Camera on great horned owl nest

Terri Underhill

Terri Underhill

Getting comfortable
Mar 23, 2019
363
324
oklahoma
Hi, I'd like to get a camera to watch my owl babies in their nest. I need a weatherproof camera with a 10x zoom. I want night vision and audio also. I can run it through my attic and to my router if needed. I'd appreciate all suggestions. I attached a photo of two baby barred owls from 2017.
I currently have two wildlife cameras at the other end of our property. A Panasonic bb-hcm581 on our deer feeder and a foscam 9802w on my wildbird feeder.
Thanks in advance for your time.
Okiebirdnerd
 

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I attached two pics. One was taken with my phone showing where I'll mount the owl cam and the other pic is of the touch screen for our alarm system. I want to be able to add a linc to my web page so people can watch the owls.
I can't tell if the Dahua has enough zoom. The distance is 30 to 35 feet away. I love the specs of my panasonic but it is way to large. Will the Dahua focus lock at that distance? I don't want a camera that will be zooming in and out all the time. Sorry to be so dumb about this. I haven't bought a camera since 2015. Thanks again for your time!
Okiebirdnerd
 

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The camera IPC-HFW2231TP-ZS is a static manual variable focus . Set it and forget it. It does not have a motorized zoom.
 
I'm not sure that kind of camera mount would work in the place mine needs to be installed. Wouldn't I need a bullet type camera to get past the soffit that blocks the view? With the non bullet type camera the view would be set back even farther in the soffit so it's view would be blocked even more. You can tell by looking at the small camera I have on the nest now how sharp of an angle it is with the camera on the edge. I knew when I moved the camera to the edge of the soffit that the other side of the soffit would block the view. I wanted to see exactly how much it would be blocked. I will set it farther back and aim it at my driveway once I get an owl cam in place. I appreciate your input. Is there a bullet camera you might suggest?
 
I'm confused. When I clicked on the link provided by looney2ns of the dahua ipc-hfw2231tp-zs it showed it as not being a bullet type camera. And when I googled the dahua ipc-hfw2231tp-zs the pdf showed that it is a bullet camera. So is it a bullet camera?
What is the difference between this one DH-IPC-HFW2231T-ZS/VFS what is vfs?
 
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ZS and VFS are different models. One has a motorized lens adjustment the other a manual adjustment.

You may even want something with more zoom and or higher resolution. I'd suggest playing with https://calculator.ipvm.com
At a distance of 30', zoomed all the way in, the field of view on the IPC-HFW2231TP-ZS would be 15.5' wide.

P.S. 'x' isn't the most useful metric for what the lens can do. Pay attention to the larger number for the size of the lens like 13.5mm in this case.
There are some other cameras with significantly more zoom, but they cost significantly more. There are cameras that are $200+ that would give you a tigher fov.
 
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tangent said:
ZS and VFS are different models. One has a motorized lens adjustment the other a manual adjustment.

You may even want something with more zoom and or higher resolution. I'd suggest playing with https://calculator.ipvm.com
At a distance of 30', zoomed all the way in, the field of view on the IPC-HFW2231TP-ZS would be 15.5' wide.

P.S. 'x' isn't the most useful metric for what the lens can do. Pay attention to the larger number for the size of the lens like 13.5mm in this case.
There are some other cameras with significantly more zoom, but they cost significantly more. There are cameras that are $200+ that would give you a tigher fov.
Click to expand...

Can you suggest a camera by chance? Thanks for your reply :) I'd like to keep it around 300.00.
 
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Thank you everyone for your help and suggestions. I can't wait a month to receive my camera. I am anxious to see my owlets. I hope I don't regret jumping the gun and ordering this.I found a camera on Amazon. I got it for 305.00 with my Discover card It will be here Friday.
Long Range Motorized VF License Plate 4 Megapixel 4mp IP Bullet Camera w/ 9-22MM Varifocal 10X Optical Lens 16x Digi and 328ft of Infrared and Adjustable Shutter Speed.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B43HV2B/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_CNMMCb575K7CS
Thanks again for your time!
Okiebirdnerd
 
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You purchased a camera with only one amazon review from an unknown company ?

Stick with the Dahua camera,
 
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Dahua models with Z5 or Z12 at the end of the name would be good choices. Search the forum.
@EMPIRETECANDY ships cameras via DHL which is very quick, you'd get a camera direct from china within 7 days.
 
