Help with a new complete system, Newbiw here

[firefly556]

I did read the cliff notes main reason I am posting great info but I need this asap. Here is brief over view of the situation. I live in a rural area and we have a 58 yr old pervert/ peeping tom/thief, serious issue. I am tired of spending most nights keeping a eye out/patrolling around the house for this creep.

I have toyed with a camera system for some time so now it is time to put one in. My needs most likely are a lot different then most on here. I am more in need of a surveillance style system. I dont need a hugh HDD for recording if it just gives me three days etc... That would be plenty the house is never left unattended. I need to keep this as simple as possible my parents/family stay with me and they need to work it when I am gone which is quit a lot. It would be nice to access the cameras when Im away.

The area I need to cover

360 on the house single story ranch style maybe 20ft out.

Front of house to the road is 130ft need IR coverage to at least make out someone moving around on road.

sides of the house is open fields with fences about 100 ft out on each side. No need to reach the fence maybe 20 to 30 ft on each side of house, again with more detail on night surveillance.

The rear is a doozie distance to furthermost barn 425ft need at least the front side with some night capability just need to make out movement. I also have three other buildings that need coverage that are around 125 to 150ft ft from the main house. On all out structures all the entry points face the house no doors or windows on sides/ rear. There is also a security light(big ones street style) on 2 of the structures over the entry points. I can run lines no problem and mount on poles if needed. Dont need 360 on any of these just the front entry points. basically from the rear of the house straight back 425 to 450 ft maybe 100ft wide area.

I was looking at the amcrest system 4k with 6 cams and NVR $750 amazon. I was thinking of doing a 7 and 8th camera. with one of those being a PTZ for the roof of the house So i could cover a 360 area or focus on a specific point. Really have no need for audio either. But now I think 10 cameras and I guess a 16 ch nvr would be better choice. Cameras style? I know a couple will probably have to have long runs.

I assumed the 4k cams would be the best. Glad i didnt order before finding this forum. Id like to stick with a easy unit and a cheaper unit. I dont really want to sock thousands in this. It is easier to replace cheap stuff as it dies then repair expensive stuff usually. I worked overseas a lot and we have major issues with camera systems all the time. the sand box does a number on our systems. One of the main reasons, I havent did this yet is because of all the issues we have at work with these things. ANd our stuff is like six figure$$$$ systems IR/thermal they stay tore up more then they work.


ANy help/recommendations would be great.I am researching regardless great info here. I need this quick so I guess, I will be stuck with package deals.

 

[SouthernYankee]

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Please plan ready study before spending money.

If you need perimeter home cameras for the night 4K cameras are not very good unless you have a lot of light. I recommend dahua starlight or Hikvision dark fighter. Most are 2 MP some are 4 MP.

Please look at the video and reviews of the cameras. This forum has amazing members that are extremely experienced.

please look at the camera placement software. IPVM Camera Calculator V3


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My standard welcome to the forum message.

Please read the cliff notes and other items in the wiki. The wiki is in the blue bar at the top of the page.

Read How to Secure Your Network (Don't Get Hacked!) | IP Cam Talk in the wiki also.

Quick start
1) Use Dahua starlight cameras or Hikvision darkfighter cameras or ICPT Night eye cameras (https://store.ipcamtalk.com/) if you need good low light cameras.
2) use a VPN to access home network (openVPN)
3) Do not use wifi cameras.
4) Do not use cloud storage
5) Do Not use uPNP, P2P, QR, do not open ports,
6) More megapixel is not necessarily better.
7) Avoid chinese hacked cameras (most ebay, amazon, aliexpress cameras(not all, but most))
8) Do not use reolink, ring, nest cameras (they are junk)
9) If possible use a turret camera , bullet collect spiders, dome collect dirt and reflect light (IR)
10) Use only solid copper, AWG 23 or 24 ethernet wire. , no CCA (Copper Clad Aluminum)
11) use a test mount to verify the camera mount location. My test rig: rev.2
12) (Looney2ns)If you want to be able to ID faces, don't mount cams higher than 8ft. You want to know who did it, not just what happened.
13) Use a router that has openVPN built in (Most ASUS, Some NetGear....)
14) camera placement use the calculator... IPVM Camera Calculator V3

