First Time Cam/Security Install Planning

[sebastiantombs]

Eight 5442s are also about $2000USD so, yeah, it's a lot to be spent all at once.

I would tend to buy a switch that has enough power and has two uplink ports. That way if you do expand the system and need more switch ports the new switch can be daisy chained to the old one.

 

[mattp]

I went Bonzo and got a 24 port Cisco for the Condo.....but now I wish i woulda went 48.View attachment 142408

Clever! You've even got a camera to look at anyone that looks at your switch:

 

[mattp]

Eight 5442s are also about $2000USD so, yeah, it's a lot to be spent all at once.

I would tend to buy a switch that has enough power and has two uplink ports. That way if you do expand the system and need more switch ports the new switch can be daisy chained to the old one.

I didn't buy my cameras all at once, but can @EMPIRETECANDY give a discount if you buy all 8 of them at once from him?
If you keep an eye out for his refurbished cameras you may be able to get a few that way...But, the 5442's go QUICK!!! especially the varifocal ones.

 

[looney2ns]

I didn't buy my cameras all at once, but can @EMPIRETECANDY give a discount if you buy all 8 of them at once from him?
If you keep an eye out for his refurbished cameras you may be able to get a few that way...But, the 5442's go QUICK!!! especially the varifocal ones.

Yes, email him direct, and he may be able to offer a quantity discount.

 

[Flintstone61]

That cam is to watch the Maint shack,,,,,if a contractor uses my workbench, washtub, water etc, It lets them know to behave.....The last cleaning lady was a meth head / energy drink freak. I unstole some of my tools from her janitor closet when she thought nobody was watching. She never said shit.
I used that as leverage with the board to keep her from coming back and doing housecleaning for a couple of her " pals".
So yes. that camera is worth a million bucks LOL....
She used to laugh like a drunk Hyena getting a blowjob.
You could hear her cackling 3 stories up the elevator shaft.

 

[Ethernaught]

Where is Andy's actual refurb list? I have the thread 'watched' but I don't see a list anywhere. He posted that it'd been updated today or yesterday.

 

[wittaj]

Where is Andy's actual refurb list? I have the thread 'watched' but I don't see a list anywhere. He posted that it'd been updated today or yesterday.

1st post of this thread:

2022 EmpireTech Autumn Oct. Sales

Hey guys The 7 years promotion we did going very well and people were happy with the lottery, i appreciate all guys here help and support for us. So we make some plan for another promotion in Oct. We offer some package price for people who want to set up a kit., can include NVR or without NVR...

ipcamtalk.com

 

[Ethernaught]

1st post of this thread:

2022 EmpireTech Autumn Oct. Sales

Hey guys The 7 years promotion we did going very well and people were happy with the lottery, i appreciate all guys here help and support for us. So we make some plan for another promotion in Oct. We offer some package price for people who want to set up a kit., can include NVR or without NVR...

ipcamtalk.com

I must've been there before the files were attached. Thanks.

There's an IPC-T5442TM-A, but I'll have to check what the "M-A" means in contrast to the IPC-T5442T-ZE (which is what I think I need/want).

 

[Ethernaught]

Do many of you with a multiple cameras already setup have more than one varifocal cam? I'm hoping to get a IPC-T5442T-ZE (to build a rig, experiment with, as suggested), but I wonder if it'd be wise to get two?

 

[looney2ns]

8 of my 13 cameras are varifocals. Makes it so much easier to dial in the FOV you need.

 

[wittaj]

+1 above - to me it is worth the little extra because as we get more experience, we realize that wide angle see the whole neighborhood just doesn't cut it, so we zoom in more to get clearer images.

Heck I wish my 5442-ZE cams were 5442-Z4E cams lol.

And then when you upgrade, you can repurpose the verification easier than a fixed.

 

[sebastiantombs]

I've got a half dozen varifocals and they are handy for adjusting FOV. They also have much slower lenses, the F Stop of a varifocal is significantly higher than a fixed lens generally speaking. That means a varifocal generally needs more light be that white light or IR.

 

[Ethernaught]

I figured as much. Thanks guys.

Heck I wish my 5442-ZE cams were 5442-Z4E cams lol.

What (main) difference are you refering to between these two models? The varifocal length (2.7-12mm, versus 8-32mm)?

 

[wittaj]

The only difference is the focal length range.

The Z4E has a larger focal length which allows it to optically zoom a lot tighter (closer) to objects.

 

[Ethernaught]

The only difference is the focal length range.

