day/night cameras

[Imtheprez 0]

what are some good bullet and dome cameras that will show good quality in day and night? would i need a zoom lens also with the bullet cameras?

[scorpion 0]

In order to answer such questions we would need more details.

 

What is it that you are watching? A parking lot? Your front lawn? Your car/cars in a driveway? Do you want a wide view of an area without facial recognition, or would you like to have facial recognition without a wide area view, or would you like two cameras to do both?

 

How far is this area that is being watched from where the camera will be mounted?

 

How far will the wires from the camera travel to where the DVR is located?

 

Is this a well lit parking lot, or a well lit front yard? Is it completely dark?

 

In the dark, if you took your cellphone camera, and you took a picture how does the picture comeout? Dark? Black Screen?

 

Is this an entry level project with an entry level price?

 

Is this project "security is of the essence".

 

Will life, or death depend on this system?

 

Do you have a million dollars cash under your mattress?? If yes please PM me your address!! LOL!! Just kidding!!

 

How can we be of assistance?

 

Here is what I would recommend "off the cuff" without more info.

 

http://eclipsecctv.com/ECL-598HIM_security_camera.html

[Imtheprez 0]

the cameras will be mounted on all 4 sides of my house. I work 3rd shift and my wife will be home by herself, we live in a good neighborhood but ya can never be too safe. Anyway, Im looking for cameras that work well in day and night time. Im not sure of the exact distance but the area needed to be watched mostly is the front yard, I have carriage lights above the garage to provide lighting, and the camera will be around mounted around the same height maybe a little higher. As far as the DVR goes the 2 cameras in front of the house will be wired pretty close to it..at most 20 ft....the 2 cameras around back will be a little further away. I would like to stay under 3k for it all...and also would like the cameras to be small as possible but good quality..and one more thing. I would like to able to zoom in and have the face recognition feature...any suggestions?

[scorpion 0]

The zoom in feature can only be done while you are watching the camera.

 

This means when you are not watching the camera at home, or over the internet then the camera will not know to zoom in on someone.

 

It can be done with a PTZ camera but this is outside of your 3K budget.

With a PTZ you can have it pointed in one direction, but if someone walks by a motion detector, or if they break a "beam" then the PTZ is "trained" to turn to a preset point in reference to the motion detector.

 

If you have two cameras on the front of your house then you only have 2 cameras available for both sides of your house, and the backyard. For that kind of coverage you may need an 8 channel DVR.

 

For a 4 camera system I would use two 3.5mm (wide angle). Most inexpensive bullet cameras with IR that say 30 feet, will only work at night to about 15 feet from where the camera is mounted. If this camera is pointed at your driveway then measure the area back to your house, and at 15 feet this is where you are going to mount the camera. If the distance is to short, or the mounting area is not a good place then you will have to get a camera that is rated 60 feet of IR. Dividing the IR distance in half then you will want the camera, and the area to be watched to be about 30 feet apart.

 

I would put one camera in the back yard. 3.5mm

 

You have one camera left. Will you cover the right side of the house, or the left side of your house, or will you have two camras in the back yard?

 

Even though you have two cameras in the front yard you will not get "facial" recognition. You will get it if they come with in 5 to 8 feet of the camera.

 

If you are not aware of it wide angle cameras are designed to pull in a little extra right, and left peripheral vision. There is a distortion that is created. Things in the distance will appear farther away in the video then in reality. You can over come this with a 25mm camera pointed at your cars, or your mailbox that is street mounted, and then you can catch a face. The problem is that you will have to find a place to point the camera to catch the face. Drivers doors are good, because if they are checking for unlocked doors then this is most likely to be the one not to be locked, or if they are going to steal it then they will drive it away.

 

Pointing large mililmeter (mm) cameras at choke points is the secret installer trick. Bushes on both sides of a walk way is a great place to point a camera as they have to walk on the sidewalk, and the bushes prevent them from stepping out of view.

 

If I could only mount one camera in the front yard then here is a trick that you might be able to do depending on the IR distance of the camera.

 

You can put the camera by your front door on the opposite side of your driveway. Point the camera at the driveway. You will not see who is standing at your front door, but you will see who approached your front door. Someone might ring the bell to see if you are home before they go around, and break in the back.

 

If the camera size is an issue then there are some tricks that you can do.

If a camera is mounted, and it is looking to the left, or to the right, then you can hang a plant in front of the camera. From the road you will not see the camera. If the camera is looking straight out then this will not work.

 

You can hide the cameras in birdhouses, doghouses, fake water pump house ect.

 

I have had custom ceramic pots made to hold plants where there is a hidden spot on the bottom for a camera to look out, but this maybe to expensive unless you have a friend who does this for a hobby.

 

Order 100 feet of wiring. You may not need it now but later you might need to move the camera to take care of a temp problem then you can move it back to its original spot. The extra cable gives you that flexibility.

 

I would recommend getting varifocal cameras such as 4mm - 9mm or 4mm - 12 mm. These will give you a wide angle view, or you can change it with a screwdriver, or a tool to a zoomed in view, or anywhere in between. Now your camera system is flexable to meet your future needs.

 

If a dog is pooping on your lawn set it for wide angle, if someone is taking your newspaper then zoom in and point it where they deliver the paper to catch the perp.

 

Buy a DVR that has an internet connection. If you are not going to use it now that is ok, and it will be there if you ever need it.

I would have you set it up with a static IP, but this will cost a little more then the average internet service. They will tell you that you have to get a business class service, or they may call it a commercial account.

 

Now you can watch the cameras when your wife is home alone.

[Imtheprez 0]

do i need 3.5mm cameras or 3.5mm lens? and thanks for the info! really help me out..i like the haning plant ideas to help cover the cameras! what type of cameras would you reccommend for around my price range of 3k?

[Lolo Wolf 0]

Scorp, great advice but differ on using plants outdoor near cameras, indoor (covert) is a method but (hanging plant) outdoor near camera, unless its artifical and even that is problematic, will attract a lot of insects/birds etc and trigger excessive motion detect.

[scorpion 0]

I did not say place a honey suckle plant in the pot!!!!

 

How about a non flowering cactus??

 

In Florida you can use a "spider plant"

 

I sure if you talk to a plant expert you can come up with a good choice.

 

You can always rotate your "crop" to non flowering seasons. It is kind of like the opposite of what Disney World does on their property. Everytime you go there you will notice that every plant, bush, and tree seems to be in bloom!!

 

I feel sorry for the gardners at night having to move all of the plants, and trees for the next "season".

 

Hang a pair of dirty sneakers!!!

[Imtheprez 0]

any suggestions on what kind of cameras to look into?