dome camera recomendation

[needmorstuff]

Hi all,

Following a recent attempted break-in and vandalism to my car I am looking to get some type of surveillance, initially to cover my driveway but I will probably expand later down the line.

I am based in the UK

I want an anti vandal dome camera that can mount to a wall and cover my driveway... I want an IP one that can record to NVR software on my main PC that is always on. 1080p would be great if its considered the norm.

I would like it to be around £100 or $150 or less if its good quality..

This is my first ever purchase..

your help is greatly appreciated.

 

[PRC_Save_Me]

The Hikvision DS-2CD2332-I turret is popular vandal-proof dome. It's also the one I use to cover my driveway. I bought the English language version from a US seller for $109 (the prices swing from $100-150). The camera has built-in NVR capabilities, as do many Hikvision cameras. You can simply record to a NAS server (samba share/NFS). No need to have your workstation on if your router supports this (if it has a USB port in the back that supports external storage such as hard drives, then it likely has this feature).

The camera is surprisingly small and discreet, and practically invisible if you spray paint it to the color of the wall its being mounted on (careful now!). I installed the camera a few months ago and none of my neighbors have noticed it. They didn't even believe me when I pointed out my camera them!

Here is a sample day-time shot, with a 4mm lens at 1920x1080 resolution with wide dynamic ranging turned on (the camera is capable of 3MP 2048x1536, but that wasn't too useful in my case). It's been rather hazy lately, which I suppose is the norm in the UK. The image looks a little washed out and not as sharp as it could be because I have wide dynamic ranging turned on. It gives me a bit greater detail in certain situations (especially shadows, etc). Night-time performance is quite good too, especially if you have motion detector security lights pointing at your driveway. Sometimes IR isn't necessary in these cases.

Please keep in mind that I am a complete novice when it comes to IP cameras, so my configuration may not be as optimal as others. Many also commonly get the version of this model with the 2.8mm lens which has a wider field of view, but this has tradeoffs. I think getting the 4mm was the right choice for me because I wanted better facial recognition at greater distances. I can very clearly identify anyone who walks past my driveway 10+ meters away. I can even get a decent capture of anyone who walks by my neighbor's driveway! Check out youtube for sample footage (https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=2CD2332)

Other vandal-proof domes you could look into are the Hikvision Ds-2cd2532f-is and Hikvision 2CD2132F-IS. Those models have options for wiring 2-way audio (you can add a microphone, an amplifier, and even together with a loud horn speaker)

 

[needmorstuff]

thanks for the reply, I have actually got 3 of the 2CD2132F-IS off of ebay for a decent price so thanks for the info..