mikegerard

I ran out this morning and took this. I'm about 7 feet back from the door. The camera is a 4mm hikvision ip camera and is about 1.5 feet off to the side of the door and above it. The autocontrast does not like the snow in the background but the image is pretty clear. I think you could even go with a 6mm lens but you would want to be careful about where you placed the camera so that the subject would be in frame. Here is a 6mm lens about 8 feet up and about 12 feet back from front subject and 20 feet from back subject

Buying one of the Lorex branded ones at Costco may be a better deal. http://www.costco.com/Lorex-8-Channel-Stratus-HD-NVR-Security-System-with-2TB-HDD-and-6-1080p-Cameras.product.100048576.html Here's one with a 2tb hard drive and 6 cameras for $1000. Based on my motion recording setting that should give you about 2 months of motion recording. You'd still have room for two more cameras and you could buy hikvision cameras and connect them to Lorex....a couple steps but not hard. Mike

I have a year old Lorex 280 NVR from Costco. Has worked fine for me and I just hooked up a new Hikvision camera so I will move from 4 cameras to 8 (for only an additional $360). The Lorex is limited compared to others but I can view locally or online and can add cameras so that's enough for me. You can certainly get something better if you spend more...specifically I would love to have variable zoom or pan capability but that's not going to happen in this price range. Mike

I got a Hikvision DS-2CD2032-I working on a Lorex NVR280. I connected to the Hikvision with my laptop at 192.0.0.64. I changed the IP address to 172.168.1.50 to match the range on the Lorex. I also changed the password to "000000" (username stayed "admin"). I played with this for awhile trying different configurations and then I changed it to plug and play. I reconnected the Hikvision to my laptop and changed it to find ip automatically. Then I reconnect the Hikvision to the Lorex and it found it! Seems to be working fine and has a great picture. Mike

I have 4 Lorex Bullet cameras with 4mm lenses. I want to change one to 8mm and one to 6mm. I'm not sure what the Lorex model number is but they are identical to the Hikvision DS-2CD2012-I http://www.hikvision.com/UploadFile/image/2014032411124257029.pdf Does anyone have experience changing out these lenses? My quick search says that I'm going to unscrew the camera from the back and pull out the board with the lens. The old lens will be glued on and I should be able to remove the glue with tweezers and maybe a little solvent. The new lens I can buy online at M12 lenses. Since I have a 1/3" CMOS I want lenses for 1/3" So here is a 6mm http://www.m12lenses.com/6-0mm-F1-4-Mega-Pixel-CCTV-Board-Lens-p/pt-0614bmp.htm and here is an 8mm http://www.m12lenses.com/8-0mm-F1-4-Mega-Pixel-CCTV-Board-Lens-p/pt-0814bmp.htm Is there anything I'm missing here or any advice that you can provide to help me? Thanks Mike

54db is pretty quiet. That's awesome data to have....thanks! Anyone know if the Swann model is coming back to Costco? I'm looking at the Qsee but would prefer the wider angle and the better resolution of the Swann. Mike

I appreciate all the help I've gotten from you guys on this forum. I'm looking at the simple DIY systems at Costco too. My wife wants a system but I don't want to spend a ton of money on it. We've been in the same house for 10 years and have never had anything that I needed to get a recording of....so for me spending more than $1000 makes no sense. I can see how advanced users would find these discussions boring....but they were very helpful for me. Now when I'm shopping I have a good idea of the difference between D1, 720, 1080, can evaluate a camera's fov based on lens size, and understand how the digital cameras interface to the NVR. It seems like there is a lot of new equipment coming online (especially in the IP camera domain). I find this exciting because it looks like you can finally create an at home system that works well enough to have good video and not cost a fortune to implement. Mike

Q-See Platinum HD 1080p IP Dome Camera at Costco $199 http://www.costco.com/Q-See-Platinum-HD-1080p-IP-Dome-Camera.product.100033842.html BJ's seems to have the same camera for $149 It says it can see up to 100' in the dark but I see no mention of IR and dont see any in the product shots... Thoughts? I'm thinking about getting the Q-See 4-Channel H.264 NVR with 1TB Hard Drive and 2 High Definition 720p IP Bullet Cameras with 100' Night Vision http://www.bjs.com/q-see-4-channel-h264-nvr-with-1tb-hard-drive-and-2--high-definition-720p-ip-bullet-cameras-with-100apos-night-vision.product.230665?dimId=2000255 and then rounding it out with 2 of these dome cameras. Mike

In my case I'm planning to network the NVR to the web so that I can use the phone app. But I dont really see me trying to setup the cameras to view within the rest of my network outside of the NVR web interface. My guess is after the first week I will only glance at the recording incidents if something bad happens. Mike

You can have two networks in your house....one that you are currently using and a second separate network for the ip cameras. Your would connect your cameras directly into the NVR POE ports and all that data will not be on your primary network. If you are typing into your existing house network I would still think that would not be an issues. 4 cameras combined would be around 12mbs. Mike

Hi everyone- I am trying to put together a simple system for the home. The goal is a basic system to keep an eye on the house and record any issues we may have down the road with vandals. My initial plan was to go with something from Swan (D1 system). Based on what I've seen on this forum I've decided that anything less than a 720p system is not worth the effort. I've also played with the Pelco camera tool to see how many cameras I need. The attached picture has 2 3.6mm cameras at the front door and walk out basement and 6mm cameras looking forward from the garage and through the backyard. I think this is adequate coverage for my needs. Questions: 1) Should I go with a POE NVR? Something like http://www.securitycameraking.com/16-channel-elite-mini-series-59062-prd1.html or http://www.dahuasecurity.com/products/nvr320432083216-p-190.html 2) For the cameras I was thinking something like two IPC-HFW2100 and two IPC-HDB3200. Are the cameras I'm looking at a good choice? 3) Should I be going even wider on the front and back cameras...perhaps 2.8mm? 4) Is POE the easiest choice for installation? I'm going to have to run wires out to each camera anyway so I don't see a huge advantage to Ethernet other than it's only one line and I can make the cords the exact length I need. 5) What else am I missing? Thanks Mike