Front Door Camera

[Git]

I am very pleased with the Hikvision 2032 bullet camera's that were recommended from this forum so I thought I would add a camera on the other side of our house by the front door

Not sure on which camera and the placement

I would like to stay with Hikvision so I am looking at the DS-2CD2732F-IS outdoor dome which has the 2.8 to 12mm varifocal lens and 3 axis dome. ( I considered the smaller mini dome, but I don't really see a reason to use it unless I am overlooking something)

Not sure on how high to mount it. Here is a pic of our front door. (it is more on the side of the house and entry is into a round 'turret')

My initial thought is to mount it is high up as possible on the flat surface above our intercom (red square in the first pic). It would be approx 8 1/2" above the ground and should be out of normal arms reach. Is there any advantage of mounting it lower?

 

[nayr]

why isint the mini dome appropriate? You realize if you use that zoom at all, anyone standing at your door will be out of frame.. the only way your getting your front approach and someone waiting for you to answer is a wide-angle.

the higher you mount it the less of the face you see, ideally you put it around head-level so people walking up to your door get a straight on face shot, under any hats, etc.. the dome its self should help protect the camera.. I have my frontdoor cam ~7ft up and I wouldn't put it any higher.

 

[fenderman]

The mini dome 2532 is available with a built in mic (if you get the "s") version...Hikvision states that the SW version with wifi actually has a speaker too but i have not seen this confirmed...it is in the spec sheet though....the standard S versions ive seen have a built in mic but you need add a powered speaker...
the ir ion the 2532 is much weaker than the 2732....

 

[Git]

Thanks for the quick replies

I am a little limited in where I can mount the camera. If i mount it around the 8.5' level, I "think" the access will be a lot easier coming down inside the wall from the second floor. If I mount it lower than that, I will definitely have to cut the wall open in that area - not a big deal, but a concern. We really would't use the camera to see who is at the door. In our area we live on a small dead end street and there is hardly any foot traffic. It would be more to check up on deliveries, etc. I thought about mounting it lower for the reasons you posted and that is why I decided to ask for other opinions - thx

I also looked at the mini-dome but in some areas it appears to be lacking in other areas it has features that I do not need - the mic and audio for example. The house has an intercom system and it is very easy to activate the front door speaker in each room. (the mic goes live when WE push the button, not them) Also the regular dome with the varifocal lens gives me more options on the view