New BI setup need Cam Suggestions

pland

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Hey all J from Pearland Texas! New user here, and glad to be aboard! I'm a member of other forums, and love the knowledge there is to be gained!
I've been reading through the wiki, and VPN primer, thanks to all who have donated their time!

I am running an I7-4700 dell optiplex, with 6 amcrest cameras that were recommended by a friend. 2 are 8mp bullets, placed in the front of the house, a turret over the rear entry, and 3 bullets around various spots around the perimeter of my home.

The cameras are ok, but on my older Toshiba TV that I am Currently displaying on they appear fairly granular when zoomed in and I can't even make out the license plate across the street.
Is this a monitor issue, or a camera issue?
Seems. More than a monitor issue since my phone is slightly better, but I still can't make up the plate across the street, which is less than 100 ft away if I had to guess.

I live in a nice subdivision with decent lighting in the front of the home...
I have seen all the recommendations of the dahua Starlight, and the video they take, and am wondering if I went the wrong direction with the amcrest.. I bought my. Current cams off of Amazon, so still have a return window.

What particular model is the best now a days? Is there a link to a particular recent thread I can check out?
Also my wife is very particular to the color black, and I also like the black cameras. Do the dahua come in black?

Thanks in advance!

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mat200

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What particular model is the best now a days? Is there a link to a particular recent thread I can check out?
Also my wife is very particular to the color black, and I also like the black cameras. Do the dahua come in black?

Thanks in advance!
..

Welcome @pland

The Amcrest 8Mp should be a very nice camera. The issue is that it is a very wide FOV - and thus challenging to catch more details beyond 20-25 feet as the pixel density decreases below 100 ppf. ( 100 ppf is the standard we like to use for facial ID purposes, 80 ppf for license plates ).

You will either need to change the lens out in those cameras or ( easier ) get a varifocal camera which allows you to customize the FOV / zoom.

Funny you ask about black Andy was just discussing that ( @EMPIRETECANDY ) in another thread. The issue is he needs to order a min quantity.

In terms of "Best" camera - that depends on how you want to evaluate it.

The IPC-HDW5231R-ZE is the best value for a low light varifocal camera in a turret form factor ( preferred by many here for good reasons )

Definitely worth picking up.
 

pland

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Thanks for the responses y'all, I am gonna swap all my amcrssts out for dahua 5231s!
I convinced the wife the cameras aren't about the color , but black would be amazing in the future @EMPIRETECANDY!

I have plenty of research to go, but am glad to be here, and feel I'm in good hands!

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mat200

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Thanks for the responses y'all, I am gonna swap all my amcrssts out for dahua 5231s!
I convinced the wife the cameras aren't about the color , but black would be amazing in the future @EMPIRETECANDY!

I have plenty of research to go, but am glad to be here, and feel I'm in good hands!

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Hi Pland

I would keep the 8MP bullets - those should be very good cameras from the specs I have seen.
 

pland

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Thanks for the response mat200, after further review and having my buddy who is more cam savvy, general consensus is to keep the two 8mp cams, I got them for 130 each so not a bad deal considering the specs...
I am gonna buy 2 starlight turrets varifocal to start off with and play with and see how much I like them over my current setup. I can already see places to add my 7th and 8th cam. Might need the 16 port switch after all... guess I have a new.obsession!
Hi Pland

I would keep the 8MP bullets - those should be very good cameras from the specs I have seen.
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mat200

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.. Might need the 16 port switch after all... guess I have a new.obsession!

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Welcome to the club pland! You'll have plenty of company here. ;-)
 

pland

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Welcome to the club pland! You'll have plenty of company here. ;-)
Figured so, now if I could just figure out how to setup a static IP using xfinity gateway I would be in business to have a reliable remote connection. I bought an Asus AC1900 Router, and Arris Surfboard to be coming soon, to replace my xfinity hardware, and hopefully give me some more functionality.

Right now I have my BI server PC port forwarded within my xfinity gateway settings, and I am looking into using dynamic dns, or the built in functionality of pseudo host naming within BI (which I have not figured out yet).
Once I accomplish that I should have a fairly reliable, and "secure" connection for now, until I get my ASUS running open VPN or the likes....

Does this sound correct, or am I missing something here?

I am still adjusting to my learning curve with home networking, and the likes. I appreciate everyone's time who puts the effort in this forum to help people get over their learning curves!

I know just having a strong presence here is like a full time job!

We appreciate all the IP Gurus!

So now just waiting on my 2 Dahua 5231's to come in so I can start replacing some of my current amcrests that are having low lighting issues!
 
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Once you get the ASUS router, I see you are already planning on switching out port forwarding to OpenVPN, very solid plan. I have only a 1.3MP Amcrest, and I read somewhere that it might be Dahua under-the-hood, but if it is is a really crummy one compared to all the ones I've bought from Andy.

You are in good company when it comes to discovering your new camera addiction, while @mat200 called it a CLUB I think it's more like a treatment center, the kind where you just learn how to be a better addict. Sage advice here would be not to chase megapixels, but if you already have nice 8MP cameras, I don't know why you wouldn't use them, maybe just pair them up with something with better night vision. Also getting too wide a field of view is a pretty common mistake when you are starting out, while you will have great overview of what's going on around your property, just don't expect to get good clean face shots of any scumbags that might prowl around at night, even in "nice subdivisions" ;)
 

pland

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Once you get the ASUS router, I see you are already planning on switching out port forwarding to OpenVPN, very solid plan. I have only a 1.3MP Amcrest, and I read somewhere that it might be Dahua under-the-hood, but if it is is a really crummy one compared to all the ones I've bought from Andy.

