Start up need recommendation on placement

[nikothebarber]

So I bought a IPC- t5442t-ze , I know onr camera id.not enough to accomplish everything but I spent my 180 starting budget on one good vera focal rather then getting 2 or 3 not so great cameras.. My idea is for now I just want to start by having it placed for observation, and at a level of That could potentially identify but that's where.you guys come in. I'm going to be placing it where I can see a good bit of everything including a high traffic intersection that sits in front of my house. Here are some basic measurements and some pictures to give any idea.

 

[sebastiantombs]

You made a good choice with the 5442T-ZE for a first camera. It will provide good video at 51 feet with the zoom at maximum but that cuts the field of view, especially close to the camera. You will need to experiment a little with the zoom to determine what works best in your specific location. For the back of the house a 5442T-Z4E would provide results similar to the ZE being used in the front.

Do not leave everything set on 'auto", especially at night. Spend some time experimenting with all the settings like brightness, contrast, gain, exposure compensation and, most importantly, shutter speed. Shutter speed, at night, can't be any slower than 1/60, 16.66ms, or the video will be blurred when motion enters the scene. Once they are "tuned", the night video is very good, even with motion.

 

[looney2ns]

Study this on a real computer: Cliff Notes

 

[sebastiantombs]

A couple of visuals may hep, too -

Distance for recognition and identification. These are general and in reality may be lower than listed here -



View angles of various focal length lenses. These also vary by sensor size -

 

[nikothebarber]

You made a good choice with the 5442T-ZE for a first camera. It will provide good video at 51 feet with the zoom at maximum but that cuts the field of view, especially close to the camera. You will need to experiment a little with the zoom to determine what works best in your specific location. For the back of the house a 5442T-Z4E would provide results similar to the ZE being used in the front.

Do not leave everything set on 'auto", especially at night. Spend some time experimenting with all the settings like brightness, contrast, gain, exposure compensation and, most importantly, shutter speed. Shutter speed, at night, can't be any slower than 1/60, 16.66ms, or the video will be blurred when motion enters the scene. Once they are "tuned", the night video is very good, even with motion.

Appreciate it and thanks, and yeah I'm well versed in manual settings of cameras. As you can see my bard yard is pretty damn dark from the over hanging trees, I had someone crawl through my window about 4 months ago while I was gone and clean my room out, the window is on the back right hand side if you use the provided overhead shots. Anyways there's really only one noiseless and way into my back yard and that's via the driveway or small gap on the right side. I need night to be the dominate choice for factoring in all the camera purchases.
Oh and another thing is, as ive never installed one. And did not have the extra funds, does anyone happen to have any cat6 or 5 I assume and the mounts for the cameras. I was told by Andy I can install the camera without one but not sure how and I dont want my camera to be damaged by water. I hate to he a bum.. but yeah

 

[sebastiantombs]

Protecting the connectors from weather is very important. The general advice is to use a dab of dielectric grease on the male RJ45 before plugging it into the female on the camera. Assemble the gland over the connectors. Wrap the whole thing with a self vulcanizing tape like coax seal. Then wrap that with a good quality electrical tape like 3M 33+. Even moisture from condensation can cause problems over time so keeping it dry is very important. The same procedure, minus the dielectric grease, should be used on any unused connectors.

I mount to soffits without a mounting box because I can get the connector up into the soffit and out of direct exposure to the weather. Cameras mounted in areas that are exposed should have an appropriate box to keep the connectors out of direct exposure to the weather. That can even be a standard weatherproof electrical box with the cables entering through the bottom, and using Duct Seal to seal the entry. Drip loops are also needed just in case there is any possibility of seepage or capillary action.

A general note on camera placement for maximum protection. Placing a camera on each end of the house and making their fields of view look back toward each other provides the best protection. That allows one camera to "watch" the other and gives you shots of anyone coming or going. You'll find that cameras are a very deep rabbit hole.

 

[nikothebarber]

Protecting the connectors from weather is very important. The general advice is to use a dab of dielectric grease on the male RJ45 before plugging it into the female on the camera. Assemble the gland over the connectors. Wrap the whole thing with a self vulcanizing tape like coax seal. Then wrap that with a good quality electrical tape like 3M 33+. Even moisture from condensation can cause problems over time so keeping it dry is very important. The same procedure, minus the dielectric grease, should be used on any unused connectors.

I mount to soffits without a mounting box because I can get the connector up into the soffit and out of direct exposure to the weather. Cameras mounted in areas that are exposed should have an appropriate box to keep the connectors out of direct exposure to the weather. That can even be a standard weatherproof electrical box with the cables entering through the bottom, and using Duct Seal to seal the entry. Drip loops are also needed just in case there is any possibility of seepage or capillary action.

A general note on camera placement for maximum protection. Placing a camera on each end of the house and making their fields of view look back toward each other provides the best protection. That allows one camera to "watch" the other and gives you shots of anyone coming or going. You'll find that cameras are a very deep rabbit hole.

Unfortunately my house is old and not outfitted with soffit the only lip from the roofs edge is the gutter....

 

[nikothebarber]

Oh and trust me ive started the jump down the rabbit hole.