Have been reading for a while now

[ryanof]

New guy here looking for a cam system and after reading the wiki and many many posts I decided on the Dahua OEM NVR5216-16P-4KS2 or latest version (thanks mat200), poe switch (not sure which one), two Dahua Starlight cameras with Varifocal and audio, four Dahua Starlight with Varifocal no audio, 3 Dahua Starlight no Varifocal for indoor use, and Cat 6 reel of solid copper cable from Monoprice.

I live in a two flat and will be placing the cameras under the roof eves (15ft up). Cables will be run through the attic and walls. I do have a couple questions.

First: Is the connection from the POE switch to the NVR made by a single cat 6 cable?

Second: Are there any POE pencil cameras that I can mount inside a door frame looking up (some people like to hide their faces by wearing a cap and holding their heads down)?

I am going to give Andy from EMPIRETECANDY a shout to get some prices and get a suggestion on the indoor cameras.

Thank you to all who help us newbies make sense of all this.
The wiki is very helpful.
Ryan

 

[looney2ns]

Welcome, you're off to a good start.
if you are concerned with making facial ID's, then 15ft is too high. Anything above 8ft makes it difficult to impossible.
You want to know who did it, not just what happened.

Yes, from POE to Nvr is one cable.

If you want a low mounted cam, just stick with the Starlights, and put it in a planter or birdhouse to hide it.

Check out the full lineup of choice's here: http://www.dahuasecurity.com/ choose international site.

 

[ryanof]

Welcome, you're off to a good start.
if you are concerned with making facial ID's, then 15ft is too high. Anything above 8ft makes it difficult to impossible.
You want to know who did it, not just what happened.

Yes, from POE to Nvr is one cable.

If you want a low mounted cam, just stick with the Starlights, and put it in a planter or birdhouse to hide it.

Check out the full lineup of choice's here: http://www.dahuasecurity.com/ choose international site.

Thanks looney2ns.
Do you suggest using mounts for each camera or can I just connect directly to the wall?
Ryan

 

[GCoco]

Since the ethernet cable is being run inside the wall you can just screw the camera directly to the wall.

 

[mat200]

Welcome Ryan

Try to bring the cameras down lower.. I know it will be extra work, but if you want results and a chance to ID anyone you will need to bring those lower than the expected 15ft high.

I personally really like the junction boxes and wall mounts - definitely worth considering.

I looked at a number of hidden cameras - and there are some nicer ones - however the price was significantly more and the quality of image less than the Dahua OEM 2MP starlight mini-dome wedge one I picked up which I used for the front door.

Also do take a look at the 2 lens version of the 2MP starlight which Looney2ns has reviewed. I now think that is a great option for a front door if you can not pull multiple wires as you can have one lens pointing to the package drop area and one straight at those coming to the door. ( I like my camera at face level! )

 

[ryanof]

Welcome Ryan

Try to bring the cameras down lower.. I know it will be extra work, but if you want results and a chance to ID anyone you will need to bring those lower than the expected 15ft high.

I personally really like the junction boxes and wall mounts - definitely worth considering.

I looked at a number of hidden cameras - and there are some nicer ones - however the price was significantly more and the quality of image less than the Dahua OEM 2MP starlight mini-dome wedge one I picked up which I used for the front door.

Also do take a look at the 2 lens version of the 2MP starlight which Looney2ns has reviewed. I now think that is a great option for a front door if you can not pull multiple wires as you can have one lens pointing to the package drop area and one straight at those coming to the door. ( I like my camera at face level! )

Hello Mr mat200.
I live in the not so great city of Chicago an the north side. There were two shooting in front of my house in the last year and a half. Rahm Dumb Dumb Rahm loves to raise taxes every year but can not do anything about the trash. He always blames the GUNS. It is not the trash who are potential voters. Mr mat200 if I place any camera at eye level I will get footage of another lowlife in the process of stealing it.

I tried to find the mini-dome wedge on Google but could not do so. Can you please send me a model number.
The 2 lens version is interesting. I wonder what it costs.

Also thanks to GCoco for your reply. I will have to see what the mounts will cost to make a decision.

 

[aristobrat]

I'm not sure if you want to get crafty, but here's the mini-wedge mounted low, peeking out of a bird house.
#26

Here's someone who mounted it low but painted it so it blends in a bit more.
#10

Here's a link to the review of the 2-camera version of the mini-dome:
Review-Dahua IPC-HDBW4231F-E2-M Dual Starlight Cam

 

[mat200]

Hello Mr mat200.
I live in the not so great city of Chicago an the north side. There were two shooting in front of my house in the last year and a half. Rahm Dumb Dumb Rahm loves to raise taxes every year but can not do anything about the trash. He always blames the GUNS. It is not the trash who are potential voters. Mr mat200 if I place any camera at eye level I will get footage of another lowlife in the process of stealing it.

