Helping selecting cctv setup

[jaaash]

Hello, I'm looking into cctv around my house. I like the look of the Hikvision options, specifically the turret cameras. I've had the house re-wired and ran in cat5e ethernet cables already for 5 cameras. I'm after some advice on which cameras and NVR would be best suited for my set-up. I think 4 or 6mp should be plenty from my research. I may eventually add a 6 or 7th camera for my garage (inside and/or outside) but these would be wireless/ not POE.

I’ve attached some photos of the house to help. Also a diagram (borrowed from our recent driveway project) with dimensions and locations of cameras to help work out correct lens sizes, etc.

Camera 1 - Front of house, looking onto front garden/hedge and out onto road. Wiring is set at 2.9m high.

Camera 2 - Above the front door to monitor visitors. Wiring is set at 2.9m high.

Camera 3 - Just behind driveway gates looking forwards. Wiring is set at 2.5m high.

Camera 4 - Just behind driveway gates looking backwards. Wiring is set at 2.5m high.

Camera 5 - Looking out onto the back garden and garage. Wiring is set at 2.9m high.

Ideally I’d like the cameras to mount to the walls with no wiring exposed. I believe you can get brackets/junction boes with the hikvision range.
An exception could be made here for camera 5 to position it higher to clear the lower roof and improve the viewing range.

I’m sure I’ve probably missed out some info so let me know if there’s anything more you need.
Any advice and direction is very much appreciated.
Thanks.

 

[Dan]

Hi @jaaash

Our camera recommendations are below:

Camera 1 - DS-2CD2545FWD-IS 4MP Mini Dome (2.8mm) - the mini dome is the best option for small areas like this as they have a short 10m IR which makes them better for recording objects/faces close to the camera at night compared to the more powerful 30m IR of most other models which often whites out faces close to the camera. The wide FoV of the 2.8mm lens is also good for these small spaces as it give s you the widest coverage over a short distance. If you do have ambient light in the scene (street lights, security light, etc...) then another option would be the ColorVu turret which I will explain in detail below.

Camera 2 - DS-2CD2347G1-LU 4MP ColorVu Turret (2.8mm) - The ColorVu cameras have upgraded hardware to achieve colour images at night, by default the ColorVu cameras use their very bright built-in white LED floodlight to capture the colour image but if you have ambient light in the scene as discussed above you can disable the built-in light and just use the ambient light to illuminate the scene. I can see from your photo you have a door light that may do the job of illuminating the scene, also the 2.8mm lens will give you almost full coverage of the entire drive.

Camera 3 - I don't think with the coverage that you are getting from cameras 1 & 2 that there is much point having a 3rd camera covering this same area, but if you absolutely need one hear we would recommend 2347G1(4mm) again.

Camera 4 - DS-2CD2365G1-I 6MP Darkfighter Turret (4mm) - As the rear of the property is slightly darker/in the shadow you are probably best off using an IR turret to get clear images at night, the 4mm focal length will reduce the FoV wasted on the house and fence whilst at the same time maximising the detail of the important area you want to be covered. With the downpipes on the corner of the building, you may want to use the compatible junction box (DM21) or wall bracket (DS-1273ZJ-140) to push the camera out from the wall to look around this obstruction.

Camera 5 - DS-2CD2365G1-I 6MP Darkfighter Turret (6mm) - We would recommend this model for the same reasons as above, the only difference would be to use the narrowest 6mm lens so as to reduce the amount all wall/roof visible in the cameras FoV.

If you are looking at a maximum of 7 cameras we would recommend the DS-7608NI-I2/8P 8-channel NVR, and we recommend using Western Digital Purple Surveillance HDDs with it. We do not supply HDD with the NVRs as the capacity of HDD you chose comes down to many variables (eg. the number of cameras, resolution, days you want to store, etc...), if you are unsure of the capacity you require then you can use Western Digital's Capacity Calculator.

That is pretty much everything you should need, the only other thing to mention is power. If you are cabling all network connections back directly into the NVR then you don't need to worry about power as the PoE ports on the NVR will provide power, but if any of the cameras are connecting to the local network elsewhere (e.g. wall port, a network switch, etc...) you will need to provide PoE using either a PoE Injector or a PoE switch.

 

[jaaash]

Hi @Dan, thank you very much for your detailed reply. It’s helped a lot.
I’d like to be able to record up to 3-4 weeks so I’ll use the calculator to see what I need, thanks.
All 4/5 initial cameras will be cabled directly back to the NVR so no issues for power there. If I decide to get some in and/or on the garage I’ll do some research to work out what’s required there regarding power, etc.
I don’t have any ethernet outlets in the garage but I do have mains power so I was looking at using a powerline adapter for extended wifi. Would this be suitable for connecting cameras too?

 

[Dan]

Yes, Powerline adaptors are something we have recommended for remote camera installs in garages & sheds.

 

[jaaash]

Awesome, I’ll look into it. Thanks again.