by.
Kawboy12R
Known around here
- Nov 18, 2014
- 1,763
- 609
If it's supposed to do double duty (door and car) then aristobrat's location is good but it'll have to stay angled away from the light beside it. Centered above the door under the soffit might be better horizontally (you want complete door and driveway entrance coverage) but gives a lot of down angle on faces, particularly up close. If you forget the car, then you'll get better approach shots of faces to the front door and cover the driveway better if it's to the right of the door at face height but to the left of "C" and under the soffit. An open door will block the cam a bit but you'll have excellent coverage of folks walking up to the door and waiting there. If the aim is to protect the house, then the door and driveway is the priority and you'll be adding more cameras to fill in the gaps which will probably cover the car incidentally anyway. Here, though, we get a lot more car prowlers than we do home break-ins although the latter is much more serious. I'd almost have two cameras at the door, one at my suggestion left of C and another above the letter slot (name plate?) under the soffit or a bit to the left and have it's FOV crossing the door and looking at the car's current parking spot.
It also looks like you may have a 2nd floor window problem with someone scaling the fence and then onto the garage roof. Don't forget an alarm system and make sure that window/room has intrusion protection hooked in.
It also looks like you may have a 2nd floor window problem with someone scaling the fence and then onto the garage roof. Don't forget an alarm system and make sure that window/room has intrusion protection hooked in.
Kawboy12R
Known around here
- Nov 18, 2014
- 1,763
- 609
Nope. Show me where a thief traveled when he stole your stuff and I'll show you where you should've had your cameras. Everything beforehand is just playing the odds guessing where they'll travel and where their face will be pointing. Control distance, angle, and lighting and you'll be printing mugshots like at the passport office.