Downward pointed Dome vs rain?

Need to install a camera next to the Gate to identify people outside. The issue is bullet aren't secure and can be moved using a stick. I personally don't like the design of turret, plus it also gives away the direction of the camera. So thinking of installing Hikvision dome facing downward (pendant style) without the Sun/rain shield Hikvision sells.

How much of an issue would rain be? I've heard that coating the dome glass/lens with Rain-X (water repellent) helps a lot, but never tried it before. Any firsthand experiences?

sebastiantombs said:

Example of dome vs turret in rain at night

I know its been discussed before, but I thought I'd share some side-by-side photos of domes vs. turrets with IR enabled in the rain. "EastFront" is a Dahua HDBW4231F-E2-M/M12 dual starlight mini-wedge (dome) mounted on a PFB203W wall mount bracket so the domes face downward. "Gate" is a Dahua...

ipcamtalk.com

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I came across that thread and posted my reply as well, but that guy hadn't tried rainx, so I wanted to get other people's opinions as well.

LoinKing said:

I came across that thread and posted my reply as well, but that guy hadn't tried rainx, so I wanted to get other people's opinions as well.

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My experience with Rain-X and similar is that they do not work well on plastic. I have not tried them on domes.

TVille said:

My experience with Rain-X and similar is that they do not work well on plastic. I have not tried them on domes.

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Did you try RainX plastic? its a different version made specifically for plastic

LoinKing said:

I came across that thread and posted my reply as well, but that guy hadn't tried rainx, so I wanted to get other people's opinions as well.

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Hi @LoinKing

I would avoid domes based on what others have shared .. of course, your experience will be most relevant - so please do share your results if you get a chance to try it out.

If you have a real bullet camera, they are not movable by a stick. Cheap cameras are.

The Dahua locks down so well that is it a pain in the butt to move it just a hair to the right to get the right field of view LOL. It's metal on metal locking, so if someone took a bat to it and swung at full force, it would probably get pulled off the wall before the camera angle moves LOL.

I have tried RainX plastic on a dome I have and during rain it does as that picture in the other thread does. Unlike a vehicle windshield, when driving you have the force of the wind moving the rain drops. With a dome camera it just sits there.

Of course YMMV. But I would go bullet or turret.

I have a dome under an eve outside of my house and a turret.

I like the look of domes and they make sense where there is a risk of them being hit.
On a house, unless you are in a terrible neighbourhood they are not going to get hit.

I like domes because you cannot tell which way the lens is points without looking from up close.
Rain issues, I get the same as the thread above has.


Do I recommend domes?
Hands down definitive answer should be if you believe someone would try to knock it down with a stick/bat.
If you want a dome for the look, and can be bothered with the rain issues and extra maintenance (after a few years they need replacing as the domes have frosted with UV). Then go for it.
Everything else, turret/eyeball/bullet.

I can see your concern for why a dome is best on the gate.
If someone can get behind the camera without getting caught in view, then a dome is my answer. If the camera is hard against a fence and they have to walk in front of the camera to get to it, a turret/bullet.


I suggest posting a picture or draw and overhead view of the gate. We can only guess at this point. I would like to know the height of this proposed camera for example.

For what ever its worth.. I just swapped out 8 Dahua IPC-HDBW4433R-ZS dome cams for IPC-T5442TM-AS turrets. I liked that the way dome cams looked better than turrets and I liked that you couldn't tell which way they were pointed but I had too many issues with them. They were mounted under the soffits of my house but would still end up with rain spots after a rain when the wind would blow just right. They also reflect light so in areas of my house that were well light up the image looked washed out at night as if the brightness setting was too high.

Here's the general layout. The street is above and house on the bottom. The Gray squares are 7ft tall pillars on each side of the gate, and the red beacons on pillars are possible camera locations. I want to add 1.5 ft pole so that camera is 8.5 ft off the ground, that way person's face is identifiable. Initially, I was thinking of mounting it on the right pillar, so that it can point towards the entire left side of the boundary wall. Now wondering if the camera on the edge isn't a good idea? and left pillar w/camera pointing towards the gate might be better option?


Regarding rain. I've noticed a lot of outdoor security cameras mounted on poles are dome ones. Why do they still use domes, it if its so susceptible to rain drops?

I'd to d turret for that height and up a pole.

Although a bullet might be easier to pole mount (depends on mounting plate).