The three basic rules of video surveillance cameras-
Rule #1 - Cameras multiply like rabbits.
Rule #2 - Cameras are more addictive than drugs.
Rule #3 - You never have enough cameras.
You need to read the material in the
Wiki, in the blue bar at the top of the page on a real computer, not a smartphone or tablet. I though two cameras would work for me when I started about four years ago. Look at my sig line for a current listing. There is a choosing hardware guide along with hardware recommendations for cameras and network gear. The cameras mentioned are a generation to two generations old at this point but the principals still apply. Pay close attention to the securing your network section as well. Cameras, no matter who makes them, are notorious for security holes and exploits.
Use only solid copper, not CCA (copper clad aluminum) cable. Use 568B wiring code for their termination. Get an inexpensive tester to at least verify continuity of the conductors and a better one, if you have the spare money, that can follow pairs and determine length along with other neat little features. The general recommendation is that if you think you want one camera at a location pull a spare. Always pull a spare because it's almost inevitable that you'll end up adding cameras.
An NVR has limitations that BI does not. With an NVR to get the most out of the system you need to buy cameras made by the same manufacturer. An NVR is nothing more than a dumbed down computer with limited capacity. They have limited bandwidth capacity which limits how many cameras at every resolution. An eight port NVR will only support eight cameras, period, end of story, no matter what the bandwidth capability it may have. With BI you can use just about any manufacturer's cameras as long as they are ONVIF compliant or have an open RTSP stream. BI is limited to 64 cameras but has no bandwidth limitations other than the limitation of the network it is attached to. BI has come a long, long, way over the last two years. It now includes AI, DeepStack, integration and can utilize sub streams. Utilizing sub streams makes it possible to use older hardware since the CPU is no longer burdened with analyzing full resolution to detect motion.
Quick guide -
The smaller the lux number the better the low light performance. 0.002 is better than 0.02
The smaller the "F" of the lens the better the low light performance. F1.4 is better than F1.8
The larger the sensor the better the low light performance. 1/1.8" is better (bigger) than 1/2.7"
The higher the megapixels for the same size sensor the worse the low light performance. A 4MP camera with a 1/1.8" sensor will perform better than a 8MP camera with that same 1/1.8" sensor.
720P - 1/3" = .333"
2MP - 1/2.8" = .357" (think a .38 caliber bullet)
4MP - 1/1.8" = .555" (bigger than a .50 caliber bullet or ball)
8MP - 1/1.2" = .833" (bigger than a 20mm chain gun round)
Here are a couple of the most popular and well performing 2MP cameras to have a look at. These are both varifocal which eliminates the guesswork of choosing a fixed lens focal length. You also need to determine if you just want to see what happened or if you want to be able to identify who did what. Broad, sweeping views look good but are useless when it comes to being able to identify who did something.
2231 Review
Review-OEM IPC-T2231RP-ZS 2mp Varifocal Turret Starlight Camera
Again courtesy of @EMPIRETECANDY EmpireTech Andy we have a new cam to look over. Its a new model in Dahua's new Lite H265 Series of cam's. Available for purchase here: Aliexpress.com - Online Shopping for Electronics, Fashion, Home & Garden, Toys & Sports, Automobiles and more Price is approx...
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3241T-ZAS Review
IPC-T3241-ZAS from EMPIRETECANDY 2MP WDR Turret Varifocal AI Network Camera Review unit courtesy of Andy (@EMPIRETECANDY) in exchange for a fair and honest review. Purchase in the
IPCT Store Andy's ipcamtalk vendor forum: link Andy's AliExpress store: link Andy's Amazon store: link Price...
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