Front door location advice

[shill123]

Looking to start out small and build as I go.
First location I want to cover is the front door, then move to the other parts of the house. The issue with the front door is the layout of the entry. I
have an 8 foot door and very tall entryway that is entered by a narrow walk between two walls (6ft wide by 9 ft long) as shown in the picture. Door faces south area behind the stone arches is 4 1/2 foot deep.
Due to wiring issues, I would like to keep everything on the left hand side if possible so that I could do it myself.
Thoughts are to have one camera in location A shooting down the walk and another in location B (behind the brick outcropping) to monitor toward the front door for packages and such. Maybe get them coming and going.
Eventually, I will consider placing a camera in location C to view the driveway which is to the left.
These are construction pics, so what you do not see is a coach light installed (the box is there on the left) and a hanging light that sits about even with the window above the door. These are left on during the night.
I like the idea of the Hikvision turret domes because of the separate EXIR, but wish they had the in camera memory card (eventually will move to either PC or NAS storage).

Any advice on locations and or camera models? Looking to use Hikvision cameras.

 

[fenderman]

Welcome to the forum..because of the tight area you can easily use the 2532-IS mini dome...with sd card slot...it has weaker IR but there the tight space will bounce enough ir back so it will be fine there. What is the purpose of the camera? Do you want to see who is at the door in real time, or just monitor packages and coming and going...of you want to observe someone at the door in real time consider mounting the camera insider the vestibule to the right or left of the door..having 2 or 3 cameras in that area is overkill

 

[bp2008]

I agree the 2532 is a great choice given the SD card requirement and relatively short ranges. It also has a microphone, though be sure to check the laws in your state before you have them record audio.

If I were you I would put one cam in position B, probably a 4mm lens or even a 6mm, rotated to a portrait view for extra vertical field of view. The primary functions of this camera would be to see packages and see faces leaving.

But I don't think I would also use position A. A camera there would not see anyone waiting just outside the door. Instead, I would put the second cam further in, just to the side of the door on the left side and facing outward. Definitely a wide angle lens here (e.g. 2.8mm).

One thing you should also plan for is other strong light sources that may be in the field of view of any of your cameras. A strong light source can cause a halo as seen in this pic below from one of my cams:



This was what happened when I had one cam facing toward another, about 20 feet apart with the infrared on. There is a sizeable halo in addition to a bit of lens reflection near the opposite corner. The other cam was better off, as I had it pointing low enough to not see the IR light source just above its field of view.



You might get a similar effect if you were to mount cameras in positions A and B and use the infrared on one or both. However given your other lights there is a good chance you would not use IR on either of them, thereby preventing it from becoming an issue.

 

[DaveP]

If your skills or the skill of your builder / carpenter / joiner are up to the task... then a DS-2CD6412FWD-10 or -20 fitted into the door would be cool

 

[shill123]

What is the purpose of the camera? Do you want to see who is at the door in real time, or just monitor packages and coming and going...

Primarily to monitor for packages and coming and going. I doubt we use it for real time monitoring.
I've considered the vestibule location, but if I installed, it would need to be installed on the left side brick wall for ease of wiring myself (garage is behind wall).
If I place the mini dome on that wall in the far corner, will that provide adequate vision? I assume approx. install height would be around 5-6 ft or so?

I appreciate the advice.

 

[bp2008]

If I place the mini dome on that wall in the far corner, will that provide adequate vision? I assume approx. install height would be around 5-6 ft or so?

That should provide more than adequate vision. That close, you definitely want the widest lens (2.8mm). Remember the best face captures will come from a camera that is at or below head level. That way, when someone is wearing a large hat and/or looking down you can see the face better. And positioned like that, everyone who walks up to your door is likely to see the camera and look directly at it for a second or two. Probably will make folks uncomfortable; take from that what you will.

Maybe you would prefer one of the covert cameras mounted inside the wall or door as DaveP suggested. Though those will not provide as wide of a view, and likely not as clear either.

 

[LittleBrother]

I think it will drive you nuts not being able to see the actual front door. It's unfortunate the shape of what you have here, but if you're unwilling to lead a discreet wire along the wall to place a camera directly above the door my vote is that you have two cams:

1) At location B with a 90' field of view so that it points out at a 45 degree view away from the front door
2) At location B, but on the other side of that brick jut out (closer to B than A, but under the same eave section as A) and also pointing away from the wall at 45 degrees. In this manner you'll cover the entire walk way without dead spots or overlapping cameras. You'll only be able to see people's backs at the door, obviously, but you'll have their face from the first cam as they approach the door.

But again, a discreet small camera right above the door is ideal IMO.

Eventually a camera at location C so that it's back to back with the one at B. The benefit of the second camera just next to the B one but past that point of brick is that the camera can be discreet and not look as attention grabbing.