Cameras for Self Storage

[peten2359 0]

Setting up a system for self storage and have a few questions.

 

I like dome vs regular because you can't tell where they are pointed without studying the camera, anything wrong with this logic?

 

Anyhow, where can I find weatherproof dome cameras with a bracket to attach to either cinder block or metal and how much should I expect to pay. I'd like 6mm with some IR, it's going 200 ft but I have lights above.

 

Also, I assume the 3.6, 6mm, 8mm is magnification if not please tell me.

 

Thanks

[scorpion 0]

3.6mm will give you a wide angle view. This would be good for watching a two car driveway with two cars.

 

6mm This would be good for pointing at your front door. You do not get the distortion that a wide angle camera will give you.

 

An object that is 20 feet from your wide angle camera will look farther away in the video then in reality. This camera is designed to watch a wide view.

 

8mm would be great to watch you mailbox if it were on the side of the road. You will not see much of your yard, but you will be closer to the mail box to see who is messing with it.

 

I am just generalizing, so please do not hold me to this. I am only using this to give you a perspective of what these lens will do.

 

A 50 mm will let you see the squirrel across the street, and you will know if it is a boy, or a girl squirrel!

____________________________________________________

 

200 feet?? What are you watching at 200 feet?

 

You will not be able to put a camera at one end of your storage facility, and watch every bay all the way down.

 

I lied. You can put the camera farther back, and use a super zoom lens. This will compress all of the bay doors on top of each other.

 

This is kind of like the movies. You have seen the spy movie, or the police movie where there is a person standing next to a column, and there is another person standing at the next column. They apear almost back to back of each other. When the camera angle changes, and you see the front of the building (such as a court house) you see that the columns are very far apart, and the two people are far apart. Going back to the other angle you can see how all of the columns have been "compressed".

 

You would be better off using several cameras to watch the self storage area. If money is no object then you can use a megapixal camera to watch all of the bay doors.

 

I would tell you to avoid wireless cameras. They will say 300 feet line of sight. If the receiver is on the inside such as in an office then you will lose some of the video coming through the wall. You will have to bring the cameras closer than 300 feet. You will have to test them on site to see how far you can go.

 

If you are willing to spend $1000 per camera for wireless than you have a real good chance of having a good working system! You will need to use external antennas, and point them back at the office.

 

Make sure that you buy at least one expensive camera! This will be to get the license plate of every vehicle that drive out off the property. Use good cameras, and you can use cheap cameras to fill in other areas that are not so important.

 

I would recommend that you buy very expensive cameras, but if you have to buy on the cheap then try something like this..

 

http://avssys.net/?s=product&sub=camera&cat=ir&p=vnd49ir

 

I am not saying to use this camera, but look how it has a variable lens. 4 to 9 mm. You cannot bump it to another direction like you can a bullet camera. It is impact resistant. Who cares where it is pointed?

 

Put a camera where your trash is kept. You never know when a non tenant uses your dumpster to put their trash in it.

 

Do you park trailers, or boats, or campers? You will need some cameras in this area as well.

 

If you have a electric gate, you can save some money by using a camera that has 200 feet of IR throw, and it should have a 5 to 50 mm lens. You can adjust this to get the view of your gate. It is nice to find out what vehicle has hit your gate!

 

If you have any questions post them here on this thread.

 

Scorpion

 

I hope this helps!

[peten2359 0]

I'm really asking for some sources of good outdoor 6mm dome cameras with brackets that are reasonably priced.

 

If anyone wants to check out my current setup check out 71.70.132.204 (note can't do link now)

 

Its a mixture of 3.6(3,4) and 6mm IR cams(1,2). I need some more dome cameras and if you check out cam3 and night u can see my lights cause some issues with the IR that I'd like to fix. Could definitely add some cameras further down the aisle, but this does a fairly good job and accomplishes what i'm trying to do. Which is to see what's going on and as a deterrent.

 

Thanks

[CraigVM62 0]

Will these domes be mounted where they are not struck with direct weathering? I have had less than positive results with exterior domes unless I can place them under eves or some kind of cover.

 

I do like the advantage of domes not easily giving away their direction of view.

 

I have not been able to find domes that can provide the flexibility that standard cameras and housing can for the price "variation of lens, image quality...." Unfortunately I have not be able to find a standard housing that is as "tamper proof" as a dome camera can be