10 ft too high?

[ipcamsupernoob]

From what I’ve read from the cliff notes, cameras should be installed less than 8 feet for identification.

I would like to install cameras on my soffit on both sides of the garage door but alas, the soffit is 10 feet high. Is this okay?

If I follow the less than 8 ft rule, then I’d have to drill on the frame around the garage door and I think it would not look as nice. And I would probably get yelled at by my wife.

What do you think?


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[aristobrat]

Most things are location-specific and subjective. The general rule is 8ft, but you may be ok with 10ft. B

The best way is to temp mount the camera on a test rig (which is just a 5-gallon Home Depot/Lowe’s bucket filled with dirt, holding up a tall 2x4) at the heights you’re wondering about and then go do some testing. Run a temp Ethernet cable for this... it’s temp, so out a window, across the porch, whatever’s easiest.

Have someone wear a hoodie and go snoop around your cars. See if you can make out faces (if that’s what you want these cameras for). You may be OK with what your camera covers at 10ft.

Thanks for reading the Cliff Notes!

 

[Mr_D]

Yes, I would say 10' is too high unless you're trying to capture faces at a distance with an appropriate camera. The angle is important. Here's some samples from my 3.6 mm Dahua 2 MP starlights. I have another camera planned near the front door that will get better (lower) shots of people rounding the corner.

 

[ipcamsupernoob]

Yes, I would say 10' is too high unless you're trying to capture faces at a distance with an appropriate camera. The angle is important. Here's some samples from my 3.6 mm Dahua 2 MP starlights. I have another camera planned near the front door that will get better (lower) shots of people rounding the corner.

This is soooo helpful! Thanks. It seems just that 1 foot makes a big difference.

 

[mat200]

HI @ipcamsupernoob

I really like the detail on your garage.

Definitely test the locations as aristrobrat and MR_D point out - 10 feet for subjects CLOSE to the garage door will be problematic.

A way to counter the higher mount point is to increase the magnification of the cameras and get a good angle on subjects at the start of your driveway.

You can also consider adding a 3rd camera ( maybe a mini-dome wedge or the 2 lens version or a IPC-HDW42xx turret ) about 6 feet high on the garage door trim by the white box nearest to your front door.

With this sort of 3 camera setup the top 2 on the soffit can have narrower FOVs and get enough pixels on target for those at the beginning of your driveway, and the one on the trim by the garage door will catch a good angle on those w/in 10 feet of the garage door and those approaching your front steps.

 

[Q™]

As @looney2ns says: “Do you want to see what happened, or do you want to see who did it?”

10-feet = What Happened

Personally, 10-feet with a second (or a 2nd AND 3rd camera) placed low for Face detection and what happened is optimal.

 

[ipcamsupernoob]

HI @ipcamsupernoob

I really like the detail on your garage.

Definitely test the locations as aristrobrat and MR_D point out - 10 feet for subjects CLOSE to the garage door will be problematic.

A way to counter the higher mount point is to increase the magnification of the cameras and get a good angle on subjects at the start of your driveway.

You can also consider adding a 3rd camera ( maybe a mini-dome wedge or the 2 lens version or a IPC-HDW42xx turret ) about 6 feet high on the garage door trim by the white box nearest to your front door.

With this sort of 3 camera setup the top 2 on the soffit can have narrower FOVs and get enough pixels on target for those at the beginning of your driveway, and the one on the trim by the garage door will catch a good angle on those w/in 10 feet of the garage door and those approaching your front steps.

Thanks a million, @looney2ns. As my name implies, SUPER noob here. Do you mind suggesting specific models for a mini-dome wedge or the 2 lens version or a IPC-HDW42xx turret. I just don't want to order the wrong thing. =)

Thanks again.

 

[mat200]

Hi ipcamsupernoob,

Andy has the following which I would get if the garage door frame is under direct UV exposure for a significant amount of the day:
IPC-HDW4231EM-AS - 3.6mm lens will give you about 90 degree angle and will work well to cover suspects near the garage door if you mount the camera on the garage door frame at about eye level.

Then 2 IPC-HDW5231R-ZE for the soffits but focused to capture enough pixels for people walking from the sidewalk to your driveway ( at that distance they should be able to have a good enough angle to catch some good face IDs ) - of course they will miss chances of good facial IDs for anyone near the garage - and that is where the 3rd camera comes in.

REMEMBER TO TEST this before drilling holes.

If you want to use only 2 cameras I would mount them on the garage door frame or just outside of the frame - this way you can minimize drilling on the nice stone work which appears to be a significantly rough surface w/very tight mortar joints. ( if the mortar was thicker I would be less concerned, and if the surface was flatter - such as what we typically see with brick work )

 

[pal251]

Nice house. I would just put the camera on the far right and far left side and angle them across each other. Put them on a brand and model specific box that way you only have to make a small hole in the frame or trime for the. Ethernet cable to pass through with no connector