POE security camera system?

newalarm

Active Member
We are looking to install a security camera system. Would like a system that can be installed inside, and outside, but mostly outside. Wanted to get feedback from those professionals and homeowners that have used or built different systems.
 
I would like to do a POE system since when we built the house, i had run a few Cat6 wires to outside locations. In retrospect, I should have run other types of wires, but it is what it is.
 
I was looking at some kits online (costco and amazon) but from what I read, cameras are so so, and not always the highest quality. Also, they are usually one size fits all, and so don't work in every situation. This seemed the most cost effective.
 
I also looked at building up my own system... getting a POE switch, an old PC, and a card if necessary. Buying cameras separately, but it is a bit overwhelming as to choice that is out there. I did ELK install on my own, so i know am up to this.
 
I would like a system that allows for a clear image of a person's face from about 35-40 feet. Would that be 2megap camera system?
 
It seems like best systems record continuously. I would like to keep about 2-4 weeks of history on a DVR in case we are away, or something happened but did not realize it until later.
 
Any input will be appreciated.
 
Thanks
 
What is your budget?
even at 4K getting a clear image at 35-40 feet is a stretch.
 
I have 5 camera from Axis, various models. All POE. I bought Blue Iris to monitor it, it has apps for Android and IOS. It runs on a windows server.
 
I got a dell server off of Ebay, I run windows under a VM. Most of the CPU for the machine ends up being used by Blue Iris to monitor the cameras. You need a pretty powerful CPU to do the motion detection.
 
The cameras were around 4-500 each. The 4K was around 850. The 4K camera is the one pointed down the driveway, I don't think it could pick out a face at 35 feet. All of the cameras could pick out a great image at around 15 feet though. I am very happy with the system.
 
Personally I would go maybe with a 5MP camera with maybe with a built in 2.8~12mm Manual Zoom Varifocal lense and then zoom in on an area 35 feet away statically.  Maybe two.  One left at 2.8mm  settings for entire driveway and one focused at 35 feet away.
 
I see one on Amazon for a bit over $100. 
 
I am seeing many folks purchasing cheap junk 960 / 1 MP cameras these days and really you get what you pay for.
 
OR
 
go with a 10MP or greater IP HD camera.  These are a bit more and currently > $300 and less than $1000. 
 
A 4K IP HD camera is 8 MP.
 
OR go with a Mobotix dual lense camera like this one...between $1000 and $2000
 
m-camera.jpgm2.jpg
 
OR Axis like this one:
 
A1.jpg
 
OR Optex Combo like this one:
 
optex.jpg
 
Budget, forgot that one :)
 
I would say not more than 2k. I would rather do fewer cameras, but a better back end system and quality cameras. I can always add on later.
 
Where I would be reluctant is buying a 500$ plust camera and having to replace it after 3-4 years. How long do they last?
 
I was looking to use an older computer from work (we run graphic intensive software on them). I would imagine they would be enough. Machine would be dedicated.
 
I have (4) 1080p/30fps cameras running on my i7 machine (dedicated, currently) with motion detection and 24/7 recording on all cameras and the CPU is at ~25% (with RDP running because I run the machine headless).
 
Getting a 'clear' image at a distance isn't a problem if your FOV is able to be small, because as Pete mentioned, you can get a camera with a longer focal length lens and zoom into the area of concern. What you will not be able to do is get that type of resolution quality on a persons face AND have a 90-deg FOV that covers the majority of your yard.
 
I paid about $100 per camera and I've had then running for a few years now without any issue.
 
Here's the view from the (2) cameras I have looking at my front yard. Don't hate on the grass... I finally hired a company to do weed control and fertilizer for us a couple of months ago.
 
Unfortunately I did have to down sample the images to get them under the 512kb limit for the gallery; click on the images to see close to full resolution though:

index.php

 
index.php

 
Here's a night time picture I've shared before:
index.php

 
 
 
 
Pete_C, thanks for camera options. I will look into them. I noticed that you were using Zoneminder in the past. Are you still using that software? It says abandoned in the description.
 
I like the motion activated ones, but my only concern is that it may time out when critical, or not catch something important like leading up to an event. Is it possible to continuously record, but have the software flag certain events, like someone walking through the area? Or send alerts when it detects something abnormal, like activity in your back yard when alarm is armed, or at night.
 
I noticed that most software is windows based. I would prefer linux if possible. more stable and no need for antivirus.
 
Yes been using ZM now for many years.  It has never been abandoned and always being updated.  Works great with the RTSP HD IP cams and now there is a nice new remote interface called zmNinja.
 