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Yes I bought a unlabeled camera with only one review on amazon. And who knows, I might end up regretting it. I have purchased things from China with zero reviews and never received them earlier than three weeks. I'll know tomorrow when my camera arrives if I'll have regrets. To be honest I looked at the suggested unlabeled Dahua camera and it said it wouldn't arrive before the 22nd and guaranteed in 35 days. I also looked at all the unlabeled Dahua cameras at Aliexpress and noticed the majority of the camera reviews had 5 stars. There were zero reviews with a 3,2,1 stars. And nobody ever said in a review they were happy it arrived early. I found the reviews to be unrealistic so I went to Empire andy on Amazon and the same story, 99% had 5 stars.. So I did a straight search on Amazon for Dahua cameras and the reviews were not as favorable. I did not count any unlabeled advertised as dahua reviews. ( that would have dropped the scores considerably lower) Out of 102 reviews on labeled dahua cameras, 56- five star, 24- four stars, 2- three stars, 10- two stars, 10- one star. With those odds on the dahua and many unlabeled, the odds are I might have actually purchased an unlabeled dahua. I will actually get to see the owlets grow up and fledge :)
PS I have purchased thousands of items on amazon and I always look at the reviews before purchasing items. Many reviews are bogus and unfair. But at least I can decide myself from honest detailed reviews if I want to purchase an item. Thanks again for your time, you were very helpful.
 
Andy has a huge number of positive reviews here and he deliveries in less than a week. You did not do your research..
 
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Terri Underhill said:
Yes I bought a unlabeled camera with only one review on amazon. And who knows, I might end up regretting it. I have purchased things from China with zero reviews and never received them earlier than three weeks. I'll know tomorrow when my camera arrives if I'll have regrets. To be honest I looked at the suggested unlabeled Dahua camera and it said it wouldn't arrive before the 22nd and guaranteed in 35 days. I also looked at all the unlabeled Dahua cameras at Aliexpress and noticed the majority of the camera reviews had 5 stars. There were zero reviews with a 3,2,1 stars. And nobody ever said in a review they were happy it arrived early. I found the reviews to be unrealistic so I went to Empire andy on Amazon and the same story, 99% had 5 stars.. So I did a straight search on Amazon for Dahua cameras and the reviews were not as favorable. I did not count any unlabeled advertised as dahua reviews. ( that would have dropped the scores considerably lower) Out of 102 reviews on labeled dahua cameras, 56- five star, 24- four stars, 2- three stars, 10- two stars, 10- one star. With those odds on the dahua and many unlabeled, the odds are I might have actually purchased an unlabeled dahua. I will actually get to see the owlets grow up and fledge :)
PS I have purchased thousands of items on amazon and I always look at the reviews before purchasing items. Many reviews are bogus and unfair. But at least I can decide myself from honest detailed reviews if I want to purchase an item. Thanks again for your time, you were very helpful.
Click to expand...
Amazon's review system is so broken it's practically useless. So many fake reviews. There are a lot of truly awful security cameras on amazon with lots of fake positive reviews.

Is every Dahua product great? Absolutely not, there's a wide range. Are they all better than the e-waste companies like SV3C are selling? Yes.
A significant portion of negative reviews for Dahua's products on amazon are the result of two things: lower quality dirt cheap cameras intended for the Chinese marked that have been hacked to English and user error. Selling directly to idiot users is not their primary market, they serve as the oem for other companies that want to support idiot users.

The Dahua cameras recommended here are international models, not china region models.
 
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I did do hours of research over a week.I searched many other forums along with avsforum, amazon and google. There was only one bullet camera that wasn't 25 days to receive at aliexpress. I stated I needed it fast. I'm getting mine tomorrow and if I'm not pleased I can return it and it costs me nothing since I am a prime user. I never said there weren't positive reviews. It was the lack of anything else that was troublesome. It is unheard of to have 500 reviews with 95% being 5 stars. There are too many people that don't know what they are doing with installation and give bad reviews also software problems cause cameras to get bad reviews. I never said I doubt that Dahua is a good product. But there is no product on amazon that has 95% five stars with zero 3,2 or 1 stars. Even with all the bogus ones. I have not said anything that can't be checked out for yourself here and on amazon. You are way to defensive.I'm sorry if I offended you.
 
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