Need a Recommendation for an outdoor cam application and motion capture/alarming

[bcavender]

I need a good resolution cam that fits these criteria ...

1. Exterior mount (under eave but will be a damp area),
2. with good daylight and low light performance
3. with no illumination ring (will use external illumination to keep bugs out of the pic)
4. has a fixed mount
5. small size (want to minimize their visibility to not draw attention of someone casing the joint)
6. POE power
7. has no mfgr requirement to be tied to their central servers to operate, meet warrantee requirements, etc.

and doesn't need an Masters IT Degree to setup.

I would like to be able to set trigger zones on each cam so that any intrusion would send an alert ... preferably both as a text and contact closure.

All comments and suggestions welcome and appreciated!

B

 

[wittaj]

Need more info:

How high is the eave?

Do you want DETECT, OBSERVE, RECOGNIZE or IDENTIFY quality?

How far away from the camera do you want the camera to Detect, Observe, Recognize, or Identify?

Is your illumination white light or an IR blaster?

Do you have an NVR or other VMS or do you want the camera to send out the alert?

Recognize that the cameras being seen can act as a deterrent to prevent someone from casing the joint.

Budget?

How many cams are you looking at? After about 2 or 3 you will want a VMS system as the apps are pathetic unless you go with consumer grade arlo or ring, which doesn't meet your objective of no outside servers.

Mobile companies are tightening spam algorithms and making it harder for these devices to send out text alerts - are you ok with another alternative?

 

[bcavender]

Need more info:

How high is the eave?

Do you want DETECT, OBSERVE, RECOGNIZE or IDENTIFY quality?

How far away from the camera do you want the camera to Detect, Observe, Recognize, or Identify?

Is your illumination white light or an IR blaster?

Do you have an NVR or other VMS or do you want the camera to send out the alert?

Recognize that the cameras being seen can act as a deterrent to prevent someone from casing the joint.

Budget?

How many cams are you looking at? After about 2 or 3 you will want a VMS system as the apps are pathetic unless you go with consumer grade arlo or ring, which doesn't meet your objective of no outside servers.

Mobile companies are tightening spam algorithms and making it harder for these devices to send out text alerts - are you ok with another alternative?

****
AJ,
Appreciate the top notch reply!

Eaves are appx 12 feet.
Detect and observe is sufficient.
100 feet out max would be sufficient.

Illumination: have not purchased yet. Good question: White light all night might be a good deterrent in itself. Four lights would stand out as a little unusual for the area and possibly stand out. OTOH, done sensibly maybe could look like it’s not a part of a detection system. IR would likely not be seen by typical low info thug. That would be good. A more sophisticated thug might have the chops to detect it … and that alone might dissuade them to a different location. Dunno, need more thought, guidance from the real world.

NVR/VMS: No purchase made yet. I would like most to get a C-contact out as the main annunciation if a zone is violated. Possibly a dedicated RF remote indicator would be useful. I can put in an air-gapped hardwire POE net for the cams. Don’t want wireless onboard the cams if possible .

Visible Cams: point taken and it makes sense. I’ve gone back and forth one this one a lot. I’m guessing big time about what threat I’ll have. It’s pretty likely a low determination thug might move on. Higher determination joker might just don hoodie/mask and I lose the chance to catch a face. I’m in a low crime, rural area with no problems in 10 yr and cops here seem to have a very professional peace officer MO. 600+ sq mi with 8 deputies per shift in the county … Sheriff auctions off ARs for charity . I’m pretty bland, no crime sheet ever, not wealthy … so it’s unlikely SWAT will bother with us. Not much to get. That said, my concern is I want to be on my feet when someone crosses into my zones, not wake with a gun to my face. With all the financial/geopolitical pots starting to boil over, I’m concerned that the likelihood could go exponential … especially with some kind of SHTF creating more desperate folks.

Budget: Going to invest what it takes to make it solid. We have a deer wander through and an occasional no-thug false positive would be fine as a system test.

Cams: 4-5 cams will be needed to cover so VMS it is.

Alert alternatives: No pbm. I realize there are always trade offs. I have a door & window alarm system with a central station service now, but we’ve retired and are home or have our son come over to house sit if we pack it out. The big concern now is exterior, perimeter alarming to allow a min time to wake, grab pants, shoes and select the optimum demotivation process.

Appreciate your help!!!
B

 

[bcavender]

Afterthought:

How do you grade the difference that adds the ability to Recognize and ID? Resolution, better imager chips? That might sure look way smarter as an investment if it would create just what a prosecutor needs for a conviction.

The IR Blasters look pretty reasonable. Have you used them?

Thanks again …
B

 

[Sammyf]

Check the cliff notes in the wiki (blue bar at top of the page), DORI principles are explained there pretty well.

Some main factors to consider:

• Understanding that it is pretty easy to have enough (not chasing megapixels) resolution, and even more importantly big enough sensor for the resolution to allow to run shutter at fast enough speeds (to avoid motion blur), and having cameras that allow you to adjust the settings precisely,
• optical zoom to get the proper resolution at the desired distance,
• mounting cameras low enough (so that caps or hoods don’t block the face),
• having more than one camera angles (at least in the key areas to be covered),
• not trying to achieve everything with one camera (mostly one camera can’t provide overview and identify efficiently),
• recording 24/7 so that you don’t completely miss something (relying on motion detection could sometimes miss an event), and
• putting in the effort to dial in the cameras for your fields of view.

As a whole it is much more than just choosing the cams that are technically suitable for the purpose. Also, it is good idea to look through the pictures & videos section of the forum to get some understanding and inspiration.

 

[bcavender]

Sammy,
Hey this is great. I missed this resource first time through.

Massive. This will take a few man-days to dig through a will def be a huge help.

I really appreciate you pointing this out!!!
Thanks!
B

 

[looney2ns]

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