rojhan

I ended up buying some cheap cameras that are giving me acceptable quality. As stated, not for "identification", but for observation. They are only 1/4" sensors and definitely "consumer" brand, but give me the opportunity to at least have something in place. I'm going to finish building the computer/network/DVR and get that working the way I want with at least usable images from the cameras. I can then upgrade the cameras as/if needed.

I would say unlikely to happen, make it $150 and B/W okay and it's possible. So, using my criteria above, what should I expect to pay for a "reasonable" camera, and which vendors are recommended? Thanks

I spent several hours surfing the forums last night for information to help with a project I'm working on and found the biggest issue with people helping out is not being given enough information to provide useful suggestions. I'm in the normal "new to CCTV, need help", but will try to give as much useful information as I can. I have... umm.. a few... years of mechanical/electrical/electronic/computer experience to work with. I just don't know the CCTV equipment market/quality. To start, my project is basically just to keep an eye on my house while away, rather than police-identification quality. I'd like to see that the house is still there (), the fence is up, and nobody is poking around. I also have dogs, so just making sure they aren't doing something to get in trouble would be good, too. Quality would be nice, but expense is definitely a concern. It's an experiment, not a commercial installation. I have a couple of different camera servers I'm playing with, and can go to a purpose-built system with DVR/video-capture if needed. I'm concerned more with the cameras. I have a ranch-style home on about 1/4 acre in the Portland, OR area. I'd like to cover the front entrance/driveway for visitors/delivery, the back yard, maybe the side yard, and an indoor camera for the center of the house which covers the common kitchen/dining/living-room area. There is rain and humidity, but the outdoor cameras would have at least some protection by the eaves. I don't care much beyond 20' on the front camera, about 50' on the yard cameras, and 25' on the indoor camera. I'm not too worried about illumination, as I have motion-activated outdoor floods. I don't have strong feelings on B&W vs color, but color would be nice. I don't have a strong preference for bullet vs box, but it seems like box cameras are more flexible with the choice of lenses. I can figure out camera locations and field-of-view and calculate the lens focal length, and plan on getting fixed-length, manual focus lenses and adding auto-iris for the outdoor cameras. With all of that out of the way, I'd like to keep the cost-per-camera/lens to less than $100. I've tried some of the "electronic store bullet cams" with IR leds, like Q-See (or was it Swann?). The image quality was on the low-side of OK, and I had a 50% failure of the cameras in the first 24 hours. My current thoughts are looking at 1/3" Sony Super-HAD- based cameras at 420 or 480 TVL, but I'm willing to be convinced otherwise. I can fab my own enclosures, so being weatherproof isn't a major concern. I do not want to use wireless. Ideas for camera/lens manufacturers and models? Any other information that would help with responses? Thanks!