Form factor advice

[zeno]

I am about to buy my first IP cam for outdoor surveillance of my patio.
After my research I'm set to buy a 2016 Dahua cam which seem to offer the best value and seemingly great quality.
Probably it's going to be one of the 2MP Starlight cams. I am confident that a vari-focal cam (for better adjustability) with a wide-angle lens will be appropriate.

But my question as a newbie is: is the form factor (bullet, dome, eyeball, mini-bullet, wedge dome) purely a question of aesthetics or are there certain pros and cons for each type I should be aware of?

Are cameras with a glass bulb (dome, wedge-dome, LXIR bullet) prone to be affected by dew?

Thanks!

 

[drew91101]

Search around the forum a bit and you will find plenty of explanations showing the different applications of each type more than aesthetics. Basically, dome cameras are nicer aesthetically but lack at night with the traditional IR as compared to a matrix IR that you would find in a turret [eyeball]. Bullets are mostly for outdoor but can be prone to spider webs in front of the lens and are an eye sore. I personally like the turrets but also have a dome, mini dome, and bullets in my house.

 

[fenderman]

Turrets are the best design...the lens and ir are separated...

 

[zeno]

Thank you very much!

 

[nayr]

Turrets or Bullets/Mini-Bullets are the best for outdoors; Turrets look better, Bullets have a smaller mounting footprint and external Audio/Alarm.

Anything with a dome over it is for indoor use mostly; put one outside and you'll hate it.

 

[zeno]

Turrets or Bullets/Mini-Bullets are the best for outdoors; Turrets look better, Bullets have a smaller mounting footprint and external Audio/Alarm.

Anything with a dome over it is for indoor use mostly; put one outside and you'll hate it.

More good hints, thank you.

What is the typical use for the Alarm in/out interface? Enable recording when external alarm is triggered, or rather start the alarm when the camera is triggered?
Without insight yet, I'd fear that triggering the alarm by camera would be prone to false alarms. Do you use the alarm interface?

 

[nayr]

yeah; you can hookup physical sensors such as outdoor motion detectors to trigger recordings.. or vice versa you can use video analytics to trigger an output for a strobe/siren or something similar.. I use the alarm IO to integrate with my automation and security systems.

While I much prefer the turrets looks I end up using bullets largely because of the external IO

 

[zeno]

I use the alarm IO to integrate with my automation and security systems.

What is the specific use case for you? I fail to imagine what I could use the IO for besides alarm.

This could be interesting: set a trigger zone very close to the windows/door to trigger flood lighting.
Would this be a problem for the starlight version: Have it monitoring the garden without additional lighting
and if tripwire activated, switch on flood light and keep recording the zone directly at the house?

 

[nayr]

alarm output; I have one line cross setup for midnight to 6am on the sidewalk infront of my house.. if anyone crosses the line durring that time it flips a strobe light on that gets the late night prowlers to look right up and into my camera.

alarm input; I have motion sensors and contact switches that not only trigger the cameras to record; it triggers my PTZ to look at various objects and my home automation system to respond accordingly.. here's a demo: