Advice needed on PTZ for nooB

[Norm Whitney]

Greetings all,
I've been wanting to put in a security camera for a couple of years. Recently, in our subdivision, we had a series of motor vehicle break-ins and at least one daylight B&E. I'm now officially motivated.

I've done a fair bit of reading and have come to the conclusion that I don't want wireless cameras. I'm keen on a PTZ camera mounted on the NW corner of our house where it can cover our driveway, back yard and back door. The kicker is that I'm running a Mac AND I'm trying to stay as far south of $400 as I can.

I like the price point of the cameras from Sunba (I read the thread). I'm not opposed to a standalone nvr system, but I'm thinking that will ultimately be more expensive.

Thank you in advance,
NMW

 

[fenderman]

Greetings all,
I've been wanting to put in a security camera for a couple of years. Recently, in our subdivision, we had a series of motor vehicle break-ins and at least one daylight B&E. I'm now officially motivated.

I've done a fair bit of reading and have come to the conclusion that I don't want wireless cameras. I'm keen on a PTZ camera mounted on the NW corner of our house where it can cover our driveway, back yard and back door. The kicker is that I'm running a Mac AND I'm trying to stay as far south of $400 as I can.

I like the price point of the cameras from Sunba (I read the thread). I'm not opposed to a standalone nvr system, but I'm thinking that will ultimately be more expensive.

Thank you in advance,
NMW

Welcome to the forum..how do you intend to "cover" all those areas with a ptz...the camera can only point at one position at a time..sunba is crap.
Buy a few fixed cameras...look at dahua starlight.see threads

 

[Fastb]

NMW,

Welcome to the forum!
PTZ cams don't easily auto-track intruders. A human is usually needed to pan, tilt and zoom the camera in real time. And your budget won't support the sophisticated software that does things auto-magically like you see on TV.

PTZ cams are expensive, compared to fixed cams. As Fenderman pointed out, a ptz can miss things if it's looking in the wrong place.

Also, don't opt for wide angle cams to "see everything". You'll see WHAT happened, but not WHO did it, unless they're within 10 ft of the cam. For outdoors, don't use 2.8mm lens. use a FOV calculator to select the right fixed lens size. Or a varifocal (as suggested by Fenderman) to "dial in" the right FOV.
Help With Placement & Lens Suggestions
Camera Calculator / Design Software
What size lens to get?

I don't want wireless cameras

Wise decision.

I'm keen on a PTZ camera mounted on the NW corner of our house where it can cover our driveway, back yard and back door.

Overly ambitious. Mounted on a corner of the house, implying 270 degrees of coverage. Not gonna happen. You'll get 30 to 60 degrees at a time (because the cam doesn't decide where to aim all on it's own)

I'm running a Mac AND I'm trying to stay as far south of $400 as I can.

If you're planning on recording video while using your mac, plz investigate. Most folks use a dedicated PC to record video.

If your budget constrains you, consider fixed cams with SD cards installed. After something happens, download the video. No PC or NVR needed. But if remote viewing is desired, then rethink that approach.

Again, welcome!

Fastb

 

[Norm Whitney]

Thanks gentlemen... you've blown my mind with new variables to consider. That IPVM mapping/camera placement link really shows how off base my original thoughts were. #rethinking

 

[looney2ns]

Dahua 2MP Starlight Lineup

 

[Norm Whitney]

I was reading about their savvy line when you made the post looney2ns. Question: Where's the best place to purchase Dahua cameras from?

 

[looney2ns]

Empire Technology or BEC technology on aliexpress.com