Need camera suggestion for my front door

[John D 0]

I am going to buy a Geovision GV-1240A-8 card (8 cameras, 30fps/ea) and a PC to go along with it.

 

Now I need to figure out what kind of cameras I need. For now, I'm just asking about a camera for my front door in an effort to narrow my questions. However, for completeness, I figured I'd list my other camera positions in case anyone cares to comment as a whole.

 

My plan is as follows:

 

Camera #1:

9ft off ground, under front porch (4'x20'). It will be in the upper corner furthest from the walkway/door. Someone standing in front of my door will be about 17' away from the camera. There's about a 8'x8' section I'd like to cover at that distance, so it seems like ~8mm 1/3"CCD lens will do.

 

Note: since I'm not positive about the lens, I may buy a single camera with varifocal and try it in each location to see what others I'll need to buy.

 

Cameras #2-#5:

These 4 cameras will be under the eve on the 2nd story (~20' off ground) at the corners of the house and aim at the yard next to the house on all 4 sides.

 

Cameras #6-#8:

These 3 cameras will be inside and covering the entrances to the house (front door, rear door, and garage).

 

There is some lighting around the house - though I assume I'll want IR cameras in all locations:

Front: 1 bulb on each side of the garage door (total=2), 2 bulbs under the porch.

Rear: 1 bulb at rear slider

Side1: 1 bulb on side

Side2: 0 bulbs, but neighbor house has bulb on that side (~25' away) as well as street light (~50' away)

 

I was thinking I would spend more on the front door camera than the others. I'd like to stay under $200 for the front and around $100 for the others. How's that sound?

 

So, are there any suggestions for a camera for my front door?

 

 

To get things rolling, I'll mention the following camera which I found on ApexCCTV's website. Any suggestion why this is inadequate or why I could get something comparable for less $ would be appreciated.

 

Specs of this one:

Varifocal Weatherproof IR Security Camera

Part #: AP-IT90

Price: $169.00

* Type: Color

* Weatherproof: Yes

* Sensor Chip: Sony 1/3" CCD

* Analog Resolution: 540 TV Lines

* Lens: 4-9mm Varifocal Auto-Iris Lens

* Light Sensitivity: 0 (IR Mode) Lux

* Video Format: NTSC

* Illumination Range: 165'

* IR LED Count: 36 Infrared LEDs

* Cable Management: Yes

* Voltage: 12v DC

* Mounting Bracket: Included

* Power Supply: Sold Separately

* One Year Warranty

 

Image Sensor 1/3"SONY

Horizontal Resolution 540 TV Line

Pixels NTSC :811 (H)508 (V)

TV System NTSC

IR LED ¢ 8x36 PCS

IR Series Distance 50 M

Lens 4-9mm Manual Zoom Lens

Sync System Internal

IR Status Under 10 Lux By CDS

Usable Illumination 0 Lux/F2.0 (LED ON)

IR Power On CDS Auto Control

S/N Ratio ≥48dB (AGC OFF)

Gamma Correction 0.45

Video Out Composite Signal (1.0Vp-p, 75Ω)

Scanning System NTSC:525 Lines, 60 Field/Sec

Electronic Shutter Time Auto: -NTSC 1/60-1/100,000Sec

Operation Temperature -10˚C ~ +50˚C RH95% Max

Storage Temperature -20˚C ~ +60˚C RH95% Max

White Balance Auto

Power Source DC12V 300mA

Dimension 150(W) x 100(H) x 95(D)mm

Weight 1600g

 

[tsd 0]

Hello,

 

I would recommend CNB Technology IR Weatherproof Camera 530TVL

 

B2760N-CNB it's 6mm lens 34 IR Led good enough for your purpose it will save you $50 or more

 

If not then B2760NVF-CNB 3.8mm~9.5mm 18 IR Led’s 530 TVL veri-focal

 

The only difference is CNB is its Branded and you get what you pay for.

[shoreviewsecurity 0]

I have personal experience with the camera above ( the one pictured in your post ). A nice cam but don't hang your hat on the IR distance. Although it states 50m usually you cut that in half for effective IR distance and depending on other factors, it may "reduce" even more. This cam however will serve the needs of most residential applications. Be careful of the amount of IR's when using in close proximity to the subject matter as if there is too much IR you run the risk of IR wash out. In other words over saturating the image with IR.

 

Also, try and find a cam with an IR cut filter. This provides much cleaner night images then a cam without. The above camera in your post does not have this feature.

 

Here's a link to actual images from a very similiar cam so you can an idea of what to expect. I would even go as far to say the exact camera????

 

Good luck with your project.

 

Mike

Edited November 18, 2009 by Guest

[John D 0]

I have personal experience with the camera above ( the one pictured in your post ). A nice cam but don't hang your hat on the IR distance. Although it states 50m usually you cut that in half for effective IR distance and depending on other factors, it may "reduce" even more. This cam however will serve the needs of most residential applications. Be careful of the amount of IR's when using in close proximity to the subject matter as if there is too much IR you run the risk of IR wash out. In other words over saturating the image with IR.

