Information and help

[Cabhair]

Hi everyone, I'm new here and new to forums so please excuse if I make mistakes.
I live in the west of Ireland.
I am looking for 2 cameras for security for my mother in law.
There is no wifi/ internet available and very poor data for a mobile phone.
She wants a camera looking directly from her front door to the roadway about 50 feet in a straight line.
Another camera to the left of the house so she can see cars, that drive in to her yard also about 50 feet in distance.
I have been reading about cameras here and in

The Importance of Focal Length over MP in camera selection.​

Ideally a system we could set up ourselves.
I have read about POE cameras.
It mentions a POE switch. It also mentions an NVR.
Do I need one or the other?
She wants to be able to playback recordings.
Also decent recording at night-time.
What are the best budget cameras for the above ?.
Happy new year.






I

 

[Revo2Maxx]

Why does this look like a copy and paste from another post I have seen just last month? OR have I seen the future at some point last month?

 

[Cabhair]

Hi, not a copy and paste , just looking for some help.

 

[Revo2Maxx]

So to be honest 4mp with a good sensor 1/1.8 and a good f/stop of about f/1.4 and better yet f/1.0 would be best.. Using a 3.6mm lens or for a little wider view a 2.8mm would be great..

About NVR or Switch.. For ease of use buying a NVR without POE will make it so you have to have a POE switch but give you easy access to the camera WebUI.. Down side to this is that it also has more devices on the local network so can be an issue for networks that don't have good switches or routers..

NVR for best and easy and only have 1 IP to worry about would be a POE NVR.. This would mean you don't need to buy a POE switch.. However the down side is that access to the cameras would have to be though a Virtual Host of the NVR or a pass around.. Virtual Host would be best just have to access NVRs WebUI and then click on the Access button on the camera I have one POE NVR that says access and all the others just have an e to say connect using IE yet today connects normally using Chrome.. But Prefer IE and or Edge in IE mode for access of NVR and Cameras for best results..

Installing cameras is easy Just make sure you buy real Cat cables not the JUNK CCA cable you will want to make sure to buy form good company that sales real Copper cables as CCA can and will destroy your cameras..

 

[Cabhair]

Thanks for your reply.
So I need a POE NVR.
How do I distinguish between real Cat cables and junk ones ?.
All of this is new to me so I don't understand some of the terms.
Can you recommend some brands of camera for the above situation?.

 

[Alaska Country]

One can use a POE NVR. That will supply POE power to the cameras and record video. Or use Blue Iris (a Window's software program) on a Window's computer. With BI a POE switch will be needed to power the cameras.

Many of the folks on this site, use Dahua POE cameras.

If the cable box lists CCA then do NOT buy. A copper coated aluminum wire is not desirable. CAT-5e has sufficient bandwidth for camera needs.

 

[Cabhair]

Thanks for that. Will have a look at Dahua POE cameras.

 

[bigredfish]

Based on the language of the OP request and use case, I would recommend simplicity and budget - a PoE NVR and two cameras to go with it

Suggest this

EmpireTech NV41AI-8P-4K 8 Channels Smart 1U 1HDD 8PoE Network Video Re

Multiple decoding formats | Access, storage or forwarding at 256 Mbps (180 Mbps when AI function enabled) | Max. decoding capability: 16 × 1080p@30 fps | Supports adaptive decoding | AI by NVR | AI by Camera | Connected to the third-party network cameras | Security baseline 2.3

empiretech01.com

You wont get facial recognition at 50ft but it will be a good overview camera. You'll easily be able to make out the cars and get good ID closer to the front door

EmpireTech IPC-T54IR-ZE-S3 1/1.8" CMOS 4MP IR Starlight 2.7mm–12mm Var

The EmpireTech IPC-T54IR-ZE-S3 offers advanced features such as a 4MP 1/1.8" CMOS image sensor, 40 m max. illumination distance with integrated IR LED, deep learning algorithms for face and object recognition, 512GB Micro SD card slot, built-in microphone, IP67 rating, and SMD 3.0 support.

empiretech01.com

These wall mount brackets help hide all the cables

EmpireTech PFB203W Wall Mount Bracket

Aesthetic design | Wall mount bracket | Material: aluminum & SECC

empiretech01.com

 

[Cabhair]

That's great, So the above POE NVR and 2 of those cameras and I'm good to go ?.

 

[bigredfish]

Well its a great starter kit yes.

The thing to remember is that almost all new to cameras want one camera to do everything. See far, see near, see colors, ID faces, license plates etc...

Reality says you need multiple cameras to do those things.

The camera I suggest is the go-to variable focus camera currently, good at night in Infrared (IR) but unless there is a LOT of light outside, you wont get color at night. They allow you to zoom to a degree when you install it to get the best field of view for your needs. Its for general Overview but can also serve well at the front door for ID

This is the view you'll get. This is only zoomed about 2/3 of the way middle of street is 45ft




There are other cameras that zoom further, but you can see you lose that wide view - so a trade off.




Eventually, most of us end up with a mixture of both types. Best to start with your stated needs

 

[Cabhair]

The visuals are great. It's a big help as I know very little. Thanks everyone for your help.