You are in good company when it comes to discovering your new camera addiction, while @mat200 called it a CLUB I think it's more like a treatment center, the kind where you just learn how to be a better addict. Sage advice here would be not to chase megapixels, but if you already have nice 8MP cameras, I don't know why you wouldn't use them, maybe just pair them up with something with better night vision. Also getting too wide a field of view is a pretty common mistake when you are starting out, while you will have great overview of what's going on around your property, just don't expect to get good clean face shots of any scumbags that might prowl around at night, even in "nice subdivisions" ;)
I agree, and will keep one of my 8mp and see how it works out for me, only problem is it's shooting 4k at 15 fps, and I have to switch it to a lower resolution ( to get a better frame rate (30 fps} , which is better for night vision, I suppose?

I will take the starlight vari focus and hold them up at my cam locations to see if I like them better than what I'm currently rocking, and see if I can utilize any fixed lense Star lights in areas I might get away with them, or the non audio version of the vari focal, still not sure what direction to go with that, since I saw that the vari focus starlights have better low light than the fixed lense star lights due to the different sensors...

For now my blue iris running amcrest system is performing rock solid, and has decent shots, but I definitely need the star light capabilities In a few spots that my amcrest aren't quite cutting it for me, and for less than 70 more per. Cam, it's an easy decision to go with the better performing dahua while I still can...

I too fell for the too wide of views, since I did not do enough research into what angle cams I would need and where in regards to my home layout and my camera needs, but thankfully A certain online retailer has a nice return policy... Hate to do that, but it is what it is, and I tried them out... That nice corner shot seeing all the way down to the end of the cul desac semi decently, with a short lens distance is pretty nice though, but probably pretty useless when it comes to things happening on my. Property hahaha!


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mat200

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I agree, and will keep one of my 8mp and see how it works out for me, only problem is it's shooting 4k at 15 fps, and I have to switch it to a lower resolution ( to get a better frame rate (30 fps} , which is better for night vision, I suppose?..
Hi pland,

Keep the 8MP, and any other decent cameras - 15 fps is plenty enough. Remember we're not too concerned about making movies but getting good image captures.

For night time, there are parameters you can tune for better performance.

Also augmenting your current setup with a few Dahua OEM starlights will help a lot.

Take some time to read the cliff notes - nothing wrong with having more cameras than you originally expected.

Trust me, thieves WILL turn away from cameras to hide their faces - so having 2 cameras covering critical spots increases your chances of a getting good ID images.

For example when I started I thought one camera works covering the garage - I am now a firm believer in 2 - one on each side of the garage door.
 

pland

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Hi pland,

Keep the 8MP, and any other decent cameras - 15 fps is plenty enough. Remember we're not too concerned about making movies but getting good image captures.

For night time, there are parameters you can tune for better performance.

Also augmenting your current setup with a few Dahua OEM starlights will help a lot.

Take some time to read the cliff notes - nothing wrong with having more cameras than you originally expected.

Trust me, thieves WILL turn away from cameras to hide their faces - so having 2 cameras covering critical spots increases your chances of a getting good ID images.

For example when I started I thought one camera works covering the garage - I am now a firm believer in 2 - one on each side of the garage door.
Ok, I was under the assumption it was better to have a higher frame rate, but I suppose not risk of compromising video quality.... Makes sense.

My HW for today is to read up on the cliff notes VPN primer, etc... again now that I have a somewhat better understanding and a system in place to help me see if I missed something, or if I need to change my. Mind about something now before it's too late...

Funny you mention the garage cams, I was thinking of moving the ip8m over to the center of my garage from the corner since it has such a wide camera angle at 112deg..

I will attach a shot from the BI android app with the camera setting at its default resolution since threads are more Fun with pics!


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mat200

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Funny you mention the garage cams, I was thinking of moving the ip8m over to the center of my garage from the corner since it has such a wide camera angle at 112deg..
..
Nice shot, I'd keep it there and add a 2MP OEM Dahua starlight camera to the other side of the garage.

Keep some light on the parked cars so you can keep the starlight in color mode at night.
 

pland

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Nice shot, I'd keep it there and add a 2MP OEM Dahua starlight camera to the other side of the garage.

Keep some light on the parked cars so you can keep the starlight in color mode at night.
Adding the Starlight, would you do a varifocal with audio?

Yes sir, more lighting is my next investment, actual motion detecting flood lights around each side of the house, eventually.
 

pland

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Taken via screen capture in BI on PC...
I need a better monitor!
And I thought owning a fishing boat, and fishing was an expensive investment/hobby !
 

looney2ns

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Actually, motion controlled flood lights can cause you to miss incidents. When the light kicks on or off, it takes a couple of seconds for the cam to adjust.
 

pland

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Actually, motion controlled flood lights can cause you to miss incidents. When the light kicks on or off, it takes a couple of seconds for the cam to adjust.
Well, that's good to know I appreciate it!
So it's either an always on or nothing kinda deal, huh?

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