Oohitztommy
n3wb
what’s a reliable nvr system that sells as a kit with cameras. I prefer a kit with really good Poe cameras. I plan on using a nvr system for now until I can transition to a BI set up.
Good reliable brand
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aristobrat
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Bad analogy time:
You know how if you're in the mood for some really good Mexican food, you don't go to Taco Bell?
If you want really good PoE cameras, you don't buy a kit...
IMO, the best PoE cameras for most folks are the professional-grade (Dahua/Hikvision) low-light models (Starlight/DarkFighter). Professional-grade stuff isn't usually sold in kits. Sometimes you will see professional grade models (like Dahua) being resold in kits under a different brand, but I haven't seen this with the low-light Starlight models, and often when this happens some of the pro features have been removed from the camera/NVR (like the advanced motion detection features that IMO are really important for being able to reduce false alerts). Being able to get a camera with the right lens for where it's going to be installed at your house is important, IMO. Kits usually don't give you any choice in that matter.
Kits are usually sold as "one-size-fits-all", usually with cameras that all have the same lens size (i.e. 2.8mm). What's great about 2.8mm lens is that it gives you a nice wide view .. i.e. you can cover your entire front yard with one camera. What's not great about 2.8mm lens is that someone has to be closer to the camera (compared to cameras with 3.6mm or 6mm lens) before you can ID them. So for areas where you don't need a nice wide view (like your driveway, front porch, misc side doors, fence gate, etc) a camera with a 2.8mm lens can be a disadvantage.... a camera with a 3.6mm or 6mm lens may give you an image with a much better chance of being able to ID someone in it.
If you want to start with a kit, check out what Coscto sells (esp the Lorex ones). Search for the model number here, there have been a lot of threads about Costco kits. What's nice about Costco is that they have a great return policy, so should get two or three months down the road and feel up for building yourself a custom system (which truly is easy using the knowledge and vendors available to you on this forum), you can return the kit and not be out much.
Oohitztommy
n3wb
thanks for your kind reply. you have given me a lot of insight about different lens situations.
Like aristobrat said, if you want to ID a person, the right lens for the job is very important. So is placement of the camera. Wide angle views are nice and all as they show us a lot of real estate in a single view so you can see what is happening (or what had happened), but they rarely give a good shot of a face for ID. Those are the kind of cameras you will find in kits. If you are not worried about IDing a perp, then that could work for you.
Case in point: I have a wide view camera mounted quite high over my garage/driveway. It gives a good view of the jeep in the driveway, the lawn on the east side and the lawn and street on the west side of the driveway. But it is way too far to ID a face unless they are on a ladder cleaning my gutters. I am on a corner lot and have another wide view camera pointed east that captures my lawn and the intersection to the east. Now I also have two other cameras pointed at my driveway from a much lower point on the house. They are mounted to the left and right of my garage door and pointed in a cross pattern. They are varifocal cameras which allow you to set the field of view and focus on a specific spot. This allows for a much better chance of recording a face that is good enough for an ID.
So a while ago one Sunday morning I was checking last night's alert videos and what do I find? A door checker at my Jeep in the driveway at 3:50am. It was locked so he went away. But he and an accomplice had hit a few vehicles in the neighborhood that night. So after checking all of the other cameras I was able to see where they came from, what they took from my neighbor's yard across the street (a bike from the back yard), where they went after that, and best of all, a clear look at each one's clothes in color and a face shot of the guy at my jeep that the police used to ID the guy. Cop says "Oh yeah, I know him".
But the ID was not made on the wide view camera. It was made on one of the low mounted varifocal cameras. He faced one of the cameras good enough to ID him. But the other camera capture was not a the right angle to get a good ID. Some folks might think having two cameras covering the same space (three if you count the high wide view camera) is overkill and a waste. But since you never know what the situation will be, having two crossing cameras worked out for me here.
I also have a few cameras at my front door. The ones I chose have the option to use either a 2.8, 3.6, or a 6mm lens. I used one of the varifocal cameras temporarily to see what fixed lens option was best for those front door cameras.
So, if you really are serious about setting up the right IP camera system, you need to decide what it is you are trying to accomplish, where you want coverage, and what is the best solution for each view. It is highly unlikely that you will find a kit that has cameras that you will be happy with in all views. Many of us have set up our cameras over time, in phases. Research what specific cameras can do, decide what views are important to you and what camera would be the best in that view. Buy one or two and experiment with temporary placement, like mount it on a 2x4 and put it in a bucket holding it up with gravel (a favorite way for some folks). See the coverage at day and at night. Then build as you go.
As I am retired I have approached this as a hobby. I am still adding and changing out cameras. My thinking has evolved over time and exposure to this forum. IPCAM Talk has been a great resource for me. Read the Cliff Notes and camera reviews here. Read the post showing what others have done. I have gotten ideas from those posts about things I never had thought of.
Case in point: I have a wide view camera mounted quite high over my garage/driveway. It gives a good view of the jeep in the driveway, the lawn on the east side and the lawn and street on the west side of the driveway. But it is way too far to ID a face unless they are on a ladder cleaning my gutters. I am on a corner lot and have another wide view camera pointed east that captures my lawn and the intersection to the east. Now I also have two other cameras pointed at my driveway from a much lower point on the house. They are mounted to the left and right of my garage door and pointed in a cross pattern. They are varifocal cameras which allow you to set the field of view and focus on a specific spot. This allows for a much better chance of recording a face that is good enough for an ID.
So a while ago one Sunday morning I was checking last night's alert videos and what do I find? A door checker at my Jeep in the driveway at 3:50am. It was locked so he went away. But he and an accomplice had hit a few vehicles in the neighborhood that night. So after checking all of the other cameras I was able to see where they came from, what they took from my neighbor's yard across the street (a bike from the back yard), where they went after that, and best of all, a clear look at each one's clothes in color and a face shot of the guy at my jeep that the police used to ID the guy. Cop says "Oh yeah, I know him".
But the ID was not made on the wide view camera. It was made on one of the low mounted varifocal cameras. He faced one of the cameras good enough to ID him. But the other camera capture was not a the right angle to get a good ID. Some folks might think having two cameras covering the same space (three if you count the high wide view camera) is overkill and a waste. But since you never know what the situation will be, having two crossing cameras worked out for me here.
I also have a few cameras at my front door. The ones I chose have the option to use either a 2.8, 3.6, or a 6mm lens. I used one of the varifocal cameras temporarily to see what fixed lens option was best for those front door cameras.
So, if you really are serious about setting up the right IP camera system, you need to decide what it is you are trying to accomplish, where you want coverage, and what is the best solution for each view. It is highly unlikely that you will find a kit that has cameras that you will be happy with in all views. Many of us have set up our cameras over time, in phases. Research what specific cameras can do, decide what views are important to you and what camera would be the best in that view. Buy one or two and experiment with temporary placement, like mount it on a 2x4 and put it in a bucket holding it up with gravel (a favorite way for some folks). See the coverage at day and at night. Then build as you go.
As I am retired I have approached this as a hobby. I am still adding and changing out cameras. My thinking has evolved over time and exposure to this forum. IPCAM Talk has been a great resource for me. Read the Cliff Notes and camera reviews here. Read the post showing what others have done. I have gotten ideas from those posts about things I never had thought of.