shadowvg

Hi, Firstly a quick thank you for reading and for any replies I get. I have been lurking on the forums for a little bit trying my hardest to figure out a setup just for me. I will try and give as much information as possible but any advice given is gratefully received. I am looking for an IP CCTV system for my home. A recent increase in burglaries makes me want to decrease the chances of it happening to me - even though I understand it’s not a full proof deterrent. I have looked at so many camera's I'm now confused as to which one is best. The makes I have looked at include ACTi, Dahua and Brickcom. Brickcom seems too expensive for me - but looking at the Dahua they are partners so I'm not sure if they are the same as Duhua. The ACTi I was looking at because I'd read some good reviews on thenetworkcameracritic.com whom I believe is on these forums anyway (thanks for the great reviews it has helped if you are reading this). I'm slowly settling on the Duhua camera IPC-HFW3300C - I like the review for the lower model and thought its best to go for the best one I can afford. There is also an IPC-HFW3300 not sure of the difference. My budget is about $400-$450 per camera. I already have a POE switch and CAT5 cable for the job. And I have a Synology disktstation that I would like to use. I like the look of the bullet camera's rather than the domes and they will be placed quite high up so I don't necessarily have to worry about vandalism. So on to the questions: 1. The pigtail at the end of these units seems quite big with all the connections. As this will be mounted on a brick wall and I do not want to drill a huge hole into a room, is it best to purchase an external weatherproof enclosure and leave the pigtail inside that? And then feed the CAT5 cable into that to supply power? I would just like to run one cable to each camera and be done with it so POE is the only way for me it seems. 2. Do I really need WDR? It seems to make a difference but I don't see any Duhua units with this ability. Am I missing out on something big if I go for a camera without this? They do need to be day/night cameras though with the IR illuminators built in. 3. I'm also thinking (still not 100% sure) I would like one internal camera for now, facing the front door from the ceiling so I was thinking of a small dome camera. Vivotek seems to have a nice small FD8136 - does anyone have an views on this? 4. Does anyone know how the customs work in the US? In the UK where I am based we will get charged VAT on anything valued over £18. Is it the same in the US? I ask as I am looking to order either from China to my office in the US if I can bypass the customs charges in the UK as I am in the US for the next 2 weeks. Or I would be happy to order from a supplier in the US directly if the cost wasn't hugely different. I think that's all for now. Thanks again

No worries, glad it helped someone. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post where I purchased from. Can anyone confirm the forum rules? It did all go well though. I still havn't put them up (mixture of tardiness and finding an external waterproof box to store the cables in from the ponytail wires) Thanks

Brilliant - awesome breakdown. I'll go ahead and order now. Many thanks!!

Thank you for all the advice. I have now settled on the Dahua and I won't worry about the WDR as I think I'm just aiming too high and I need to stick to budget and after thinking about it all I really don't want to go overboard. There are 2 models and I don't really know/understand the difference. Could someone enlighten me? Duhua IPC-HFW3000C - is the one I am looking at primarily also they do a IPC-HFW3000. I just don't know or understand the difference. I see something in the lens but I'm just not sure. IPC-HFW3000C http://www.dahuasecurity.com/products/ipc-hfw3300c--15.html IPC-HFW3000 http://www.dahuasecurity.com/products/ipc-hfw3300--13.html Thanks once again