Suggestions for a "trail cam" camera system?

E

EvanVanVan

Pulling my weight
Jul 29, 2022
152
105
NJ
Hi,

I'm looking for advice on a good camera system to be used as trail cams? My mom has a bunch of battery operated-sd card trail cams set up on her property to capture all sorts of wildlife that walks through (bears, deer, beavers, turtles, lots of birds, etc.). But they're battery operated, they're not live and she has to pull down the cameras down to retrieve SD cards to check the pictures every few weeks. I'd like to get her set up with a (preferably) wired camera system that takes pictures/video, can be watched live and is stored on a NAS. I'm assuming motion alerts to a phone are a thing. I'm wondering/hoping that remote cameras could be powered via ethernet? (As an alternative a couple of cameras mounted on the house would be a good start.) I have no concept what it would cost, but $2-3,000 sounds reasonable lol...

Thanks
 
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Haha :cool:

Do you have any other information on those cameras? Or a good place to read up on them? (Obviously I'm going to google them now). I'm guessing by your suggestion, they should fit most of my needs?

Lol the couple of times I've been on aliexpress, I've been overwhelmed by the pop ups, etc.

Thanks for the help!
 
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See this great thread by @sebastiantombs that includes the reviews of various cameras.

General dahua and hikvision questions, along with placement and BI advice

Hello all! I just joined this forum so that I could ask a couple questions. I've lurked here the past week reading the wiki, sticky, and icky posts all around about general camera knowledge and hardware reccomendations. I am able to configure managed switches, vlans and vpn's and run cables...
ipcamtalk.com ipcamtalk.com
 
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Welcome to IPCT ! :wave:
 
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I recently built a Blue Iris based system for my parents. The cost was around $2,300. Here is a list of all the components that went into it. Clearly, your needs will be different than my parents but it gives you an idea of what $2,300 gets you. The only thing I'd add to this list is a decent WiFi router that can also be an OpenVPN server such as a good used Asus RT-86U off of eBay for $50 to $70. And yes, these cams are powered via the ethernet cable. Yes, you can get all kinds of alerts on any mobile device or tablet and you can access the system remotely/securely from anywhere in the country from any computer or device that has the correct VPN certificate that you create. The best thing is, there are no monthly subscription fees.

Additionally, you can mix/match different brands of cams this way. I would be careful of where you get your cams from. Aliexpress has a lot of eye candy but as far as I know @EMPIRETECANDY is the only one here who has an Aliexpress/Amazon/Direct store who will give you trusted products/service. Beware of buying cams on eBay/Aliexpress from sellers who don't have USA/English firmware installed on the cams....unless you read Chinese....LOL. A lot of folks have been burned and after the fact come here looking for help with their cam/firmware issues.

1659135623998.png
 
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Sybertiger said:
I recently built a Blue Iris based system for my parents. The cost was around $2,300. Here is a list of all the components that went into it. Clearly, your needs will be different than my parents but it gives you an idea of what $2,300 gets you. The only thing I'd add to this list is a decent WiFi router that can also be an OpenVPN server such as a good used Asus RT-86U off of eBay for $50 to $70. And yes, these cams are powered via the ethernet cable. Yes, you can get all kinds of alerts on any mobile device or tablet and you can access the system remotely/securely from anywhere in the country from any computer or device that has the correct VPN certificate that you create. The best thing is, there are no monthly subscription fees.

Additionally, you can mix/match different brands of cams this way. I would be careful of where you get your cams from. Aliexpress has a lot of eye candy but as far as I know @EMPIRETECANDY is the only one here who has an Aliexpress/Amazon/Direct store who will give you trusted products/service. Beware of buying cams on eBay/Aliexpress from sellers who don't have USA/English firmware installed on the cams....unless you read Chinese....LOL. A lot of folks have been burned and after the fact come here looking for help with their cam/firmware issues.
Click to expand...

That's great! Thank you for an the info and the list.
 
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here are the links to some recommended PC's than can be repurposed for the task. These models are natively licensed with the "Pro" version of windows. they are power efficient, quiet, and have just enough room inside for all the Blue Iris components you'd need to get up and running.
www.ebay.com

HP EliteDesk 800 G4 SFF | i7-8700 @ 3.20GHz | 16Gb Ram | 500Gb HDD | Win 10 Pro | eBay

Tested - HP EliteDesk 800 G4 | SFF i7-8700 @ 3.20GHz | 16Gb Ram | 500Gb 3.5 SATA3 7200 HDD | Windows 10 Professional | Includes Power Cord. Part # EliteDesk 800 G4 SFF. Condition for each will resemble the photo.
www.ebay.com

www.ebay.com

Dell Optiplex 7060 MT 2TB Hdd Win 10 i 7-6core-8700 3.20ghz 4gb Ram Dvd | eBay

<p>Dell Optiplex 7060 MT 2TB Hdd Win 10 i 7-6core-8700 3.20ghz 4gb Ram Dvd. Fresh windows install. Ready for use. </p>
www.ebay.com
 
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I've been buying spare parts for Dell's Optiplex Line for friends and family for years and keeping them going. When you become tech support for an extended family, it's more efficient to support something where parts are easy to find. I just have them shipped, rather than going to Microcenter and looking for bits and pieces.

