Outdoor camera - recommendations?

[pms]

Hi,

I want to install a total of 4 outdoor IP cams at my house. 1 on each wall. For this, I am looking for recommendations.

Rough use-case/requirements:

• wall-mounted
• outdoor
• mounting height ~5 m
• max. viewing distance 25 m
• hFoV ~30° on 3 of the 4 sides and ~115° on the other side of the house
• wiring option: CAT7 with PoE
• in order to avoid discussions with neigbours a bullet cam might be preferred
• no color image required during night
• IR illumination
• ONVIF

assumptions (hints are welcome):

• 4 Mpx should be sufficient
• PTZ not required
• microphone not required
• fancy AI features, e.g. face/object detection not required
• fixed focus is sufficient (tbd)

Thanks for your support!
Max

 

[mat200]

Hi,

I want to install a total of 4 outdoor IP cams at my house. 1 on each wall. For this, I am looking for recommendations.

Rough use-case/requirements:

• wall-mounted
• outdoor
• mounting height ~5 m
• max. viewing distance 25 m
• hFoV ~30° on 3 of the 4 sides and ~115° on the other side of the house
• wiring option: CAT7 with PoE
• in order to avoid discussions with neigbours a bullet cam might be preferred
• no color image required during night
• IR illumination
• ONVIF

assumptions (hints are welcome):

• 4 Mpx should be sufficient
• PTZ not required
• microphone not required
• fancy AI features, e.g. face/object detection not required
• fixed focus is sufficient (tbd)

Thanks for your support!
Max

Welcome Max ..

5M high .. that is very high .. do you only want scenic views ?
max viewing distance 25M .. is this the "Detect Range?" .. see DORI concepts .. ( ref cliff notes here )

I suspect you'll want significantly more than 4 once you have a chance to test them ...

Thus get ONE good IP PoE 4MP 1/1.8" varifocal Dahua OEM or Hikvision OEM camera ( most of use go with Dahua OEM here as we have a good source ) and a good long cat5e/6 small poe switch or other poe power source and start playing around ..

 

[Mike A.]

You'll come to appreciate AI more after dealing with false alerts. Worth the money to have. You don't have to spend a lot to get now, most better cams will come with in some form.

 

[looney2ns]

Cat 7 is way overkill for cameras. cat5e or cat 6, is more than adequate.
Mounting cameras higher than 7-8ft will result in only getting tops of heads, not faces.
The Importance of Focal Length over MP in camera selection | IP Cam Talk

 

[pms]

Thanks for your comments and the links. Will take some time to read it all.

Just double-checked the height. It's even around 5.3 m.
CAT7 cables are already there. They were used for the entire wired network installation.

Target application is not so much on face recognition of even identification but rather on surveillance of the garden with "body recognition" as only potential trigger.
In the entrance area there is anyhow another camera integrated into the IP intercom.

Dahua or the unlabeled version by Andy is already in my focus. Just being lost with what would be the most reasonable "first shot" for a test - given the described circumstances. But I gues there are some good hints in those links.

 

[jw1]

Thus get ONE good IP PoE 4MP 1/1.8" varifocal Dahua OEM or Hikvision OEM camera ( most of use go with Dahua OEM here as we have a good source ) and a good long cat5e/6 small poe switch or other poe power source and start playing around ..

I am fairly new here in terms of not having kept up with the latest trends for several years now. What is the Dahua OEM model(s) that are recommended and who is the source for these?

 

[mat200]

I am fairly new here in terms of not having kept up with the latest trends for several years now. What is the Dahua OEM model(s) that are recommended and who is the source for these?

Welcome @jw1

quick response :

search for member's reviews .. and Andy from EmpireTec .. user here EmpireTecAndy ..

do see what the main members have been sharing in the various threads here .. they do good posts, more than I have time to type right now ..

 

[actran]

@pms If you want discrete, go with turret camera like this 4MP: EmpireTech IPC-T54IR-AS 1/1.8" CMOS 4MP WDR IR Eyeball AI Network Came

The above is fixed lens. If you want the ability to adjust zoom, try: EmpireTech IPC-T54IR-ZE-S3 1/1.8" CMOS 4MP IR Starlight Vari-focal Tur

These 2 cameras have excellent night performance, and AI person/vehicle detection will ensure 0 or very few false alarms.

 

[TonyR]

I am fairly new here in terms of not having kept up with the latest trends for several years now. What is the Dahua OEM model(s) that are recommended and who is the source for these?