I tried to find the mini-dome wedge on Google but could not do so. Can you please send me a model number.
The 2 lens version is interesting. I wonder what it costs.
..

Hi Ryanof,

I understand, delinquents / gang members brought me here also.

Sorry to hear about the reasons why you're compelled to join us.

I want to help others who find themselves in the same predicament that I found myself in.

Your best approach imho is to MAXIMIZE the chances of getting good ID images of any delinquency.

For that to happen, you will have to either spend a lot more money on cameras which have longer ranges ( aka "zoom" ) and get images of delinquents further away from your property to get a good angle on a facial image OR place cameras low enough to get a good angle on suspects closer to the camera.

Due to this reason, and because it is more expensive to get enough pixels on target at longer ranges ( you need a camera which has a tighter FOV / stronger lens aka "zoom" ) - the general rule is mount your cameras ( more "affordable cameras" * ) no higher than 8 feet high.

Yes - that does put your cameras into a position of possible vandalism.

Think about your cameras like police.

THEY HAVE to do patrols - foot and car - and engage with the community leaders to be effective in policing. Yes - this does put them at risk, but just watching CCTV circuits and flying around in a helicopter will not result in effective policing.

Same with your cameras - they will have to be exposed to vandalism to be effective.

So then the question you need to solve - is HOW to reduce potential vandalism.

IMHO:
1) Quality cameras with strong metal case bodies.
2) 3" deck or other strong screws securing cameras into framing / studs of the building - or other strong anchoring method.
3) Alarms.
4) Multiple cameras watching over each critical asset - so that none can sneak up on a camera and damage / attempt to steal it without being caught.


Dahua OEM 2MP starlight mini-dome wedge - I don't have the full model number memorized...first part would be IPC-HDBW42xx

You can look at Andy's store for that model - or just search here on this site.

( * - more affordable is relative, in this case I am referring to cameras which either are fixed lens or varifocal to 2-3x )

 

[ryanof]

Hi Ryanof,

I understand, delinquents / gang members brought me here also.

Sorry to hear about the reasons why you're compelled to join us.

I want to help others who find themselves in the same predicament that I found myself in.

Your best approach imho is to MAXIMIZE the chances of getting good ID images of any delinquency.

For that to happen, you will have to either spend a lot more money on cameras which have longer ranges ( aka "zoom" ) and get images of delinquents further away from your property to get a good angle on a facial image.

Due to this reason, and because it is more expensive to get enough pixels on target at longer ranges ( you need a camera which has a tighter FOV / stronger lens aka "zoom" ) - the general rule is mount your cameras ( more "affordable cameras" * ) no higher than 8 feet high.

Yes - that does put your cameras into a position of possible vandalism.

Think about your cameras like police.

THEY HAVE to do patrols - foot and car - and engage with the community leaders to be effective in policing. Yes - this does put them at risk, but just watching CCTV circuits and flying around in a helicopter will not result in effective policing.

Same with your cameras - they will have to be exposed to vandalism to be effective.

So then the question you need to solve - is HOW to reduce potential vandalism.

IMHO:
1) Quality cameras with strong metal case bodies.
2) 3" deck or other strong screws securing cameras into framing / studs of the building - or other strong anchoring method.
3) Alarms.
4) Multiple cameras watching over each critical asset - so that none can sneak up on a camera and damage / attempt to steal it without being caught.


Dahua OEM 2MP starlight mini-dome wedge - I don't have the full model number memorized...first part would be IPC-HDBW42xx

You can look at Andy's store for that model - or just search here on this site.

( * - more affordable is relative, in this case I am referring to cameras which either are fixed lens or varifocal to 2-3x )

Thanks Mr mat200.
I found the wedge camera on the wiki.
I will take your advice and mount them lower.
It will be more work but I can't afford the pricey ones.
I believe they are water resistant so they should last.

 

[ryanof]

I'm not sure if you want to get crafty, but here's the mini-wedge mounted low, peeking out of a bird house.
#26

Here's someone who mounted it low but painted it so it blends in a bit more.
#10

Here's a link to the review of the 2-camera version of the mini-dome:
Review-Dahua IPC-HDBW4231F-E2-M Dual Starlight Cam

Thanks for the ideas Mr arisobrat.
I like the birdhouse a lot.

 

[looney2ns]

Thanks looney2ns.
Do you suggest using mounts for each camera or can I just connect directly to the wall?
Ryan

You can screw directly to the wall, but you will have to drill 3/4" hole to get the connections back into the wall, then properly weather proof it all.
If you use a mount, then you only need a 3/8" hole to run the cabe.

Security wise, it would give a bad guy less leverage if the cam was mounted directly to the wall. With good 3" screws, into a wall stud. The goal is, that if someone does steal a camera, you have them configured in such a way that you would get a good id picture of the perp in the act.

If mounted out in the open, the turret style cam would survive an attack better than a min-wedge.

If you have not yet, be sure to study the Cliff Notes in the wiki at the top of the page.