Camera Placement

[johngalt_83]

I currently have two IPC-HDW5231R-Z that I am trying to find the best placement for my house. I plan on adding more cameras in the future so if these cameras aren't the right fit for my placement I can get a different one and use them elsewhere.

I don't know how to capture my front door/porch. If I put the camera to the upper right of the door and look down I just see the top of peoples heads, packages, etc. I have two steps to go up the porch and you always look down to watch where you step. This makes it really hard to get a view of their face.

I am leaning on two cameras for the front porch. One in the "back corner" of the porch which will look at the front door, packages, etc. However, unless they look to the side I won't get a view of their face. This camera would also be hidden from the street. Which is okay from aesthetics, but I want it to be known that I have cameras to act as a deterrent.

The second camera might go to the upper right of the door but look out. This will capture them as they are walking up to the porch, but when you get close to the door you won't be visible anymore.


Any suggestions? Right now I am leaning towards starting with just one camera in the corner of the porch in portrait mode looking at the front door.




Here is the front door. Getting a good face shot is difficult with the camera so high and the person so close. Ceiling mount will be easier to install, but I can install it on the side of the house as well.



Here is the inside of the porch. Great view of what is going on at the front door (peering in, leaving/stealing a package, etc.) but might be hard to see their face unless they look this direction.



Just an overview shot of the front of the house.


Here are some sample shots from those locations. I just did a screen capture from my phone so the quality isn't ideal, but gives an idea of field of view and angle.

Here is a picture at night with the porch light on from above the front door. This is partially zoomed.



Here is a view from the side of the porch at the front door at night partially zoomed.


Same view as above, but all the way zoomed out.

 

[mat200]

Hi John,

Welcome to the forum

I placed a wedge style camera at 5 feet by my front door to maximize the opportunity of getting a great facial imagine.

I would like to place another camera to add additional coverage - so I really like what you have been playing with.

I suggest by the front door getting a nice wedge dahua model and mounting it lower - 5-6 feet high.
You can play with your 5231s and see the potential view. I like the wedge form factor in that location a lot. ( yes, wiring will be more painful to do it that way, but will be a better result )

The 2nd camera on the porch I would also try to see what a view on the house wall by the top of the window pointing to the front door view would be like.
With a junction box and short 1/2" EMT you can easily run it down the wall a couple of feet from the attic area.

also It's easy to get swamped with information here, so I wanted to share some notes with you

Please check out @giomania 's notes:
Dahua Starlight Varifocal Turret (IPC-HDW5231R-Z)

I have also made notes which are a summary of a lot of the reading I've been doing here,:
Looking for some advice and direction!

Have fun joining us here.

 

[johngalt_83]

Thanks @mat200 for the suggestions and the welcome message.

Those two links you provided are great. I am pretty comfortable with the network side of things. I have two other Dahua cameras on a separate VLAN of my managed POE switch. They can't access anything but the NVR. Even my home network can't connect to them directly. I use a VPN client to get from my home network (or any network) to connect to the camera VLAN. I am new to Dahua however, and there was lots of great information.

I have a HDBW4231F-AS for use as a baby monitor in one room and it works great. I never thought about putting it outside. I always thought that domes shouldn't be used outside. Does this not apply to the mini dome?

 

[mat200]

Thanks @mat200 for the suggestions and the welcome message.

Those two links you provided are great. I am pretty comfortable with the network side of things. I have two other Dahua cameras on a separate VLAN of my managed POE switch. They can't access anything but the NVR. Even my home network can't connect to them directly. I use a VPN client to get from my home network (or any network) to connect to the camera VLAN. I am new to Dahua however, and there was lots of great information.

I have a HDBW4231F-AS for use as a baby monitor in one room and it works great. I never thought about putting it outside. I always thought that domes shouldn't be used outside. Does this not apply to the mini dome?

Hi John,

As a general rule domes can be problematic outside - glare issues as well as direct UV exposure causing over time degradation of the dome's plastic.

As your front door area is covered and you probably have a porch light on, you may have less glare and UV exposure issues in that location. I would test it out before committing. I like mine there as it is right in your face, and it is the smallest IP camera which is vandal proof I could find for that location.

Another option is the fixed lens starlight turret. It is a bit smaller than the varifocal, and available in a wider FOV which would be needed when suspects are basically right in front of the camera.

 

[johngalt_83]

Thanks @mat200

I just put my test unit centered above the front window and took a few test shots. I think this is the best angle. This is all the way zoomed out, but I would likely zoom in a little bit.

I still think it will get the top of a lot of baseball caps. I suppose it is more likely to see the front of people's faces if they are looking at the door. Maybe if I keep backing up and I go against the front of the house all the way in the side of the porch zoomed it it will provide the best full view of the front door (and packages) and a chance at a facial ID. Add in a mini dome wedge at the front for an added chance.

How low is too low? could I put a mini dome semi at the level of the railing of the front porch? Or maybe right under the lamp so it gets less sun exposure? That would be about 6 feet off the ground.