New Setup Advice Wanted

[Ri22o]

So I have done some measuring today regarding heights of installs.

• The front drive cameras will be about 11ft if mounted just as the render starts.
  • Reading the link that Ri22o sent it seems he had some success with this height so this will likely be fine with the color4k-x overlapping each other
• The front door I can mount at 8-9ft and have it pointing down the path using the T54IR-AS-S3
• The rear garden, the floor lights are at about 9ft so if I mount somewhere just beneath them this should be at a desirable height.
  • Will likely do Color4k-X pointing towards the garden and a T54IR-AS-S3 pointing down the side passage
• I am going to add another T54IR-AS-S3 or Color4k-X above the rear door in the garden to provide coverage of that door and a bit of overlap with the other camera.
  • I am torn between these 2 as I will already have the LED on from the other 4k-X I may as well use the LED on this one for added illumination and better colour/identification possibilities?

I suppose my final query for now (thanks for all the assistance so far) is... is it recommended to mount a turrent cam flat to a vertical wall if there is no soffet to install on? I have seen images of such a thing but not sure if that is the ideal setup or not, or if this is where either a bullet cam or the wall mount accessory are to be used (I really don't like the look of the wall mount)
View attachment 189989
View attachment 189990

It depends on the distance for the FOV. The further the scene, the lower the angle, and the higher mounting height you can get away with. My driveway cams are mounted at 7' but the overview is mounted around 11'. The overview is mainly there for additional details and the others are what would be used to ID.

 

[LordDawkins]

It depends on the distance for the FOV. The further the scene, the lower the angle, and the higher mounting height you can get away with. My driveway cams are mounted at 7' but the overview is mounted around 11'. The overview is mainly there for additional details and the others are what would be used to ID.

Thanks for the response. Unfortunately, I think I will just have to live with the 11ft install height of the driveway cameras as mounting to the exposed brickwork is not only awkward, its also much harder to repair when/if removing the camera when I move house in a few years. It will just have to be one of those compromises sadly.

 

[wittaj]

What about reconsidering the locations and attach them to the downspouts and run the cable behind the downspout?

That way it is even less of a chore when you move and you are not drilling holes all over the outside.

 

[LordDawkins]

Is there any particular difference between the Color4k-X and the Color4k-T? I seem to remember reading somewhere that there originally wasnt a turret version due to the size of the control board but I can't for the life of me find it, or perhaps that was another camera...

Also looking at options for the front door and rear door which I previously mentioned the T54IR-AS-S3 was to be used for.
The IPC-T54IR-ZE-S3 looks to be very similar to the AS-3 but offers a vari-focal lense. Seeing as I have no real clue what I am doing (apart from having a professional install them) would that not offer me better flexibility in to ensuring I have adequate coverage and can focus on the important areas more easily? Albeit with a slightly increased purchase price.

 

[LordDawkins]

What about reconsidering the locations and attach them to the downspouts and run the cable behind the downspout?

That way it is even less of a chore when you move and you are not drilling holes all over the outside.

That is not a bad idea at all, especially on the left hand side of the drive in the photo. There the downpipe sits pretty much flush with the corner providing adequate coverage.
It is more problematic on the right hand side due to the location of the pipe being slightly off central vs on the corner. I would imagine I would need to rethink on the camera used there in that case as if I point it down and out the car/subject would likely be far too close to the camera to have much coverage. Any ideas?

 

[wittaj]

The 4K/T suffers from having a very narrow focus circle of about 14-18 feet and anything shorter or further than that is blurry/soft. It makes for a good overview cam though. The 4K/X doesn't seem to have that issue.

Whenever you can get a varifocal it provides more opportunities and flexibility and would recommend that over a fixed lens.

 

[wittaj]

That is not a bad idea at all, especially on the left hand side of the drive in the photo. There the downpipe sits pretty much flush with the corner providing adequate coverage.
It is more problematic on the right hand side due to the location of the pipe being slightly off central vs on the corner. I would imagine I would need to rethink on the camera used there in that case as if I point it down and out the car/subject would likely be far too close to the camera to have much coverage. Any ideas?

I was thinking instead of a cam on the right side put it on the downspout in the middle - it may now be 2 cameras instead of one, but would get you the better shot of a perp if a car is routinely left outside.

 

[LordDawkins]

I was thinking instead of a cam on the right side put it on the downspout in the middle - it may now be 2 cameras instead of one, but would get you the better shot of a perp if a car is routinely left outside.

So you are thinking more of have 2 cameras both pointing slightly the opposite way to each other, covering the whole drive, just not having overlapping fields?

That may work quite well as I could likely grab a license plate or 2 if I was lucky from the camera pointing left (towards the street light) as that is the entrance to my cul-de-sac and I am at the end.
Would you think the Color4k-X is still a suitable option given a slightly closer focal area? I havent looked extensively but can't put my finger on a decent colour camera with smaller lense (less than 2.8mm).
Thanks

 

[wittaj]

Yeah, that is what I was thinking. Have a smidge of overlap on the two if the camera on the left downspout can't get overlapping coverage.

Given you would put them on that middle downspout, I would probably opt for the smaller 4K/T and just deal with the image being a little soft outside of the focus area.

The other option if it really bothers you is to open the camera up and adjust the lens for the distance you want focus - it is easy to do. But I would first try it for a few days and see if the soft focus shorter/further than that area bothers you. It may not.

 

[LordDawkins]

Yeah, that is what I was thinking. Have a smidge of overlap on the two if the camera on the left downspout can't get overlapping coverage.

Given you would put them on that middle downspout, I would probably opt for the smaller 4K/T and just deal with the image being a little soft outside of the focus area.

The other option if it really bothers you is to open the camera up and adjust the lens for the distance you want focus - it is easy to do. But I would first try it for a few days and see if the soft focus shorter/further than that area bothers you. It may not.

