My DIY Alternative to Reolink's 180 Degree Camera

Pete6

Pete6

Getting the hang of it
Nov 4, 2022
55
65
USA
After the debacle of the Reolink Duo 2 camera not working on my Amcrest NVR I removed it and, started thinking. Here's the result of that think...

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I know that there are parallax errors here and I know that I need two NVR channels. This is just a first try at making this work. I have ordered a piece of aluminum bar stock 3" x 12" x 1/8" for the final mounting.
This is cheaper than the Reolink camera since I bought two Amcrest IP5M-B1186EW-28MM cameras for $49.99 each on Amazon. Yes, I give up all audio and the floodlights and the siren, none of which I need for my installation.
Installation will be simple since I just screw the aluminum base plate to the wall and run the two ethernet cables back to my switch. This is a cheap and inelegant DIY hack. Nothing more. I will post more pictures once I have it mounted.
 
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Consider spreading them apart a bit more, then aiming them so they look across each other.

Ideally a slight overlap in their view as seen on the screen... no more parallax error
 
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I'm curious.....
How would they ultimately be mounted?
With the cam's mounting flange on something that it secured to the vertical wall, similar to the shot of your 2 feet with the table being the wall or ????
 
@fenderman, The bar just seemed to help getting the axes aligned. The idea was to not have to mess with lots of alignment up a ladder at gutter level. No reason to use it if you don't feel it is necessary

@TonyR, My plan is to fix the back plate directly to the wall. So the piece of plywood (which will be aluminum plate) has holes in it and it is just screwed into the siding wall leaving the two cameras pointing downwards. Here is the aluminum bar stock I bought 1/8" X 3" ALUMINUM 6061 FLAT BAR 12" long T6511 New Mill Stock .125"x 3 | eBay
 
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@groceryboyjr, My plan is to use these two cameras, each on their own ethernet cable connected to a PoE switch mounted in the attic and then to my Amcrest NV4116E-A2 NVR. I cannot say if the device you show will or will not work. Sorry. I only ever say if I know something will work if I have actually tried it myself. I think that what you showed should/might/could work and I see why you would want one since it means you do not need to pull another cable but, I ain't certain.

However I am awaiting this later today. I will report back to say if this does, in fact work with the Amcrest.
 
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In all likelihood the switch will need to be connected to the WAN/LAN port and not the POE port of the NVR. Further you cannot exceed the number of channels (cameras) the NVR is rated for.
 
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@wittaj, Agree with both and that is exactly how I have done it. Here's a pic of the current (well nearly) camera network topology. This install covers two houses.
Capture.PNG
 
Pete6 said:
After the debacle of the Reolink Duo 2 camera not working on my Amcrest NVR I removed it and, started thinking. Here's the result of that think...

View attachment 146413View attachment 146414

I know that there are parallax errors here and I know that I need two NVR channels. This is just a first try at making this work. I have ordered a piece of aluminum bar stock 3" x 12" x 1/8" for the final mounting.
This is cheaper than the Reolink camera since I bought two Amcrest IP5M-B1186EW-28MM cameras for $49.99 each on Amazon. Yes, I give up all audio and the floodlights and the siren, none of which I need for my installation.
Installation will be simple since I just screw the aluminum base plate to the wall and run the two ethernet cables back to my switch. This is a cheap and inelegant DIY hack. Nothing more. I will post more pictures once I have it mounted.
Click to expand...

I like DIY projects, but for what you are investing in a pair of Amcrest, what about installing the Annke FCD600 for just $129? It was mentioned on a previous post, but will like to know how it performs
 
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eggsan said:
I like DIY projects, but for what you are investing in a pair of Amcrest, what about installing the Annke FCD600 for just $129? It was mentioned on a previous post, but will like to know how it performs
Click to expand...
I already had the two Amcrest cameras and I have an Amcrest NVR so I used what I had to make it work. I was not aware of the Annke FCD600 and it looks like a really nice camera. It is a little more expensive on Amazon but, if I can verify that it will work with my NVR then I'll probably buy one. Thank you.
 
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There is also the Annke NCD800 which is $220 at the moment on Newegg, or the new Dahua/EmpireTech dual lens camera that should be available next month for roughly $250, but both of those are more expensive obviously. They are both also full color night vision with warm LED light compensation.
 
All good cameras and I thank you for sharing your knowledge of them with me. I have been out of the hunt for cameras for some years as I am just completing an upgrade from some venerable baseband (coax) equipment at my house. I am certainly interested in these new cameras.

I followed up on @eggsan's post and asked the seller a question on Amazon. Here is their reply. It is more of the same. They want to lock me in to Annke gear. My guess is that the Annke camera will probably work with my existing Amcrest NVR but the seller says it is not supported. Not working and not supported are two different thing. I can live without the built in floodlights as all I want is a 180 degree camera.

I would prefer a proper product but I do not seem to be able to find one that is Amcrest compatible. If anyone has experience of a sub $200 180 degree camera actually working on an Amcrest NVR then I would very much like to hear from them.

Thanks
Pete
 
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You can quit wasting your time talking to support of any of these vendors LOL - EVERY SINGLE ONE will tell you that it is best to match brand of NVR with brand of camera and that they will not support a camera from a different brand. Now as you pointed out, supported and not working are two different things.

They do not want to field calls of someone with their brand of NVR and another brand camera.

The best chance is obviously an Amcrest camera, followed by cameras made by Dahua (who makes Amcrest) - Lorex, EmpireTech Andy, or any of these LOL. But keep in mind that this type of camera is so unique/new that it could still have trouble if the NVR is too old and doesn't know what to do with the longer image.

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@wittaj, Your thinking is exactly mine. It is obvious that a company telling me that yes, this camera works with my NVR and then I come back to them complaining that, for example, the floodlight function does not work. I could then say that they lied when they said, "it worked." I get that. It is equally obvious that any company wishes to sell a homogenous system.

I wish to have a cheap 180 degree camera on the front of my house. Regrettably Amcrest currently do not sell one. This is why I built my cheapo two camera solution. Having tried to solve a relatively simple problem like mine in the market place, I am just going to proceed with what I built and I can trust and maintain.

I'll post a couple of pics once I have it properly built. It may not get mounted until after Christmas as I am 77 years old and I do not like climbing ladders up to gutter level any more. I may be crazy but I ain't stupid.
 
Someone mentioned earlier the boobie cam, which kinda does what you created in a lot smaller footprint. I have several of them. It doesn't stitch the two views together, but you can line them up pretty decent and make them side-by-side on the display.

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