Recommendations for outdoor IP camera with good AI

[Sonnie]

I like the Nest system and the fact it offers unlimited events for 60 days and has 10 days of 24/7 recorded (with the $150 annual sub - which is fine with me). HOWEVER... they only offer a 2MP outdoor camera with a night range of about 50ft or so. I've seen video clips of it in action, but the video is not that clear at night. We have a service pole at our driveway entrance, about 75ft from the road (gravel road), and it has power and WiFi (we use it for our gate). There is also a night light on a power pole about 15ft from where the camera will be mounted, so IR may not matter in this case. I'd like a good camera (4MP or higher) and something that records 24/7 for at least a week or so and also does events like the Nest app. Do NVRs do this, or is there a system with a good app that does what Nest does?

I looked at the Lorex cameras, but reviews of the app were not so good.

Thanks for recommendations.

 

[Sonnie]

I just ran across a Reolink Duo 3 PoE 16MP 180° camera that looks like it has a snapshot app included... anyone use it?

 

[Sonnie]

I did some reading here... noticed you guys are not fond of ReoLink and Nest, regardless of their popularity.

Perhaps I need a Dahua 5442 in 6mm to be able to better identify what is at the end of our driveway, coming and going.

Then it appears Blue Iris might be pretty good software and give me the event thumbnails I'm looking for.

 

[bigredfish]

At 75ft you're gonna want something in the 30+mm lens range

The Z4 version of the 5442 would be my go-to 1st choice

IPC-HFW5442E-Z4E - Dahua International

IPC-HFW5442E-Z4E

www.dahuasecurity.com

Andy's part#

EmpireTech 1/1.8" CMOS 4MP IR Vari-focal Bullet Network Camera IPC-B54IR-Z4E-S3

4-MP 1/1.8" CMOS image sensor | Built-in IR LED | The max. illumination distance is 120 m | Deep learning algorithm | Supports max. 512 GB Micro SD card | Built-in MIC | IP67 and IK10 protection | SMD 3.0

empiretech01.com

 

[wittaj]

+1 above.

That Reolink would NEVER meet your needs at that distance.


See this thread for the commonly recommended cameras (along with Amazon links) based on distance to IDENTIFY that represent the overall best value in terms of price and performance day and night.

The Importance of Focal Length over MP in camera selection


Just because something is popular with the general public doesn't mean it is good.

If you want it done right, you will want a VMS system like an NVR or PC/BI combo to go along with the proper focal length camera for the distance you want to IDENTIFY. Anything cloud based will fail you as it either records on motion only or wifi cannot keep up and it is a pixelated mess.

We have an entire thread showing the fails of the Nest, Ring, etc., or basically all of the popular cameras one can buy at the big box store:

The Typical picture of a Perp on Nextdoor-type Apps with Consumer Grade Cameras like Ring, Nest, Arlo, Canary, Wyze, etc.

Love these posts on Nextdoor type apps LOL. This thread will be used for members to post the poor quality consumer grade type camera images that we see people post to the Nextdoor type apps. Can anyone make out this person that went thru their cars LOL.... And this thread is where members...

ipcamtalk.com

Reolink does a very good job of still images. But at night perps are a complete motion blur with missing body parts LOL....

What you mean a missing hand isn't normal LOL :lmao (plus look at the blur on the face and he is barely moving and this should be ideal indoor IR bounce and it struggles):

How about missing everything but the blur of a head and upper torso

The invisible man, where can he be. Thank goodness he is carrying around a reflective plate to see where he is LOL (hint - the person is literally in the middle of the image at the end of the fence where that rectangular reflective plate is that he is carrying around)

I've seen better images on an episode of ghost hunters

And of course, this is an example from Reolink's marketing videos - do you see a person in this picture...yes, there is a person in this picture.... Could this provide anything useful for the police other than the date and time something happened? Would this protect your home? The still picture looks great though except for the person and the blur of the vehicle... Will give you a hint - the person is in between the two visible columns:

Bad Boys
Bad Boys
Watcha gonna do
Watcha gonna do
When the camera can't see you


Here is the unofficial Reolink thread. It is documented in that thread as well the issues that BI has with Reolink cameras.

You can see all the attempts people have provided to demonstrate the quality of Reolink, and they are all a blurry mess at night or missing body parts or other messes.

We have challenged folks to provide a clean capture of someone moving at night with a Reolink and as you can see with over 20 pages, nobody has yet to provide a usable image with motion at night.

Reolink's algorithm is designed to produce a nice bright static image at night and that comes at a cost of blur and ghost and missing body parts at night.

Reolink: Deconstruction of a dangerous misleading youtube review "Finding the BEST 4K Security Camera NVR Package (Reolink vs Amcrest vs Swann)"

 

[Sonnie]

Yeah... done a LOT of reading early this morning and looking at what Andy offers now. I'll probably end up putting two cameras on the service pole... one for an 180° view and one for seeing tags on the gravel road. I'm about to go out to the service pole and take some snapshots and measure distances so I can know better what I need. I'll take some photos of what I'm looking to do.

 

[looney2ns]

New to LPR? Considerations Before You Begin | IP Cam Talk

As others have stated, avoid Reolink anything, except their Doorbell cam.

