dspevack

No, I'm not being racist. It's a simple fact. I own a warehouse. Most of my tenants and people in the neighborhood are black. Camera's need to be on the roof about 15 feet high, and I need to see the features of a black man's face at night, and read a license plate, from 25 feet away. I had the new lorex system, but I returned it because the cameras that it came with weren't good enough. Not sure if I need better res (those were 480 lines) better optics, more IR LED's That camera claimed a 40 ft range @ night but it looked as if the lenses were completely fogged. when it switched to night vision. The choices I can get at local discount houses are Qsee, Lorex, and Night Owl, but I am open to all brands. Any assistance is appreciated. Thanks, D.

Umm.... WDR? BLC?

Gentlemen, Thank you for some clear information. IP Cameras=Cameras with an Ethernet Port. 2.1 megapixel Cameras every 38 feet= 4 cameras or perhaps a larger number of the 1.3 megapixel cameras. In addition, adding significant lighting will reduce my costs alot. Because the parking area borders the street, and city rules require no construction 10 feet from the 5 foot public works right of way (totaling 15 feet), I cannot build anything more than 10 feet from my building. In addition any barriers of any kind would by definition be in the way of access to a parking space. Since there are only two parking spaces per warehouse business, this is unacceptable. Big rigs move in and out of that parking area all the time. Barriers would cause more harm than good, and devalue the property in terms of access. I took a look at the 1.3 megapixel images, which looked great. Haven't had a chance to surf the entire thread. I assume that NVR refers to Networked Video Recorders? Is there a previous discussion thread on low cost NVRs that you can point me to? D.

Bricor, As I stated earlier, their are no entry/exit points of the parking lot. I still don't have any other definition of "IP" camera, or why an IP camera is different/better. If I have to readjust my budget, I will. Money is fluid. I said $300 was my preference, not requirement. The important thing is finding the right product and getting value for my money. The building roof is only about 15 feet high. D.

Tom, When I think of IP I think of Internet Protocol, so I'm not sure what you mean by IP vs std cameras. I was definitely thinking of cameras with IR, if that is what you mean. I keep one of the warehouses in that building for myself. On my first try at this, I bought the Lorex system and ran wired cameras up from my dvr thru a hole in the roof and out to each location, spaced out across the width of the building. No objection to using wireless but no need to either. Budget. I'd like to pay maximum $300 for a mutiplex (or as Lorex put it, Optiplex DVR) of at least 8 channels. And then as far as cameras go, no more than $300/camera but preferrably much less. Once I have a camera that works, I can always add them as cash flow permits. Unfortunately, there is no place to put cameras that are for instance, closer to the dumpster. I can only place them on the building. I can also place them no lower than the roof, as it would be too easy for vandals to steal the cameras themselves. On the roof they are out of most people's sight line. D.

Soundy, I have a warehouse that has a parking area 150 feet wide by 25 feet deep. I can put cameras anywhere on the roof of the width of the building, as the building boarders the width of the parking area. The parking area boarders the street without any specific entrance or exit to the parking area. You simply turn from the street into a space on the property. We have a problem with people pulling up to the dumpster in the middle of the night and dumping huge piles of trash next to it. We have also had people come to this area and strip cars here, then set them on fire. The police can't use blurry video to catch these guys. Thanks, D

Soundy, Being that this is an outdoor parking lot, confining things to a small area doesn't work very well. Where can I find the lowest cost cameras of the megapixel/hi-def type you mentioned? Any recommendations? D.