New 7 Cam Build Planning - Bounce some Thoughts/Feedback/Recommendations?

[Kn10]

Hey all,
Been reading and absorbing as much as I can in preparation for a home build. I think I am getting settled with what I want but would
love to put it out there for some thoughts/feedback/recommendations.

Settled on Dahua cameras, running Blue Iris on a business SFF clone system (a Dell/HP i5-6500, 8GB or similar)
Either use my managed Unifi switch or a second NIC on the machine to isolate the cams from the internet.

Added a graphic below. Edges of the image are fences except for the bottom which is a road with no fence. Green blob is a large bushy tree.
Middle left and right are unaccessible so not watched.

Going for cost effective. So pay for great cams where needed, and good cams elsewhere. I consider the threat to be mostly at night. Get
a ton of packages during the day though. So front door package watch during the day is important too.

For positions:

1. A Starlight camera to see as far as possible in the dark. This is ideally the driveway/street watcher. 2.8mm lens for 110 Degree FOV

2. This spot has a motion-activated light, so probably just a bog standard IR one. Maybe with a Mic. 6mm lens since its narrow. High MP
to identify faces as the motion light will give good lighting.

3. Not sure what I want for this one. Probably 6mm lens to watch front windows and people approaching up the path to the front door.

4. Normal IR, maybe 3.6mm.

5. Tossing up between normal IR or a starlight. Since it needs some distance, maybe a starlight is better? but 6mm lens anyway.

6. Same as 5, not sure IR or starlight to see further? 6mm lens.

7. Probably 2.8mm lens. No motion-lights so maybe a starlight.

Thoughts? Feedback? Recommendations?

 

[SouthernYankee]

welcome to the forum.

Looks like a good start.
Motion activated lights will some times blind cameras for a few seconds. The cameras will try switching from black&white to color.
It is recommended that the garage have two cameras, one on each side mounted no highter than the top of the door. The two cameras are not necessary if you never park in the driveway.

I have multiple cameras covering the front door, and the package drop area.
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My standard welcome to the forum message.

Please read the IP Cam Talk Cliff Notes and other items in the IP Cam Talk Wiki. (read on a real computer, not a phone). 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) If you do not have a wired monitored alarm system, get that first
2) Use Dahua starlight cameras or Hikvision darkfighter cameras if you need good low light cameras.
3) use a VPN to access home network (openVPN)
4) Do not use wifi cameras.
5) Do not use cloud storage
6) Do Not use uPNP, P2P, QR, do not open ports,
7) More megapixel is not necessarily better.
8) Avoid chinese hacked cameras (most ebay, amazon, aliexpress cameras(not all, but most))
9) Do not use reolink, ring, nest, Arlo cameras (they are junk), no cloud cameras
10) If possible use a turret camera , bullet collect spiders, dome collect dirt and reflect light (IR)
11) Use only solid copper, AWG 23 or 24 ethernet wire. , no CCA (Copper Clad Aluminum)
12) use a test mount to verify the camera mount location. My test rig: rev.2
13) (Looney2ns)If you want to be able to ID faces, don't mount cams higher than 7ft. You want to know who did it, not just what happened.
14) Use a router that has openVPN built in (Most ASUS, Some NetGear....)
15) camera placement use the calculator... IPVM Camera Calculator V3
16) POE list PoE Switch Suggestion List
17) Camera Sensor size, bigger is general better Sensor Size Chart


Cameras to look at
IPC-T5442TM-AS-LED . Review IPC-T5442TM-AS-LED (Full Color, Starlight+) - 4MP starlight
.................... Dahua IPC-T5442TM-AS-LED review
IPC-T5442TM-AS ..... Review-OEM 4mp AI Cam IPC-T5442TM-AS Starlight+ - 4MP starlight+
IPC-B5442E-ZE ...... Review - OEM IPC-B5442E-ZE 4MP AI Varifocal Bullet Camera With Starlight+
IPC-T2347G-LU ...... Review of the Hikvision OEM model IPC-T2347G-LU 'ColorVu' IP CCTV camera. (DS-2CD2347G1-LU)
IPC-HDW2231R-ZS .... Review-Dahua IPC-HDW2231RP-ZS Starlight Camera-Varifocal
IPC-HDW2231T-ZS-S2 . Review-OEM IPC-T2231T-ZS 2mp Varifocal Starlight Camera
IPC-HDW5231R-ZE .... Review-Dahua Starlight IPC-HDW5231R-ZE 800 meter capable ePOE
IPC-HFW4239T-ASE ... IPC-HFW4239T-ASE
IPCT-HDW5431RE-I ... Review - IP Cam Talk 4 MP IR Fixed Turret Network Camera
IPC-T5241H-AS-PV ... Review-OEM IPC-T5241H-AS-PV 2mp AI active deterrence cam
DS-2CD2325FWD-I
N22AL12 ............ New Dahua N22AL12 Budget Cam w/Starlight -- low cost entry

Other dahua 4MP starlight Dahua 4MP Starlight Lineup

My preferred indoor cameras
DS-2CD2442FWD-IW
IPC-K35A Review-Dahua IPC-K35A 3mp Cube Camera

If interested in Blue Iris and other setup items see the following post

Newbie Starter Guide to IP Cam System – VPN setup – Computer Hardware – Blue Iris – Dahua Cameras

This is an intermediate / newbie guide for people just starting out looking for a surveillance setup. I know this setup might not be for everyone and there are many options. You can find a lot of this information in the Wiki: IP Cam Talk Wiki | IP Cam Talk A great place to start in the Wiki...

ipcamtalk.com

Read,study,plan before spending money ..... plan plan plan
Test do not guess

 

[saltwater]

I'm currently going through a house build. My advice is to run as many cables as you can, ie. each corner at least two points, even in the garage two points, Multiple points at the front of the house. It doesn't mean you have to put cameras in every one of them but it surely makes it easier when you start tinkering with the system a year or two down the track.

At the end of the day, I know it always comes down to a budget, but if you have a good relationship with your builder you may be able to negotiate using your own data cabler (or yourself). Ethernet cable is cheap and it's not rocket science in laying the cables. I know here in Australia we have to be licenced to simply lay cables.