 

Also, try and find a cam with an IR cut filter. This provides much cleaner night images then a cam without. The above camera in your post does not have this feature.

 

Here's a link to actual images from a very similiar cam so you can an idea of what to expect. I would even go as far to say the exact camera????

 

http://www.shoreviewsecuritynj.com/camdemo2.html

 

Good luck with your project.

 

Mike

 

 

Mike,

 

Thanks however my browser will not allow me to your site based on the following. Looks like you have some clean up to perform...

 

Regards,

Mark

 

 

Reported Attack Site!

 

This web site at www.shoreviewsecuritynj.com has been reported as an attack site and has been blocked based on your security preferences.

 

Attack sites try to install programs that steal private information, use your computer to attack others, or damage your system.

 

Some attack sites intentionally distribute harmful software, but many are compromised without the knowledge or permission of their owners.

 

 

 

Safe Browsing Advisory provided by Google

Diagnostic page for www.shoreviewsecuritynj.com

 

What is the current listing status for www.shoreviewsecuritynj.com?

 

Site is listed as suspicious - visiting this web site may harm your computer.

 

Part of this site was listed for suspicious activity 1 time(s) over the past 90 days.

 

What happened when Google visited this site?

 

Of the 20 pages we tested on the site over the past 90 days, 6 page(s) resulted in malicious software being downloaded and installed without user consent. The last time Google visited this site was on 2009-10-30, and the last time suspicious content was found on this site was on 2009-10-30.

 

Malicious software includes 22 scripting exploit(s).

 

Malicious software is hosted on 1 domain(s), including gumblar.cn/.

 

This site was hosted on 1 network(s) including AS32613 (IWEB).

 

Has this site acted as an intermediary resulting in further distribution of malware?

 

Over the past 90 days, www.shoreviewsecuritynj.com did not appear to function as an intermediary for the infection of any sites.

 

Has this site hosted malware?

 

No, this site has not hosted malicious software over the past 90 days.

 

How did this happen?

 

In some cases, third parties can add malicious code to legitimate sites, which would cause us to show the warning message.

 

Next steps:

 

* Return to the previous page.

* If you are the owner of this web site, you can request a review of your site using Google Webmaster Tools. More information about the review process is available in Google's Webmaster Help Center.

[shoreviewsecurity 0]

Hi Mark,

 

Thanks for the info. I was aware of this and have corrected the problem or so I thought. I wonder if Google holds info like that for a while. I will contact them. I had a few video demo files on that site that were an issue???? We are NOT attempting any harm.

 

I have uploaded that page to a different site. Please try this one and also advise if you receive the same result. What's wierd is I do not get that warning here on any of our PC's.

 

http://njcctv.com/camdemo2.html

 

Thanks again,

 

Mike

[John D 0]

Hi Mark,

 

Thanks for the info. I was aware of this and have corrected the problem or so I thought. I wonder if Google holds info like that for a while. I will contact them. I had a few video demo files on that site that were an issue???? We are NOT attempting any harm.

 

I have uploaded that page to a different site. Please try this one and also advise if you receive the same result. What's wierd is I do not get that warning here on any of our PC's.

 

http://njcctv.com/camdemo2.html

 

Thanks again,

 

Mike

 

 

Thanks Mike - yes, I can see that page without any issue. I see that image is in CIF resolution (240 horizontal pixel rows). Do you have an image from this camera at a higher resolution? It's capable of almost 4x that size, right? I'd be interested to see what that looks like. How did you get that image? Is it from a DVR recording, and thus does that play a role in the quality of the image shown? I want to ensure I'm comparing just camera quality and also at the highest resolution it's capable of.

[shoreviewsecurity 0]

Sorry for the delay...

 

Yes I can. I have changed the DVR to record in D1. Waiting for night to capture a night image.

 

The DVR will play a role in quality. For that matter even 2 different PC's displaying the same DVR images may differ as well. I have 2 PC's with monitors side by side on my desk. When I open the DVR using this PC that has a decent video card and compare it to the other PC, which has a generic card, there is a noticeable difference in quality.

 

Just so many factors play into quality in the end.

 

Once night falls ( east coast ) here I will capture a night image and post in D1.

 

Thanks

 

Mike

[Soundy 1]

When I open the DVR using this PC that has a decent video card and compare it to the other PC, which has a generic card, there is a noticeable difference in quality.

 

Video card shouldn't affect the actual recording, only how it looks when viewed/played on that computer. Really "decent" vs. "generic" shouldn't affect it either, unless the "generic" card has really poor overlay support or lousy DirectX drivers (depending on which mechanism your DVR software uses).

 

What WILL make a noticeable difference, especially if you're using LCD monitors, is whether your DVR is configured for the monitor's native resolution - on just about all 4:3 monitors 17" and up, that's 1280x1024; most widescreens up to 20", that'll be 1440x900; or 1680x1050 for most monitors 22" and up. If you set a 4:3 resolution on a widescreen monitor, that will REALLY adversely affect how the final display looks.