Recommendations for IP camera to record and live stream my bird feeder (4k, 25fps+ and less than $200)

CCTVCam

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Be aware a varifocal camera is not meant to zoom in and out. It's meant to be fixed, have the zoom adjusted to provide the view you want, and then be left. If what you want is a perfect close up view of the bird table it's fine. If you also want an overview, or the ability to zoom in and out to other areas, you need a ptz. You will wear the motors out very quickly if you use a varifocal as a zoom.

Also, beware Chinese cameras. Many are hacked to allow them to be used in the US / International regions and if you try to update the firmware or if the camera does it automatically, then you'll either find the whole camera in Chinese (every menu), it refusing to recognise your international / US NVR, or just totally bricked.

Andy @ EmpireCandy is your friend here. He will supply you with proper International cameras for a price lower than you can buy eslewhere and only a bit more expensive than a future Chinese hacked nightmare. He has his own firmware, but because the cameras are international versions, you can still install the standard Dahua firmware without breaking anything. You have to ask yourself if it is worth saving $10 or $20 on Aliexpress buying an unkown hacked Chinese market only camera and risking losing all your money down the line when it becomes bricked from an enforced firmware update?

Final point, if going the ptz route, be aware you don't need as many megapixels when you're zooming into a small area. Do your research on here and you'll find that a picture on an 8K that you have to crop or digitally zoom in on because the view is too wide, will have a much lower quality picture than a 2mp PTZ that's zoomed in tightly to an object eg bird table. The reason here is it's not the MP that matters but the pixel density ie how large the area is you spread the pixels over and thus how many pixels there are per inch. If you only want it for day use then 8mp is fine. However, in poor light / night it may perform badly. 4mp is the current sweet spot for day / night vision using large sensors. Note here it's the sensor size and sensitivity that's important for night / low light, not the MP. Generally at night, the more MP the worse the picture unless the sensor is considerably larger also. A ptz is also potentially going to give you a much larger zoom range depending on the model, as some are as much as 25x whereas the camera above is only 12x. The correct zoom level for your application to avoid digital cropping is far more important than total pixel count. 8k will only give the best daylight picture if the zoom is also sufficient to giev the tight crop you want without any need for cropping. 8k will not give the best picture at night / very low light.

In my opinion, as someone with limited practical experience of CCTV, in your case you need to start by measuring the distance from your proposed mounting position to the bird table you want to watch in your pond. This will help you establish a base line for how much zoom you will actually need to achieve a tight zoom as in the yotuube video above. From there you need to decide is the camera going to be a permanent fixed zoom on the table or do you want to zoom out and look at other areas / an over view? Those 2 starting points will help establish whether you need a ptz or fixed and how much zoom you're going to need for a tight crop. If not using it low light / night, then 8mp will be a good choice for sharpness but just be aware tha pixels alone aren't everything. The correct zoom level is going to play a big part here. Just my 2 cents.
 

DOOD

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May I suggest a Hikvision 2385G1. I have one in 4mm flavor on the way. Does 8MP and 20FPS with a decent 1/2" sensor, Darkfighter. No audio but it has audio input. 150usd or so from Andy shipped. Can't wait to set it up.
Does it have audio input?
 

jon2

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I took this video to show you one of the advantages of a ptz. birds dont feed all day long in most cases. so when you are looking at the feeder they may not be any birds on the feeder . but they may be active closer by as you can see in the video.. one other thing to be aware of i do have other bird feeders hanging in the tree but the leaves are blocking the view in summer ok in the winter with no leaves on the tree. so plan were you postion the camera. i don't just use this cam for watching the feeders so its ok for me,
 

Rickoo

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I started the process just like you about a year ago. Have several feeders I wanted to watch. After much consideration, I ended up with a 25x zoom 4MP Hikvision DS-2DE4A425IW-DE. It's around $600 for a US camera.

I have multiple presets that can zoom on feeders and nesting boxes as well as the rear of my property. It's been a great camera and trouble free. Works flawlessly. Audio is REALLY nice when it comes to birds. Wouldn't want a cam for birds without it.

I know its more than you wanted to spend, but you get what you pay for. Saves all the aggravation that comes with trying to make an inexpensive camera do what it can't.
 

Starling

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May I suggest a Hikvision 2385G1. I have one in 4mm flavor on the way. Does 8MP and 20FPS with a decent 1/2" sensor, Darkfighter. No audio but it has audio input. 150usd or so from Andy shipped. Can't wait to set it up.
Thanks for the tip, but I'm close to ordering the IPC-HFW2831T-ZS, it fills all my criteria.

I just need to figure out what equipment I need with it, like NVR or raspberry Pi, if anyone has any tips?

It doesn't have a mic though, might need to link in a third-party mic if that's possible?
 
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Thanks for the tip, but I'm close to ordering the IPC-HFW2831T-ZS, it fills all my criteria.

I just need to figure out what equipment I need with it, like NVR or raspberry Pi, if anyone has any tips?

It doesn't have a mic though, might need to link in a third-party mic if that's possible?
If your camera has an external audio in, it is definitely possible.
This microphone has been suggested in the past.
 
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Starling

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I'm recommended to use the '4CH POE NVR, NVR4104-P-4KS2' to use with the IPC-HFW2831T-ZAS, seems like a good combo?
 

DOOD

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Like I said, it doesn't but it does have a connector for attaching a mic. Not sure what kind of connector you can google that.
You did say it has audio input. Im only asking because i have this camera, (unless im getting mixed up with another) , and i wasnt aware you could connect a mic.

 

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Warptrooper

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You did say it has audio input. Im only asking because i have this camera, (unless im getting mixed up with another) , and i wasnt aware you could connect a mic.

Just got it, no audio input. Guess I was mistaken.
 

Starling

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Hi, it's a few months since I asked this question, does anyone know if any good 25+ fps cameras have come to market since then that might be good for streaming my bird feeder?
 

Starling

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Be aware a varifocal camera is not meant to zoom in and out. It's meant to be fixed, have the zoom adjusted to provide the view you want, and then be left. If what you want is a perfect close up view of the bird table it's fine. If you also want an overview, or the ability to zoom in and out to other areas, you need a ptz. You will wear the motors out very quickly if you use a varifocal as a zoom.
Is this a good calculator to use to work out field of view?

 

Starling

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I was thinking of buying a Dahua IPC-HFW2831T-ZAS camera and a Dahua NVR4104-P-4KS2 to go with it, does anyone know if I can livestream video to youtube with that setup?

Axis cameras seem to be simple to stream to youtube with their camstreamer software.

 
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