front porch cam position

[okosub]

so I have the 2532 mini dome that was purchased with the full intent of getting to see who is at the front door yet not have a huge monster staring down on peoples heads. so here I was thinking hey this thing is small I can mount it near the door at about height level and see the door and bonus whatever is in the street ahead. great idea EXCEPT if i mount too high i lose view of the door itself so someone can "disappear" if they stand close enough. if i move the camera down then its kind of in the way of the door and just feels out of place. attached is the picture of my front if someone can suggest a good placement. again i don't really care to see what is in the street (behind me as i took the picture of the house) but it would certainly be nice. also consider i don't have a wall mount arm and am hoping i can do away with just mounting directly to the brick.

 

[zero-degrees]

You have a tough situation on your hand unless you are okay with exposed conduit runs... There will be no wall cavity above that door and below that window. There will be a jack stud there that is most likely 2 2x6 sandwiched together.

One thought is to take a small conduit run out of the garage front wall, hug the corner and follow it up to the porch, make the bend and up placing the camera on that side wall in the corner capturing the door, entire porch and some of walk way. However, I'm not sure where your camera wire needs to run to or if the garage is finished so that may not even be an option...

 

[okosub]

ok so i have a relatively easy way to get the wire into the wall to either side on the left side its already there hiding in the siding, on the right i can route through garage and the room above it into the wall as i have a custom unit which has a space between it and the wall. the question is where is the best place to put the camera so its not going to be just in your face yet still will get the job done well and won't be impacted by lights? is it ok to mount it just on the included piece?

 

[zero-degrees]

awesome - I would go to the right of the door (as you look at it) about 2 feet above that light on the side wall. Use a 2.8 lens so that you capture the entire porch and most likely will get the steps leading up. With both lights on if they come on from Dusk to Dawn you can most likely turn off the IR on the camera and run color 24/7. The single 40watt yellowish bug light on our front porch and front garage lights are plenty of light for me to run my entry camera with no IR.

 

[okosub]

so i actually got the 2532 which is a mini dome so really small. its a 2.8 3mp. when you say put it to the right of the door 2 feet above the light are we talking about on the door wall or on the side wall? if i put it on the door wall above then i have the issue of not seeing right at the door because the tilt angle doesn't reach and i end up either having to prop the camera or possibly get an arm which defeats the whole purpose of the camera

 

[zero-degrees]

I would do side wall. I have two 2532's but I ceiling mounted them inside. The reason I said do two feet above is it gets the light fixture out of direct site in the image. If you mount the camera lens pointed down you should be able to point it down and rotate it slightly towards the steps and still capture the entire porch/door/steps. Best thing is run a long cable out and just connect it to the NVR/Router while watching it on your phone and figure out best placement live before you drill a single hole.

 

[okosub]

yeah thats what i did once but was thinking on the front wall but you are now the second person to tell me to try the side wall which i will do. so you think mount it in the side wall above the light closer to the corner or closer to the outside edge?

 

[zero-degrees]

@okosub

i would honestly go closer to corner (but still a foot off the door wall prob) and be more focused on capturing a solid image of the person approaching via the steps to the door. While it is important to see the door if you are using it as a video door bell setup, I would be more concerned with capturing them as they approach if they are going to break in. Physically seeing them kick the door in isn't as important as getting a perfect facial capture as they walk up to kick the door in.

 

[fenderman]

Best thing to do is to go out there with the camera make sure you can view what you want...

 

[Michelin Man]

^This.

I had a 30 metre ethernet cable I dragged around trying to see what position gives me the best view.

 

[okosub]

Yah did that once will have to do it again. Any suggestions on what I could use to mount it to in case I need ? Something small that doesn't make it big and defeat the purpose?

 

[zero-degrees]

Yah did that once will have to do it again. Any suggestions on what I could use to mount it to in case I need ? Something small that doesn't make it big and defeat the purpose?

That camera should include a mounting ring that can be mounted to the wall then the camera screws to that. If you need something a little more go to your local lumber/hardware store - Lowes/Home Depot and go to the finished wood/wood working section. They will have a lot of circles (different sizes, or decorative ovals etc that are used in building furniture. Get one of those, grab some stain/sealer from the paint section to get it to match or look nice on the house as well as weather proof it and go from there.

 

[okosub]

@zero-degrees thanks for the input. I always try to think there is a better way or right way but sounds like it's only best right whichever way it works. Just a though my but what if I were able to either use an electrical junction box or some sort of custom small box to go in the top corner of the door side light? It would be right at height level still kind of concealed enough especially from the elements and would give me both front door and approach and street? Good or bad idea? And I'm talking about as you look at house on the right of door in the top right corner of the side light there is a depression there made by the frame or even mount to the dean itself?

 

[zero-degrees]

@zero-degrees thanks for the input. I always try to think there is a better way or right way but sounds like it's only best right whichever way it works. Just a though my but what if I were able to either use an electrical junction box or some sort of custom small box to go in the top corner of the door side light? It would be right at height level still kind of concealed enough especially from the elements and would give me both front door and approach and street? Good or bad idea? And I'm talking about as you look at house on the right of door in the top right corner of the side light there is a depression there made by the frame or even mount to the dean itself?

@okosub I would be concerned that that would be to close to the door - that will give you a nice shot of the porch and most likely stairs, but that is basically what I have done with that camera inside our entry way and you can see how limited it is. Get that long cable out and play around with a few placement ideas, but I still think that side wall will be your best bet personally.

 

[okosub]

Ok great thanks again I will play with where it looks best on the side wall yet still gives me enough view and doesn't get interference from the lights