I'd go with what @actran posted in #8.
You can also buy from his amazon store or contact him ==>> @EMPIRETECANDY

 

[pms]

@pms If you want discrete, go with turret camera like this 4MP: EmpireTech IPC-T54IR-AS 1/1.8" CMOS 4MP WDR IR Eyeball AI Network Came

The above is fixed lens. If you want the ability to adjust zoom, try: EmpireTech IPC-T54IR-ZE-S3 1/1.8" CMOS 4MP IR Starlight Vari-focal Tur

These 2 cameras have excellent night performance, and AI person/vehicle detection will ensure 0 or very few false alarms.

When I check https://empiretech01.com/ I would see in general 3 possible options:
https://empiretech01.com/products/empiretech-ipc-t54ir-ze-s3-1-1-8-cmos-4mp-ir-starlight-vari-focal-turret-security-camera
https://empiretech01.com/products/empiretech-4mp-wdr-ir-bullet-ai-network-camera-ipc-b54ir-z4e
https://empiretech01.com/products/empiretech-4mp-wdr-ir-bullet-ai-network-camera-ipc-b5442e-ze

The Z4E has longer focal length and therefore smaller FoV. Looking at my use-case it is most likely too small.
The T54IR-ZE-S3 and B54IR-ZE seem to have the same lens which looks more suitable for my application with hFoV=47...114°. Also the Identify-distance seems to be appropriate.

Differences between T54IR-ZE-S3 and B54IR-ZE seem to be 2 vs 4 LEDs and hence a larger illumination distance (which I do not need) and the 4 GB vs 128 MB ROM.
Larger ROM and better price would let me tend to buy the turret version as recommended by actran. However, due to the privacy/neighour aspects, the bullet still has an argument.

Is my summary/comparison correct? Does it come down to the question of form factor vs ROM/price? Any alternative camera missed in my comparison?


As written in my first post: The only cable available is an ethernet (CAT7) cable. Does this impact the decision? Any technical limitations (e.g. regarding audio) due to this?

 

[actran]

@pms can you elaborate what you mean by "privacy/neighour aspects, the bullet still has an argument."? are you saying this versus a turret?

If a camera is listed as POE, it's can get power + data via 1 ethernet cable. You can use a POE switch to connect to these cams.

 

[pms]

Hi @actran
well, in order to avoid discussions with the neighbours it would be beneficial if they can see that the camera does not look directly into their area. I think with a bullet it is easier to understand in which direction the camera looks and to accept without further evidence that I do not surveil them. With a turret it appears less obvious and therefore I expect a dispute to be more likely.

Besides that, is my summary above correct that it comes down to form factor vs ROM/price?

As of today, I would go with T54IR-ZE-S3 and take the risk of the above mentioned "neighbour topic".

All I need for mounting on the wall is EmpireTech PFB203W Wall Mount Bracket , or?
The CAT7 comes straight out of the wall without any box/socket to place the cable or even Keystone in. As it is not a flexible patch cable but a quite hard ethernet cable I wonder if this will work regarding flexibility, cable length, connection etc. Probably I have to avoid the Keystone and crimp an ethernet plug directly on that cable.

 

[actran]

@pms Turrets can be mounted directly to wall or soffit if desired. The key is if your hole is big enough (1 1/8" minimum) so you can shove the cables back into the wall. If not possible to hide cables in the wall, then a wall mount bracket can be used.

 

[Mike Baglini]

New member here and have ordered 3 cameras so far, the mini bullet, the bullet you are considering, and one of the turrets. Pay attention to the dimensions. The regular bullet is fantastic but quite larger than you likely expect. The turrets are rather small and more discrete and you can generally see where it is pointed.

 

[looney2ns]

@pms Turrets can be mounted directly to wall or soffit if desired. The key is if your hole is big enough (1 1/8" minimum) so you can shove the cables back into the wall. If not possible to hide cables in the wall, then a wall mount bracket can be used.

Or a proper junction box.

 

[hooraysimpsons]

As always, thanks everyone for the information provided. I have some follow up questions for similar situation. Currently have some wide field of view Amcrest cameras for close to the house which we keep well lit. Looking to get better cameras for other parts of the property with more zoom/higher focal length. Also looking to buy from Andy this time. I'm a little bit confused after going to the links mentioned so far in the thread.

When to use 'starlight' camera vs the built in IR?
Are they cameras with higher focal length that aren't variable (and therefore hopefully cheaper). Most that are set focal length seem to max out at 3.6mm.

Thanks all