Camera location and model for front door/porch area?

[Shotglasspeppa]

Currently I only have a Nest Hello doorbell camera at my font door and am looking to add a real camera to capture people who approach or come to the front door. The porch will be well lit at night and there's a streetlight directly across the street from me in addition to pot lights across the front of the driveway that shine a bit of light on to the path.

Would there be any reason not to mount the camera somewhere directly below the porch light shown in the picture (light is circled in red)? Would being directly under it have adverse affects by being exposed to "too much" light? This area is ideal for me as I have cat6 ran to the wall behind it in the garage so it would be a very straight forward installation.

I'd prefer something with really high resolution so am thinking of a 4k camera for this specific location but I don't want anything that is too big in size. I've read about people using wedge style cameras but my concern is the dome getting affected by UV over time. Would a IPC-T2831T-ZS be overkill for this location? I've attached a screenshot of what my current doorbell camera viewpoint looks like.

I also plan on putting a camera directly above the door to get a continuous shot of parcels that are delivered.

 

[samplenhold]

really high resolution so am thinking of a 4k camera

Don't chase MP. The 5442 turret is a 4MP cam and is the top dog for low-light now.

Before you mount a cam, use a test rig (as described in the Cliff Notes) to see how it works out. Lights can cause glare. No one can tell you if that will happen from a photo. But in general, one wants to place a cam such that it is not looking over/past the light. So if say your cam is looking right, placing the cam to the right of the light should give less glare.

 

[looney2ns]

Above the door is too high for face shots.
A wedge cam would work well since it's under the overhang.

 

[Shotglasspeppa]

Above the door is too high for face shots.
A wedge cam would work well since it's under the overhang.

Any particular wedge you'd recommend?

 

[looney2ns]

IPC-HDBW3241F-AS-M

IPC-HDBW3241F-AS-M, DH-IPC-HDBW3241FP-AS-0360B

www.dahuasecurity.com

 

[SouthernYankee]

I have multiple cameras covering the front door.
I would also place a camera under the overhang pointing back at the door and covering the package drop area.
Also a camera inside pointing directly at the front door, so if the door is open it is records the action.

 

[Shotglasspeppa]

I have multiple cameras covering the front door.
I would also place a camera under the overhang pointing back at the door and covering the package drop area.
Also a camera inside pointing directly at the front door, so if the door is open it is records the action.

I was planning on putting a camera right above the door looking down on the front mat/area where the packages would be dropped.

What cam would you recommend for inside use pointing at the door? I specifically ran cat6 to a point in the ceiling for this exact purpose when we were building, I just don't know which camera I should consider for this spot.

 

[Shotglasspeppa]

IPC-HDBW3241F-AS-M

IPC-HDBW3241F-AS-M, DH-IPC-HDBW3241FP-AS-0360B

www.dahuasecurity.com

What about an IPC-E3541F-AS-M

 

[mat200]

What about an IPC-E3541F-AS-M

Hi @Shotglasspeppa

Questions:
1) How many megapixels in the IPC-E3541F-AS-M?
2) What is the size of the sensor?

3) How many megapixels in the IPC-HDBW3241F-AS-M?
4) What is the size of the sensor?

5) What sort of difference would that make with the cameras?



IPC-HDBW3241F-AS-M
2MP IR Fixed focal Dome WizSense Network Camera

2MP, 1/2.8” CMOS image sensor, low illuminance, high image definition

 

[Shotglasspeppa]

Hi @Shotglasspeppa

Questions:
1) How many megapixels in the IPC-E3541F-AS-M?
2) What is the size of the sensor?

3) How many megapixels in the IPC-HDBW3241F-AS-M?
4) What is the size of the sensor?

5) What sort of difference would that make with the cameras?



IPC-HDBW3241F-AS-M
2MP IR Fixed focal Dome WizSense Network Camera

Roughly the same size sensor, the one I listed is 1/2.7". The camera I listed is 5MP.

The area will be well lit, so assuming the sensor is the same would the picture on the 5MP not have more detail?

 

[Cameraguy]

Currently I only have a Nest Hello doorbell camera at my font door and am looking to add a real camera to capture people who approach or come to the front door. The porch will be well lit at night and there's a streetlight directly across the street from me in addition to pot lights across the front of the driveway that shine a bit of light on to the path.

Would there be any reason not to mount the camera somewhere directly below the porch light shown in the picture (light is circled in red)? Would being directly under it have adverse affects by being exposed to "too much" light? This area is ideal for me as I have cat6 ran to the wall behind it in the garage so it would be a very straight forward installation.

