JeffW

I've read a number of the posts here and think maybe a Dahua 1.3 bullet ip camera or similar would work for me but would like some input. Application: General day and night monitoring of residential driveway that I can't see from the main living area of the house. The driveway is 2 cars wide and about 80 feet long but we park next to the house. I'd like to use my pc with software that will let me alarm and record on motion. Access over the internet would be nice but not required. I'm considering one of the two cameras below but they both seem the same to me except for the night vision distance claims. Any input or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Price is a factor and I'd like to keep the camera under $250 if I can. Thanks http://www.247securitycameras.com/nbsp-p/dh-ipc-hfw2100n.htm http://www.securitycameraking.com/1.3-megapixel-ip-network-59132-prd1.html EDIT: I also forgot to mention the camera will be mounted under the eaves of the house at the gable peak. That will give it a slight downward tilt. Another camera I noticed in the postings that might be an options is the ESC-1-ip. http://empiresecuritycameras.com/p-70-esc-1-ip-13mp-720p-outdoor-bullet-ip-poe-camera-28-12mm-zoom-lens-onvif.aspx

You're probably right about additional lighting improving the night shots. The distance involved is at or near the max for the stated night capability of these cameras.

The other Q-See 2100 ..... 16 ft off ground... approx 75 ft to shed door...no external lighting other than IRs on camera.

They are here and installed....Two Q-See (HFW2100) connected via Cat5 > TPLink TL-SF1008P PoE switch > Linksys WRT54g (wireless client bridge mode) > PC w/Blue Iris eval version (thus the eval bar across the pictures) Both cameras are mounted at gable peak about 16 ft from ground. IMO the day and low light pictures are good. The night IR pictures are ok. No illumination other than the built-in IR. The distances involved come into play as do the insects swarming around the IR LEDs. Approximately 75 feet to the end of the driveway and about the same to the shed door. The pictures suit my purpose of simply having a view of areas I can't see otherwise unless I take a hike. I may wind up adding external IR and kill the built in just to keep the bugs away. Driveway pictures here. Shed pictures in the next post. Later I'll figure out how to include a video sample. Thanks again to all for the input and help here.

I hope that isn't a sign of what's to come for me. My two 6mm Q-See bullets (Dahua 2100s) came in from Costco yesterday and spent the night staring out into nothing. They were a no-brainer to add to BI evaluation version thanks to the postings here and on the BI forum. They spent the night in the junk room staring at nothing just to get a good run in. This afternoon I'll install them and hope to have a couple of pictures to post early next week.

You may very well be right about the cameras I ordered but time will tell. My hope is just to get a general view of the area. I'm not concerned (at this time) about making out faces or license plates. Just want to see if the driveway alarm was set off by the neighbor's cat or by a vehicle. Given the orientation of the house I have a place to install the cameras so direct sunlight does not hit the lens. No garage but I will probably wind up with a different camera and focal length to see close to the wall. Thanks for the info on auto iris. That's definitely a desirable feature but seemed out of my price range for my current objective. If you can suggest a better camera in my price range than what I've ordered I've still time to cancel. Thanks

Thanks for all the input here. After reading reviews and postings until my eyes crossed... I ordered a pair of the Q-See 1.3mp ip cameras with 6mm lens. If I've understood the specs and posts these are about the same as the Dahua 2100 and might be a good place to start. I do appreciate the input I receved on the forum and look forward to posting updates once the cameras arrive and get themselves installed.

Link doesn't seem to work for me.

Thanks for the input. Auto iris is not something I understand but will definitely do some research on. Is there any particular camera you might suggest?