Totally Confused... No idea what cameras to choose.. The more I read, the more I get confused.

Spizz

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Struggling to find some good quality cameras...

The more I read online and forums, the more I get confused and what to get....

I tried out the packaged Swann NHD818's... but their quality at night isn't the greatest.. Close distance fine however 3-5 meters across the road was terrible and couldn't even make out the person walking by etc (ghosting effect)... Not even worth having cameras for night if it were like this.....

From what I've read online... It looks like Hikvision seems to make some good cameras as well as Dahua...

I'm needing the help of the community professionals and point me in the right direction....

Basically have a budget of about $2,000-$2,500 AUD, which I'm wanting to include about 5 or 6 Cameras.

I'm looking for some quality Cameras, especially where my house faces the corner main road and street.... the Swann cameras didn't cut it for this...

I'm hoping there's something out there to give me enough clarity to see across the street and actually make out what is there or the number plate of vehicles if something goes wrong, especially at night time.

I was even thinking getting a PTZ to place it at the garage end of the house where the street is more visible. .. but not sure if it's worth it...

I'm getting confused with the 2MP, 4MP, 8MP cameras... I assumed higher MP, better distance and quality... but I've seen 2MP with zoom and better lens better then 8MP in some comparison videos... but very hard to tell.

It's hard to make a choice when there are so many cameras out there.

If anyone suggests anything other then these two brands, I'm all eyes


I've done a little drawing of the house and the cameras setup thinking of doing.

I'm hoping after a few hours and your replies I'd get more clarity and know exactly what to get...

Thanks ALL!
 

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mat200

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Struggling to find some good quality cameras...

The more I read online and forums, the more I get confused and what to get....

I tried out the packaged Swann NHD818's... but their quality at night isn't the greatest.. Close distance fine however 3-5 meters across the road was terrible and couldn't even make out the person walking by etc (ghosting effect)... Not even worth having cameras for night if it were like this.....
..

I'm hoping after a few hours and your replies I'd get more clarity and know exactly what to get...

Thanks ALL!
Welcome Spizz,

Remember to check out the cliff notes that giomania has created and assembled from the knowledge shared by members here.
IPCamTalk WiKi | IP Cam Talk

Numerous options - many of us have picked up the Dahua OEM 2MP starlight cameras for low light performance. See the notes for more info and look for reviews by members here.
 

Spizz

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Welcome Spizz,

Remember to check out the cliff notes that giomania has created and assembled from the knowledge shared by members here.
IPCamTalk WiKi | IP Cam Talk

Numerous options - many of us have picked up the Dahua OEM 2MP starlight cameras for low light performance. See the notes for more info and look for reviews by members here.
Thanks!!! Checking it out now.
 

Spizz

n3wb
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Would you guys suggest having a PTZ in the corner of the garage (illustrated).... Any decent ones for a low cost that have good low light vision with zoom from Dahua?
 

aristobrat

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What was your thought for wanting a PTZ? Do you want something where you can manually take control and PTZ around when something interesting happens, or are you wanting a PTZ that follows objects around on its own? The later is pretty expensive and definitely not fool-proof. Probably worth poking your head into the Dahua sub-forum here and reading some of the PTZ review threads... there are a few popular models.

I'm hoping there's something out there to give me enough clarity to see across the street and actually make out what is there or the number plate of vehicles if something goes wrong, especially at night time.
Just a heads up that you will probably need two cameras for this... one for seeing across the street (in general), and one dedicated for reading plates at night. Reading plates at night usually requires making changes to the camera's settings (increased shutter speed, etc), and once done, all that camera will likely be able to see at night is bright/reflective things (like plates). There are a few "LPR" threads on the forum here where folks talk about everything they had to do to be able to read plates. I'd definitely take some time and read through those so you know what to expect! Might be worthy of being a separate project for you to tackle after you get your base system in.

Also take some time play with the IPVM Camera Calculator V3 tool. This should let you find your house on Google, add cameras around the outside, and see a simulated view of what the camera image would look like.
 
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