What height to install camera on wall

j4co

Pulling my weight
Jan 17, 2016
501
175
The Netherlands
I have ordered a HIKVISION DS-2CD2542FWD-I 4MP MINI IR DOME CAMERA 2.8MM to mount on the wall facing the street to keep an eye on one of our cars.

This wall is about 3 meter high:
65074069930391128441.jpg

52678896092386435725.jpg

Update: image with the 2 possible positions marked red.

This is a photo with an ipad, standing on the road, grey stones are the walking path, yellowish stones is our private parking space.

Image of the car is inverted (iphone issue) from wall to the street.
22996502746052089278.jpg

You can see me in the reflection holding up the iphone, so that is about 230 cm up.

My idea was to put the camera high up, so no one can touch it. This model is not easy to throuw cloth over or whatever (can approched from the sides stepping over litte seperators between our parking spot and the neighbors. So i could mount it up close to the top.
Planning to aim it down, so it overlooks the front/back of the car close to the wall, and the rest of the car up to the road. Motion detection i can than make it so it does not respond to all the people passing by over the road or walking path. Only if they walk left or right of the car up to the gate, or try to open the car doors.

But the more i read here, higher up seems useless to get some faces visable on screen.

I could replace the lamp with it (we not use it, as wel have public lamp post just in front of our house, the iron pole in the picture, so it is brightly lit there) but we live in attached houses with over 30 houses in a row, and removing this lamp makes it seem different.

I could mount it in between the lamp and the intercom. That would give me quite a good image if someone rings the intercom.


Any oppinions to where best mount it ?


edit: placed more info in the hello post:
https://www.ipcamtalk.com/showthread.php/8209-Hello-from-NL?p=73071&viewfull=1#post73071
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Since you already ordered it why not just test out best mounting height for yourself. Every situation is different. I have mine at 7 feet and it's fine for capturing faces and being somewhat out of reach. Frankly, DS-2CD2542FWD-I is not the best cam for this job (in front of garage), turret/dome offer better IR coverage, unless of course you have lots of light there.
 
I have a bright street light just in front of my house:
16949454025816323275.jpg
This is image front 1 floor up, so the light is 14 meter from the home and the 3 meter wall is in between, so you not see the light pattern there. For the lights further away, you can better see the amount of light there is.

but i can indeed temporarely hook it up on a ajustable pole and check what image i like best.
I am looking for best practice basically.
 
Also remember the higher you go the higherbthe lens needed, if your at sofit height, i would go with a 6mm lens at 7ft a 4mm lens but as stated above, your choice of model was not the best, also if your looking to get most of the coverage at night, look a the 2mp models as theybare so much better in the dark.
 
Should have started reading this forum few weeks back :)

For my garden i also have same question..
3 meter heigh:
45810555853928366241.jpg

From 5 meter heigh:
80151839439454325611.jpg

I have a 2032 4mm which i used to test ip camera. But i will buy a turrent camera and the box where the cables connection can in for the garden.

Since the door in the wall is locked in the night by us and both neighbours, someone willing to come in the garden will take the route over the 2 meter high fence walls on de side of the garden.

With 4mm lens i can scan most of the garden.
Issue is that close to the house door and window the side walls are not in the picture. So move camera more down solves it a bit.

We have next to the door in the wall lights that is going on when you walk there.
if someone comes in over the fence wall, it is not active the lights at the door. Than the camera must light it up with ir light.

which type of turrent should i use there ?
2MP, 3MP, 4MP ?

garden is 5 meter wide, 9 meter to the wall, and 6 meter to the little barn where the bicyles are in.
 
Why are all the images upside down ?? weird, the thumbnails are all dodgy as well, but i managed to turn these up the right way :triumphant:
22996502746052089278.jpg2.jpg65074069930391128441.jpg80151839439454325611.jpg45810555853928366241.jpg

Catch 22 with the sighting of a camera, over the top of the wall and you wont get faces, too low on the wall and it is vulnerable to vandalism

with my limited experience i would probably go for what i have actually DS-2CD2342WD-I admittedly the night vision is not awesome at night but if you say there is good ambient light then the DS-2CD2342WD-I gives great performance, it just needs a little bit of help at night, it gives a 90degree field of view as well, you could either mount it up high on the wall or add a pole or sturdy piece of timber to the back of the wall giving the camera some lift and add an appropriate bracket

nothing wrong with adding one at the back of the house as well
 

Attachments

  • 16949454025816323275.jpg
    16949454025816323275.jpg
    339.5 KB · Views: 29
  • 45810555853928366241.jpg
    45810555853928366241.jpg
    1.1 MB · Views: 31
  • 65074069930391128441.jpg
    65074069930391128441.jpg
    1 MB · Views: 27
  • 80151839439454325611.jpg
    80151839439454325611.jpg
    1.1 MB · Views: 26
  • 16949454025816323275.jpg
    16949454025816323275.jpg
    708.7 KB · Views: 24
  • 16949454025816323275.jpg
    16949454025816323275.jpg
    339.5 KB · Views: 21
Last edited by a moderator:
  • Like
Reactions: j4co and SquareEyes
I made the photos with my ipad. There they are always ok, if i upload them to defcon 5, they still look ok.
Attach them in forum, most look ok, some not..

This one i turned 180'degrees and that from where camera would be in front of wall.
37968732238841300076.jpg

This one is the original
37247865900818295921.jpg

Currently there is few mm of snow which enhances the light a bit. But there is quite some light thereon the left side of the car (left for the correct oriented photo)

the attached thumbnail photo is situation from window house again, but i fail to understand how to delete it without deleting from previous post also
 

Attachments

  • 04196668966339346405.jpg
    04196668966339346405.jpg
    339.5 KB · Views: 13
Last edited by a moderator:
The main reason is for the car monitoring. So if it is high, i have much more visability over the sides of the car, as i look more down. Wil put it on a stand and experiment before i start drilling holes in the wall.

Can perhaps also mount the 2032 4mm which I am thinking of replacing for a turret type in the garden, higher on the wall and looking down from the left side where the border with the neighbor is. That would cover that side better.

The doorbell positon has sort of free view to the street, as the car is parkerd more to the left when facing the wall.