Which Cameras Should I Choose?

[cctvfan]

Hi Use-IP Forum

Nice to here, seems a very friendly bunch!

Looking at some CCTV cameras, specifically the Hikvision ColorVu.

Leaning toward the 8MP Turrets, specifically the DS-2CD2387G2-LU. I am concerned at their size however, particularly as some (poistion 2, 3 and maybe 4) will be at ground floor level (not at 1st floor, soffits)

My house has an unusual layout, there is a pitched single storey part of the house at the front. That makes 1st floor soffit mounting a bit useless due to blind spots that would occur as a result. However, I have thought of the following.

See images at:

Rear (Position 1 + 2) @ https://ibb.co/xs6pjxn
Front (Position 3, 4 + 5) @ https://ibb.co/Nm0XxHX

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• Position 1 = Looking to the patio and double doors there.
• Position 2 = Looking to the convservatory and double doors on conservatory.
• Position 3 = Looking across the driveway and grass (at the front on the soffit, not flush against the black door).
• Position 4 = Looking over the driveway / cars / side gate (struggling with position along roof tile edge / angles / what will be most useful here)
• Position 5 = Looking backward down the side of the house (cannot show angle, no photo down that side)

I am after 8MP ColorVu with Microphone (which I understanda are fixed at 2.8mm) for all points. However, I am concerned about the size of them.

How can I get the best visibility on the property? Any recommendations?

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1. I keep hearing "4MP is good enough and more pixels doesn't mean better image." I understand that, but I also believe the sensor in ColorVu 8MP is very large, so works just fine. Is this the case? The more detail the better, and I believe we can achieve this with a sufficient sensor size. I want to future proof what I can.
2. The 8MP Turret ColorVu are rather large units. Do we think they are too large? Am I better with a bullet or even a vandal-proof dome in certain positions (I am thinking position 2 and 3, maybe even 4)? The white LED appeals to me though, giving a bit of light as well as the ColorVu image. I understand there is no LED on the domes? Open to suggestions for on what specific cams should go where.
3. I have rather small soffits that do not stick out a great deal. Are the rain/sun shades worthwhile as I've got small soffits? Or is that just asking for spiders / webs to take shelter inside? Or should the cameras be fine in even heavy downpour?
4. How can I get the best visibility by the garage (position 4)? A very wide area and no corner points to mount cameras to. Very small soffits too. Where on the garage would you mount it? Right at the top of the apex? Facing forward or slightly toward the gate? Or focus on the cars? Open to suggestions here, this is the difficult part! The 8MP ColourVu Turrets might really stick out, be exposed and look odd.
5. Recommended Doorbell camera? Hikvision too? This will give another dimension in addition to the cameras shown in the pictures.
6. I've been looking at some ColorVu domes for by the front door (position 3) if the turret is too large. Welcome any views here. It is really very accessible for a tall burglar. But maybe a good thing for seeing faces.
7. Is there an equivelent to DS-2CD2387G2-LU in a dome rather than turret? Same spec / sensor performance / LED / Microphone?
8. Planning to put the NVR and other equipment in a server cabinet in the loft. Any issues you guys anticipate? It gets hot up there, measured 39.9 c in the summer.
9. Are the placement heights and positions of cameras about right? Welcome any advice.
10. I am looking at the DS-7608NI-I2-8P (based on what I have read on this forum RE: 4K, and the K NVR not being strong enough). Is this a good idea? 6TB OK?
11. The event recording that comes with Acusense appeals too.
12. Any other suggestions? Additional cameras for better coverage?

 

[Dan]

Hi @cctvfan

Answers to your questions are below:

1. Yes, 8MP will give you the most detail/highest resolution. The reason we say 4MP is good enough is that in scenarios like yours where most of the distances you want the camera to cover are not more than 15-20m you are not going to see a massive difference in the level of detail in objects/people at close range, the 8MP resolution improvement is most noticeable over much longer distances (30-40m) where there are more pixels available to capture the small detail. If you want the highest resolution then you can use 8MP cameras if you wish.

2. The turret cameras are quite large (the 2387G2 model is roughly 120mm from the base to the face of the turret) but I think they will be fine in most of your position. The only position I would not use a turret for is position 3 because of how close this will be to head height when people are at the door, for covering doorways we usually recommend a low-profile Mini Dome camera like the DS-2CD2547G2-LS 4MP ColorVu Mini Dome which does have white light LEDs (unlike the larger dome) and has a built-in Mic.

3. Rain shades should not be required, both the turret and mini dome cameras are rated for outdoor use and the design/positioning of the cameras means you should only see very minimal disruption during periods of rain. All the shade will do is stop the rain from falling directly on the camera whilst at the same time adding a lot more clutter to the walls of your property.

