Recommendations for cameras

[bamaster]

Hello all,

Being new to the home surveillance game, I'd like to ask others who may be able to give some experienced advice. I have 4 cameras. All are Amcrest ProHD 1080P POE IP2M-844E. But I'm not thrilled with their performance in some situations, particularly low light.

Here are some (resized to 800px) photos for reference - Frontdoor, Driveway, Backdoor, and Backyard.




The Frontdoor seems to wash things out due to the sunlight. I can't identify my visitor at all. When the sun is not so bright, the image is fine.

The Driveway, lights get blown out, and frankly is blurry. In daylight, it looks great.

The backdoor and backyard, I lose a lot of peripheral. Especially by the backdoor itself. I could move the camera but I want to catch the windows too.

I'm running Blue Iris on a desktop PC dedicated to Plex and the cameras, I don't think there's an issue with PC performance.

So, would a camera upgrade be beneficial? I prefer dome-ish cameras up front, but bullets may be acceptable in the back. No need for audio, not particularly interested in PTZ. Budget, perhaps $1,000 for all four cameras.

Thanks in advance!

 

[nayr]

first camera shot desperately needs WDR or BLC enabled.. other than that your pics look pretty good generally.

this will take care of all your needs: Dahua Starlight Varifocal Turret (IPC-HDW5231R-Z)

though your back yard could also greatly benefit from an external IR illuminator or visible lighting for best results.

the one watching the windows needs reframed, dont need to be aimed that high.. get the ceiling out of view

 

[bamaster]

Ah, yes. I was just looking at the Dahua Starlight thread of yours. That looks like the cam to beat, especially at that price point. I'll have to pick up a set.

And I like the idea of better lighting, like IR floods. I don't really want bright flood lights, so that's a great alternative. I need to spend more time on here just reading and learning. Thanks!

 

[vinceskahan]

couple questions:

• I know folks here just love the Starlight models it seems like there are zero US sellers of Dahua or Nikvision who are authorized sellers, so how does somebody buy one of these things and have an actual warranty ?
  
  
• I currently have a Hootoo HT-IP212 knockoff of a Foscam (yes, I know) which is a wifi camera (yes, I know) that has been extremely stable for 3 years. Problem is the blasted thing is killing itself trying to phone home to China to register with the servers there, presumably to enable the phone app access back into the network here (which I do 'not' want and would turn off, if their firmware had such a setting). There are no firmware updates for this ever. There is no way to turn it off. All I can do is block the DNS queries from resolving, and just in case, block outbound traffic LAN=>WAN from this box, which I've done. But it does 2400+ DNS lookup attempts per day, most to a host that doesn't even exist any more.
  
  Do the Dahua and Nikvision camera similarly send traffic to Internet with no 'off' setting ? Has anybody looked at the DNS lookups or ip traffic via tcpdump or the like to know for certain ?

 

[nayr]

couple questions:

• I know folks here just love the Starlight models it seems like there are zero US sellers of Dahua or Nikvision who are authorized sellers, so how does somebody buy one of these things and have an actual warranty ?
  
  
• I currently have a Hootoo HT-IP212 knockoff of a Foscam (yes, I know) which is a wifi camera (yes, I know) that has been extremely stable for 3 years. Problem is the blasted thing is killing itself trying to phone home to China to register with the servers there, presumably to enable the phone app access back into the network here (which I do 'not' want and would turn off, if their firmware had such a setting). There are no firmware updates for this ever. There is no way to turn it off. All I can do is block the DNS queries from resolving, and just in case, block outbound traffic LAN=>WAN from this box, which I've done. But it does 2400+ DNS lookup attempts per hour, most to a host that doesn't even exist any more.
  
  Do the Dahua and Nikvision camera similarly send traffic to Internet with no 'off' setting ? Has anybody looked at the DNS lookups or ip traffic via tcpdump or the like to know for certain ?

BHP Photo perhaps? Actual Warranties are over-rated, if you buy a warrantied US model expect to pay at least 2x the cost.. so whats the point? import two and keep one sitting around as a spare watching something less important.. I've never had a premature failure w/Dahua, its not worth it for a warranty.

Dahua can call home to servers in china if the p2p feature is enabled, it can be disabled.. and with it turned off there is no unexpected traffic, many people have checked via packet sniffers.. however blocking all traffic from your cameras to the internet externally from your router is always a good idea.

 

[Kawboy12R]

Once you get the front door cam dialed in with enough WDR or BLC you might want to consider dropping it down a little. It's way too high for my liking to get a decent straight-on face shot even if they aren't wearing a hat or hoodie.

