@EMPIRETECANDY So I finally got the T54IR-ZE-S3's I bought from you installed, and I have a few minor issues.. Overall I'm happy. They do a great job in the available light without IR using @looney2ns setting suggestions (but I am going to add an external illuminator to make it better at distance). These are monitoring the alley that goes by my apartment because this is a college neighborhood with several bars within walking distance, and that has lead to more than a few criminal activities since I've lived here. My bicycle has been stolen, people walk down the alley after bar close and randomly try cars and front doors looking for unlocked (my neighbor got walked in on), the guy on the other side's garage has been broken into... So years ago I got a few Ring cams - a Doorbell Pro and two Stick-up cam Elites. I paid exactly nothing for them, as I was able to exploit that "Neighbors" referral credit they were doing at the time on a Facebook group I ran for over $1000 in free products.. So anyway they definitely ended up being worth what I paid for them when it came to ID'ing people when my landlady has asked for footage.
So now I had some extra money and bought real cams...
To my issue. In the pics below, "West Alley" is maxed out on zoom. I do want it to be able to go a little further into the parking lot and further down the alley. I can't move it up any more without having a big chunk of the sky in frame - this faces directly southwest so in the winter the sun is really low in that sky and I don't want it to cause problems. I noticed there is a 8-32mm version of the B54IR in bullet form, but not turret, right? I also see there are fixed focus versions of the B58IR in 1/1.2" but the varifocals are 1/1.8"... I need to buy a fourth camera to get to where I want coverage wise anyway (I'm going to split the "South" cam into two, with one primarily monitoring the porch to the mailbox hut, and the other primarily monitoring the fenceline path and parking spots on the left, with overlapping views of the alley itself), but since "West Alley" is the cam that has to look the farthest ideally I'd like to go 8MP for better digital zoom in addition to 8-32mm zoom. Is that variant with the 1/1.2" sensor on the horizon? Should I wait for it? Or just buy the B54IR in 8-32mm?
Now as far as the mounting goes... I'm a bit limited as these all have to go on my balcony and I'm second floor. So the absolute lowest I can go is 10ft. Right now "South" and "East" are clamped to the top of the railing criss-crossed (14'AGL) and "West" is mounted to the bottom of the roof beam (20' AGL to help clear the porch roof). I can't go to the bottom of the railing with this config because the railing is set back from the edge and the deck boards get really up into the frame. How much difference realistically does 4 feet in vertical height make when it comes to DORI distance in a short shot or 10 feet make for a long shot? Is it worth having custom brackets made to put them down on the deck over the edge? We have a local metal shop that can do it for me reasonably cheap - I had them make the clamp brackets I'm using for the railings. As it stands now, I can identify people I know on the South cam, as well as when they are in the lower right corner of the East cam. With minor digital zoom I believe they'd still be identifiable if the footage needed to go to the police. Would dropping them 4 feet make that much of a difference?

To my issue. In the pics below, "West Alley" is maxed out on zoom. I do want it to be able to go a little further into the parking lot and further down the alley. I can't move it up any more without having a big chunk of the sky in frame - this faces directly southwest so in the winter the sun is really low in that sky and I don't want it to cause problems. I noticed there is a 8-32mm version of the B54IR in bullet form, but not turret, right? I also see there are fixed focus versions of the B58IR in 1/1.2" but the varifocals are 1/1.8"... I need to buy a fourth camera to get to where I want coverage wise anyway (I'm going to split the "South" cam into two, with one primarily monitoring the porch to the mailbox hut, and the other primarily monitoring the fenceline path and parking spots on the left, with overlapping views of the alley itself), but since "West Alley" is the cam that has to look the farthest ideally I'd like to go 8MP for better digital zoom in addition to 8-32mm zoom. Is that variant with the 1/1.2" sensor on the horizon? Should I wait for it? Or just buy the B54IR in 8-32mm?
Now as far as the mounting goes... I'm a bit limited as these all have to go on my balcony and I'm second floor. So the absolute lowest I can go is 10ft. Right now "South" and "East" are clamped to the top of the railing criss-crossed (14'AGL) and "West" is mounted to the bottom of the roof beam (20' AGL to help clear the porch roof). I can't go to the bottom of the railing with this config because the railing is set back from the edge and the deck boards get really up into the frame. How much difference realistically does 4 feet in vertical height make when it comes to DORI distance in a short shot or 10 feet make for a long shot? Is it worth having custom brackets made to put them down on the deck over the edge? We have a local metal shop that can do it for me reasonably cheap - I had them make the clamp brackets I'm using for the railings. As it stands now, I can identify people I know on the South cam, as well as when they are in the lower right corner of the East cam. With minor digital zoom I believe they'd still be identifiable if the footage needed to go to the police. Would dropping them 4 feet make that much of a difference?
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