I'd prefer something with really high resolution so am thinking of a 4k camera for this specific location but I don't want anything that is too big in size. I've read about people using wedge style cameras but my concern is the dome getting affected by UV over time. Would a IPC-T2831T-ZS be overkill for this location? I've attached a screenshot of what my current doorbell camera viewpoint looks like.

I also plan on putting a camera directly above the door to get a continuous shot of parcels that are delivered.

I've been liking the dahua 1831C-PIR for door cams

 

[mat200]

Roughly the same size sensor, the one I listed is 1/2.7". The camera I listed is 5MP.

The area will be well lit, so assuming the sensor is the same would the picture on the 5MP not have more detail?

HI @Shotglasspeppa

"well lit" is relative..and changes based on season. This is why a lot of use like multiple cameras at the front door area - as we can increase our changes of getting good images with different cameras at different angles.

Ideally you want to compare the 2 back to back in your setup at different times of the year. As this is typically not an available option - I would go with the camera that has a greater pixel size due to lower light conditions in the winter season during night time. ( of course there's more to this.. WDR HDR settings make a difference )

My recommendation:
Since you can not really compare how the 2 will work without a significant investment in time - I would go with the one I know works better in low light conditions and put that at face level by the front door. Then place another camera which allows you to see the package drop area.

Anyone walking up to your front door should go through at least 2 FOV camera zones which have good angles on a person's face. Ideally the front door camera will be at face level.

If you only have 1 cat6 line to the front door.. consider the dual lens version of the 2MP wedge camera... one and look at the foot of the door for package drops, one straight on to any visitors.

 

[Shotglasspeppa]

HI @Shotglasspeppa

"well lit" is relative..and changes based on season. This is why a lot of use like multiple cameras at the front door area - as we can increase our changes of getting good images with different cameras at different angles.

Ideally you want to compare the 2 back to back in your setup at different times of the year. As this is typically not an available option - I would go with the camera that has a greater pixel size due to lower light conditions in the winter season during night time. ( of course there's more to this.. WDR HDR settings make a difference )

My recommendation:
Since you can not really compare how the 2 will work without a significant investment in time - I would go with the one I know works better in low light conditions and put that at face level by the front door. Then place another camera which allows you to see the package drop area.

Anyone walking up to your front door should go through at least 2 FOV camera zones which have good angles on a person's face. Ideally the front door camera will be at face level.

If you only have 1 cat6 line to the front door.. consider the dual lens version of the 2MP wedge camera... one and look at the foot of the door for package drops, one straight on to any visitors.

I appreciate well lit can be relative but this area will always have light. I have the porch light on a dusk/dawn schedule. In the summer the sun stays up to nearly 11pm most nights.

I'm not trying to "chase MP" with this, but based off of what people are able to pull off with their starlights cams and near zero light, I would think the 5MP would work and produce a more detailed image, especially during the day.

If there was a way for me to test both believe my I would. Andy doesn't have an Amazon store for Canada so there is no way for me to buy and try unfortunately.

There are 2 cat6 lines above the door in the soffit sitting in a junction box and on the other side of the wall is the garage where 4 more lines are easily accessible.

Whichever wedge I get would be around eye level for facial identification and then I'd likely install one in the soffit above the door/in the middle of that porch area to capture the parcel drops.

 

[Cameraguy]

I appreciate well lit can be relative but this area will always have light. I have the porch light on a dusk/dawn schedule. In the summer the sun stays up to nearly 11pm most nights.

I'm not trying to "chase MP" with this, but based off of what people are able to pull off with their starlights cams and near zero light, I would think the 5MP would work and produce a more detailed image, especially during the day.

If there was a way for me to test both believe my I would. Andy doesn't have an Amazon store for Canada so there is no way for me to buy and try unfortunately.

There are 2 cat6 lines above the door in the soffit sitting in a junction box and on the other side of the wall is the garage where 4 more lines are easily accessible.



Whichever wedge I get would be around eye level for facial identification and then I'd likely install one in the soffit above the door/in the middle of that porch area to capture the parcel drops.

The 1831C-PIR has 2 way talk and works with Blue Iris.. There are so many options. Have to just narrow it down for what fits you best

 

[Shotglasspeppa]

The 1831C-PIR has 2 way talk and works with Blue Iris.. There are so many options. Have to just narrow it down for what fits you best

The 2 way talk is nice but I'm going to relegate that duty to the Nest doorbell simply because it's the more wife friendly solution. You are absolutely right, there are several options I was just hoping someone who's running one of these wedge in the 2 and or 5mp flavour would be able to chime in with first hand experience.