When I first started down the road you are on right now, I did not know anything about security cameras. I did not even know what I did not know. After spending quite a while on here, reading the
cliff notes, etc, I ended up buying one camera, a PC to run
Blue Iris (instead of an NVR), and a POE switch. I mounted that camera on a 2x4 as a test rig to see what coverage it gave me at different places. I finally realized that each place I wanted a view, the reason for the view could be different. Like my driveway. I now have three cameras covering it. Two placed low in a crisscross pattern that give excellent Face IDs, and one that gives an overview of the whole area. Each camera has a job to do and it is important to define that job and get the proper camera to fit the job. I have stayed with Dahua cameras purchased from
@EMPIRETECANDY, a member/vendor here. So I do not know about NVRs as I use Blue Iris, and I do not know anything much about other brands of cameras.
I currently have about 18 cams, some inside, some outside and two for LPR. I have 10 different models. Each model was chosen for the job.
This is why I asked you how involved do you want to be and what are you trying to accomplish.
Now, for your situation, I do not know what each of the eight position's job is, how high up it will be mounted, how far away from the AOI it will be, so it is difficult to say what cameras will cost. But a good Dahua camera will run you between $150 and $175 each. Depending on how they are mounted, a watertight box will run about $15. A decent POE switch about $50-$75. I do not know how much NVRs run. You will also need Ethernet cable and RJ45 plugs and some cable
tools, to do it right.
You could get a watertight box for the POE switch rather than finding an outdoor POE switch.
@bigredfish has used them and could point you in the right direction. He also uses an NVR so could advise you on that.
