Novice looking for some guidance

[Curlyp]

Hello community,

I'm not really sure where I should begin or what brand I should buy. I’m looking for some decent 720p (or 1080p preferably if the price is right) camera for the front and back of my house. I would prefer POE IP cams and maybe a DVR unit as well.

I’m not looking to spend a ton of money. I’m trying to find decent cams for a good price (maybe $80-$100 per cam).

Here is a pic of the front of my house. Any type of cam you would recommend? Where would you put it as well?

Thanks in advance!

 

[mat200]

Welcome back Curlyp,

A bit has changed in the last couple of years since your last time posting here.

Today I would no longer recommend 720p cameras - the minimum res I would get is 1080p.

There are some very nice Dahua Starlight Turret models out now, some of which approach your per camera budget ( about $120 per camera iirc for the 42xx models ).

There's a link in my notes below to various discussions on the starlights, especially on the 5231 turret model.

It's easy to get swamped with information here, so I wanted to share some notes with you

Please check out @giomania 's notes:
Dahua Starlight Varifocal Turret (IPC-HDW5231R-Z)

I have also made notes which are a summary of a lot of the reading I've been doing here,:
Looking for some advice and direction!

Have fun joining us here.

 

[mat200]

Hello community,

I'm not really sure where I should begin or what brand I should buy. I’m looking for some decent 720p (or 1080p preferably if the price is right) camera for the front and back of my house. I would prefer POE IP cams and maybe a DVR unit as well.

I’m not looking to spend a ton of money. I’m trying to find decent cams for a good price (maybe $80-$100 per cam).

Here is a pic of the front of my house. Any type of cam you would recommend? Where would you put it as well?

Thanks in advance!

Hi Curlyp,

What do you see as your greatest threats? ( I'll include some of my notes for "thinking" points.. )


What do you want to accomplish with a security camera system?

• Is the day time more of a threat? or night time? If night time look at the starlight models referenced here, if day time the 4K cameras work well. If a combination get both starlights and consider good 4K cameras.
• See what happened?
• Potentially ID suspects? Locate cameras less than 8 feet high and close enough to get a potential ID'able facial image. ( please see the ID distance list )
• Help deter criminal activities? Mount your cameras in obvious locations.
• Keep an eye on your car parked in your drive way? in the street?
• Potentially ID cars which suspects maybe using?
• Watch of other activities, wild animals, your dogs, your cats, birds,..
• License plate captures? For successful license plate captures you may need to dedicate a camera to it as it requires camera tuning adjustments which makes the overall picture darker.
• While you are thinking about these issues, you will need to look at potential camera installation locations and measure the distance to the potential suspect and determine if you are within the ID distance. You may need a camera with a better "zoom".