HDW4431C-A : Doorway Camera?

Do you mean the DS-2CD4526FWD ? A camera that costs over $500? And it's a PZT, which is wasted on that location.

Yes I do. They're an excellent camera, particularly for the $300 plus shipping I paid for mine. Feel free to pay more if you'd like. It's a motorized varifocal, not "PZT". Quality is never wasted, particularly when a budget wasn't mentioned. Everybody doesn't think that $80 is a lot to spend on a camera.
 
entrry_zpsjkqz3bzr.jpg

2.8mm installed. I am not sure a 4m would do what I want. I want to see the walk, too. The 2.8 allows that. Things are so near, the PPF are nearly 200!
 
And hopefully the walls in view won't mess up the night shot with infrared reflection. Have you tested at night yet?
 
The 3.6 I have is a 4421 bullet. I can plug it in and should give a decent idea. Should happen tonight....
 
And hopefully the walls in view won't mess up the night shot with infrared reflection. Have you tested at night yet?

Literally just plugged it in. I'll try later tonight, take a screen shot, see if settings need adjusted. It is well lit.
 
@Del Boy, @Kawboy12R

2.8 seems only a bit wide.. I guess I would just have to see about going up a bit with lens to see if it provides any better coverage. I am waiting to hear back from the eBay seller if he has them in stock. I learned on AliExpress that sometimes things are not in stock despite the listing saying so.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I did say 2.8mm would be too wide. If the FOV is greater than 90 degrees and you put in a corner then you will end up videoing walls.

You could rotate the camera 90 degrees.
 
I'm not sure how to take your post.

The corner is 90*. If the FOV offered by the camera is >90*, it will be too wide no matter how the camera is oriented.

The best approach, short of a custom lens which only captures the scene without the walls, is to put the main focus of the camera on the area to be watched and its periphery on areas of less interest. I believe that was accomplished here.

Recording the wall seems to be a problem most concerning at night with IR glare interrupting the image. It seems the camera benefits from the landscape lighting in place and that issue does not affect me here.

So, would a 3.6mm be better? I only have a 3.6mm bullet ATM. When I get the time, I will do a comparison. I'd do a spec comparison but I think others could agree, the provided specs may not always be accurate. It would come down to a real world test.

With that, I am pleased with the image provided. I'll need to see about video. The high PPF would allow for definitive recognition.
 
I'm not sure how to take your post.

The corner is 90*. If the FOV offered by the camera is >90*, it will be too wide no matter how the camera is oriented.

Vertical FoV is not 90 degrees. If you rotate the camera 90 degrees you might get a better picture or what you are trying to record.
 
Ah ha, I see. I did tinker and it really then becomes an issue of too much of another wall, the ceiling.

The orientation it is in best suits my needs as I see them now. I want to catch folks as they even approach. I get them once they step foot on the walkpath to the front door. Other cameras will have them prior to...
 
It's not just PPF that changes with wider lenses, it's the difficulty in getting a properly lit target because the lighting can vary so much over a large and complicated scene. There's nothing inherently wrong with a 2.8mm lens but a wide lens can make some parts of the camera's job harder (provide worse image quality/balance/PPF and motion detection specificity) while seeming to make things easier (fit everything into one FOV). Occasionally the tradeoffs do come out in favour of the wider FOV and fewer cameras approach though. Just take snapshots of moving faces in different places and lighting and ask yourself if someone who didn't know the person could positively identify them with just the picture and no context. That's the gold standard. It's a lot different than if the cops actually caught a car prowler snooping a few doors down the same night and you give them your footage and the jerk is still wearing the same clothes.
 
Again, for this install, this works well. The PPF is very good, very high. 200PPF'ish. The lighting from landscaping is awesome IMHO and can always be tweaked. There is also a wall mounted lamp to the right that is turned off in the picture.
 
Awesome. Right tool for the right job if you're happy after judging the results.
 
It is right for this certainly. Until something newer, cooler comes along.

Even the boss is "happy" with the install and results.

Now a PC to run BI to get all these cameras to work and on the record.
 
Literally just plugged it in. I'll try later tonight, take a screen shot, see if settings need adjusted. It is well lit.

Looks good with the landscape light. Have you tested if you can actually ID a face, with and without the landscape light? Up close in the patio, i think the 2.8 should still do the trick.