New Member Here - Please read.

[Chnsx7]

Hello All,

What let me to ipcamtalk is that I just became a victim of having stolen property at my residence.

I have been lurking around the forums and found a good amount of information.

At this time I'm looking for a decent system, and have been having my eye on Dahua products.

However the issue is, there is a complexity to this and there are so many different types of cameras. I've been reading this so far:

IP Cam Talk Cliff Notes

Information in this section was contributed by [URL='https://ipcamtalk.com/members/mat200.29441/'][COLOR=#0000b3]@matt200[/COLOR][/URL] and [URL='https://ipcamtalk.com/members/giomania.36271/'][COLOR=#0000b3]@giomania [/COLOR][/URL] [/LIST] Any dedicated manufacturer NVR should match...

ipcamtalk.com

I was highly considering the Lorex system that Costco sells, but the reviews have been telling me that the night vision is not as good as Dahua.

Thank you all for your time

 

[ARAMP1]

What are your goals/needs and how much money do you want to spend?

I started out with a Costco Lorex system, but after a year upgraded to Blue Iris and never looked back.

 

[sebastiantombs]

There is no one, single, camera or system that will work best for anyone. Unfortunately, it takes a little time and experimentation to determine what will work best for each camera in any given installation. If I were you, I'd start with a Dahua B5442E-ZE to test with. It's a 4MP varifocal, low light capable, has infrared LEDs for use when there's not enough light, and while not particularly inexpensive, it is an excellent performer and a good way to check for lens sizes which is critical. Get the camera, a five gallon bucket and a eight foot 2x4. Put the 2x4 in the bucket, fill the bucket with stones or sand and mount the camera to the 2x4. It can be easily moved from place to place to see how each proposed location will work out, what lens size may be needed and if there's enough light for full color at night.

 

[wittaj]

Welcome!

Many start with the Lorex System from Costco. Decent product and is re-branded Dahua.

For many people, all is good with it. For others, it is an expensive starter set into an expensive hobby LOL.

I too started with store bought kits. And after every incident needing to review footage, that is when you find the deficiencies in your system. I am now a mixture of cameras, each selected for a purpose and their respective strength, and running Blue Iris on a dedicated PC.

If you have enough ambient light, you might be okay, or with that system, you can add/expand/replace with Dahua cameras.

My neighbor bought an 8-set Lorex system about a year ago and has since replaced two of his cameras with Dahua version cameras purchased from @EMPIRETECANDY on this forum. The other cameras seem to fit the bill nicely for his needs, but he had two critical areas that he wanted an improvement.

 

[Chnsx7]

What are your goals/needs and how much money do you want to spend?

I started out with a Costco Lorex system, but after a year upgraded to Blue Iris and never looked back.

My goal is to have a decent system that can that can detect faces and license plates. Also I would like to have cameras the front, sides and back of the house.
I'm honestly looking for a bang for your buck security system, as I heard they can get quite pricey. So for a starter kit (cameras, materials and NVR), probably starting at $800-$1000.

I've read the reviews on the Costco that the Lorex system they sell does so so during night recordings.

 

[Chnsx7]

There is no one, single, camera or system that will work best for anyone. Unfortunately, it takes a little time and experimentation to determine what will work best for each camera in any given installation. If I were you, I'd start with a Dahua B5442E-ZE to test with. It's a 4MP varifocal, low light capable, has infrared LEDs for use when there's not enough light, and while not particularly inexpensive, it is an excellent performer and a good way to check for lens sizes which is critical. Get the camera, a five gallon bucket and a eight foot 2x4. Put the 2x4 in the bucket, fill the bucket with stones or sand and mount the camera to the 2x4. It can be easily moved from place to place to see how each proposed location will work out, what lens size may be needed and if there's enough light for full color at night.

Thanks for the tip!
I read that it's best not to go higher than 8 feet. Are there cases where you can go higher than 8 feet?
Do you all have any preferences of turrett vs bullet style cameras? I was told Dome using has glaring, so avoid those for outdoors.

