Honestly, the pictures I posted do not represent the true picture as they are shot from underneath at about 5 feet away. When you get out 25 - 30 feet you don't even notice them. My sidewalk at 50 feet and you have to stand still and stare to pick them out. If I can get motivated I will go out side and shoot one from further away.
Smallest/most discrete outdoor security camera?
- Thread starter hawkeye217
- Start date
Pretty convinced on the 5442 at this point, and I'll probably install two of them on either corner of the house so they can see each other in the front. I'll think about the sides/back of the house later after my wallet cools off a bit 
I have direct access to the attic and the soffit so I should be able to mount them directly there and put the cabling up through a hole without a special mounting bracket.
Now to hunt around for the best price!
Really appreciate everyone's help and feedback.
I have direct access to the attic and the soffit so I should be able to mount them directly there and put the cabling up through a hole without a special mounting bracket.
Now to hunt around for the best price!
Really appreciate everyone's help and feedback.
looney2ns
IPCT Contributor
Our resident vendor is the best place to purchase, he is very supportive and takes care of any issues if they crop up.Pretty convinced on the 5442 at this point, and I'll probably install two of them on either corner of the house so they can see each other in the front. I'll think about the sides/back of the house later after my wallet cools off a bit
I have direct access to the attic and the soffit so I should be able to mount them directly there and put the cabling up through a hole without a special mounting bracket.
Now to hunt around for the best price!
Really appreciate everyone's help and feedback.
EmpireTech Andy | IP Cam Talk or directly at: kingsecurity2014@163.com
Both of my 5442s in use are EmpireTech (Loryta) Andy cameras, been running 24/7 for over one year. I know the hours because I just renewed by Blue Iris at the end of year one about a month ago and both cams were mounted about a month after I got BI installed.
Follow the guidance here for water proofing, Coax Seal Tape, dielectric grease, etc. I live in adverse weather and no issues.
Follow the guidance here for water proofing, Coax Seal Tape, dielectric grease, etc. I live in adverse weather and no issues.
Awesome. Any post/page here that sums up all that guidance? I can poke around if you don't have it off hand.
Andy sells on Amazon, just search for EmpireTech
Andy sells direct at his AliExpress store too, many buy from him and get oversea direct shipments. He is also on this board daily and has his own subforum if you look. I generally buy from amazon for convenience but a LOT here buy direct.
Ok, so on Andy's Amazon store I see the 5442TM-AS, 5442TM-AS-LED, and 5442T-ZE. Slightly confused as to the differences...
mat200
IPCT Contributor
- Jan 17, 2017
- 15,463
- 26,021
Hi @hawkeye217
model numbers .. -LED = led white lights ( which reportedly are not really very bright .. ) -Z = "zoom" .. in this case a varifocal lens ..
Loryta Outdoor Security 4MP Ultra Low Light Starlight+ WDR IR Turret AI IP Camera,IP67 Weatherproof,Support POE and ePOE,Built-in Mic,Vehicle and Human Detection,Fixed Lens IPC-T5442TM-AS 2.8mm
( fixed lens, pick 2.8mm, 3.6mm, or 6mm - I would only get 2.8mm if suspects will be close to the camera .. see the DORI section of the cliff notes )
Dahua IPC-HDW5442TM-AS-LED 4MP Full-Color WDR Eyeball AI Network Camera LED Night Color Vision IVS Intellegent Event Trigger Original English Version upgradable (2.8mm Lens)
( iirc, LED lights replace the IR Leds .. )
EmpireTech 4MP Ultra Low Light IP Camera,Starlight IR Motorized 2.7mm-12mm Lens Turret Camera,IP67 Weatherproof,Built-in Mic,Support POE and ePOE,Vehicle and Human Detection IPC-T5442T-ZE White
( typically I recommend a good varifocal camera for those learning, like this one as their first camera .. )
Justin Blackburn
Getting the hang of it
- Jan 13, 2018
- 63
- 89
A got motivated to shoot a couple post install pictures. They are not full view as I try to maintain some degree of anonymity online.
