Any good small peephole IP PoE cameras (concealed, without doorbell)?

billymax

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Hi, I am searching for some time for a concealed wider-angle peephole IP camera that can fit into my 14mm door hole, and I have no luck in finding it.

Well, I would like to connect it to the existing Hikvision NVR with PoE ports for recording, the same way as my other PoE Hikvision bullet and dome cameras, so it must be ONVIF compatible network camera, and I would like to reuse my NVR capabilities and Hik-Connect mobile app for remote watching. I would also need an LCD somewhere near the door to see who is on the other side (I prefer a regular "dummy" LCD, but I could consider a smart display or Android tablet if needed). Night vision capabilities are more than welcome, and audio (microphone) is optional.

Smart doorbell cameras with larger outside part and ring doorbell button (with or without LCD) and cloud storage are not an option - I just want a camera that can fit into the peephole and doesn't look like a camera or a doorbell from the outside. So, I don't want Ring peephole camera, Eques VEIU, EZVIZ DP1, Remo+ RemoBell, Arlo, Eufy, August, or even Brinno SHC1000W.

Actually, I found a lot of peephole cameras on AliExpress of questionable quality and security, not to mention software; however, usually of 23-25mm in diameter or more, which will not fit into a smaller hole like mine. If I find a good camera maybe I can make the hole bigger, but it involves drilling through a steel plate so I will do it only if necessary. I looked at Hikvision and Dahua special and separated cameras (e.g. DS-2CD6425G0, DS-2CD2D21, IPC-HUM8431), but they are expensive and still will not fit (usually lens of 26-30mm in diameter). I also examined Titathink mini hidden (separated) cameras (TT520-TT522) and some Revotech mini cameras, but I am not sure if they will fit and how will they work.

Could you please share your opinion on what to do or your experiences if you have a similar setup, and I would appreciate it if you could recommend some product (preferably available in EU).

Thanks!
 

TonyR

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Consider the Bird Box IP Camera here.
It's 1080P, POE, ONVIF Profile S, has a 2.8MM wide angle /102 degree angle of vision, and can stream RTSP to VLC and Blue Iris.
I have one of it's variants, the TOP-201 and its lens measures under 15mm diameter.
It has a built-in mic and IR (it's sensor may get blocked by the door unless you can pipe ambient light or provide an outboard visible light source at night).

More info, including the TOP-201 I mentioned, from April 2018 here ==>> streaming peephole cam that fits over existing peep

P.S. Welcome to IPCT ! :wave:
 

billymax

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Thank you both for your advices.

@TonyR This kind of cameras was one of my top picks :) The only problem is that I am not sure how to fix it in the peephole because I have a 7cm thick door, but I will definitely take a look at it. However, TOP-201 is a pretty old model, I found some posts about it in this forum dating in 2014 and 2016 - isn't there anything newer? BTW, BirdCam looks a lot like the abovementioned Revotech cameras model I706, usually sold for $50 on Amazon or $25 on AliExpress. It uses iCSee Pro or XMEye Android apps (3.7 rating on Play Store), while Revotech uses NVSEE (3.1 rating on Play Store), but the rest of the specification looks similar, so basically, BirdCam is a repackaged Chinese camera. My largest concern is that people reported that these Chinese cameras' firmware actually sends a lot of data to some servers in China all the time. Do you also have such experiences?

@Old Timer Axis models from the P12 series look really nice and of good quality, and I heard that they are usually also embedded in ATMs. However, when looking at comparison tables I found that lenses are not that small as expected and there is no solution that looks like a regular peephole, so I will have to figure something out. For example, P1214, P1224, and P1245 with FA1105 sensor has 20mm in diameter, only P1244 with F1004 sensor unit has 15mm in diameter, but the fixing hole supposed to be 21mm. However, I have another problem - the price is usually $300-350 or more.

Do you have any other solutions in between these two? I prefer Hikvision and Dahua, but I can't fit any o the models in a smaller hole.

Thanks!
 

TonyR

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@TonyR My largest concern is that people reported that these Chinese cameras' firmware actually sends a lot of data to some servers in China all the time.
I am aware of that also, as I have posted that issue several times myself:
Millions Of Xiongmai Video Surveillance Devices Can Be Hacked Via Cloud Feature (Xmeye P2p Cloud)

Do you also have such experiences?
Negative....none of my cams have Internet access, so no worries there.
 

Jaustin425

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Speaking of the P12 series Axis cameras, I have a couple of P1214 and P1245 cameras that I’m trying to use for a couple mobile ALPR systems I’ve been working on. I want to change the stock lenses out for 12mm lenses, but I’m not sure exactly what I need. I know it’s possible because I’ve seen it done, I just don’t know much about camera lenses. I bought a 12mm lens off Amazon, but can’t get it to focus. Are there certain specs I need to look for? Any input would be appreciated.
 
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