4. We would go with what you have marked up, mount the turret camera in the apex of the garage roof and then point it straight forward or slightly to left towards the gate. (you can adjust this during the installation to see what give you the best coverage)

5. If you want to include an intercom we would recommend something like the DS-KV6113-WPE1 which can be linked directly to the Hik-Connect mobile app to notify you when the bell is rung. (ignore the text on the product page about requiring an indoor station, latest models support newer firmware that means they can be added directly to the app without the indoor station) The only thing to be aware of is that the intercom cannot be plugged directly into the PoE ports on the NVR as it has to be visible to the mobile app as its own device, so you will need to connect it to your local network using a separate PoE injector.

6. See answer to question 2

7. Again see the answer to Q2 - in regards to sensor performance, the 2547G2 is a 4MP model but seeing as this will mainly be focused on objects/people within a 10m range you will get almost exactly the same level of detail in most scenarios when using a 4MP or 8MP camera in this position.

8. There shouldn't be any issues putting the NVR in your loft, the 8-channel NVR has a PCU fan and a 2nd fan for the case/HDDs. If you are worried about it getting too hot you could always install a larger/more powerful fan in the server rack.

9. Placement heights look ok to me, we usually say the best height is around 3-4m (roughly 1st floor height), but for some short-range cameras like the mini dome a position that is closer to head height can actually deliver better results.

10. Yes, the I-series 8-channel NVR would be what we recommend. 6TB will give you roughly 7-10 days of continuous recording from the 5 camera setup you have described above, if you think you might need more space you can use the Western Digital Storage Calculator to get a rough idea of how much storage you would need.

11.

12. The only other thing I would point out is junction boxes/brackets, the turret and mini dome cameras have a 30cm long pigtail/fly lead off the back of the camera with the RJ45 network connection on the end, the cameras don't have enough space behind them to store this cable so if you are drilling a hole for the cable directly behind the camera you can mount them directly to the surface and pass the fly lead through. If you need to run the camera cable along the exterior of the building to another point of access we would recommend installing the cameras with either a junction box or wall bracket to protect the camera's RJ45 connection.

Below are the compatible accessories:

2387G2 - Junction box (PT6) // Wall Bracket (1273ZJ-140)
2547G2 - Junction box (DM46)

 

[cctvfan]

Thanks a lot for the advice, Dan!

1. You're not recommending bullets in place of any of these then?
2. Is there an advantage with DS-1273ZJ-140 in terms of placement? Of course, it sticks out a bit, but it would appear we have more freedom to rotate than we might if flush against the brick wall?
3. I intended on mounting directly to soffits, or to the brick. No further accessories are nececssary?
4. Thanks for recommending the 4MP DS-2CD2547G2-LS. I really hoped for the 8MP here, as there is a good broad view of lots going on from this point. Is there an 8MP coming, do you know? If not, is an 8MP ColorVu dome worth considering (if it exists)? I understand they don't have the LED, but if the lighting is sufficient, it may be OK?
5. I've realised the 4MP DS-2CD2547G2-LS does not have AcuSense. Is this necessary? If not, is it a nice feature? We get better event detection with AcuSense as far as I understand? And less false alerts. This could be very useful with it being by the doorway.
6. For the garage, is it worth mounting to the DS-1273ZJ-140? It'll look ugly and obvious as anything though!
7. 2.8mm is likely best for what I have mentioned here, right?
8. I quite liked the Dahua blue/red flashing LED that I saw. I don't see that Hikvision have such a thing. It'd be a real deterrent though. Any external lights like this available do you know?
9. Anything with maybe a 4MP like the DS-KV6113-WPE1?

Thanks again

 

[Dan]

Hi @cctvfan

1. For the positions you have there isn't really any advantage to using bullet cameras.
2. Exactly, the wall bracket allows you to rotate the camera lens closer to a perpendicular position to look along the wall it is mounted to, so potentially may be useful for the camera down the side of your house (position 5).
3. If you are going to drill a hole directly behind the camera then yes you can mount the cameras directly to the soffit or wall without any further accessories.
4. We are not aware of any 8MP ColorVu Mini Dome or standard dome coming into stock anytime soon, The only available 8MP Dome available is the DS-2CD2186G2-ISU which is only AcuSense and uses IR LEDs for black & white images at night but you could try fixing the camera into Day mode and utilising the white light and other ambient light already in the scene.
5. There is no real advantage to using the wall bracket on the garage as you probably won't want to turn it completely 90 degrees to look across the garage.
6. Yes, 2.8mm should be fine for most of your positions as you are covering mainly wide & short distances, it varies between models but the 2.8mm lens will give you between 100-110 degree field of view and the 4mm will give you between 80-90 degree FoV.
7. No, this is not something we offer. The Hikvision 4MP Live-Guard models support a white flashing light, but no models with coloured flashing lights. (we are not aware of any 8MP ColorVu/Live-Guard models coming anytime soon)
8. No, all Hikvision intercom cameras are 2MP. The lens on all the intercom models is ultra-wide (almost full fisheye) and so with it covering such a wide area you really would not see any major image difference between 2 & 4MP in the few metres directly in front of the camera.

