First post - advice for specific cameras for commercial building?

mchas

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Just joined the forum - so much great information here - thanks to all of the helpful members!!

I have a small commercial property with cameras that are 5+ years old that I will be upgrading. I recently purchased this 6 camera 4K kit with NVR from Costco after seeing a recommendation here:

IP Camera System with 6 Ultra HD 4K Security Cameras & Lorex Secure Connectivity

I hooked it up at home and the cameras are amazing. It came with 6 cameras so I need to purchase 2 more. One will be inside a small rectangular building, maybe 500-700 sq feet. Normally there are no lights on inside the room when no one is there, so I need a good night vision camera. Seems like the Dahua Starlight is the best option, but there are so many different versions I would appreciate some guidance.

I would like to get a camera with the following:
- great night vision
- can record audio
- has SD card backup option
- appropriate focal length/zoom for the size of room

I toyed with the idea of getting something with PTZ but I think that's probably overkill for this small room (although it would be nice to pan around and check on various equipment etc placed in different areas)

Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!
 

mchas

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That looks like a great option - thank you! Pardon the dumb question, but with a varifocal lens, will I be able to zoom in and out remotely, or is it just to adjust it once after mounting it?
 

bigredfish

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Both, but once you have it set where you want it, doubtful you'll use the zoom much if at all.

Varifocal sure does help take the guesswork out of which lens to choose .
 

mchas

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Ah, makes perfect sense now. Thank you!

One more question - since I need to get one more camera for the exterior, it might make sense to get something different to view the front of the lot. It would be great to capture license plates but I know that is more difficult. What is a good camera for viewing maybe 100' wide lot from the corner of the building on one side?
 

bigredfish

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So think of wide angle coverage vs LP capture as polar opposites. Not gonna get there with a single camera unless you just happen to get really lucky with placement at an entry/exit choke point and still get your wide area view.

For wide angle overview of a 100ft deep lot, hmmm it can get complicated. I'm not an expert but I would think a couple of options/choices to make. Remember you wont see the detail at 100ft that you do at 15ft, and like all locations, available light will make a huge difference

- If nighttime image is important stick with the Dahua Starlight series
- A starlight PTZ may come in handy, but I would defer to the Pro's here as to the ability to reliably cover a wide area and activate zoom on motion
- I suppose if you had gobs of white light, a fixed lens higher MP cam such as the 6-8MP newer Dahua's might work..
- Multiple cameras

Here's a Dahua 8231 2MP Starlight covering our cul-de-sac. 60 ft to center, 100 ft to the choke point, 160ft to the woman walking the dog. Width of coverage here is about 80ft?


Another example. Note pretty good street light coverage, and I had the WDR on to about 15 which is all Ive been able to use at night without too much motion blur. You may have more or less light in your lot.
 

mchas

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Thanks for all of the helpful info!

One more question - if the cameras are going to be outside and subjected to moisture fairly often (water spray sometimes), are the bullet / turret style cameras still good? With the junction boxes, will they make a waterproof seal? Any tips? Thanks again!
 

mchas

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For reference, here is a photo showing how some of the current old cameras are installed. What would be the easiest way to mount the new bullet / turret style cameras and make them waterproof?
 

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looney2ns

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