Covert outdoor camera. Disassembly required for this.

slip kid

slip kid

Getting the hang of it
Jan 11, 2019
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Humid SE
In an outdoor but weather protected environment, the goal is a covert placement of the camera but having the quality of a currently available IP camera with starlight capabilities. I'm suggesting insetting them into portions of a frame structure house wherein the lens will be set to mock the appearance of timber frame pegs from a distance. So I assume there isn't something like this out there and the IP camera/lens portion will have to be taken out of it's housing and inserted into the structure through a drilled hole (drilled through with paddle bit) and the remainder left in the housing mounted behind the structure.

If there is a good quality BULLET style IP camera with excellent night vision qualities in our normal price range, I'd like to hear that suggestion. No on board IR lighting. That will be done with a separate illuminator.
Something this configuration would be perfect, but this is just a cheapie example (I'm guessing) of an analog camera with terrible specs. So if it's not available I'll take a good qual camera apart to achieve this. Suggestions?
I wish for this slender housing with the rest of the components behind the structure out of sight.
serveimage.jpg
 
Here's an example of where I'm planning to place one. Which peg hole is the camera in?
Answer: any one of them. So is there a good Starlight IP camera made for it or can one be taken apart to do this?

serveimage
 
Well can't give you an answer there, but a few observations. Realize that the wooden structure has some amount of flex in it's joints. That is by design, to withstand wind, expansion/contraction due to temperature and humidity, and ground movements. I am not too sure that replacing a structural peg with a camera lens would be a good idea, especially for the lens. Now if you were to drill a new hole not In a position of structural stress, that might work.

I have seen a few good covert camera placements on this forum where people built a bird house for their camera. Might give that a thought.
 
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slip kid said:
Here's an example of where I'm planning to place one. Which peg hole is the camera in?
Answer: any one of them. So is there a good Starlight IP camera made for it or can one be taken apart to do this?
Click to expand...

Hi @slip kid

Looks like a really nice post.

Remember to test your concept with a mock up made of affordable wood before you attempt to work on that really nice wood work.
 
Yes, you can answer the question here. This is not the actual location but an example of PEG SIZE only so the camera lens looks like a normal peg. So a camera lens will mimic a peg of similar size. Make sense? :) This is not the actual feature. I'm not looking for alternative location suggestions at this time. Just this one. I'm interested in those next, don't get me wrong there. So thank you.

(1) So, is there a starlight capable IP camera that is similar in size to that peg and bullet camera example I posted?
(2) If not, has anyone taken a turet or similar camera apart to do a similar thing?

Remember to test your concept with a mock up made of affordable wood before you attempt to work on that really nice wood work.
Click to expand...
Mine is not that involved or nice. Cedar boards aren't expensive until you buy more than one :D, so I'm just concerned with that.
 
Maybe I was not clear:
(1) So, is there a starlight capable IP camera that is similar in size to that peg and bullet camera example I posted? I do not know the answer to this question.
(2) If not, has anyone taken a turet or similar camera apart to do a similar thing? I have not done this and do not know anyone that has.
 
okay, that was helpful
 
If you had asked this question a week ago, I might have been more helpful. But since then, I have mounted my final Dahua IPC-HDW5231R-ZE. But attached are a few pictures of the inside lens. This is a varifocal lens so it is motorized, note gear teeth on lens body. I do not remember how it is attached to the housing. Might be mounted on the board. I did not measure the lens but expect it to be about one inch in diameter. This is the camera that most folks here like for the low light use. Hope this helps.
 

Attachments

Yes, it helps. About an inch is good. That's similar in size to pegs. I see it's got a geared outer something I guess for the varifocal lens. That adds a wrinkle but not a deal killer. Perhaps it's just a matter of a mounting system that allows retention of the system or perhaps there's one that doesn't adjust.

Thank you.
 
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That's almost it, if it had a larger lens for farther reach/better identification at distance it would be the ticket.

"1/2.8” 2Megapixel progressive scan STARVIS™ CMOS"

That means it has the best night definition properties for a 2 mp doesn't it? Just needs a full size lens and it's there.
 
slip kid said:
That's almost it, if it had a larger lens for farther reach/better identification at distance it would be the ticket.

"1/2.8” 2Megapixel progressive scan STARVIS™ CMOS"

That means it has the best night definition properties for a 2 mp doesn't it? Just needs a full size lens and it's there.
Click to expand...
See dahua pinhole series in the catalog here Dahua IP Catalog 201902 Q1
they all require the "main unit" that can be mounted up to 8m away.
Ultimately if you want to install them the way you described, you will have issues as the cameras cannot be aimed. You need proper outdoor cameras.
 
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Planning on covert installs of up to 12, but starting with 4-6. This is one problem location due to being highly visible on the front of the house.
 
slip kid said:
Planning on covert installs of up to 12, but starting with 4-6. This is one problem location due to being highly visible on the front of the house.
Click to expand...

I'd recommend: Test ONE first before you buy the whole lot...
 
For certain. The rest will be different than this app. Maybe one other like this but it's not ideal. Not finding tighter/longer field of view like I'd want but it's common not to find what I'm looking for.

" IlluminationL1: 0.07Lux/F2.4 (Color), 0.007Lux/F2.4 (B/W)
L3: 0.009Lux/F1.8 (Color), 0.001Lux/F1.8 (B/W)"
Dahua IPC-HUM8230-L3 2.0MP IP Flat lens Covert Lens & Lead

How is that L3 illumination performance, and does L3 means something industry standard wise?
 
See the last entry of this thread:
Pinhole IP camera recommendation?

Found this after I posted earlier. CRW030 states low light is not very good for this camera.
 
Good low light quality is top of the list. I'd rather tear down a camera with good night vision qualities.
So the quoted stat from above,
"0.009Lux/F1.8 (Color), 0.001Lux/F1.8 (B/W)"
how does that rank in quality? It's from the IPC-HUM8230 you posted.
 
fenderman said:
See dahua pinhole series in the catalog here Dahua IP Catalog 201902 Q1
they all require the "main unit" that can be mounted up to 8m away.
Ultimately if you want to install them the way you described, you will have issues as the cameras cannot be aimed. You need proper outdoor cameras.
Click to expand...
This.

The inability to aim the camera will be quite limiting. It's also worth pointing out that it would be a very bad idea to compromise the structural integrity of a post to hide a camera inside it. If you want to try to hide a camera in something, choose something movable like a birdhouse.

The pinhole cameras don't have built in IR and may not even have an ir cut filter. Low light performance would generally be worse from a camera in the pinhole family.
 
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Regarding the installation in a post, it's not worth mentioning since it was never suggested. And installation in this specific instance is to be installed in a portion of an, hopefully, immovable object (within a house inset in a Cedar board). Onboard IR lighting is another thing I stated not wanting/needing. Higher quality low light properties are a must.

So, it's looking like I (a mere rookie :D) am going to have to make this unit myself by disassembling a camera with the properties I asked for in the initial post.
 
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