Security Camera Questions

[Frank M]

Security Camera Questions


I own a business in an industrial park in leased space. I have 2 main security issues: 1) Trucks and 2) break in/s


Trucks. Several times I have lost gas, batteries and once had a “break-in” into an enclosed trailer. I would like a camera system to catch these types of thefts. These seem to be brute force thefts with local “down and out” guys. Gas prices go up – thefts do too. End of the month, thefts go up


Break-ins. I have had one. The broke into the unit next door and cut a hole in the wall into my unit. They were interrupted and left before they could take anything.


My neighbor is a bigger thief target than I am (SnapOn tools) and has 2 camera systems. He was kind enough to “plug me into his app” Blink. I have been watching the coverage coming from these cameras for about a week and I have some questions


Questions


All the trouble happens at night. I need a camera good enough to get a face and a plate number at night. What is the camera/s I would need?


Duration. The video I am watching lasts 5 seconds and is motion activated. One night, from 8PM to 5AM there were 46 notifications. (mostly drive by, but several dumpster divers). If the event starts and ends in under 2 seconds – it is a drive by and I do not really care, I do not want a notification. If the motions lasts longer than 5 seconds, they stopped – I care and I want all the motion (5 sec, 60 seconds or longer) Is there a system that filters in this way?


I really care if there is motion inside the building. If there is movement inside the building after I lock up – I want to know ASAP and loudly. Door sensors are interesting, but the one “event” they cut through the wall. I want one system – is there a camera that would get me motion and video?


Wide angle. The camera I am viewing have a narrow field of view. Things are passing in and out of that Field of view. Is there a wide angle camera?


Pole mount for Field of view. My neighbors camera are all battery operated and on the building. It would be better (IMO) if these were pole mounted 50 -60 feet away and viewing the building. Is this in WIFI distance and what do you think about mounting cameras on light poles?


I have never used cameras, and am starting to look at Amazon, Costco and such. What would work for me? I am in Southern California (No snow, rains about 3-5 days a year – weather is not a big issue. What should I buy??

 

[looney2ns]

Don't use Wifi, or battery's. It makes certain that Murphy's law will go into affect.

Wide angle makes it tough to ID faces, especially at night. You want to know who did it, not just what happened.

Get comfortable with this: IPVM Camera Calculator V3 keeping PPF>100, tutorial on upper right.

You can't do it all with one or two cams, they each need to have a specific job.

Do you have a security system that is LOUD?

Look at @bababouy post's here. He runs a service where the cams are actively monitored live, and if somethings up, they call the popo.

Such as: truck fire before the storm

and Late night cruise

Looking for some advice and direction!

Dahua 2MP Starlight Lineup

Dahua Starlight IPC-HDW5231R-ZE 800 meter capable ePOE

More info at nighthawkmonitoring.com

 

[mat200]

View attachment 22085 Security Camera Questions
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Questions


All the trouble happens at night. I need a camera good enough to get a face and a plate number at night. What is the camera/s I would need?
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Welcome Frank,

If you are mostly concerned with low light conditions then the Dahua Starlight series of cameras is what you want to start looking at and using that to compare your options.

Definitely check out looney2ns links - there's a lot of great resources and people here.

I have seen a couple 4K camera kits from Costco which would be compatible with the Dahua Starlight camera by Qsee and Lorex and have available ports for adding more cameras, however 4K cameras are good for daytime views and not as good for night time as the 2MP starlights - and the kits come with fixed lens so you can not adjust the lens as you may like to.

If you are in a hurry, you can order one of the varifocal starlights along with a ac/dc power adapter and micro-SD card and start playing with it to see what it can do.

Have fun learning and getting something setup.

 

[Kawboy12R]

What does the yard look like? Do you have defined choke points where people must pass through? How much light is out there? Are the trucks parked in the same spot every time? What are the distances from where you would like to mount the cameras to where the thieves will be standing or passing by?

In my opinion, you need two systems. An alarm system with bells and whistles like motion detectors, glass breaks, and door and window sensors, plus a camera setup with a mix of "zoom" cameras (long lenses), wider angle cams, and PIRs. Hard to tell exactly what without knowing a lot more about the yard. It can be hard to cover some yards effectively if they're poorly lit and have poor choke points (no fencing, wide entrances, etc). Box store systems won't cut it because they're mostly good at short range if at all.

 

[Frank M]

It is a industrial area. I could describe it but I just took pictures
Camera View #1 is from a pole in the parking lot looking at the unit, Camera View #2 is the same thing from a different pole, Crane 1 and Crane 2 and trucks and there is another truck that is out at the moment. This is the "yard". Obviously it is a parking lot and not a yard. Nothing is parked in the same spot all the time, but I would like to park them right on top of the cameras

 

[Kawboy12R]

At work I park things in the "yard". Might be a "here" thing. I also park in a driveway so what do I know? Badum TISH! *rimshot*
If you have access to power at the polls then it wouldn't be too hard to set up a camera with a Ubiquiti WiFi bridge to connect it back to the shop. Search for "Ubiquiti ptmp" under my name for some good examples. That way you can use any appropriate wired camera and the bridge will be as reliable as you can get without using an actual wire.

Use ipvm.com/calculator to get an idea of what length lens you'll need for the distances required. There are some good threads on here for what is required for a functional license plate cam. You'll need to dedicate one camera to plates if you have just one entrance to a gated yard. One or more overview cams to show the whole yard, plus some longer lensed probably varifocal cams to cover the trucks.

This is a pretty big commitment to do it right yourself from scratch though. Much easier setup but also poorer results with a box store system.