floodlight camera over garage

[gawws]

Any recommendations for a floodlight camera over a brick garage looking down on driveway parking space 60'x30'. Similar to the Ring format below, Ethernet/IP-based, audio and obviously water-proof. I have and like the EmpireTech IPC-T5442T-TE but that's turret-based.

 

[mat200]

Any recommendations for a floodlight camera over a brick garage looking down on driveway parking space 60'x30'. Similar to the Ring format below, Ethernet/IP-based, audio and obviously water-proof. I have and like the EmpireTech IPC-T5442T-TE but that's turret-based.


View attachment 115539

HI @gawws

I like to separate the light and camera units, so I can then have better options - and have less issues with replacements.

 

[wittaj]

Only consumer companies that sell in big box stores make those, think Ring, Nest, Reolink...

They will usually be 2.8mm or so wide angle overview cams and will be useless to IDENTIFY as the entire IDENTIFY distance is lost vertically.

 

[sebastiantombs]

One camera will not effectively cover a 30x60 area especially with a car or two parked in the driveway. Mounted above the door, at typical floodlight height, will also result in really nice shots of the tops of heads rather than a useable identification video. Identification and as much detail as possible are the real goals of surveillance cameras.

 

[Mike A.]

I like to separate the light and camera units, so I can then have better options - and have less issues with replacements.

^ This. More/better options that way.

 

[mattyp]

HI @gawws

I like to separate the light and camera units, so I can then have better options - and have less issues with replacements.

This is a few steps down the line from where i am now (i am still trying to decide on a camera and PoE switch!) but alas, is also exactly what i need.
I would like the flood to be motion based and turn on once a person walks onto my garage deck. Is this another area where there are tecnical considerations us basic consumers should know about, or is a motion detecting flood a flood (nothing that technical about them?)

AND question 2: I am not clear how to later down the road automate things like turning on a house light IF motion is detected. Is this automation through the FLOOD light, or through the camera detection?

 

[gawws]

One camera will not effectively cover a 30x60 area especially with a car or two parked in the driveway. Mounted above the door, at typical floodlight height, will also result in really nice shots of the tops of heads rather than a useable identification video. Identification and as much detail as possible are the real goals of surveillance cameras.

Thanks. Agreed, but in this case, I do not need the license-plate type of detail.

 

[wittaj]

^Where did he say in his response license-plate type details? He said you will get top of heads and non-identify captures...and that is 100 % correct.

A 2.8mm wide angle camera IDENTIFY range is about 10-14 feet - you will lose all of that in the vertical direction.

The crap you see on Nextdoor is the type of stuff you get - you can tell the police what time something happened, but that is all...



If that is all you are looking for, then go with the Ring or some consumer grade camera.

 

[gawws]

Only consumer companies that sell in big box stores make those, think Ring, Nest, Reolink...

They will usually be 2.8mm or so wide angle overview cams and will be useless to IDENTIFY as the entire IDENTIFY distance is lost vertically.

Thanks for the response. I found a Dahua IPC-L26N 2MP but it's wifi only. This Foscom has a wired-Ethernet connection, but I would still like something a little bit nicer.

 

[wittaj]

Again, even that Dahua is only a 2.8mm, so all the IDENTIFY distance is lost in the vertical unless you mount it at 6 feet high.

But then the camera will blind when the lights come on and you miss any chance of a good capture.

All flood-light-camera combo systems will suffer from the same problem, so go with Ring to go with a Ring Doorbell or some other ecosystem.

 

[gawws]

^Where did he say in his response license-plate type details? He said you will get top of heads and non-identify captures...and that is 100 % correct.

A 2.8mm wide angle camera IDENTIFY range is about 10-14 feet - you will lose all of that in the vertical direction.

The crap you see on Nextdoor is the type of stuff you get - you can tell the police what time something happened, but that is all...

View attachment 115597

If that is all you are looking for, then go with the Ring or some consumer grade camera.

Thanks for the response. Yikes, yeah that's bad.

Right now I have a Wyze (version 2, even) that works fine with BI5 as a stop-gap, at least in real-time. But I have a wired-Ethernet connection nearby I want to use. This particular area is low-risk; I have "identify capture" cameras covering windows and doors.

 

[gawws]

Again, even that Dahua is only a 2.8mm, so all the IDENTIFY distance is lost in the vertical unless you mount it at 6 feet high.

But then the camera will blind when the lights come on and you miss any chance of a good capture.

All flood-light-camera combo systems will suffer from the same problem, so go with Ring to go with a Ring Doorbell or some other ecosystem.

Okay, so the light combo is the negating factor. Got it. Thanks.

 

[wittaj]

Yeah that is a much better height that we are used to people coming here wanting to do LOL.

I'd suggest since you are happy with the 5442, go with that and add a floodlight offset some distance.

As you are seeing, there just are not many options out there that are all-in-one that would play outside of ecosystems other than their proprietary brands.

Dahua and Hik do have a few cameras that have LED lights on them, but they are not crazy bright like a floodlight would be.

 

[gawws]

Yeah that is a much better height that we are used to people coming here wanting to do LOL.

I'd suggest since you are happy with the 5442, go with that and add a floodlight offset some distance.

As you are seeing, there just are not many options out there that are all-in-one that would play outside of ecosystems other than their proprietary brands.

Dahua and Hik do have a few cameras that have LED lights on them, but they are not crazy bright like a floodlight would be.

Good idea. Thanks.