 

[Scales11]

Hopefully I am not hijacking your thread, but I too am new to the security camera game and had the same question. Here are my goals:
-Locally managed storage...the only person I want to have access to my videos is me. Perhaps I would allow myself VPN access at a later date.
-Ethernet camera (PoE would be a plus)
-simple software on a separate network PC, zonealarm would be fine
-preferably a "dumb cam"...I do not trust cameras with built in software, who knows if there is a back door
-Night vision would be nice
-better than 640x480 resolution


I just bought an Amcrest IPM-HX1B (Amcrest 960p Fixed WiFi Video Monitoring Security Wireless IP Camera with Two-Way Audio, Plug & Play Setup, Optional Cloud Recording, Full HD 960p (1280TVL) @ 30FPS, Super Wide 140° Viewing Angle and Night Vision IPM-HX1B (Black))

It was an impulse buy because the specs looks great and I didnt research it too much. Though some posts here make me concerned. I think the Fov is pretty wide, and clear enough. I was toying with the idea of putting the cameras on a separate router and blocking all outgoing/incoming traffic. The video seems pretty good to me, but my big concern is the same I have with any of the "smart" cams, I don't know who they are taking too. I have been testing a program called MotionEye with connected webcams. Its a free piece if software that supports mjpg streaming cameras, motion detection and seems to cover all my bases, but I am not opposed to some other locally manageable software. My bigger question, is which cameras are a better fit for me?

 

[Kawboy12R]

Hard to tell you what cameras are a good fit until you tell folks what they'll be used for and where. mjpg software? Ditch it. Find something that'll record h.264 ONVIF streams. Blue Iris is popular here. So is Milestone, and it has a free version.

 

[Scales11]

Thanks for the input.

I am using these cameras around my house. I plan to have maybe 4 inside and 3 outside. I would like to have motion detection and alerts (email is OK). Wide angle lens is a bonus.

Does that help?

I think the amcrest has both ONVIF and .h264...though I have never hears of ONVIF...I will look it up now

 

[Kawboy12R]

ONVIF means it'll stream to third party video recording solutions. Some cheapass consumer cams use proprietary formats to force you to use their solutions, including possibly monthly fees for cloud storage. If you're serious about ID then add 3 Dahua 5231R-Z starlight turrets outside. Inside? If you want to use a Dahua NVR then pick some Dahua cams (maybe mini domes) and mount them. If you want to use Blue Iris or Milestone, then use whatever brand you want that supports ONVIF. Those Amcrest cams aren't a terrible choice for portable cams but avoid wide angle lenses. Their 90 degree 2k are

 

[Kawboy12R]

Probably a better choice mounted in a corner. Hikvision has a nice cube that's a "real" cam with PIR for fairly reliable motion alerts. Amazon.com: Hikvision DS-2CD2432F-IW 3MP Indoor IR Wifi Cube Camera 2.8mm: Camera & Photo

 

[Scales11]

1. I would like to avoid extra hardware if possible, hence the desire to use IP cameras and my spare PC for the software. So I'd prefer not to have the NVR.

2. I am happy to try some different software, though the one I was using seemed to be working OK. I will look into Blue Iris and Milestone.

3. Are the Dahua cameras only BNC?

4. Are there any Ethernet cameras that are popular or more reputable?

5. Does anyone know. Way to ensure the Amcrest cameras are not phoning home? May just put them on a separate Router and only allow local traffic...

 

[Kawboy12R]

Dahua IP cameras aren't BNC, they're IP (RJ45 connectors).

Hikvision outsells Dahua for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the huge amounts of money pumped directly into Hikvision by the Chinese government.

Axis, Bosch, and Avigilon, among others, are better than Dahua. You'll pay for the privilege though.

 

[nayr]

fyi Amcrest buy Dahua cameras and slap there name on em.

 

[Scales11]

Nayr,

Does that mean that the Amcrest camera I chose is decent?

Should I be concerned that they could be hacked or sending data back home?

 

[nayr]

Always, but that dont change regardless whom made the camera.. go check out the VPN Primer for Noobs

 

[Scales11]

I read that but it mostly discussed accessing the device from the outside.

I was wondering about Amcrest or someone else, tunneling back through a signal sent out from the camera...like how Teamviewer works.

I am very familiar with VPNs and I absolutely planned on using one to view these cameras.

 

[nayr]

then establish rules on your router/firewall to forbid traffic too/from the cameras and the internet, or run a VLAN.

I dont trust anything; not even Dahua.. but Ive checked my logs and the cameras are not attempting to access the internet w/the way I have them configured.

 

[Scales11]

Do the Dahua cameras require a plugin to view the live stream? I don't understand why it is necessary. I can see all the settings and change them just fine from any browser, but viewing the stream from within the interface?..not without the plugin.

 

[nayr]

yes, they all do.. because html5 realtime video streaming isint even finalized and well IP cameras have standards and users of legacy systems to worry about.. the camera outputs a RTSP stream but no browser will play it w/out a plugin.. RTSP is what the industry uses, these are not WebCams they are Security Cameras.

You should be bitching at the browsers asking why they wont natively implement industry standards that have been in place for eons, then plugins would not be a nessicary evil.