Another camera placement question

Ryan00

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So I'm trying to mount a camera in my back yard the only concern I have is the light on the porch. My goal is to place the camera so I get the window and sliding door in one shot. The camera will be facing the entrance of the porch and catch people as they go up the stair to enter the porch area. Now if you notice the camera will be mounted on the soffit and the light hangs about 2 feet lower. Questions, will the light destroy this image at night ? (I'm guessing yes) Also can anyone recommend any better placement for mounting ? Thanks !
 

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nayr

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there is no need to have the window, sliding door, or the light in the shot, they are not a threat to you and just a waste of pixels to watch em.. from the looks of it there will be no way for anyone to enter or exit those points of ingress without appearing on video.

and yeah, that light colored vinyl siding will reflect IR to the point it'll ruin your exposure if you do, and then there's the light.
 

Ryan00

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there is no need to have the window, sliding door, or the light in the shot, they are not a threat to you and just a waste of pixels to watch em.. from the looks of it there will be no way for anyone to enter or exit those points of ingress without appearing on video.

and yeah, that light colored vinyl siding will reflect IR to the point it'll ruin your exposure if you do, and then there's the light.

If it was you where would you mount it ?
 

nayr

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probably close to the door zoomed in on the steps up to the deck, to get ID at that choke point.. I really dont see anyone climbing over the railing and most people will look at the door after climbing the steps since thats there next target... if you do it right you can still cover most of your back patio also.

always take advantage of those choke points, I dont have a back deck.. they can approach backdoor from any angle.. so I have to watch the approach to the door, skimming the back wall.. much like you were planning.
 

Ryan00

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probably close to the door zoomed in on the steps up to the deck, to get ID at that choke point.. I really dont see anyone climbing over the railing and most people will look at the door after climbing the steps since thats there next target... if you do it right you can still cover most of your back patio also

Thanks nayr setting up my test rig as we speak
 

Kawboy12R

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If you had a turret mounted on the soffit above the light on the window side and angled it just right to miss having the light directly in the cam's FOV then you'd probably get the best compromise of window coverage while still covering the main traffic area coming up the deck to the doors. You could block the camera side of the light with tinfoil to minimize blinding it if you couldn't find a good compromise just by aiming and/or adjusting the lens length. One of the 5231R-Z varifocals would be particularly good here- you could tweak the FOV easily.

Best place is between the doors and the light to capture deck traffic though, and have another cam on the other side of the light capturing what goes in that near window, plus the other windows and what happens on that side of the yard. A 2.8 or varifocal zoomed out wouldn't be bad there. Anybody getting in that window will be close enough to get a pood pic of, and anything else happening would be far enough away that you'd basically just know what happened anyway because they'd be too far for a good ID. Plus it'd make a good cam to catch most of the rest of what goes on in the back yard with the kids playing. "Mom, he hit me back first!" or accidents, etc.

If you try for a one-cam solution, run a patch cord out onto the deck, temp screw the turret in, and if you can't get the view the way you like it unscrew it and move it until you've got a good view without the light, soffit, or siding in the picture.
 

Ryan00

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If you had a turret mounted on the soffit above the light on the window side and angled it just right to miss having the light directly in the cam's FOV then you'd probably get the best compromise of window coverage while still covering the main traffic area coming up the deck to the doors. You could block the camera side of the light with tinfoil to minimize blinding it if you couldn't find a good compromise just by aiming and/or adjusting the lens length. One of the 5231R-Z varifocals would be particularly good here- you could tweak the FOV easily.

Best place is between the doors and the light to capture deck traffic though, and have another cam on the other side of the light capturing what goes in that near window, plus the other windows and what happens on that side of the yard. A 2.8 or varifocal zoomed out wouldn't be bad there. Anybody getting in that window will be close enough to get a pood pic of, and anything else happening would be far enough away that you'd basically just know what happened anyway because they'd be too far for a good ID. Plus it'd make a good cam to catch most of the rest of what goes on in the back yard with the kids playing. "Mom, he hit me back first!" or accidents, etc.

If you try for a one-cam solution, run a patch cord out onto the deck, temp screw the turret in, and if you can't get the view the way you like it unscrew it and move it until you've got a good view without the light, soffit, or siding in the picture.

Yeah I have a little test rig setup now, It would help if it wasn't only 20 degrees outside.
 

Kawboy12R

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Took me a while to finish that post. I'm working with limited spare time so it took a while to finish pecking that one out a bit at a time. You and nayr had a few posts about a test rig that I didn't see.
 

Ryan00

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You guys where right, I CAN'T mount that camera after the window, to get good facial ID of the entranceway of the porch. To get a good facial ID of someone walking up entrance of the porch, I need to mount the camera before the window somewhere next to the light and sliding door. Tell me what you think of these pictures, this is mounted right in the middle of the window. Also remember we have about 90% cloud coverage so no sun also these are snapshots of my iPad. Still might move the cam closer to the door.
 

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Ryan00

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I like this because I can see the hole porch
 

nayr

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ah, that 2.8mm is going to require you to keep within 10' or so for ID capabilities at night.. really thats a terrible lens choice outdoors because of its wide angle
 

Ryan00

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ah, that 2.8mm is going to require you to keep within 10' or so for ID capabilities at night.. really thats a terrible lens choice outdoors because of its wide angle

I agree, but for some dumb reason I keep buying these in the 2.8mm (this is the second time I tired this) because I feel like you get more coverage for less money lol... I understand your only going to get a good face id within 3 feet of the camera. But if you just want to check things out to see if someone is messing around they have that wide view. I will prob move the camera closer cuz I know this won't cut it at night. I do have one in 4mm but I want to save that for the front of the house. Anyways thanks again, so glad I didn't go with my first instinct and mount that sucker where I showed in the first picture.
 

nayr

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outside you have to cover choke points first, watching your grass grow really dont help you.. it dont look like you have any property to worry about in this area so cover the choke points first.

how I did mine was put a good tight focus on the back door for ID, then on the other corner of the house a wide angle to watch the kids/dogs and grass growing.. for you I'd get a varifocal starlight turret and zoom it in on those steps, probably full zoom for max ID pixels.. then move this 4MP 2.8mm all the way to the other end of the house with the back patio and most of your yard in view.
 

Ryan00

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outside you have to cover choke points first, watching your grass grow really dont help you.. it dont look like you have any property to worry about in this area so cover the choke points first.

how I did mine was put a good tight focus on the back door for ID, then on the other corner of the house a wide angle to watch the kids/dogs and grass growing.. for you I'd get a varifocal starlight turret and zoom it in on those steps, probably full zoom for max ID pixels.. then move this 4MP 2.8mm all the way to the other end of the house with the back patio and most of your yard in view.

That sounds like a perfect idea ! Yeah there isn't anything behind me ,but it empty field
 

Ryan00

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So im moving camera so I can get a very close shot of the stairway, right next to the sliding door area. Now when standing on the porch, someone 6 feet tall could easily rip this camera down and steal it. I don't think it will ever happen and if it does they will be on video anyways. But still would wanna try to prevent it just in case .
 

nayr

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your not using big/long enough hardware if someone can just rip it off with there bare hands.. should require tools at the very least.

if the do anything to the camera the'll cover it up with something or try to point it at a wall
 

Kawboy12R

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I agree- two camera solution is the best bet. The 2.8 is a good situational awareness cam. Load that puppy up if you hear a bang in the night for a quick idea of what's going on or want to keep an eye on the kids playing while you're in the house. Get a "good" cam for that money shot of faces.
 
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