Cameras to look at
IPC-HDW2231R-ZS Review-Dahua IPC-HDW2231RP-ZS Starlight Camera-Varifocal
IPC-HDW5231-ZE Review-Dahua Starlight IPC-HDW5231R-ZE 800 meter capable ePOE
IPC-HFW4239T-ASE IPC-HFW4239T-ASE
IPC-T5442TM-AS Review IPC-T5442TM-AS-LED (Full Color, Starlight+)
IPCT-HDW5431RE-I Review - IP Cam Talk 4 MP IR Fixed Turret Network Camera
DS-2CD2325FWD-I

My preferred indoor cameras
DS-2CD2442FWD-IW
IPC-K35A https://ipcamtalk.com/threads/review-dahua-ipc-k35a-3mp-cube-camera.37581/#post-373517


Read,study,plan before spending money ..... plan plan plan
Test do not guess

 

[pinko]

Hi and welcome to the forums.
Southern Yankee has given you some great advice!

If you need perimeter home cameras for the night 4K cameras are not very good unless you have a lot of light. I recommend dahua starlight or Hikvision dark fighter. Most are 2 MP some are 4 MP.

please look at the camera placement software. IPVM Camera Calculator V3

If you could post a google map overview of your property, that might help with camera suggestions and placement.

 

[aristobrat]

For the perimeter of your house (and 20ft out), I'd think a Dahua 2MP Starlight model is probably your best bet. This zone is the area where you are going to want to 'ID' someone and IMO these cameras are some of the best when it comes to capturing motion with the least amount of blur in low-light conditions. They're not magic, though... if you have some really dark areas at night, even with these cameras you may get some motion blur, but it should be less blur than just about any other model (especially a model from a consumer-grade company like Amcrest, etc).

Using @SouthernYankee's list of cameras above, the 2231/5231 are the most popular models. They're Starlight and they have varifocal lens which makes them pretty versatile cameras. For most, the biggest difference between the the 2231/5231 is that the 2231 doesn't have a microphone and is about $50 cheaper.

Another Starlight model that get used around the perimeter of houses is this, which has two cameras in it (that work off of just one cable):
Review-Dahua IPC-HDBW4231F-E2-M Dual Starlight Cam

That's not a varifocal model, so you're going to get a lot more than 20' of the yard in the shot. With the varifocal models (2231/5231), you can zoom the lens in which will decrease the viewing angle (and decrease how much yard you get in the shot).

For the overview cameras where you're just trying to sense motion in the yard (over longer distances), check out the 8MP 1831 models. They are NOT Starlight models (so they won't do quite as well in low light) but for having more megapixels (which will help you with the distances you're working with for the yard etc) the bigger image sensor in these models is about as close to Starlight as there is right now.

For model styles, turrets and bullets are greatly preferred over domes. Domes outside can have more issues with IR reflecting back into the camera and distorting the image and spiders seem to like the way the IR is setup (in a ring around the lens) vs. other turrets/bullets.

 

[firefly556]

Thanks for the help. I am struggling with this trying to get this in before I get called back to work hoping I have at least 3 weeks left.. I think this by far is the most complicated project I have ever undertook. I have put in a few small 4 to 6 camera systems before but they were all plug and play plus there where around a dozen guys there helping. I dont think any of us really knew what we were doing but we got them running usually. BUt just from this forum I am like WOW at all the Options, potential problems etc... Info overload.

 

[mat200]

...
ANy help/recommendations would be great.I am researching regardless great info here. I need this quick so I guess, I will be stuck with package deals.

Welcome @firefly556

From what you've described I do not think any packaged kit that is considered "affordable" will meet your requirements that you've alluded to in your write up.

Definitely check out the ipvm calculator that SouthernYankee mentions.

Also check out the DORI info in the cliff notes - and note that Dahua's DORI range table imho is too generous. ( we often like to use 100 ppf for calculating ID range, which is a higher density of pixels compared to what Dahua uses - thus the Dahua DORI ranges are longer than what we like to use. )

 

[ThomasPI]

Thanks for the help. I am struggling with this trying to get this in before I get called back to work hoping I have at least 3 weeks left.. I think this by far is the most complicated project I have ever undertook. I have put in a few small 4 to 6 camera systems before but they were all plug and play plus there where around a dozen guys there helping. I dont think any of us really knew what we were doing but we got them running usually. BUt just from this forum I am like WOW at all the Options, potential problems etc... Info overload.

Don’t rush into this trust me, there’s a hell of a lot to learn. There’s no plug & play solution. Read the Wiki and Cliffnotes, you’ll save time and money and get the results you seek and get a great education in the process.

 

[firefly556]

Oh I am finding this out big time, Sir!!!!!