Another camera placement thread

[wicked_chicken]

Hello, IPcamtalk!

I'm purchasing a home and am trying to decide on the most optimized camera placement. I've attached my example to this. I am a little lost on how to handle the north and south sides of the house, and the red circles represent where fisheye camera's might make sense rather than a second bullet/dome.

Outside lines mark the edge of the property. Sorry I don't have better artistic skills.

Thanks!

 

[bababouy]

@wicked_chicken post some pics of the house. Take a good square shot of the front and rear of the house. Then we should be able to give you a pretty good idea of where your cameras should go.

 

[wicked_chicken]

Hi @bababouy,

That would probably be easier!

 

[bababouy]

Is your floor plan backwards? Anyways, You are going to want at least two cams on the side of the house facing the street that runs along the side of the house. Maybe one camera under the over hang in the back facing the street, then one on the back of the house near the street that captures the backyard and the overhang area.

 

[wicked_chicken]

Yes, the floorplan is drawn left-read-right. Apparently, that is a (very annoying) thing.

I agree. The backyard is going to be fenced eventually. That side-street is garage access for another row of lots, but as soon as there's a fence, I anticipate someone will hit it and LPR is a goal of mine.

Does it make sense to include a fish-eye over the front porch where it can capture both the front door and the porch? I am planning to have a doorbell cam as well, so I'm thinking that might make sense?

 

[tangent]

It's easy enough to flip the image

 

[bababouy]

We have quite a few fish eyes in in use at different locations. What I see them good for is inventory control in a parts room where there is shelving and rows of parts.

 

[mat200]

Hello, IPcamtalk!

I'm purchasing a home and am trying to decide on the most optimized camera placement. I've attached my example to this. I am a little lost on how to handle the north and south sides of the house, and the red circles represent where fisheye camera's might make sense rather than a second bullet/dome.

Outside lines mark the edge of the property. Sorry I don't have better artistic skills.

Thanks!

Welcome @wicked_chicken

Plan for more cameras.

See the cliff notes for ideas.

Remember delinquents will try to turn away from cameras they notice - so I like to have 2 cameras covering my driveway, one on each side of the garage door mounted low enough to have a chance at a good facial ID image of someone wearing a hoodie and cap.

Similar for the front door, and other doors. Try to have it so that anyone walking to a door has to go through at least 2 camera zones to increase chances of a good ID image.

 

[tangent]

Here's an example of some locations you could put cameras. I don't expect you to put cameras in all of these locations. Experiment with actual cameras and evaluate the feasibility of wiring different locations. I'd say this house is going to be harder than average to wire.

I think I'd put 2-3 turret or wedge style cameras on the porch. A mini dome pt/ptz also has potential. Exactly where to put them is a little tricky. I don't know if you want to cover the approach to the porch, a camera rotated 90 degrees and zoomed in quite a bit could work or you could put something in the soffit outside the porch.

Cameras rotated 90 degrees (portrait/corridor) could be a good option in the north/south side yards.

The back yard would depend on your priorities. I imagine covering the doors/windows matters to you, but I don't know how important seeing more of the yard is. You could put an overview camera up in your 2nd story soffit if you're having a hard time finding a way to get wires other places. A camera that high won't be able to id an intruder, but might be good enough for keeping an eye on kids/pets.

 

[mat200]

Hi @wicked_chicken

Wow, @tangent did a really nice job with that layout getting you started on possible placements.

I actually like his suggestions a lot, and would use that as a start and test positions with a camera and confirm. ( remember to test placements with a friend wearing a hoodie and a cap acting as a prowler - you can to see if you can capture a facial shot )

Due to the layout, your house requires more cameras than typical houses that size imho.

Also, I would still pull N+1 cables to each location. Just a little extra work, and will pay off if you ever need to just test one line by using the other cable.

 

[bababouy]

I agree with @tangent 's recommendations also. You may capture quite a bit on the side of your house and the back yard before you put the fence in.