Currently running ZM on Ubuntu 64 bit.
 
BTW also have a Grandstream NVR (not currently using it).
 
I am running Ubuntu on one of my machines. Can you tell me what are the specs of your PC? what are the sizes of your cameras and how many?
 
Newalarm, do you want to have the 30-40' face resolution _at night?_ because that is an additional kettle of fish.
 
Another approach is this, Axis only. PSA: Axis cameras are not inexpensive.
Use Axis cameras with edge storage. This will be in the form of SD cards.
Use your Linux box's ability to run something like VirtualBox and fire up a Windows image in there.
Use your Linux box's ability to provide disk mounts.
Download Axis Camera Companion (ACC) to the windows image in your Virtual box. ( free )
Axis Camera Companion will discover and then push motion detection software out to the cameras.
At that point you can also configure the Camera to store captured imagery either A ) on the camera or B ) on a disk mount point.
You can also configure these cameras to essentially run a configurable circular buffer of video and then when motion is detected store 'back in time' from the point when the motion was detected.
After you have done this configuration you can shut down the windows image. It will not be used for motion detection.
The Linux box will store captured video for review.
OF course you can in parallel monitor the live video feed via a browser.
Should you need to you can fire up the virtualized windows image, fire up ACC and use its neat set of tools to prowl across all the recorded video EVEN that on the edge storage.
 
this removes the computation overhead from your Linux box, as well as allows you to escape Windows in production.
 
beyond that the Axis cameras are small Linux boxes, and you can shell in...
 
Mixing older Optex combos  / Axis and custom made Grandstream HD IP 3MP and Grandstream HD IP cams.  (10).  Intel Core Duo  / 4Gb of memory for PC / commercial style mITX board X 2.
 
Above tinkered with Grandstream OS IP HD camera board and put them inside IP67 domes.  All of the Grandstream boards that I use have SIP configurations.
 
A few years back for work only used Axis IP cams.
 
newalarm said:
drvnbysoundhttp://cocoontech.com/forums/user/5542-drvnbysound/, thanks for picks. What brand/model are your cameras? We are in DC area so humidity is high in summer and it gets fairly cold in winter. Also, what other kind of equipment are you running?
 
I am using HikVision cameras; I'd have to search for the specific model, but I'm already know that they have new model numbers now than when I got mine a couple of years ago. I do run the dome versions vs. the bullet-style. I suppose that's mainly a preference of aesthetics. I am in FL; very high humidity but not so much on the cold winters; I get maybe a few days below freezing each year.
 
Not sure what else you are referring to in terms of other equipment. I have a POE switch to power all the cameras, and the PC I'm using was a custom build.
 
 
newalarm said:
I noticed that most software is windows based. I would prefer linux if possible. more stable and no need for antivirus.
I also searched hard for a Linux based option initially - mainly due to the stability that you mention. However, ZoneMinder was the only reasonable option that I came across and at that time, when I checked the downloads/version section of the site, it had been about 2-years since the latest versions release date. I didn't want to get into using software that wasn't being regularly updated.
 
Having said that I'm running Blue Iris on a Windows 7, 64-bit platform. It has been ROCK SOLID. My machine has run 24/7 for a long durations without any rebooting necessary. Blue Iris has received feature based updates on a pretty regular basis, I'd say at least 2-4x a year. I haven't dug to find out when those releases are typically scheduled or if they are at all. There are bug-fix releases as well. Honestly, I rarely log into that machine, but when I do, the BI service will check for an update and download it if I choose to do so; typically I do, but I don't actively search for updates on a weekly or even monthly basis.
 
Regarding Anti-virus. I wouldn't say that about any OS. Just because it's Linux doesn't mean it's not able to get a virus. Less of a risk? Sure... but not immune.
 
30-40' with a clear image isn't that big of a deal with a good quality camera, probably around 5MP. The other part is the FOV vs. lighting conditions. The issue is getting a quality camera which is going to affect your budget.
 
There's plenty of software out there that will support COTS hardware. Remember, the bigger issue with the Win boxes is keeping them secure and off the grid. Plenty of applications are stable with Win based OS.

The key is to get off consumer based hardware and software if you expect performance. A $50 NVR software may work for some, but it's long in the tooth for features and direct camera driver support (most likely a flavor on ONVIF, which will work, but advanced features aren't there).
 
Conversely, you can get a embedded solution that has Linux in it and then connect to it with your normal clients.
 
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