buellwinkle

I have a E32, works great, WDR is good, price is good and E42 would be the same camera but with a varifocal lens. I use BlueIris and ACTI NVR software on the same PC because of all the testing I do. With ACTi NVR, the camera does all the work, so CPU stays pretty low, sometimes at zero percent unless you are viewing, this allows you to use slower cheaper PC's and put more cameras on. The interface is the same if on the same PC or remote, so that's nice where BlueIris has a very scaled down web interface. With ACTi NVR you can view multiple cameras at the same time during playback so you see a synchronized playback on a timeline which is cool as a person say transitions from outside to inside from room to room. If you already have BlueIris, install both side by side, same cameras and see which you like better. The actual NVR is works well and may be the way to go if you don't already have a PC to put the software on but since you have BlueIris, just install the free NVR software on the same PC. Just note their software works only with ACTi cameras where BlueIris is generic and works with lots of brands so that's another trade off.

Yes, I have one mounted on the side of my house looking down the side so it's almost parallel to the wall. They rotate in 3 axis, so you can move the camera up/down, side to side and rotate it. You then tighten allen screws to hold it in place.

Not going to kid you, the Dahua is a PITA to mount. You'll need to make a hole about 1" square to fit the connectors through and screwing it in while holding a heavy camera is also fun. But the look is very clean, no wires showing, so a trade off. ACTi has cameras similar to the Dahua in style like the E44 and I'm not crazy about that either although slightly easier to install as you mount a ring to the wall or eave and then attach the camera to the ring via a collar. Also, ACTi has an alternative mount for the E32 for example that is thicker and has a path for the wire to go through, the PMAX-1103.

I'll PM you the link, not sure if the person wants everyone looking at or not.

I can't hear mine at all and it's mostly full with maybe 14 ports being used. Didn't even know it had a fan but reality is, the fan on my PC probably drowns it out. I keep my switch under my desk, so it's not in my face like the PC is and that may be why some people complain more than others if they say keep their switch on their desk for example.

When you buy an NVR for specific cameras like Q-See, there's little chance that other brands of cameras will work properly, even if they are listed. For example, I tried Axis on that NVR which it says it supports and it did record, but had no even processing, meaning it only recorded 24/7, not on motion events. Maybe they made improvements since, but still, if you want an NVR that supports many cameras consider NUUO, Synology, QNAP that are not from a camera company so they tend to support a larger variety of camera brands or go with NVR software that is generally more flexible, even BlueIris on the lower end support many camera brands.

Getting Dahua is not a problem as they started creating more distributors in the U.S. but the prices have gone up to provide U.S. warranties and support. WrightwoodSurveillance.com carries Dahua but the prices are higher than previously when people got them straight from China or smaller resellers got them from China in bulk and resold them here on eBay or Amazon. But speaking of Dahua, they make a really cool and unique 1080P PTZ dome with powerful IR illuminators that can illuminate a block away. I can send you a link to where it's being used as a webcam with views across the water 2 miles away. It could be that one camera replaces several of the Foscams by establishing a patrol of various areas you want to cover like cover your backyard and your boat dock with one camera. To do what you want to do with fixed cameras, get cameras with varifocal lenses. These are like a manual zoom that lets you set the focal length to what want. The problem with fixed lenses is they are typically wide angle and seeing a boat a few hundred feet away may not even be recognizable, trust me, the dock for our lake house is about 500' away and with a 6mm lens, all I can tell is that it's mine because of the teal canvas, otherwise it's too far away and a 12mm focal length would double the size of the boat in the image or I can just buy a larger boat. With Dahua that would be something like the IPC-HFW3200C. As for number of cameras, we have 4 outside, one for each side and a few inside to cover the house while we are gone. Never had the urge to put more in. Each one is hardwired by an electrician to a central location for recording.

Mobotix is one of the better brands, BUT, the M24 is a day or night camera, not both, meaning you can spec it for day only with a 3.1MP sensor or night only with a 1.22MP sensor. To get both day and night you need the M15 (don't know if it' released yet, otherwise the M14). Again, top cameras, we use them, but they M15 is going to run $1,500ish, not cheap, but possibly worth it. The other problem is putting a lens that's 180 degrees (their 11mm) lens) means you will only be able to say ID someone at about 3-4 meters with 3MP. Lenses are not field upgradable, meaning you have to ship the camera back to the manufacturer and pay a bunch to change the lens, one reason most people buy the D14/D15 which is a dome but the lenses are changeable and price is about the same. Which brings is to your goals, what are you trying to do? Do you want to be able to ID someone at 70 meters or just know there's a person there? Is the field well lit at night or totally dark? Is this day use only or do you intend to use the cameras at night. I would not go with Logitech as they are not a commercial player in this space and there are better choices for the money. Also, not sure if you realize that Mobotix provides the NVR solution in camera, saving you from having to get an NVR or NVR software like with most other brands. So you say 4 Logitechs to one Mobotix, but actually they price in the end may be equal.

