New to forum, looking for a little advice!

[priviello1]

Have good friends who install cameras professionally, they called me out to help them on a couple jobs and I believe it's one of the easiest things I've ever done with my background in wiring... My church is in need of a camera system due to neighbors that don't act right. I don't like my friends prices or quality of what they provide and I will leave it at that. I want advice on a NVR system 4-8 cameras that have good vision at night. Installation is not a concern. Looked into Hikvision a year ago for my own home and it appears their website has become much more complicated since then. Please give me recommendations!!! Send me the link to the proper forum, or whatever required. Thanks in advance!

 

[crw030]

Budget & number of cameras you will need to cover the target areas?

 

[priviello1]

Unsure of budget, we certainly want better than what Wal Mart has to offer but don't need a thermal ptz system either. Probably looking to have at least four cameras to start off with and I was thinking with the right system, we could always add more cameras later as we se fit.

 

[sebastiantombs]

The current "kings of the hill" are Dahua Starlight 1/1.7 or 1/1.8 sensors in turret or bullet form factors or the Hikvision Darkfighter in the same sensor format, Check the forum for Dahua 5442 or Hikvision Darkfighter reviews. Both have excellent performance, day or night, in a 4MP camera. There are also models, Dahua and Hikvision, available with built-in LED white light for those really dark areas.

 

[area651]

Unsure of budget, we certainly want better than what Wal Mart has to offer but don't need a thermal ptz system either. Probably looking to have at least four cameras to start off with and I was thinking with the right system, we could always add more cameras later as we se fit.

Personally, I like your take on budget. IMHO, budget shouldn't even be a question at the start of an evaluation. I start with "what do I WANT". As in "I want to cover this alleyway, and I also want to cover this entrance and also my driveway". And then I trim it down to "what do I NEED". Yeah it's cool to see 360degrees around the property but is that really necessary. Also think of who will be using it and maintaining it. If its you then great but are you the only one who could? Then once you determine what you NEED, look at the options that could go in those spaces and then let budget decide. If you're looking to get alerts to movement then the simplest camera would suffice that location. If you need to tell if the deliveryperson is circumcised when they're approaching your porch, then you'd want a nicer, more pricey camera for that location.

For your situation, I'd especially look into who will be using the system. If this was just your house then of course its just you. If others aren't overly computer savvy then I'd steer towards the plug and play (& use) NVR direction. If they're sharper and don't mind the maintenance of a computer system then maybe a computer running BI. Maintaining a windows machine and BI isn't the most simple thing in the world. Also I guess budget could play into this a little point as a full on BI computer is likely to be the more expensive route. I've seen situations like this where the guy (like yourself) did an amazing setup and then moved on, changed churches or whatever and left the people with a product they have no idea how to use, troubleshoot and maintain.

 

[looney2ns]

Start here by studying this: Cliff Notes and Wiki.

 

[SouthernYankee]

read study plan before spending money.

If using an NVR. Use the NVR from the same manufacture as your cameras.
Buy an NVR that is larger than you think you will need. If 8 cameras get a 16 port NVR. On the NVR check the bandwidth value, that is the limiting factor with newer cameras
--------------------------------

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
IPC-T3241-ZAS ...... Review-OEM IPC-T3241-ZAS 2mp AI Lite series Varifocal -- 2mp AI Lite series Varifocal
IPC-HFW2831T-ZS ... Review-Dahua IPC-HFW2831T-ZS 8MP WDR IR Bullet Network Camera -- 8MP Bullet 1/1.8” sensor variable focus.
DS-2CD2325FWD-I
N22AL12 ............ New Dahua N22AL12 Budget Cam w/Starlight -- low cost entry
IPC-T2347G-LU....... Review-Loryta OEM 4MP IPC-T2347G-LU ColorVu Fixed Turret Network 4mm lens & Junction Box -- 4MP ColorVu
.................... Review of the Hikvision OEM model IPC-T2347G-LU 'ColorVu' IP CCTV camera.

Other dahua 4MP starlight Dahua 4MP Starlight Lineup

My preferred indoor cameras
DS-2CD2442FWD-IW
IPC-K35A

https://ipcamtalk.com/threads/review-dahua-ipc-k35a-3mp-cube-camera.37581/#post-373517

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

Before asking a question search the forum first...
The best way to search the forum is to use Google
In the google search window enter.. site:ipcamtalk.com ?????? ..where ?????? is the items/terms you are interested in.
Example site:ipcamtalk.com PALE MOON BROWSER

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

 

[SouthernYankee]

if you are interested in International Dahua cameras, a forum member sells dahua (and some Hikvision) and ships world wide. You can read some of the members recommendations on his service. He also provides cameras to other forum member for evaluation and reviews.
You can email him for a quote, or purchase from his Aliexpress store or his Amazon store. The cameras are fully upgradable, he posts upgrade software when available.

Current supply may be limited do to the Covid-19

Andy
@EMPIRETECANDY
kingsecurity2014@163.com
Andy's ipcamtalk vendor forum: EmpireTech Andy
Andy's AliExpress store: Empire Technology Co., Ltd - Amazing prodcuts with exclusive discounts on AliExpress
Andy's Amazon store: Amazon.com