Here is a link to cabling thats i've had good luck with from Amazon.
 
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Alright, thanks to the list from @Sybertiger and stickied Newbie Starter Guide I have server parts, a PoE switch, and bulk CAT6 cable picked (the easy stuff for me lol). The final piece are the cameras. I looked at 5442 reviews and they all kind of look the same to me o_O. Lol is there any "best" 4MP camera I should just order 6-8 of?

Also, I see cameras mention human counting and face detection, are there any that would be better suited specifically for Animal Detection? Although, my parents have decided they'd also like several cameras also dedicated for security.
 
The 5442 reviews are for the different focal lengths. You need to purchase the right camera for the distance you want to IDENTIFY.

There are fixed cams in 2.8 or 3.6mm focal length.

There area the ZE models at are varifocal (change the focal length to your needs) to like 13mm or so.

There are the Z4E models that are more powerful up to 32mm focal length.

See this thread that shows which camera you would want for the distance you are trying to IDENTIFY:

The Importance of Focal Length over MP in camera selection

At the urging of several folks here, I created a thread to show the importance of focal length and how focal length can be more important than megapixels (MP). I mentioned some of this in the post regarding The Hookup’s latest video demonstrating different cameras, including one sold from a...
ipcamtalk.com ipcamtalk.com
 
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EvanVanVan said:
Alright, thanks to the list from @Sybertiger and stickied Newbie Starter Guide I have server parts, a PoE switch, and bulk CAT6 cable picked (the easy stuff for me lol). The final piece are the cameras. I looked at 5442 reviews and they all kind of look the same to me o_O. Lol is there any "best" 4MP camera I should just order 6-8 of?

Also, I see cameras mention human counting and face detection, are there any that would be better suited specifically for Animal Detection? Although, my parents have decided they'd also like several cameras also dedicated for security.
Click to expand...

If you get any of the 5442 I'd recommend you pay the extra $10 to get the adjustable focal length because likely, until you get more experience, you'll have a hard time pinpointing the focal length for the task at hand.

For animal detection, you'll set trip wires and intrusion zones in the cam's web interface so it triggers on a bunch of stuff then run it through DeepStack (deprecated) or Sense AI and allow the artificial intelligence software running on your PC to figure out what kind of animal it is whether it be four legged or two legged. Make sure you purchase a PC that has enough horsepower. I'd recommend i5-8500 as a starting point to give you some room for future expansion.
 
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Thank you both for the info...Using the IPVM Calculator I came up with the following distances. I think this is a nice start lol. Will probably add a doorbell cam...

Code: 
Driveway       30'
Apple Tree #1  30'
Apple Tree #2  35'
Log Bridge     10'
Pond           60'
Swamp          35'
Barn #1        25'
Barn #2        25'
Barn #3        25'

With a little photoshop magic:
Cameras.jpg
 
Looks like you are going to need a big ol' roll of direct burial Cat6. Hope you own a trencher. ;)

How many feet do you estimate your longest run. Looking like POE+ for you. Hopefully not ultra long distance POE.
 
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Lol my dad has a small excavator, I'm not sure if he has a trench-width bucket, but we'll figured something out...That's probably my mom's biggest concern with this project :lmao:

According to that IPVM calculator (if that can be trusted) the furthest camera is 280'.
 
It's be better to rent a trencher for the day so as to only open of a 4" wide trench. Consider running some extra lines while you have that trench open because you'll probably find your camera(s) doesn't have enough field of view.
 
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EvanVanVan said:
Code: 
Driveway       30'
Apple Tree #1  30'
Apple Tree #2  35'
Log Bridge     10'
Pond           60'
Swamp          35'
Barn #1        25'
Barn #2        25'
Barn #3        25'
Click to expand...

So for these distances, it looks like I should just buy a bunch of these cameras? Loryta IPC-T5442T-ZE Varifocal 4MP

I see I'm "not supposed to chase MPs", but if the 5442's have better low light performance and AI features, is there a reason to go with 3241s or 2231s? I saw 2MP should have better low light performance than 4MP... I'd guess I'd also get this one if there are benefits the older series? IPC-T2231T-ZS

Thanks
 
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Resolution and low light performance are a function of sensor size and resolution primarily along with the speed, F stop, of the lens. If you look below you'll see that the 5442, 3241 and 2231 are in the correct sensor/resolution ranges.

Disclaimer - These sizes are what the manufacturers advertise and may, or may not, be the true size of the sensor in the camera.
720P - 1/3" = .333"
2MP - 1/2.8" = .357" (think a .38 caliber bullet)
4MP - 1/1.8" = .555" (bigger than a .50 caliber bullet or ball)
8MP - 1/1.2" = .833" (bigger than a 20mm chain gun round)
 
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