Cameras in a rual area? First setup.

[aix]

We have floodlights on all 4 sides of the house, nothing crazy but enough to light up the yard a little. Standard home depot 120-150watt LED replacement lights giving off around 1600 lumens each.

At the front of the house we have line of sign across our yard for about 75 feet until we start to run into some trees, this is where the driveway off the street is directed.
The other sides of our house have about 15-35 feet unobstructed view distance until you run into trees.

Based on the guide it suggests the 5442 Z4E for 60ish feet, so the front yard. Then maybe the 5442 ZE for the other sides of the property since it's a low light camera and the range is about 15-35 feet in these areas. Then possibly picking the go to 5442 fixed lens 2.8mm camera for the front door as there is a porch, so something that would get the clearest shot of a face if they are on the porch.

Based on what I have said is this enough information for a recommendation? Also ideally I should put my cameras around 8-12feet up, if I need to run my Ethernet cable six or so feet in any direction to better access the house/attic, what's the preferred way to run the cable? Naked? Or some sort of cord cover or other option?

I will be running Blue Iris on my home server.

 

[Ri22o]

We have floodlights on all 4 sides of the house, nothing crazy but enough to light up the yard a little. Standard home depot 120-150watt LED replacement lights giving off around 1600 lumens each.

At the front of the house we have line of sign across our yard for about 75 feet until we start to run into some trees, this is where the driveway off the street is directed.
The other sides of our house have about 15-35 feet unobstructed view distance until you run into trees.

Based on the guide it suggests the 5442 Z4E for 60ish feet, so the front yard. Then maybe the 5442 ZE for the other sides of the property since it's a low light camera and the range is about 15-35 feet in these areas. Then possibly picking the go to 5442 fixed lens 2.8mm camera for the front door as there is a porch, so something that would get the clearest shot of a face if they are on the porch.

Based on what I have said is this enough information for a recommendation? Also ideally I should put my cameras around 8-12feet up, if I need to run my Ethernet cable six or so feet in any direction to better access the house/attic, what's the preferred way to run the cable? Naked? Or some sort of cord cover or other option?

I will be running Blue Iris on my home server.

Check out my thread linked below for more pictures and details of how install height, distance, focal length, etc affects everything and how I have made changes to my system along the way. I have included some of that info and captures below.

Ideal install height is 7-8'. 12' is too high when talking short focal lengths. Lower is better. Most times there is no sacrifice with the FOV by going lower, only higher.

"I want 2.8mm cameras everywhere to see everything..." - This is why you need specific FOVs with purposeful focal lengths.

I have gained a lot of knowledge since I signed up and wanted to share my experience and examples of improvements and changes for others who are coming from a "I want 2.8mm cameras everywhere to see everything" system mentality. My ongoing "build/looking for advice" thread can be found here...

ipcamtalk.com

Per usual recommendation, start with one 5442 ZE and test it in various locations to see if a fixed focal length will work and to determine what your realistic coverage will be with one camera.

I would also not recommend being naked in the attic if you have blown fiberglass insulation. Wear clothes. Don't ask me how I know.

The Z4E is a good choice for 60', but keep it mind that as you get more usable distance you shorten your horizontal FOV. Below is my Z4E set to full zoom and at 60' distance/12' height. The horizontal FOV is maybe 18'. If you have a choke point in your front yard this will work, otherwise you will need a net of cameras for full coverage.


The 5442 ZE would be a good choice since it will allow you to set your focal length, especially if you are in between fixed lengths. For reference, below is my driveway 5442 ZE set to the full 12mm and 7' height.

Me at 16'?


Me at 40ft.


The car's license plate is at 75'.


This is my front porch. The upper 5442 is 10' mounting height and 3.6mm. The lower cam is eye height and 2.8mm.

 

[samplenhold]

It makes real sense just getting a good varifocal cam and use a test rig to check out the views for each possible location. The 5442 ZE is a good choice for this. My test rig below.


Walk the area both day and night to see what the FOV gives you. Buying several cams at one time without testing those FOVs may not get you what you want from the videos.

Based on the guide it suggests the 5442 Z4E for 60ish feet, so the front yard.

Not sure what your intent here is. The Z4E gives more zoom than the ZE. So, yes you can zoom into and area that is 60 feet away, but that narrows the field of view. The implication is that you want to focus in on a specific choak point to get more pixels on a face for ID.

As far as mounting height goes, you want to be able to see the face, not the top of the head. So the higher you mount a cam, the more you have to set the FOV further out to get that face shot. See the diagram below.


Don't make the typical newbi mistake of trying to do too much with one cam.

 

[Ri22o]

For reference, this is the same Z4E at the same zoom, but in two different locations. One is second floor soffit (20-22') at around 85' to the gate and the other is 12'/60' like mentioned above.

For scale, the double gate opening is 10'.

Height can work at distance because it flattens out the viewing angle, but you still have a very narrow FOV at this distance and full zoom.