The Z4E has a larger focal length which allows it to optically zoom a lot tighter (closer) to objects.

Ok, I think I remember from one of your threads now that the z4e is your "long distance" camera(?). Something I'd get if I wanted to "Identify" at say 60-70 feet, right?

 

[wittaj]

That would be correct, or the Z12E that is double the zoom of the Z4E, but the Z12E is only available in 2MP in the 5241 series.

 

[Ethernaught]

That would be correct, or the Z12E that is double the zoom of the Z4E, but the Z12E is only available in 2MP in the 5241 series.

Thank you.

I think I'll try and get two t5442t-ze, depending how good the discount is, etc.
For a front door cam, I'm thinking that a 2.8mm fixed would do in almost all cases. Like the E3241F-AS-M, or the, HDBW5441F-AS-E2.

 

[Ethernaught]

A neighbor got Vivint stuff installed in their home. They have a camera (just one I think) in the back which is located well above the door of the second floor's back deck, on the house's siding. It's angled down at the back yard. See my sketch in this thread's first page for height reference. I'm thinking this would be mainly just for..."observe" level use, ie: "someone in the back yard" or "movement in the back yard", right? I don't know the focal length or anything though. I'm gonna ask them about it. I hear it doing it's "whistle" noise sometimes.
The reason I mention this is because with my first camera, I plan to have it watch the back yard, probably doing/covering more than it should (because I'll only have the one camera for a while, most likely). I haven't decided yet whether to put it on the house looking out/down at the yard, or near the back of our yard looking toward the house (and potentially each floors entry points.

Any thoughts? My sketch has some dimensions and distances. The house with the star marks ours. The smaller rectangle/squares at the back show the deck and enclosed 'porch' at the back. The shape at the back of the yard indicates the very tall tree.

 

[wittaj]

A neighbor got Vivint stuff installed in their home. They have a camera (just one I think) in the back which is located well above the door of the second floor's back deck, on the house's siding. It's angled down at the back yard. See my sketch in this thread's first page for height reference. I'm thinking this would be mainly just for..."observe" level use, ie: "someone in the back yard" or "movement in the back yard", right? I don't know the focal length or anything though. I'm gonna ask them about it. I hear it doing it's "whistle" noise sometimes.
The reason I mention this is because with my first camera, I plan to have it watch the back yard, probably doing/covering more than it should (because I'll only have the one camera for a while, most likely). I haven't decided yet whether to put it on the house looking out/down at the yard, or near the back of our yard looking toward the house (and potentially each floors entry points.

Any thoughts? My sketch has some dimensions and distances. The house with the star marks ours. The smaller rectangle/squares at the back show the deck and enclosed 'porch' at the back. The shape at the back of the yard indicates the very tall tree.

In all likelihood it is a 2.8mm wide angle see everything type camera that is on a less than ideal MP/sensor ratio (camera spec probably just says 4K with no mention of sensor size) that will simply let them know what time something happened....maybe...wifi tends to go out with motion.

It is totally fine having your first camera be an overview OBSERVE level camera but you should get a good one so that you stand half a chance of at least finding something that could ID someone - skin color, clothing, etc.

 

[looney2ns]

A neighbor got Vivint stuff installed in their home. They have a camera (just one I think) in the back which is located well above the door of the second floor's back deck, on the house's siding. It's angled down at the back yard. See my sketch in this thread's first page for height reference. I'm thinking this would be mainly just for..."observe" level use, ie: "someone in the back yard" or "movement in the back yard", right? I don't know the focal length or anything though. I'm gonna ask them about it. I hear it doing it's "whistle" noise sometimes.
The reason I mention this is because with my first camera, I plan to have it watch the back yard, probably doing/covering more than it should (because I'll only have the one camera for a while, most likely). I haven't decided yet whether to put it on the house looking out/down at the yard, or near the back of our yard looking toward the house (and potentially each floors entry points.

Any thoughts? My sketch has some dimensions and distances. The house with the star marks ours. The smaller rectangle/squares at the back show the deck and enclosed 'porch' at the back. The shape at the back of the yard indicates the very tall tree.

Vivant is a very high pressure sales company. Their products are subpar. In general, they should be avoided.
Study this on a real computer: Cliff Notes.
First mistake with new cam owners, is they try to do too much with one particular camera.
You want to know who did it, not just what happened.
Don't mount cams higher than 8ft, if you want any chance at getting a face ID.
Do not use WIfi for surveillance cameras.
A 2.8mm cam, the perp needs to be within 10ft of the cam for a solid face id, even in the daytime, at night it's worse.