Up until a few weeks ago when someone came though my yard and the ensuing police, i never gave a thought about cameras. I know close to nothing about them except the bare minimum. Could anyone help with putting together a system I could install?
New to IP cameras and need some help picking out components
- Thread starter Blue42
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looney2ns
IPCT Contributor
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Try not to fall for the YouTube reviews or you will be stuck getting reolink that the only thing they can provide you now that you couldn't before was what time something happened.
Here is the master thread of images obtained by these consumer grade cameras that you will see they aren't good for much other than what time something happened:
The Typical picture of a Perp on Nextdoor-type Apps with Consumer Grade Cameras like Ring, Nest, Arlo, Canary, Wyze, etc.
You need to decide the areas you want to cover and the distance to those areas to IDENTIFY.
Here is a thread that lists the commonly recommended cameras here based on distance to IDENTIFY that represent the best value in terms of performance day and night and cost.
The Importance of Focal Length over MP in camera selection
Here is the master thread of images obtained by these consumer grade cameras that you will see they aren't good for much other than what time something happened:
The Typical picture of a Perp on Nextdoor-type Apps with Consumer Grade Cameras like Ring, Nest, Arlo, Canary, Wyze, etc.
You need to decide the areas you want to cover and the distance to those areas to IDENTIFY.
Here is a thread that lists the commonly recommended cameras here based on distance to IDENTIFY that represent the best value in terms of performance day and night and cost.
The Importance of Focal Length over MP in camera selection
saltwater
Getting comfortable
Welcome aboard. The more you learn the more you will want, I mean, need. 
Thank you for all the replies! I'm looking for 4 poe cameras on each corner of the house. Can I run them all to a poe switch in the attic and then run 1 wire down to an nvr in a spare room? Or am I going to have to run 4 separate wires to the nvr. Sorry for all the questions but like I said my head is spinning with all the options out there and I'm not very good with electronics haha.
saltwater
Getting comfortable
Yes that is the beauty of IP cameras is you have so many opportunities. You can run all the wires back to the NVR or run them to switches and one cable back to the NVR.
In that instance, you would want to get a non-POE NVR.
Now for a word of caution.
I started with four 2.8mm cameras and I was like "I can place one on each corner of the house and see my whole property and the whole neighborhood." A newbie loves the wide angle "I can see the whole neighborhood" of the 2.8mm fixed wide angle lens. I LOVED IT WHEN I PUT IT UP. I could see everything that would be blocked looking out the windows.
It is easy to get lured in to thinking the wide angle "see the whole neighborhood" because you are watching it and you see a neighbor go by and you are like "Look at that I can tell that is Heather out walking." and "Yeah I can tell our neighbor 4 down just passed by". Or you watch back the video of you walking around and are like "yeah I can tell that is me".
Little do we realize how much WE can identify a known person just by hair style, clothing, walking pace, gait, etc.
Then one day the door checker comes by. Total stranger. Totally useless video other than what time the door checking happened. I was so furious my system let me down.
Then you realize that this wide-angle see the whole neighborhood comes at a cost and that cost is not being able to IDENTIFY who did it. These 2.8mm wide angle cameras are great overview cameras or to IDENTIFY someone within 10 feet of the camera if the camera is installed less than 9 feet hight. At 40 feet out or a higher install you need a different camera.
And like most, I stuck these wide angle cameras on the 2nd story to be able to see even more, which then means any IDENTIFY distance is lost vertically. Someone needs to be within 10-13 feet to identify someone with a 2.8mm lens. A camera placed 16-20 feet up means the entire IDENTIFY distance is lost in the vertical direction. They could be one foot away horizontally, but at 20 feet high, you will only get a good shot at the top of the head...
So then we start adding more cameras and varifocal cameras so that we can optically zoom in to pinch points and other areas of interest to get the clean IDENTIFY captures of someone. While the varifocals are great at helping to identify at a distance, they come at a cost of a reduced field of view, just like the wide-angles are great at seeing a wide area, but they come at the expense of IDENTIFY at distance.
Long story short - you will end up wanting more than 4 cameras, so go with 8 or 16 channel NVR.
Most of us ended up like this guy that posted just today LOL:
ipcamtalk.com
In that instance, you would want to get a non-POE NVR.
Now for a word of caution.
I started with four 2.8mm cameras and I was like "I can place one on each corner of the house and see my whole property and the whole neighborhood." A newbie loves the wide angle "I can see the whole neighborhood" of the 2.8mm fixed wide angle lens. I LOVED IT WHEN I PUT IT UP. I could see everything that would be blocked looking out the windows.
It is easy to get lured in to thinking the wide angle "see the whole neighborhood" because you are watching it and you see a neighbor go by and you are like "Look at that I can tell that is Heather out walking." and "Yeah I can tell our neighbor 4 down just passed by". Or you watch back the video of you walking around and are like "yeah I can tell that is me".
Little do we realize how much WE can identify a known person just by hair style, clothing, walking pace, gait, etc.
Then one day the door checker comes by. Total stranger. Totally useless video other than what time the door checking happened. I was so furious my system let me down.
