I/O ports and lens size q's

[Jim W]

Hi
I notice there are some I/O ports on the 2432 camera has anyone used these for anything ? I was hoping to wire an output to a buzzer in the house or maybe to an alarm system and maybe install another remote PIR so it starts recording before target gets in view
also
Not sure what the pros/cons of lens sizes are apart from the smaller lens have wider angle
Thanks

 

[fenderman]

With a wider lens the megapixels get distributed over a larger images so there is some quality loss. I have the 2.8mm and its great.. I prefer the wide view.

 

[icerabbit]

Smaller lens = wider view, less concentrated detail
Longer lens = narrower view, more concentrated detail

Depending on location and purpose of the camera, one either wants just an overview to see what is up, or one wants to maximize the amount of details of a subject, person, vehicle, ... It is easy to think just go all wide with all cameras, but at a slight distance away, you can't get enough resolution of a person's face for a positive ID, or enough pixels to make out what the tag reads on a vehicle.

That's why for instance front door cameras can be a bit wide, as the subject typically comes to the front door; and driveway cameras often have more tele, as to capture as much detail about vehicles and subjects as possible. There are of course exceptions and situational variations.

To try get the best of both worlds, one can measure / plot their property, then determine the ideal camera locations, determine the minimum/maximum/ideal field of view; and match that with a specific camera and lens size be it 2.8 4 6 8 or 12mm. Or one can use a varifocal lens that gives the ability (during installation) to dial in the field of view between wide and tele; and set the focus point (closer, farther)

 

[Jim W]

I'm at the planning stage at the moment and I'll probably purchase cams with different lens's to try them, not sure the cheaper cams have varifocal on them
Thanks

 

[icerabbit]

Planning and preparing is good. I did that as well for a while, though at some point it probably turned into procrastination

Unless it says varifocal in the specs with something like 2.8 - 12mm, then it is fixed focus, available in a certain lens size and the focus is fixed at the factory.

I ended up sketching out our property and garden. Printing the specs of some cams I was most interested in. Then cut out some paper wedges, tried those out on the plan and on top the ladder where I was going to hang the camera. Initially my focus was on wide coverage, but I could see that going too wide doesn't always give the identification details one needs. I did end up getting several varifocal ds-2cd2732 domes, as my spouse preferred domes and it allows for more finetuning. Though they come with the hassle of a bit more difficult install and a fair bit of up down the ladder to check on zoom and focus. And, unlike the fixed focus cameras, you don't get that infinite focus, where things are sharp from a certain point outward. So it is good to some homework and not jump in two feet forward.

There's a few members who have used the ports to hook up sensors and/or to tie into other stuff, but I haven't done so personally.

When it comes to buzzing though, there are a substantial number of false positive motion alerts that happen in the camera, due to rain, snow, wind moving plants/shrubs/branches, sun and clouds causing shadows to move on the driveway. So, you may not like a motion detected buzzer unless it is tied to a passive infrared sensor; which are a lot better at detecting warm blooded live motion.

 

[Jim W]

Further into the planning stages I remembered about a lighting controller I have in my house that was fitted by the previous owner in 1989. I had to dismantle the unit to find out who made it and it lead me to this

Link here

These are high quality PIR's and this unit seems to be ideal for triggering the cameras maybe an electronics expert could cast more light on the subject
I'm also looking into using a house burglar alarm as a source of audio alerts via PIR's

 

[nayr]

I wired up a PIR Motion Sensor and a Contact Switch up to my PTZ Camera, there really simple devices.. you give them power and they act as a basic switch, depending on type or configuration it open or close a circuit when it it is triggered... typically normally closed circuit that goes open when triggered so if someone cuts the sensor off it will trigger the alarm.

see my thread: http://www.ipcamtalk.com/showthread.php?790-Outdoor-Motion-Sensor

 

[icerabbit]

Cool unit!

And thanks for linking your other thread, nayr.

I think I must have been on the road when that was posted, as I missed it. And, it certainly has been something I want to explore further. I want to do PIR outside on one or two cameras to weed out false positives from video motion, so that I can actually get maybe a handful of useful alerts per day instead of the potential 60/hour when it rains, is windy with the sun out, etc. and also have a primary feed to review. Anyhow, long winter ahead, hopefully with some low voltage tinkering.

 

[Vin Tekiel]

I love those PIR, to bad I couldn't find a reseller for the us

http://www.gjd.co.uk/products/wired-detectors/elite/

 

[Jim W]

I'm considering one of their new lighting controllers so I can light up a whole remote area manually or automatically and trigger the cameras -maybe add a speaker system that plays dogs barking and shotguns being loaded and cocked !