Thanks, so just to make sure I understand you properly. Are you suggesting having 1 camera on the left downspout covering the whole drive and then 2 on the right downspout as you previously mentioned?

People are going to start to wonder what I am doing in my house when it starts to look like Fort Knox

What might be another alternative is to have the 2 cameras on the right downspout and then have a 3rd on the left but much higher to act as an overview?

 

[wittaj]

You will find most people never even notice them LOL. And white cams on white downspouts will be even less obvious!

Yeah I could go along with the left one being higher as an overview.

 

[Ri22o]

Then would it not be a good use case for the middle downspout to have a 4K-180T? It's going to have the same focal length as the 4K-T.

It wouldn't be a true 8MP, and on a smaller sensor, but it would only require 1 ethernet and 1 camera to be installed.

 

[LordDawkins]

Then would it not be a good use case for the middle downspout to have a 4K-180T? It's going to have the same focal length as the 4K-T.

It wouldn't be a true 8MP, and on a smaller sensor, but it would only require 1 ethernet and 1 camera to be installed.

I hadn't noticed that camera before so did a bit of searching on the forum and found this - Good deal Annke 180 degree dual 1/1.8 for $220?

It seems you have to crop down to effectively 1080p to get the correct aspect ratio? Am I likely going to be able to identify anyone at 1080p (2mp) in the event I need to?
The camera also looks aesthetically, like a bit of a marmite camera! You are either going to love it or hate it

It would be nice to save a bit on the cost by only purchasing one camera but not sure about it and its capabilities to identify?

 

[wittaj]

You could possibly in your situation as the person would be so close, but personally I only use my 180T for overview.

I wouldn't downrez to 1080 though. Keep it the native resolution and deal with a little weirdness on the ends.

 

[Ri22o]

I hadn't noticed that camera before so did a bit of searching on the forum and found this - Good deal Annke 180 degree dual 1/1.8 for $220?

It seems you have to crop down to effectively 1080p to get the correct aspect ratio? Am I likely going to be able to identify anyone at 1080p (2mp) in the event I need to?
The camera also looks aesthetically, like a bit of a marmite camera! You are either going to love it or hate it

It would be nice to save a bit on the cost by only purchasing one camera but not sure about it and its capabilities to identify?

That cam may not "stitch" the video together the same way that the Empiretech/Dahua Color4K-T180 does. This is the feed of the overview cam from my roof; it is brought in as 1 video and this is how it is displayed.


Here is a video that Wildcat put together with him at different distances.

 

[wittaj]

If I did the 180 for IDENTIFY purposes, I would stick it on that downspout about 5 feet high to stand the best chance to identify someone.

 

[LordDawkins]

That cam may not "stitch" the video together the same way that the Empiretech/Dahua Color4K-T180 does. This is the feed of the overview cam from my roof; it is brought in as 1 video and this is how it is displayed.

Here is a video that Wildcat put together with him at different distances.

Hi Ri22o, is that running at the native resolution of the camera? Looks excellent for the overview option as Wittaj says.
That link I sent, the images are actually the 180 Dahua camera, just within that other cameras thread for comparison I believe.

I think perhaps stick that 180 camera at the top of the right downspout as an overview and have 2 4k-X or 4k-T cameras covering the driveway lower down?

I guess I can always swap stuff around in the future if I feel its not meeting the needs I have. I imagine you guys who are super in to it are constantly fiddling with things to get stuff 'just right'.
I haven't even started to think about all the camera tuning required, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it once the system is all setup and running.

 

[LordDawkins]

Sooo as way of hopefully summarising what I need to buy.... now that is has got totally out of hand! (You guys must have shared in Dahua or something!).

In my basket I have:
1 x IPC-Color4k-T - Rear Garden Door
1 x IPC-Color4k-T180 - Front drive overview
2 x IPC-T54IR-ZE-S3 - Front door and rear side passage
3 x IPC-Color4k-X - 2 x Front Drive (still torn between these and the T but not a big fan of the dome wall mount) and 1 x for rear garden
1 x NVR16CH-AI (upped from the original 8ch for only $20 seemed worth it for the future)
2 x PFA152-E Pole mounts (presumably the 4k-X mounts direct to this and doesnt need a junction box?)
5 x PFA130-E Junction box

I would likely mount the T180 on the soffet as its up high for overview, saves a bit on buying the pole mount and the wall mount (every little helps)

I am happy to install the HDD in to the NVR myself and source separately (something I am good at - IT / Networking).
Need to source a suitable PoE switch, will likely get a ubiquiti one as I have a lot of their kit already.

Does the above list sound right? If so I might fire off a DM to Andy and see what he comes back with.

 

[Ri22o]

Hi Ri22o, is that running at the native resolution of the camera? Looks excellent for the overview option as Wittaj says.
That link I sent, the images are actually the 180 Dahua camera, just within that other cameras thread for comparison I believe.

I think perhaps stick that 180 camera at the top of the right downspout as an overview and have 2 4k-X or 4k-T cameras covering the driveway lower down?

I guess I can always swap stuff around in the future if I feel its not meeting the needs I have. I imagine you guys who are super in to it are constantly fiddling with things to get stuff 'just right'.
I haven't even started to think about all the camera tuning required, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it once the system is all setup and running.

I would assume it's native, it's the image it gave me when I asked for a screenshot.

 

[wittaj]

Someone once said these multiply like rabbits LOL.

Many of us have been down that buy a 4-pack all-in-one kit and put a camera on each corner of the house and are like "I can see the whole neighborhood" but then something happens and that video is useless.

Then we start adding cameras LOL.

Watch the Ubiquity stuff - some of that is proprietary and only powers their cameras. Confirm it is POE af/at compliant or it won't work.