Ideal camera for a small choke point

[GaretJax]

Hello all,

I am new to this game and doing my best to catch up quickly. I am using a Blue Iris setup and playing around with a Dahua IPC-HDW5231R-Z that I got from Andy a week or so ago.

My front door has a natural choke point that is 15 feet long and 5 or so feet wide. I have had some difficulty framing the camera so it fits just right, but I figure I will get it soon enough.

It seems to me that the IPC-HDW5231R-Z is over kill for this area because of its limited size. Is there a cheaper Dahua camera that for this limited size will perform as well?

Thanks.

 

[GaretJax]

What I am finding is that when the camera is mounted as high as possible (about 10 feet off the ground), then I am having issues getting the picture framed to capture the person approaching the door. Either I can get him far away or I can get him close to the door, but not both. The further away he is, the harder it is to recognize the face. In addition the more severe the angle (to capture him closer to the door), the less I am likely to capture their face since I am getting the top of their head.

The lower I mount the camera, the better it is for capturing their face and their entire approach, but the camera is more obvious and more easily damaged or obstructed.

I am sure these issues are not new for you guys, but they are for me. Any thoughts or previous threads I can peruse? Thanks.

 

[bug99]

pictures help a lot in proper recommendations. It sounds like you have a corridor at your entry. You have discovered some of the trade offs. I might go with the IPC-HDW5231R-Z zoomed all the way in (max zoom) and place it in corridor (vertical) orientation to catch the entrance for ID. If you want to go lower cost, you could try the 2.4mm version of the IPC-HDBW4231F-AS, but you will still struggle at a distance under 4 ft, with a narrow usage range of around 4 ft to 10 ft.

 

[GaretJax]

Here is an example of the area with me holding the camera at roughly the location and angle where it will be installed. I obviously need to cut back the tree on the right side. This is the camera at default settings with the image rotated 270 degrees (this keeps the IR emitters furthest from any possible light source). It captures the welcome mat in front of the door and the elbow of the walkway (about 15 feet away) without capturing much wasted space (walls, ceilings or roof overhangs).

PS - I uploaded a file during the day time with roughly the same view.

 

[GaretJax]

I zoomed in a little in hopes of getting a little more details from the framing.

 

[tangent]

What's your mounting height? Post a picture of the camera's installation location.

 

[GaretJax]

What's your mounting height? Post a picture of the camera's installation location.

These are pictures from the elbow facing the house. I wanted to put the camera right over the door, but it will not look very good so I have agreed to hang it from the ceiling right above the door. It is 9.5 - 10 feet off the ground

 

[looney2ns]

Any higher than 8ft, and your chances of ID diminish greatly. You will get lots of good views of tops of heads

Who care's if it's obvious, mount it at the top of the door, pant it to match the stone if you wish. By the time someone mess's with it, you'll already have a good face shot of him.

 

[Fastb]

Or mount to the right of the door, where the door trim meets in a corner. That position may be more discreet than centerd above the door. And it will get a good shot when people round the corner and head to the door.

Looney2ns makes an excellent point. I lowered some of my cams because a) wasn't consistently getting the "money shot" of a face (instead of a ball cap) and 2) the perspective is a little unnatural.

Someone who mounted the cam high later added a little sign next to their door that said "Don't Look Up". Human nature what it is, everyone looked up. Great "Money Shot". Works well for their first visit, not so much later...

Fastb