@Ryan9392
No problem, we're all happy to help here where we can.
1) While Full Color is ok, you have to be careful. A lot of people think this is a solve all and will work for any install/environment while providing color. This still relies on a good quality scene (lighting, configuration of camera etc) to capture usable footage. A lot of people think that Full Color means you don't need to take those things into account but you do, regardless of camera. The install location, configuration and setup is key. Similarly don't leave it on Auto as you will see motion blur, smearing, artifacts and lower overall quality unless you setup correctly. With regards to your PIR lighting, that can work but has to be decent light. You also again need to be careful if you are using Auto Exposure (which I strongly advise against) as the camera will be sitting there with no light (and whatever picture can be derived from your scene), then you would see an abundance (depending on bulb etc) of light when the sensor trips on the PIR and can cause a bloom (sudden over exposure) scene (albeit short) which again could ruin your chances of a required capture.
With regards to cameras, it certainly is your choice and will depend on your budget for sure. Again, if you can stretch to x5442's I would recommend those and then plan based on your install to either support full color
if your amount of available light allows and if not you will still have an amazing B&W low light experience. Best case and something I would recommend is, if 2 cams are covering 1 location (from different angles / positions such as driveways, entrances etc) then you can always have 1 in B&W, 1 in Color ensuring that you always get a good cap (B&W) at night with some color information for details such as clothing, vehicle etc should you need it.
2) As
@looney2ns mentioned, there are no feature benefits of POE over non POE except.........POE

. Personally I'm a strong advocate for separate POE switches (even Dahua sells standalone POE switches should you want to go that way) and in my case I advocate for managed switches (Ubiquiti, Cisco etc). Separate POE switches allow you to have the POE switch where you like (basement, attic, office, etc etc) with cams running to a central location (that POE switch) and then the NVR separately, usually nestled next to a monitoring station (business) OR TV in a residential setup. If you really want to get adventurous OR have an interesting install location and a defined need, you can have smaller leaf POE switches leading back to your main BUT for most residential then 1 POE switch (your choice of manufacturer and managed or dumb device) with enough POE capacity for the cams you are running is more than enough and does again gain you some flexibility.
3) Please review the
Cliff Notes as
@looney2ns stated and if there is something that you still need help with then feel free to reach out.
Hi Wildcat.
Appreciate your lengthy detailed reply.
1) the reason I was looking into the HFW-4239 camera's was because I like the full colour side to it. The reviews and videos compared to other cameras it seemed to be a very good camera. There's no doubt in my mind that there are better suited camera's out there. But for that price it seemed like a good camera. The camera you suggested looks like a very good camera as well. But is almost double the price. My house is quite small and the land I need to cover is even smaller. The two areas that the cameras will be looking at has PIR sensor lighting already. So was hoping it would work well with these cameras. Just didn't want to spend too much on system that I won't be using to it's full capacity.
2) the reason behind my thoughts on a POE injector is because I've read somewhere on here that NVR without POE has more features and easier to set up? Also if I use injectors from my 1st floor sockets straight out the wall then Its an easier install with less cables having to be run through the house. Haven't looked into a POE switch. Something else I can look into.
3) I will be honest and say a lot of that didn't make sense to me. A lot of abbreviations I will need to look up and understand.
4)Many thanks I'll take a look at those models. I'll price up both and see what the difference is. I do like to future proof but I'll see how much that will cost.
Appreciate everyone else's help and suggestions so far as well