Last edited:
Justin Blackburn
Getting the hang of it
- Jan 13, 2018
- 63
- 89
Rob, do you get much infrared glare the way those are up in there? Or do you use external illumination?
I actually run both cams in full color 24/7, the City put in a huge LED white street light at the end of the driveway. I messed around with infrared a lot and finally decided with the white LED streetlight full color works the best.
When I ran infrared I did have some glare, so I did have to move them down to the edge of the trim. Originally I had them a little higher which made them even more discreet but got some glare when they were higher.
I have a Dahua 4239 in 6MM with a F 1.0 lens and it is even better in full color. I have not had time to get it mounted.
If you look closely you can see the one cam is on the front trim fascia and the other cam back a bit on the side fascia.
In the pic below there are two T5442 cams mounted on either side of the garage door. There is also a dome cam mounted in the window above the garage. There is also a T5231 mounted way in the back along the side of the house. My neighbor that lives next door, in the house to the left, never noticed them for months after they moved in. They did not know I had cams watching the driveway until I posted shots on Nextdoor of a door checker in my driveway one night and they saw that post. They asked me where the cams were and I pointed them out. This shot is from the street.
After everyone's replies yesterday, it got me thinking - should I replace my doorbell camera (a 2MP Hikvision clone) with something else for better identification of faces who walk near/up to the door?
I don't use the two-way talk feature, and I already use a reed switch on my mechanical chime to grab doorbell button presses and send them to Home Assistant. So all I really use it for is face recognition.
Has anyone else done this or thought about it? What are some important considerations?
I don't use the two-way talk feature, and I already use a reed switch on my mechanical chime to grab doorbell button presses and send them to Home Assistant. So all I really use it for is face recognition.
Has anyone else done this or thought about it? What are some important considerations?
Justin Blackburn
Getting the hang of it
- Jan 13, 2018
- 63
- 89
I know you said you use Frigate which is awesome. Do you also use double take for person identification? I haven’t taken this step yet, but most likely will in my spare time. I run frigate in docker on a M1 Mac mini and seeing inference times between 10-20ms for 4- 1080P detect streams. I searched for a coral, but at this point I doubt it would be much help to my setup.
Yep, Frigate is awesome. I have used it for a few years now (before it was popular) so I picked up a Coral early on and I get 9-10ms inference times with 4 cameras. I actually have a bit of a hacked set up for facial recognition right now. I tried Double Take but it ended up being slower and not as flexible for me compared to the Python scripts I set up.
I posted here last week with some of my other frustrations with the Hikvision doorbell... New Amcrest AD410 doorbell Cam Review
Just my thoughts, you could leave the doorbell cam in place but have a second camera, closer to ground level, like in a hidden birdhouse on a pole. I would place this prior to the porch approach so by the time the doorbell cam is spotted the face has been captured. The wuflu makes everything more difficult, people walking around masked does not warrant a second look now days.
Cams hidden in the bushes shooting up is also an option.
mat200
IPCT Contributor
- Jan 17, 2017
- 15,463
- 26,021
Hi @hawkeye217
If you have a video doorbell camera, I would still plan to have at least one more camera covering the front door ..
Personally I want to cover both the drop spot for packages and people's faces as they come to the door ..
So, if I can:
1x mini-dome style camera at face level
1x video doorbell ( optional for me )
1x camera that can get the package drop zone well .. often a camera mounted a bit higher and to the side a bit
This way I can get info to potentially ID a person, and show if they messed with any packages .. or if they dropped off a package ... add with a camera covering the street, and hopefully I get a good image on the car used.
Great thoughts. The doorbell cam actually has a really tall viewing angle, so I can see all the way to the ground because of where it's placed. But a mini dome at face level is actually a great idea.