 

[cctvfan]

Thanks Dan

What is the view of AcuSense? Does it really offer that substantial a difference in detection, etc?

 

[Dan]

Yes, from what we have seen from the majority of customers the AcuSense features do improve the accuracy and reduce the false detection of smart events, especially when compared to the standard Smart Events that were available on the earlier EasyIP 3.0 range.

 

[cctvfan]

Thank you Dan!

My only final predicament is the position to place camera #2 at. There was once a camera in that position (before I moved in - you can see the little black camera on the fascia board) and there is currently a plate in its place as the previous owner took down the cams.

The DS-2CD2387G2-LU is quote large footprint according to the specs. Yet I don't have the largest fascia here.

Am I better mounting the DS-2CD2387G2-LU on the brick (harder to drill, needs to run cable to the other side of the brick) or where the camera once was on the fascia board (easier to drill, cable can go right into the fascia/soffit out of sight, but could be touching guttering). Considering the height too, if on the brick work, it'll be even lower down.

Or should I consider a bullet here, on the fascia? Again, prefer the 8MP with microphone and white LED, if one exists. A mini bullet?

The other issue is simply, the lights mounted on the wall with a PIR turning them on when movement is detected (over exposure?), and the boiler exhaust that may blow smoke in front of the camera, obscuring view of the conservatory door. Finally, a bunch of lights on the wall, too, possibly blocking the view as well.

Views?

See photo here (red circle where the plate is, where the camera once was): https://ibb.co/vV33kK5

Thanks again!

 

[cctvfan]

Maybe the DS-2CD2087G2-LU?

 

[Dan]

Hi @cctvfan

Apologies, we were quite busy last week and I completely scanned past the question in the middle of your last comment.

Yes, if you already have had a camera mounted to the soffit then either a 2087G2-LU or 2086G2-IU will be fine, the additional height will give you better coverage of the scene.

 

[cctvfan]

That's OK, Dan. I appreciate the help.

I prefer the ColorVu so I am keen on the 2087G2-LU.

Will it look a bit odd? See the image where it'd be placed at https://ibb.co/vV33kK5

Is the camera at risk of being snapped or is it more easily vandalised? Are the bullets less sturdy?

Thanks

 

[Dan]

The bullet cameras are not vandal-resistant but they are still a strong metal design that wouldn't be easily damaged, I would say where you are installing it there is very little risk of vandalism.

The one thing I would point out is that I hadn't noticed how close that wall light was to the camera position, this light source being very close to the camera lens may affect the camera's low-light performance. We would recommend moving the camera directly above or just slightly in front (left side of the image you sent) of the wall light to avoid the direct glare of this light source.

 

[cctvfan]

Thanks for the note about the lighting, Dan. I had not thought of this before.

I thought better share a full picture, to give visibility of that wall. There are in fact two lights: https://ibb.co/D15tVVp

Any thoughts on best camera and best position? As you can see, I am trying to cover the conservatory door. There is also a PIR on the right side of the right light. Is the fascia best, or is brick wall mounted OK? I am mindful of the steam from the boiler vent too.

Is it too low down if mounted on the brick work?

The red circle is where an old camera once was (I assume it was a bullet). I've put a few different positions in place (green) of possible locations, but please tell me if there's anything better. Where would you choose for conservatory coverage, as well as giving a view of who may have jumped over the fence / gate? 2CD2387G2 (turret) or 2087G2-LU (bullet)? It may be that the turret doesn't actually mount to the fascia actually.

Many thanks

 

[Dan]

Hi @cctvfan

any of the middle positions (A/B/E) should be fine as the light closest to the gate will be behind the camera and the other light can be framed out of the cameras field of view by angling the camera slightly further to the left and framing that part of the wall out of the camera's image.

 

[cctvfan]

Thanks Dan. What do you mean by framing out?

Is a bullet or a turret a better shout here do you think?

 

[Dan]

The bullet camera will probably fit that space better as the soffit is probably not large enough for a turret.

When I say framing out I mean you should point the camera slightly more out from the wall so that the right edge of the cameras field of view is not actually seeing the wall light and all that other wall clutter.

 

[MoisePress]

I am agree with your answers my problem is solved. I am very happy

Have a good day to all the members