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Saltster

Saltster

Pulling my weight
Dec 7, 2017
220
132
Florida
Customized Members Build

OK Members, so you've been an active member of this cool forum for a while now.

Why don't you show us what you learned, and share some of your knowledge.

If you could start all over and do a new security build from scratch on your house today, what components would you go with?

Cameras
NVR
Software etc...
 
Cable, cable, cable... over build your cable infrastructure, pick good locations.
You can always change out cameras, change out NVR / PoE switches, PC VMS,... fairly easily. It's the physical cabling which can take a lot of time.

Right now I am a big believer in a good mix of Dahua starlight cameras and 4K cameras.
 
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mat200 said:
Cable, cable, cable... over build your cable infrastructure, pick good locations.
You can always change out cameras, change out NVR / PoE switches, PC VMS,... fairly easily. It's the physical cabling which can take a lot of time.

Right now I am a big believer in a good mix of Dahua starlight cameras and 4K cameras.
Click to expand...

I'm starting to see that Dahua cameras are popular on here... Started to read you # 20 link, and will read the whole post and follow you links within...

As you know I'm doing a install now... I have the right Solid Copper Wiring... and will cherry piking all the locations by watching the video be I drill and install... but after reading all the posts on Reolink, I may be researching some better equipment from the knowledge I find on this forum...

I still would like to here from some members on how they would start from scratch if they had a chance to start all over again. this way I could decide on some new equipment, and trash the Reolink. I sent them a few emails, and did not like their responses.

Does anyone on here buy the prepackaged unit like the new 4K from Lorex by Flir.. I was looking at there 16 camera units.
I still have a lot to learn, like why do some use NVR systems, and other just use a computer? or can you use both at the same time?

Thanks
 
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I found this vid on camera resolution... Any thought on the subject?

Security Camera Resolution Comparison: 4CIF, 720p, 1080p, 5MP, 4K, and 180 & 360 Panoramic 12MP
 
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I'm not impressed with that Vid at all. Resolution is nice and resolution is useful. But basing decisions off of MP numbers is kinda pointless and not very effective. There is no MP standard that I'm aware of for security cams, which means that the various vendors can measure their MP counts any way they want to. People tend to think that "Bigger is always better" but that's not always the case.

I switched from 3MP cams to 2MP cams and my image quality INCREASED because the 2MP cams had a larger physical image sensor. Bigger sensor = larger physical pixels = more light gathered = better image quality. And the 2MP cams that I upgraded to were more expensive than the 3MP units that I had because the image sensor was a much better quality and much more sensitive sensor. I generally treat megapixels as a marketing term, in that it sounds cool, but it really doesn't mean anything in the real world. And I realize that it sounds counter-intuitive, but a bunch of pixels won't do you any good if they aren't sensitive enough to actually gather enough light to give you an identifiable image. With security cameras the light sensitivity is a much better stat to look at. A ton of megapixels is pretty useless if the sensor can't gather enough useful light to let you actually identify properly. If you look at most of the marketing videos for the high MP cameras they are all done in daylight. So you never really see how they are going to look for HALF of the day.

If all you are going to be doing is monitoring an area in broad daylight, then more megapixels may be useful. Personally I don't want my system to be blind at night though. So light sensitivity is more important to me.
 
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CountZero said:
I'm not impressed with that Vid at all. Resolution is nice and resolution is useful. But basing decisions off of MP numbers is kinda pointless and not very effective. There is no MP standard that I'm aware of for security cams, which means that the various vendors can measure their MP counts any way they want to. People tend to think that "Bigger is always better" but that's not always the case.

I switched from 3MP cams to 2MP cams and my image quality INCREASED because the 2MP cams had a larger physical image sensor. Bigger sensor = larger physical pixels = more light gathered = better image quality. And the 2MP cams that I upgraded to were more expensive than the 3MP units that I had because the image sensor was a much better quality and much more sensitive sensor. I generally treat megapixels as a marketing term, in that it sounds cool, but it really doesn't mean anything in the real world. And I realize that it sounds counter-intuitive, but a bunch of pixels won't do you any good if they aren't sensitive enough to actually gather enough light to give you an identifiable image. With security cameras the light sensitivity is a much better stat to look at. A ton of megapixels is pretty useless if the sensor can't gather enough useful light to let you actually identify properly. If you look at most of the marketing videos for the high MP cameras they are all done in daylight. So you never really see how they are going to look for HALF of the day.

