tms233

Well I'm sure glad the market offers more options, for a broader range of needs and circumstances, than that. What a country.

30 foot facial recognition with analog, especially if they are moving, is going to require more zoom, where you then lose field of view. Two cameras may be needed, unless these are people you see everyday and don't need much more detail to ID them. Depending on the position of your target, brightness of the light and where the lighting originates, back-light compensation (BLC) may come into play. BLC seems to be standard on cameras containing the other features mentioned earlier, especially if they have WDR (true or digital). This is all based on my non-expert experience. Look for videos on the net showing analog camera shots which give you an idea of what you can realistically expect from the camera.

By wide angle, I'm guessing you mean 2, 3, or 4mm. That is a hard thing to comment on myself, because quality doesn't really show itself because a camera has a wider field of view. There are many other things to consider depending on the application, and whether you want a wide angle to see as much as you can closer to the camera (maybe 15 feet for example), or if you instead want it for a bird's eye view of a large area. I don't know how you plan to use your broader view, but my employer uses Gadspots(cheaper) around the property, and I have KT&C's (a little pricey) at home. Regardless of the brand, it's analog, and I don't notice any real difference at wide angles. The Gadspots are the brand's higher end models and I don't have those model numbers for you, but even their most expensive camera is cheaper than just about any KT&C. The KT&C's are the KPC-501's and 701's. They are great cameras, perform well at night, the housings and mounts are durable and versatile... but I wouldn't spend the money on them if I just wanted a "wide" angle to spot movement or color of vehicles without any need of detail. Regardless of the brand, if you're talking night time views, variable lighting during the day (big trees with shadows), indoor office lighting that can be somewhat dim etc. then you definitely need to do your homework on what purpose the camera will serve and what specifications are needed to meet those needs. I can tell you the main difference I have witnessed which matter most (to me) and make the biggest difference, with all other things being equal, are things like IR cut removal, also known as "True day and night", variable lens (2x12mm) for the options it gives you, 1/3" Sony exview had II sensor, DNR and digital WDR. I could mention more, but it depends on the application. Any of the experts here will tell you digital WDR is not true Wide Dynamic Range, but it seems to make a difference over cameras that have nothing of the sort. Maybe the WDR cameras just work well because the cameras without it have less overall features. So, I have been around those two brands. If you want wide angle for just a bird's eye view of well lit areas without a need for variable conditions, there are lots of $100 cameras out there that will work. Good luck and just do your research on what all those specs attached to the camera actually mean.

That's true. Completely isolating them from my power panel with everything else staying the same would check another cause off the list. I'd forgotten about that option in all the confusion. Thanks for the response.

Sorry if this is a little long but I hope somebody can help. I have read posts on ground loops and hum bars, and several articles on the web, but I still can't figure out what is going on here. I have a faint concept of electricity and ground loops, and this issue has held me up for a week now. I have two outdoor KT&C KPC-N701's (960H Bullet, IR, TDN, 2x12mm, 12vdc/24vac) mounted on the inner wood facia of my house eve's, connected to quality RG59 siamese (bare copper core, 95% braid, 18/2 copper etc) using compression connectors, running through my attic, down into a wall, then splitting off to an Altronix altv1224C supply (16 channel Dual voltage 12vdc/24vac), and an Dahua (Dahua) Hybrid DVR. This setup was greatly influenced by the people posting on this site, thanks folks. So, I wire both cameras to the DC side of the power panel and it all looks pretty good. If I have one camera wired to the DC side, it looks good. If I have one camera wired to the AC side, it works good. BUT, when I move both cameras to the AC side, or one on DC and one on AC, I get the horizontal "hum bars" moving from bottom to top, and the quality of the picture seems to degrade. All the hardware is great in case anybody is wondering. I will post shots with some details as soon as I make it over this hump. I have 2 more coax cables included in this run but the cameras aren't mounted. I made sure to hang the cables in the attic away from the romex power wire, lamps, metal etc. The closest they come to one power wire at one location is about a foot, and it is at a 90 degree angle. I monitor everything on a computer monitor using a monitor switch (which works great) between the dvr and computer. The monitor is the only thing that isn't fresh out of the box. The monitor, DVR and switch are all plugged into the same surge protector going in to one outlet. The power panel is plugged directly into a different outlet, but in the same room. Everything I read says it's an AC ground loop issue?? Great, but how. The more I read, the more it makes less sense. I can't see any indication my cameras are touching metal and giving me my second ground, if that is in fact the problem. Unless there's some mysterious cut in a cable in one of the 60 foot runs, I'm not sure where the problem is. My longest runs will be 60 to 70 feet with the KT&C 701's which draw nearly 1 amp. Those I wanted on the AC. My other analog cameras are shorter runs covering smaller areas and draw about 1/3 the power (KT&C 501's). Those I wanted on the DC side. I have a multimeter, but still learning how to use it and haven't quite figured out how to use it for this situation. I use my laptop on the network to view and make adjustments at the camera location, but I don't have an independent monitor I can hook up to the camera. I'll buy a test monitor if I really have to but dang $$, I'd rather not unless absolutely necessary. Articles on the web about ground loops don't make sense to me.. "measure between any two shields of the video cables..". How do you measure "between TWO shields"?? I understand what the cable shield is, but where would the probles go? And what should the numbers show? There's an article showing you where to put the probes, on a VCR. Yeah, a VCR looks nothing like the options I have on the back of my Dahua Hybrid. My own ignorance in this situation cracks me up. I am adding two more analog and one IP camera to this setup, but I didn't want to go a step further until I figure this issue out. But I was thinking of hooking up cameras to the other two wired locations just to see if the problem exists. If anybody can and wants to throw some input or guidance in, it would be greatly appreciated. I'm sure I'm leaving some pertinent information out of this long story.