 

[wittaj]

Unless you have a lot of ambient light, those cameras will be difficult to get a decent night pic. They probably will not be able to get license plates as the zoom is not tight enough - and you need to dedicate a camera just to do license plates. One of the keys is that the frame image has to be zoomed in to basically the size of the car - depending on your angle, you may only see road. This subforum is a great read for setting up those cameras: LPR

My neighbor I mentioned that has the Lorex system replaced one of the cams with one with better low light performance and another with the forum favorite for capturing plates

https://www.amazon.com/Loryta-IPC-H...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=0N8ZKQ6CJ5F1CHNH16NG

 

[Chnsx7]

Unless you have a lot of ambient light, those cameras will be difficult to get a decent night pic. They probably will not be able to get license plates as the zoom is not tight enough - and you need to dedicate a camera just to do license plates. One of the keys is that the frame image has to be zoomed in to basically the size of the car - depending on your angle, you may only see road. This subforum is a great read for setting up those cameras: LPR

My neighbor I mentioned that has the Lorex system replaced one of the cams with one with better low light performance and another with the forum favorite for capturing plates

https://www.amazon.com/Loryta-IPC-H...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=0N8ZKQ6CJ5F1CHNH16NG

Thanks wittaj, I will look into it.
I saw ipcamtalk sells the LPRs, however it is quite pricey. However it may be worth it for the right situation.

 

[wittaj]

Thanks wittaj, I will look into it.
I saw ipcamtalk sells the LPRs, however it is quite pricey. However it may be worth it for the right situation.

Yes, that camera is pricey but has some decent functionality to it. The camera I referenced is sold by @EMPIRETECANDY on this forum and direct from him is cheaper than through Amazon. This camera is 2-3 times less than the camera in the store. Only disadvantage to this camera is that LPR isn't a function of the camera itself, so you either use a 3rd party or simply have all the snapshots of plates, which is sufficient for the majority of people. I think most here simply use the camera to capture the plates and then they go back and look at pics or video if they need to follow-up on a plate.

You also mentioned the 8 foot height - depends on the situation - for a nice overview where you want to observe stuff, that is fine. I have several at the 2nd floor to get that good overview shot. If you want to start to ID faces, then 8 foot or lower is the best way or else you are getting the top of their heads.

 

[Kn10]

Others have mentioned the Camera stuff. But be sure to secure the location physically first. Cameras wont stop someone from stealing from you, it'll just watch them do it and you'll possibly be able to identify them. Though, in many cases, a baseball cap or a mask will defeat he cameras.
I love my camera setup and I have a ton of fun tinkering, but understand its not the part that stops it from happening again.

 

[EMPIRETECANDY]

Others have mentioned the Camera stuff. But be sure to secure the location physically first. Cameras wont stop someone from stealing from you, it'll just watch them do it and you'll possibly be able to identify them. Though, in many cases, a baseball cap or a mask will defeat he cameras.
I love my camera setup and I have a ton of fun tinkering, but understand its not the part that stops it from happening again.

Maybe use some cams with siren will be good for scaring those bad people like warehouse or business place when closed in the night.

 

[mat200]

My goal is to have a decent system that can that can detect faces and license plates. Also I would like to have cameras the front, sides and back of the house.
I'm honestly looking for a bang for your buck security system, as I heard they can get quite pricey. So for a starter kit (cameras, materials and NVR), probably starting at $800-$1000.

I've read the reviews on the Costco that the Lorex system they sell does so so during night recordings.

Welcome @Chnsx7

Issue 1) My goal is to have a decent system that can that can detect faces and license plates.
Reply: Not as simple as you'd imagine. See the DORI section of the cliff notes. License Plates see the LPR section in the forum.
Also see the IPVM calculator.

Issue 2) I've read the reviews on the Costco that the Lorex system they sell does so so during night recordings.
Reply: Reviews on Costco and Amazon for security cameras often are by folks who have limited knowledge and experience to do a full review, so imho about 1/2 the reviews I have read from those sources are not good quality reviews.

Note, also some Lorex branded kits sold are not Dahua OEM ( Costco carries both a Dahua OEM kit, and another OEM online - in store I have only seen the Lorex branded Dahua OEM kit ).

In general Lorex and other brands do not carry the top low light performing cameras as most consumer just are looking for megapixels and wide angles along with "smart" features.

The big benefit from Costco is imho their return policy. Also their Lorex Dahua OEM kits, you can augment with better performing starlight+ dahua oem models - and that seems to be a good compromise for many people as wittaj notes.

 

[Chnsx7]

Hello All,

Attached is a diagram I made and got pointers from a channel on Youtube.