 

[Sonnie]

Here's the info and pics. The service pole is where we will mount the cameras.



The distance to the center of the road between the mailbox and fence corner is ~115ft. I said we'd want camera for tags, but really we are more concerned with ATVs tearing up the road. Our Sheriff said get a video and he'd take care of it. This is a small town and he knows pretty much everyone. Tags would be a benefit I suppose. This would likely be the best area to focus on.



Then to the side is where our gate will be. We will have a camera built into the keypad for communicating when the gate is closed, but I'd like a 180° view at the gate. The center of the driveway is ~25ft if measuring about 10ft high on the pole. It might be good to see them as they enter and leave... so 40-50ft might be more reasonable, but not sure how much identifying can be done with a 180° dual cam. I think the one I was looking at has dual 3.6mm lens.

We need good AI becuase at times the cows and horses are in the field on the other side of the driveway. We would prefer they not trigger any alarms. Only cars and humans if possible.

 

[bigredfish]

For the shot at the road, at 115ft, IF you want tags, you'll need even more zoom, and a 2nd camera
The 5241 2MP Z12 is really your only choice for that job.

IPC-HFW5241E-Z12E - Dahua International

IPC-HFW5241E-Z12E

www.dahuasecurity.com

Note that to get tags, you must zoom in tight. That means you aren't going to see much but that patch of road except for the length of a car.
You need another "Overview" camera to get the big picture. One camera can't do both jobs at that distance

Like this (capture area is 100-120ft)
Overview camera


Tag camera



The 180 cam might do Ok for your other task. No you wont positive ID someone at 45-50ft, more like 15-20.
AI/IVS will keep your alarms to just Vehicles and/or Humans no problem.

Normal variable focus camera (2.8-12mm) vs zoomed in Z4 (32mm) camera T 45-50ft

 

[Sonnie]

So I might be better using three cameras in this case. The overview camera might also serve as an identity camera vs the dual 3.6mm 180° which would be more of an overview camera for up and down the driveway.

 

[bigredfish]

Yes

 

[Sonnie]

I was reading this review on Andy's IPC-Color4K-T180 cam... would the bullet version of this cam (IPC-Color4K-B180 ) be better for weather, or do you think this review is an isolated instance?

3.0 out of 5 stars Not really IP67
Reviewed in the United States on October 31, 2023
Color: White Verified Purchase
It's a nice panoramic camera that I've installed often. ePTZ is also a cool feature. The problem is that IP67 moisture resistance rating. They fill up with water in humid or rainy environments and I'm having to take them apart, occasionally. The shiny black plastic snaps off, revealing two black lens covers held to the ball by 4 small Phillips screws. Taking those lens covers off allows you to dry the parts between the cover and the lens. Better if you use these indoors in a dry warehouse.

 

[MTL4]

I was reading this review on Andy's IPC-Color4K-T180 cam... would the bullet version of this cam (IPC-Color4K-B180 ) be better for weather, or do you think this review is an isolated instance?

Another factor to think about is day vs night use. Will this be only working in daylight or will it be catching folks at night too?

 

[wittaj]

I was reading this review on Andy's IPC-Color4K-T180 cam... would the bullet version of this cam (IPC-Color4K-B180 ) be better for weather, or do you think this review is an isolated instance?

I would say it is an isolated case and maybe the person didn't screw the SD card cover in properly or rolled the gasket.

Many of us have this camera exposed to the elements and it is just fine.

Many of us here have learned not to trust the Amazon reviews either.

 

[Sonnie]

Another factor to think about is day vs night use. Will this be only working in daylight or will it be catching folks at night too?

Most of the ATV action will be during the daytime.

 

[Sonnie]

I would say it is an isolated case and maybe the person didn't screw the SD card cover in properly or rolled the gasket.

Many of us have this camera exposed to the elements and it is just fine.

Many of us here have learned not to trust the Amazon reviews either.

Is one better than the other? Seems they are the same camera in different housings.

 

[wittaj]

Some will say the bullet is better as there is more room to fit everything in.

Some go with the bullet because they like that style for visual deterrent reasons, others go with the turret version to try to minimize the appearance of cameras.

 

[Sonnie]

I'm ordering cameras from Andy.

Do you guys use the 512GB SD card on your cameras and is there a particular SD card to buy?

Also... would you mount the bracket directly to the service pole even though it's not flat, which would leave a slight gap on each side, or at least one side. Or... would you buy the pole mount kit?

EDIT: Actually, it's not that hard to make that small section of the pole flat for mounting directly to the pole.

 

[bigredfish]

I’ve had some mounted directly to a flat 4” square poll and weather proofed for 6-7 years

 

[wittaj]

I'm ordering cameras from Andy.

Do you guys use the 512GB SD card on your cameras and is there a particular SD card to buy?

Also... would you mount the bracket directly to the service pole even though it's not flat, which would leave a slight gap on each side, or at least one side. Or... would you buy the pole mount kit?

EDIT: Actually, it's not that hard to make that small section of the pole flat for mounting directly to the pole.

Somewhere in here was a post indicating that the cameras struggle with 512GB SD cards. Most here will use 256GB. Many use the Samsung EVO cards.