Long range cameras to capture outdoor paddocks

[chickenlicker 0]

Hi,

 

I've been googling to research cameras but I'm not sure on the terminology so I'm getting a bit stuck. I know in my head what I'm after but I'm having trouble transferring that into keywords to google what to look for. If anyone is able to help by pointing me in the direction of where I should start looking, that'd be great.

 

To try and keep it brief, I'm looking for a long range camera to watch over a 2 acre horse paddock. The camera will be mounted indoors and record either 12/7 or 24/7 straight to a hdd on the network. The closest fence of the paddock is 100 metres away from where the camera will be mounted. The paddock is a rectangular shape, 130 metres long x 70 metres wide, so the camera needs to see another 130 metres to the other side of the fenceline. So that's 230metres away all up (700 feet-ish) and ideally see all 70 metres across at the 100 metre mark while still being clear enough at the 230 metre mark.

 

The quality does not have to be crystal clear, it just needs to see clear enough to see the horse and any people or other animals who climb through the fences, it doesn't need to be clear enough to make out expressions on a face. I understand that I may need to sacrifice clarity at the far end to make sure I have a wide enough field of vision at the closer end. It won't be zoomed in or out - once it's in, it's in and it's staying in that position.

 

Alternatively I'd be happy with one good long range camera to capture the full length of the paddock clearly but have the closer sections cropped off, and then get one or two shorter range cameras to cover the sides the long-range one has missed.

 

I've added some scribbles of the layout of the property, and then another of the sort of path I want to see from the camera.

 

 

 

If anyone could point me in the direction of what it sounds like I'm looking for, that would be wonderful! There's no set budget for this project.

 

Thank you!

[Don Stephens 0]

1. Your username concerns me...

 

2. That is the most accurate depiction of a horse that I've ever seen

 

**For the rest of this, I'm assuming this an IP camera installation**

 

3. I would have suggested a decent PTZ camera for your application so you'd have some freedom to do as you please, but you don't seem to want to mess with anything once it's up and running. If that's the case, I would suggest multiple cameras; probably just two since you're not overly concerned with capturing finer details. As you basically said, one as a more generic overview or for viewing things closer to the house and one dedicated to that much longer range. Box cameras with some good lenses (maybe motorized) would probably be the safe bet. Where you've potentially made things difficult is if you need to see in the dark...

[SyconsciousAu 0]

Hi,

 

If anyone could point me in the direction of what it sounds like I'm looking for, that would be wonderful! There's no set budget for this project.

 

Thank you!

 

 

I've been toying with the idea of building remote solar powered cameras that are connected to the network by wifi. My initial enquiries seem to put the material cost in the $500 (Aus Dollars) range per camera. For your application you would probably need directional antennas to get the range/bandwidth but it might be something worth considering. That way you can get the camera(s) down in the paddock.

 

Alternatively, if you have access to a trencher, you could trench down to the paddock and run Power/Cat 6 back to the house. Lots of work involved in that though.

[Geneyus 0]

I would look at some Hikvision 3 MP cameras with 6, 8, or 12mm lenses. There are YouTube videos showing how far the lenses can go.

 

For example, here's a 4mm lens in a parking lot:

 

And here's the difference in the same camera with a 12mm lens in the same lot:

 

I don't know of any cameras that can look that far at night without a lot of additional IR lighting.