Please let me know what you think and what you think about placement.

The #s are in priority, so #11 and #12 may not have to be there?

The 2.8mm and 3.6mm are 4MP cameras.

For #1 and #2 (pointing towards driveway) , I was thinking 2MP cameras because for face recognition in low light.

Thank you for your time.

 

[wittaj]

I would probably make #8 a 3.6 or you will be adding another camera in the future LOL.

The LPR I am assuming is just for illustration, but in reality you will need to angle it up or down the street at preferably no more than a 40 degree angle. The representation is almost straight on and you will have a very difficult time getting plates there. Probably best to put it also where #1 or #2 is to optimize the angle.

If you are going with 2.8mm, then I suggest look at the turret style - a lot smaller. In a lot of instances the bullet style for a 2.8mm is overkill in size LOL and I often wonder if it is to give the impression it is more capable than it is!

 

[Chnsx7]

I would probably make #8 a 3.6 or you will be adding another camera in the future LOL.

The LPR I am assuming is just for illustration, but in reality you will need to angle it up or down the street at preferably no more than a 40 degree angle. The representation is almost straight on and you will have a very difficult time getting plates there. Probably best to put it also where #1 or #2 is to optimize the angle.

If you are going with 2.8mm, then I suggest look at the turret style - a lot smaller. In a lot of instances the bullet style for a 2.8mm is overkill in size LOL and I often wonder if it is to give the impression it is more capable than it is!

Thank you for the tip on #8 wittaj.

I need to make the LPR the same angle, do you think have #1 / #2 combo redundant?

Do you think #11 and #12 is redundant since I have #6 and #9?

The guy on the video said it's good to have a camera cover another camera.

 

[wittaj]

The combo 1 and 2 redundant is great coverage for the driveway - especially if you leave a car parked out overnight. If that isn't the case, you could get by with one camera. In that case you could get rid of #2 because I think the other surrounding cameras will catch people approaching your house. Someone could not get to point #2 without being seen in #1, 6, or 11.

#6 or #11 may be redundant depending on what is on that side. If there are no doors or windows on that side, then you can probably get away with one.

I don't know what landscaping/trees may be in the way in your front yard or your neighbors yard, but the LPR will probably be at a greater angle. So if you place it at #1, you would probably want to aim it to the last T in street on the bottom of the page or lower. If you place it at #2, then probably aim for the S in street at the top of the page or higher. Speed of cars makes a difference, but you want to try to get the camera looking as straight on to the full plate as possible, which is sometimes difficult, so try to get it under 40 degrees. Too much more and you get too much looking at the plate from the side.

Maybe consider bringing #8 and #9 more toward the corner of the house.

I would also consider not buying all the cams at once. You can get the LPR camera for sure, and then purchase a couple and try them out. After a while, you will probably be craving and needing more than the 2.8 and 3.6mm cameras. They are great cameras and give a great overview, but unless the person is right up on it, recognizing and getting details is tough, so a nice varifocal where you can zoom in to a pinch point is ideal. Not knowing how your house and property and barriers like fences are, it is tough to know for sure your needs, so those might be sufficient or they may not.

I have a 2.6 and 3.6 on 2nd story to give a nice overview shot of the front and back and then have a few varifocals at a lower level to make ID on someone.

 

[Chnsx7]

The combo 1 and 2 redundant is great coverage for the driveway - especially if you leave a car parked out overnight. If that isn't the case, you could get by with one camera. In that case you could get rid of #2 because I think the other surrounding cameras will catch people approaching your house. Someone could not get to point #2 without being seen in #1, 6, or 11.

#6 or #11 may be redundant depending on what is on that side. If there are no doors or windows on that side, then you can probably get away with one.

I don't know what landscaping/trees may be in the way in your front yard or your neighbors yard, but the LPR will probably be at a greater angle. So if you place it at #1, you would probably want to aim it to the last T in street on the bottom of the page or lower. If you place it at #2, then probably aim for the S in street at the top of the page or higher. Speed of cars makes a difference, but you want to try to get the camera looking as straight on to the full plate as possible, which is sometimes difficult, so try to get it under 40 degrees. Too much more and you get too much looking at the plate from the side.

Maybe consider bringing #8 and #9 more toward the corner of the house.