If all you are going to be doing is monitoring an area in broad daylight, then more megapixels may be useful. Personally I don't want my system to be blind at night though. So light sensitivity is more important to me.
Click to expand...
Good point, has anyone zoomed in from a distance of a face? since most shots are not going to be right in front of the camera.
 
Saltster said:
Good point, has anyone zoomed in from a distance of a face? since most shots are not going to be right in front of the camera.
Click to expand...

Again, it depends on what you are trying to do with your cameras. I have mine set so I can make a decent facial ID 24/7 in the areas that I'm protecting with cameras. I'm not trying to secure the street, adjacent properties, or anything off of my property, so I don't do much zooming. I can get a basic ID of people from the street, but if they keep walking and don't actually come onto my property, then they are not my primary concern. The street is usually a public space anyways. If you want to be able to ID someone across the street or down the block, then grab yourself a 25x or 30X starlight PTZ to use for that. If you are trying to protect your property, then you want clear ID at all of your entry points into whatever building you are protecting and that generally doesn't require much if any zoom.

I think people get caught up in this thinking that 100% of their property must be covered with cameras. And I'm just not sure that's effective. Focus on the points of entry and make sure THOSE are covered completely first. Then once ALL of those are covered and you can make decent quality ID's, then move onto larger overview cams so you can keep tabs on the rest of your property if you want to. I tend to think of my camera coverage as different zones. Rings of protection radiating out from the house. Anything right up at the house, any entry door, any window, ANY way that someone can get into my house is in the ID Zone and gets covered with a camera that give me a decent ID image. Anything in that space, I want a nice clear image that can be handed to police. There is a second ring outside of that where I have some basic coverage so I can keep an eye on whats going on out there. I look at that second zone as more of an informational overview sort of zone. I'm not expecting to get a perfect ID from things in that zone. I don't need to. If I can provide a decent image of clothing or a car description to police that may help them investigate something that occurred off of my property. But that's not my main focus. If someone crossed from that outer zone to the inner zone then they are crossing into the patch of a camera that's set to get a decent ID image.

It's nice to know if someone is walking along the street, but I don't need to ID them. If the come up into the yard and approach the house then they are making an overt move and at that point I DO want to get an ID.
 
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CountZero said:
Again, it depends on what you are trying to do with your cameras. I have mine set so I can make a decent facial ID 24/7 in the areas that I'm protecting with cameras. I'm not trying to secure the street, adjacent properties, or anything off of my property, so I don't do much zooming. I can get a basic ID of people from the street, but if they keep walking and don't actually come onto my property, then they are not my primary concern. The street is usually a public space anyways. If you want to be able to ID someone across the street or down the block, then grab yourself a 25x or 30X starlight PTZ to use for that. If you are trying to protect your property, then you want clear ID at all of your entry points into whatever building you are protecting and that generally doesn't require much if any zoom.

I think people get caught up in this thinking that 100% of their property must be covered with cameras. And I'm just not sure that's effective. Focus on the points of entry and make sure THOSE are covered completely first. Then once ALL of those are covered and you can make decent quality ID's, then move onto larger overview cams so you can keep tabs on the rest of your property if you want to. I tend to think of my camera coverage as different zones. Rings of protection radiating out from the house. Anything right up at the house, any entry door, any window, ANY way that someone can get into my house is in the ID Zone and gets covered with a camera that give me a decent ID image. Anything in that space, I want a nice clear image that can be handed to police. There is a second ring outside of that where I have some basic coverage so I can keep an eye on whats going on out there. I look at that second zone as more of an informational overview sort of zone. I'm not expecting to get a perfect ID from things in that zone. I don't need to. If I can provide a decent image of clothing or a car description to police that may help them investigate something that occurred off of my property. But that's not my main focus. If someone crossed from that outer zone to the inner zone then they are crossing into the patch of a camera that's set to get a decent ID image.

It's nice to know if someone is walking along the street, but I don't need to ID them. If the come up into the yard and approach the house then they are making an overt move and at that point I DO want to get an ID.
Click to expand...
OK Cool, which models do you have?

I'm reading about these now
IPC-HDW5231R-Z
Dahua Starlight Varifocal Turret (IPC-HDW5231R-Z)

IPC-HFW5231E-Z5
wish this had audio
Dahua Starlight Varifocal Bullet Z5 7-35mm (IPC-HFW5231E-Z5)

or maybe a newer model is now available?
 
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Went to Dahua site and could not find any of the cameras mentioned on this site, seems there are all new models?
Dahua Technology

any suggestions?
 