Then you realize that this wide-angle see the whole neighborhood comes at a cost and that cost is not being able to IDENTIFY who did it. These 2.8mm wide angle cameras are great overview cameras or to IDENTIFY someone within 10 feet of the camera if the camera is installed less than 9 feet hight. At 40 feet out or a higher install you need a different camera.
And like most, I stuck these wide angle cameras on the 2nd story to be able to see even more, which then means any IDENTIFY distance is lost vertically. Someone needs to be within 10-13 feet to identify someone with a 2.8mm lens. A camera placed 16-20 feet up means the entire IDENTIFY distance is lost in the vertical direction. They could be one foot away horizontally, but at 20 feet high, you will only get a good shot at the top of the head...
So then we start adding more cameras and varifocal cameras so that we can optically zoom in to pinch points and other areas of interest to get the clean IDENTIFY captures of someone. While the varifocals are great at helping to identify at a distance, they come at a cost of a reduced field of view, just like the wide-angles are great at seeing a wide area, but they come at the expense of IDENTIFY at distance.
Long story short - you will end up wanting more than 4 cameras, so go with 8 or 16 channel NVR.
Most of us ended up like this guy that posted just today LOL:
It turned into a hobby
I had a kit system from Reolink (thanks to youtube reviews before finding this site). One year ago I needed to review material from some days. It turned out to be hard to find the correct event (no human/vehicle detection) and after finding it, the material was basically useless for even...
What would you reccomend for me for components? I have a single story ranch about 1200 Sq ft on 1.5 acres. Have a pretty busy hwy in front of the house. By going with all verifocal cameras eliminate the problems with a wide angle lens cameras? If I understand correctly it would go cameras to switch then 1 wire to non poe nvr? Like I said I know very little about this and would like to have something.
That all made me even more confused
I would suggest buy one varifocal like the 5442-ZE and test it all around the house day and night.
Get familiar with the capabilities of the camera and figure out better how many cameras you need. You will realize that unless all you care about is detect and observe, you will want more than 4 cameras.
I recommend buying the 5442-ZE by our trusted vendor @EMPIRETECANDY
Get familiar with the capabilities of the camera and figure out better how many cameras you need. You will realize that unless all you care about is detect and observe, you will want more than 4 cameras.
I recommend buying the 5442-ZE by our trusted vendor @EMPIRETECANDY
As an Amazon Associate IPCamTalk earns from qualifying purchases.
That is why I linked this thread LOL.
Figure out the areas you want to be able to IDENTIFY and then buy the right camera for that distance.
The Importance of Focal Length over MP in camera selection
At the urging of several folks here, I created a thread to show the importance of focal length and how focal length can be more important than megapixels (MP). I mentioned some of this in the post regarding The Hookup’s latest video demonstrating different cameras, including one sold from a...
I think I'm starting to understand lol. So with the front I'd need 2 cameras? One for the service door on garage and one for the end of the driveway? Instead of having for all that
That is correct!
One camera cannot be the see all, do all.
A camera that can IDENTIFY at 15 feet will only observe at 40 feet. Sometimes that is all that is needed, but usually it isn't.
People end up wanting to IDENTIFY regardless of what they say when they come here LOL.
One camera cannot be the see all, do all.
A camera that can IDENTIFY at 15 feet will only observe at 40 feet. Sometimes that is all that is needed, but usually it isn't.
People end up wanting to IDENTIFY regardless of what they say when they come here LOL.
Awesome. I'll get some measurements tomorrow and swing back in here for some suggestions!
looney2ns
IPCT Contributor
But to install a good system, this is all knowledge you need.
It's not something most folks will grasp in one afternoon.
Follow the advice above, it is good advice by knowledgeable people.
I started with one Dahua cam and Blue Iris to get my feet wet. I now have 6 cams mounted and several more I have not found the time and location to mount.
Plan on more than four cameras. I planned on four cams max and quickly outgrew my original plan.
Consider Blue Iris over a NVR. I came here planing on a NVR and based upon what I learned I went with the forum recommendation of BI, completely happy.
I started with one Dahua cam and Blue Iris to get my feet wet. I now have 6 cams mounted and several more I have not found the time and location to mount.
Plan on more than four cameras. I planned on four cams max and quickly outgrew my original plan.
Consider Blue Iris over a NVR. I came here planing on a NVR and based upon what I learned I went with the forum recommendation of BI, completely happy.
Blue Iris is the gold standard in security camera monitoring software BUT it is not for the faint of heart. If your looking for a new hobby and can put in hundreds of hours learning it, there is nothing comparable for the price. If you want your system setup in a day get a NVR.
I think IDENTIFY is a little over rated when discussing security cameras, a camera won't identify their name or address, you will just have footage of an unidentified person and unless the attending police officer actually knows the perp, they won't be able to identify them either.
If you want to prevent a crime get an alarm system. 24/7 video surveillance may be worth while but HOW will you monitor it is the problem?
I think IDENTIFY is a little over rated when discussing security cameras, a camera won't identify their name or address, you will just have footage of an unidentified person and unless the attending police officer actually knows the perp, they won't be able to identify them either.
If you want to prevent a crime get an alarm system. 24/7 video surveillance may be worth while but HOW will you monitor it is the problem?
I don't really have time to learn a new program and that's why I was leaning towards an nvr. Would I be able to get notifications to my phone from an nvr?