Camera Location Planning - Suggestions?

[CCTVRONNIE]

I am currently planning my CCTV system but am seeking advice as to the best positioning of the cameras on the front of the house.

My aim is to cover the front driveway, visitors to the front door (faces, rather than tops of heads), and hopefully avoid any blind spots due to the bay window

I have identified potential locations.
The RED dot I was thinking for capturing faces approaching the front door and driveway
This is probably the only one I am confident is a good location to achieve my aim.
To gain a full view of the front of the property, I have three choices -BLUE dot or GREEN dot on the soffits for the high view (either /or) , or the yellow dot for a mid-level coverage.
I am unsure if I can capture the far side of the bay (anyone approaching from the adjoining property direction) - indicated by the BLUE arrow.

I was looking at two cameras on the front - would this suffice. I don't really want more than this, as it may attract unwanted attention,or seem a little like a prison
Advice on whether 2.8mm, 4mm or 6mm would work best would also be helpful

Any advice would be much appreciated. I hope to fit this before the autumn...all being well!

 

[Dan]

Hi @CCTVRONNIE

We agree that the RED dot position is good for face recording and we would recommend a DS-2CD2545FWD-I 4MP Mini Dome as these have a short 10m IR range which makes them great for areas where objects or face are coming close to the camera. The only adjust we would recommend for the positioning of this camera would be to move it to the left-hand side of the front door, this is because for these close range positions we often recommend a 2.8mm focal length and that will give you a 109 degree field of view which with your current suggested position will likely have the bay window in the cameras FoV. Also with the camera further away from the bay window you may actually cover most of the area you want to cover with the single camera.

If you do want to go for a 2nd camera position then we would go with the yellow position because the drive is short and if you mount cameras right up on the soffit they will be angled steeply down and you will only see the tops of peoples head. For the yellow position we would recommend a turret camera like the 2345 4MP Darkfighter Turret or the 2347G1 ColorVu Turret, the 2345 uses standard IR LEDs to record at night but uses more powerful LEDs with a range of 30m so you can end up with overexposure/whiting out of objects very close to the camera and IR reflection of shiny surfaces like a car roof. The ColorVu camera may be an option that works better for you, it has improved hardware (larger sensor, bigger lens aperture) to see in colour at night. To get the best results with a ColorVu camera you need visible light in the scene, the camera has its own visible white LED floodlight but this is very bright and stays on all the time it is dark enough to be needed, but if you have visible light already present in the scene (e.g. street lights, security floodlight, etc...) you can disable the cameras built-in light and just use the ambient light.

Our suggestion would be to start with the 2545 Mini Dome, see what images and coverage you get with that, and then decide if you need a 2nd camera and if you do what area it needs to cover.

 

[CCTVRONNIE]

Hi @CCTVRONNIE

We agree that the RED dot position is good for face recording and we would recommend a DS-2CD2545FWD-I 4MP Mini Dome as these have a short 10m IR range which makes them great for areas where objects or face are coming close to the camera. The only adjust we would recommend for the positioning of this camera would be to move it to the left-hand side of the front door, this is because for these close range positions we often recommend a 2.8mm focal length and that will give you a 109 degree field of view which with your current suggested position will likely have the bay window in the cameras FoV. Also with the camera further away from the bay window you may actually cover most of the area you want to cover with the single camera.

If you do want to go for a 2nd camera position then we would go with the yellow position because the drive is short and if you mount cameras right up on the soffit they will be angled steeply down and you will only see the tops of peoples head. For the yellow position we would recommend a turret camera like the 2345 4MP Darkfighter Turret or the 2347G1 ColorVu Turret, the 2345 uses standard IR LEDs to record at night but uses more powerful LEDs with a range of 30m so you can end up with overexposure/whiting out of objects very close to the camera and IR reflection of shiny surfaces like a car roof. The ColorVu camera may be an option that works better for you, it has improved hardware (larger sensor, bigger lens aperture) to see in colour at night. To get the best results with a ColorVu camera you need visible light in the scene, the camera has its own visible white LED floodlight but this is very bright and stays on all the time it is dark enough to be needed, but if you have visible light already present in the scene (e.g. street lights, security floodlight, etc...) you can disable the cameras built-in light and just use the ambient light.

Our suggestion would be to start with the 2545 Mini Dome, see what images and coverage you get with that, and then decide if you need a 2nd camera and if you do what area it needs to cover.

Thanks for the detailed reply. Would there be an alternative to the mini dome, as the domes appear to be susceptible to LED reflect, spider webs and dirt? Is there a turret alternative?

 

[Dan]

Hi @CCTVRONNIE

There isn't a turret alternative to the Mini Dome that also has the 10m IR range, with the new design of the mini domes has the IR LEDs separated behind 2 separate windows either side of the dome that contains the lens and so this greatly reduces the problem of spiders sitting in front of the lens and IR reflection.