You'll need to experiment with different software to see if it works or not, the challenge of buying unbranded cameras from China. If you want free, consider Axxon, Milestone XProtect Go, Zoneminder (Linux). If you want low price, BlueIris is popular. Odds are you'll need to the get the RTSP URL from the vendor. Onvif is hit or miss. For example, I'm using Onvif on Dahua and it's hit or miss, works with some models, not others, when it works it has quirks like the password is different then for browser access. Also the vendor may be able to share experiences with various NVR software products he's used.

I've been playing with Synology and it looks pretty good, especially if you need a smart NAS for other reasons. QNAP is another NAS company that has NVR capabilities worth looking at.

I read older post showing $139 for a 4 pack camera license for Synology Camera Station. Is that still available? Best I found was about $50 shipped per camera.

I have a review on the Hikvision (Swann version) on my blog as well as the E32. I'm testing a D74 which has superior WDR and frankly, don't see much of a difference between it and the E32 WDR. What makes a bigger difference is the WDR on their KCM-5611, they have a different name for it than basic and superior, but it's actually sensor WDR, not image processed WDR, but may be out of your price range.

It's not an old PC DOS file system that needs defragmenting, it's EXT4, a modern day Linux journaled file system.

It can't be fragmented, just set this up and it's only one camera and hasn't even had a chance to delete any video left.

My bad, not IR, just regular looking white light bulbs, cheap & effective. What's good about LED white light is it works well with day/night cameras because it emits more IR wavelength than CFL bulbs I used to use.

Synology has been working pretty well on my HP Microserver, so I may give it a chance with more cameras. My only real complaint with it is that it's slow to go from one clip to another on playback, like a 10 second or so while it finds the next clip. I'm just afraid that it may get slower with more data so I'm going to give it a while to see what it's like and try the smart search feature over time and the Android app. If you see a better deal than $189 for 4, let me know.

I have new IR LED Cree bulbs from Home Depot I use in my porch lights and they are very good at night considering they are like 8 watts each. But IR lights are typically 12V or 24V, some higher end ones are PoE. If you are planning for them, when you run the PoE for the cameras, run the low voltage wires with it for future use. Most are setup to turn on with a photocell, so you power them 24/7 but they only come on at night. Good ones can make a big difference at night, lower noise and clearer image.

Changing M12 lenses on IR cameras is tricky because they come in various lengths and can interfere with the IR LEDs, the IR cut filter operation, can be too short and not focus properly. If you manage to take the one out that you have, measure it's length and see if you can get one close to that length but in about a 4mm. Also, some cameras made for telephoto focal lengths may not work with a wider lens because the housing may come into the picture and you'll get vignetting.

I use an ACTi E32 3MP IR bullet, has a nice wide view, about the same price. Also the D32 if you don't care about WDR and want a lower price.

I have DSM 4.2, their latest release running on the HP NL54A. Looks pretty nice for a NAS, lots of software you can run, response is snappy. Installed their Surveillance Station software, seems to work, very low CPU use and it asks if I want to use the camera for motion detection or Synology, same with live viewing, so it must be using the camera to do the heavy lifting. The software is a little sluggish but works. I'm going to wait and see how it does over a few days. When it plays back recordings, not sure I'm seeing the full 3MP resolution because when I zoom in, it pixelates quickly.

I would agree with thewireguys, it's far from intuitive or easy but then so are many free NVR choices like Zoneminder. But for the lucky few that get it working, they seem to like it. Maybe you have to think like a Russian, speak with thick Russian accent, drink Russian Vodka while setting up the Russian software and that may unlock the mysteries.

Their new cameras are not Dahua, they are assembled by K&D. They sold Dahua OEM'ed cameras for a while, but Dahua stopped them from selling outside of China.

That depends on how good it does with the first camera.

I found instructions on how to load Synology software on this device - http://www.avsforum.com/t/1460222/how-to-roll-your-own-synology-diskstation-for-nas-update-5-28-2013-dsm-4-2-3211

Let me know what you think of Axxon. Demo'ed pretty well at ISC West, but when I tried their latest version, did not have much luck getting it to record but didn't have a lot of time spend on it. I tried it in the past and got it to record but 2 cameras brought my quad core PC to it's knees, took me a while just to reboot. But the newer version seems to be more efficient. 5 days is a bummer on Xprotect Go because if you go away on vacation for a week and something happens, you lose a few days.