IP Camera System

grendel54

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What is the best IP Camera system you would recommend?

or is there another option?

If you were to put up a security systems around a house using 8 cameras, what system would you recommend?
 

mat200

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What is the best IP Camera system you would recommend?

or is there another option?

If you were to put up a security systems around a house using 8 cameras, what system would you recommend?
Welcome @grendel54

Dahua OEM 2MP starlight models + PC w/Blue Iris + PoE switch = most recommended option by ipcamtalk members. ( preferred vendor = Andy )

All of this btw is covered in the cliff notes and various forum threads.
 

SouthernYankee

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:welcome:
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!) 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)

Read,study,plan before spending money ..... plan plan plan


I would go with 2MP starlight Dahua cameras and a dedicated pc running BI.
 

grendel54

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Thank you for all the information.

I looked into the 2MP cameras. They seem rather pricey. I can understand why. It looks like I will be going with an 8 camera system and looking for an NVR rather than running Blue Iris at this point. Can anyone recommend a package that is POE with similar type of cameras? Is Lorex a good option, as I see they are owned by Dahua. Costco seems to have a selection of Lorex cameras but I noticed they are all 4k.
Thoughts?
 

fenderman

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Thank you for all the information.

I looked into the 2MP cameras. They seem rather pricey. I can understand why. It looks like I will be going with an 8 camera system and looking for an NVR rather than running Blue Iris at this point. Can anyone recommend a package that is POE with similar type of cameras? Is Lorex a good option, as I see they are owned by Dahua. Costco seems to have a selection of Lorex cameras but I noticed they are all 4k.
Thoughts?
100 is pricey for a camera?
 

grendel54

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Maybe I am looking in the wrong place. I only see one 2MP camera in the ipcamtalk website and it is a turret for $135. I then looked on Amazon and all Dahua 2MP cameras are from 150-2000.

So I am replacing an old Swann HD-SDI system. I will run POE and want a 8 camera system with a DVR/NVR.
 

SouthernYankee

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A starlight or dark fighter 2mp quality camera for good night viewing will cost 120-150. You asked for a recommendation, you got it for a quality camera. Please go buy some crap.
 

fenderman

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Maybe I am looking in the wrong place. I only see one 2MP camera in the ipcamtalk website and it is a turret for $135. I then looked on Amazon and all Dahua 2MP cameras are from 150-2000.

So I am replacing an old Swann HD-SDI system. I will run POE and want a 8 camera system with a DVR/NVR.
A starlight turret is 100 bucks with slow shipping. I highly recommend starting with an NVR then when you're ready to throw it against the wall upgrade to a blue iris PC... You'll appreciate it more this way.
 

awsum140

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In the "cool" world a bunch of cheap 1/3" sensor cameras is the "bomb". That's the problem it is a bomb, especially when you get to 4MP or higher. Stick to 2MP and be realistic about pricing. The cheap stuff on Flea Bay and Amazon is exactly that, cheap stuff. Read the Wiki and especially the Cliff Notes in there like SouthernYankee mentioned. It'll save you money in the end. Buy cheap and buy twice which equates to spending more and wasting money, period, end of story. How do I know that for sure? Been there, done that.
 

mat200

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Thank you for all the information.

I looked into the 2MP cameras. They seem rather pricey. I can understand why. It looks like I will be going with an 8 camera system and looking for an NVR rather than running Blue Iris at this point. Can anyone recommend a package that is POE with similar type of cameras? Is Lorex a good option, as I see they are owned by Dahua. Costco seems to have a selection of Lorex cameras but I noticed they are all 4k.
Thoughts?
Hi @grendel54

Costco imho is a good place to shop due to their good return policies.

However, they only carry a limited selection for security camera systems - and as most packaged systems they have limits.

We've covered Lorex systems in numerous threads here, and how they differ. ( summary - Dahua now owns Lorex - but removes the "advanced features" they call IVS. Not all Lorex branded kits are Dahua OEM )

I recommend taking some time and looking at the various threads here on Lorex.

Also "4K" should not be your target. ( note, "4K" is often used but in the security camera space, they do not mean "4K" as you see on TVs ( 4K UHD ) as often they only can handle 15 fps at "4K" ( which is fine for security cameras ), and certainly not 4K as they mean in cinema )
Your target / goal should be determined by doing a risk assessment and determining what you need to counter.
Some of this as well as ideas on placement options for cameras are in the cliff notes.

Also ask yourself if low light capability is important, or if you can skip that and just focus on day time ( where "4K" is better )

Do read the cliff notes and review the threads.
 
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aristobrat

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@grendel54, if price is the biggest sticking point, I think in the long run you'd be a lot happier if you designed your own system using professional-grade low-light cameras, even if that means starting with fewer cameras and then adding more cameras later as time and budget allows.

So many people wind up on this forum looking to replace their entire store-bought system after they have an incident at night and their consumer-grade cameras turned out not to be so great. It's easy for just about any camera to take good pictures at night... when nothing is moving. Once something starts moving at night (i.e. a person walking through your driveway jiggling your car doors), the motion part of the image usually blurs. Even with the 2MP low-light Dahua Starlights/Hikvision Dark Fighters, trying to get motion totally blur free sometimes can be a challenge, but these cameras are almost always so much better in low-light that it's amazing.

You're kinda in a tough spot. I'm guessing that any current Costco Lorex kit will be an upgrade compared to your existing Swann system. But unless you have really great lighting outside of your house that's always on at night, they're almost guaranteed to be a struggle at night to get motion without a bunch of blur. On the plus side, Costco has a great return policy, so if you wanted to play around with it and see, there shouldn't be much risk. And FWIW, adding night lights that come on when something moves isn't usually helpful.. it usually blinds the cameras for a few seconds, and by the time the cameras adjust to the extra light, the person has either left (or is on their way out), which makes get a face shot harder.

If you don't need sound, I'd recommend you get one or two these to start with:
Review-Dahua IPC-HDW2231RP-ZS Starlight Camera-Varifocal

If you need sound, then this:
Review-Dahua Starlight IPC-HDW5231R-ZE 800 meter capable ePOE

I'm not sure what the best Dahua NVR is at the moment (I really love Blue Iris), but I'm sure you could poke around the Dahua forum here and find some views to go off of.
 

grendel54

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A starlight turret is 100 bucks with slow shipping. I highly recommend starting with an NVR then when you're ready to throw it against the wall upgrade to a blue iris PC... You'll appreciate it more this way.
I’m sorry I cannot see it can someone post a link to the 2Mp starlight turret camera that everyone is talking about.
 

aristobrat

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Check out the two links to review threads I left towards the end of the post above the part one.
 

TL1096r

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@grendel54 take it from me I did go down cheap route. They are helping and you are lucky you are doing your research before buying some amazon special.
 

TL1096r

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thank you for the help
Go with:
https://store.ipcamtalk.com/

They have full support of the forum and no waiting for overseas customer service. And there is a lot of good info to get it setup on your phone without having China looking and logging your feed. It is what you want to do. You are really not spending much more than you would on the bundle kits.
 
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