I would also consider not buying all the cams at once. You can get the LPR camera for sure, and then purchase a couple and try them out. After a while, you will probably be craving and needing more than the 2.8 and 3.6mm cameras. They are great cameras and give a great overview, but unless the person is right up on it, recognizing and getting details is tough, so a nice varifocal where you can zoom in to a pinch point is ideal. Not knowing how your house and property and barriers like fences are, it is tough to know for sure your needs, so those might be sufficient or they may not.

I have a 2.6 and 3.6 on 2nd story to give a nice overview shot of the front and back and then have a few varifocals at a lower level to make ID on someone.

Thank you wittaj for the reply.
I've made some changes to the diagram based on your opinion.

If you feel the 2.8 and 3.6 is not enough, where on the diagram would be best for varifocal? Can you recommend a dahua varifocal camera?

 

[wittaj]

Without an aerial photo or photos around your house to better layout, these would be my thoughts:

#6 and #11 are covering the same thing - are there windows or doors on that side of the house? If so, consider the 3.6 for the one right next to it and a varifocal for the other placement.

If the property line to the top at #9 has a fence or shrubs, that would be a place for a varifocal to tighten the frame so that you don't have mainly fence in the image - plus at night you would get a lot of IR bounceback.

Is #5 at your front door and at what height. 2.8mm may work there, but a 3.6 might be better.

#12 would be one I would wait on and see the gap in your set-up and then put a varifocal there.

What is intended purpose of #10 and #4?

If you are set on the Lorex system, consider the one that has the varifocal cameras instead of the 2.8mm. It looks like go with the 16-channel one. Opt for the one that has 4 or six cameras and then supplement with others as you see the "holes" and weakpoints in the setup.

If it were my house and knowing what I know now, I would start with the LPR, 1, 5, 7, 8, and then build from there.

 

[Chnsx7]

Hello All,
I posted this In the NVR section but not sure if that was the right sub forum:


Hello All,

First of all, thank you for taking the time to read this.
I am new member and new to the whole POE IP Camera scene.

I'm having a dilemma on where it is best to put my NVR (when I order my system).
For starters, I have a 2 story house with a basement. Cameras would be ran on top top of first floor/beginning of second floor if that makes sense. 8'-10' feet from the ground.

I have had contractors come out and give me quotes mostly for option #1.

I was thinking of 4 placements:

1) Is to to put the NVR in the basement utility or storage room.
This would be the most ambiguous/discrete location, and the cleanest install.
however it calls for longer runs of Ethernet cabling and more drywall work which I assume is most expensive option out of all.

2) Is to put it on the first floor closest.
This would also not be visible to someone first walking in,
however there is no power source in the closest to power the NVR or and Wireless Access Point I would use to give internet connectivity to the NVR with.
I'm assuming this would be less costly since they only have to run cable on the same floor

3) Is to put it somewhere on the first floor living room installed on a NVR wall mounted cabinet.
Besides paying for the cabinet in addition, the installation of Ethernet cabling would not be as much as option #1 and similar to option #2,
however it would obviously be visible to anyone who walks inside the house and may have to deal with noise from the NVR?

4) Is to put the NVR in the garage
I assume this is probably the cheapest method for installation for me since all the cameras would be near the garage and the cable runs would be super short,
however the NVR would be subject to hot and cold during summer and winter times.
Also I have to consider to run all the other Ethernet cabling to the front of the house(garage) if I decide I want to add additional POE cameras (from side of house/back of house).



Again, here are my thoughts. I really appreciate your time into reading this.

Thank you in advance

 

[mat200]

Hello All,
I posted this In the NVR section but not sure if that was the right sub forum:


Hello All,

First of all, thank you for taking the time to read this.
I am new member and new to the whole POE IP Camera scene.

I'm having a dilemma on where it is best to put my NVR (when I order my system).
For starters, I have a 2 story house with a basement. Cameras would be ran on top top of first floor/beginning of second floor if that makes sense. 8'-10' feet from the ground.
..

Hi Chrisx7

I like to have all my networking drops go to one location, typically a data closet / rack.

This is where the internet comes to the house:
Will have the following:
Router
Switch(es)
PC / PCs ( nas / file storage / other.. )
NVR / PC w/vms
UPS

Requirements:
1) Electrical Power
2) Ventilation
3) Never too hot or humid
4) Secure

Numerous options here.

You get to decide what works best, as each house is a bit different.