I'm using 9 of the IPC-HDW5231R-Z turrets. I have one IPC-HDW5231R-Z12 as a gate camera. And I have one IPC-HDBW4231F-AS on the front door. All of them are 2MP starlight units. The 4231F-AS does have a dome, which you usually want to avoid outside, but my porch shades it all day long, so it does not get any direct sun exposure. If your mounting locations are exposed or under eaves where they can get sun, I'd stick wtih the 5231R-Z Varifocals. They are a super solid camera, not too expensive, and easy to work with.

The varifocal turrets let me dial in the field of view for what I need to see at each location. The Z12 lets me push in nice and tight on the gate which is 160 feet away from where the cam is mounted. And the HDBW4231F-AS tucks up on the door frame right about head height which gives me a nice clear view of anyone approaching the door. All of the units have audio. The R-Z is the standard turret, the Z5 and Z12 are bullet cameras with a higher zoom range than the standard R-Z. All 3 are pretty much the same cameras, just with different housings and different optics. I prefer the turrets for all of my primary locations. The other units were purchased to address specific install needs. :) (I ran a regular R-Z on the gate for 6 months, and just lived with a wider field of view until I decided I wanted to push in on the gate. I lost the overall wide view of the front yard in that position, but now I'm able to make a good identification of anyone that pulls up and rings at the gate. Which goes back to my last post. I wanted to better secure the gate, so I gave up the wide view for better ID. It was more important to me to have good ID at the gate than it was to have general ID just inside the gate. Once I let someone in the gate, I already have a decent ID quality image of them, as well as nice clear images of vehicles. And I'm leading them into the center ring of protection where I have multiple cameras that should get me additional ID quality images.
 
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CountZero said:
I'm using 9 of the IPC-HDW5231R-Z turrets. I have one IPC-HDW5231R-Z12 as a gate camera. And I have one IPC-HDBW4231F-AS on the front door. All of them are 2MP starlight units. The 4231F-AS does have a dome, which you usually want to avoid outside, but my porch shades it all day long, so it does not get any direct sun exposure. If your mounting locations are exposed or under eaves where they can get sun, I'd stick wtih the 5231R-Z Varifocals. They are a super solid camera, not too expensive, and easy to work with.

The varifocal turrets let me dial in the field of view for what I need to see at each location. The Z12 lets me push in nice and tight on the gate which is 160 feet away from where the cam is mounted. And the HDBW4231F-AS tucks up on the door frame right about head height which gives me a nice clear view of anyone approaching the door. All of the units have audio. The R-Z is the standard turret, the Z5 and Z12 are bullet cameras with a higher zoom range than the standard R-Z. All 3 are pretty much the same cameras, just with different housings and different optics. I prefer the turrets for all of my primary locations. The other units were purchased to address specific install needs. :) (I ran a regular R-Z on the gate for 6 months, and just lived with a wider field of view until I decided I wanted to push in on the gate. I lost the overall wide view of the front yard in that position, but now I'm able to make a good identification of anyone that pulls up and rings at the gate. Which goes back to my last post. I wanted to better secure the gate, so I gave up the wide view for better ID. It was more important to me to have good ID at the gate than it was to have general ID just inside the gate. Once I let someone in the gate, I already have a decent ID quality image of them, as well as nice clear images of vehicles. And I'm leading them into the center ring of protection where I have multiple cameras that should get me additional ID quality images.
Click to expand...

Thanks for taking the time to respond , I'll check them out.
 
Saltster said:
Any thought on this one? same with a glass plate.
IPC-HDW5231R-ZE
IPC-HDW5231R-ZE - Dahua Technology
Click to expand...

Hi Saltster,

Depends, if you think someone may hit the camera, then I like the older style more as there is more metal protecting the face of the camera.

On the numerous security video captures I did see one burglary group which appeared to act more professionally in either the UK or EU which each burglar was masked, and one went right at the security camera with a crowbar.
 
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So far I think I could use:

two) IPC-HDW5231R-Z12 as I have two drive way gates.
one) IPC-HDBW4231F-AS on the front door.
six) or more of the IPC-HDW5231R-Z turrets.

I really need one wireless for up in my boat, in-case someone hopes up under the cover to break in???
and one that I could put up on a pole, and zoom in and out and turn 360 to look around the property and road (need to be a good zoom).
 
mat200 said:
Hi Saltster,

Depends, if you think someone may hit the camera, then I like the older style more as there is more metal protecting the face of the camera.

On the numerous security video captures I did see one burglary group which appeared to act more professionally in either the UK or EU which each burglar was masked, and one went right at the security camera with a crowbar.
Click to expand...

where are your group videos at? I'd like to check them out.
 
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