A few things concern me about that system.
1. There is no such thing as Zero Lux response, even if the cameras have built in LEDs.
2. There is no rating on the field of view (FOV) of the lens, or even if there is a lens (pinhole camera)
3. I'd like to see a Hyper-HAD silicon CCD in cameras used for night service. Cheap CMOS CCD cameras do not do well outdoors.
4. Without a Auto-Iris lens, going from very bright sunlight to very dim night causes problems for security systems used outdoors.
5. What powers each camera, a wall wart, 24VAC, or Siamese Cable (power and video) from the DVR?
I just put a system in my church, 8 cams, mix of outdoor dome cams and indoor box cams with zoom lenses.
I found a company that gets Walmart and Target's old indoor box cams and resells them with lenses for 25$ a unit.
I used a LG DVR,and am thrilled with it.
There is always Supercircuits.com. Prices are inflated, but at least you know what your getting.
Issues to think about:
Prewired cables are hard to use, fishing cables through walls and ceilings is difficult with the connectors on. ( I bought a connector crimper that is world class, I'll loan it to you)
Exposed cables are ugly, but wireless 2.4 Ghz cameras really suck.
Lenses matter, there are free on line FOV and distance calculators. Do you want to see/record faces, or just movements?
Camera quality matters, cheap cameras can cause the DVR to loose sync, results in a swimming image.
What powers each camera, ie 24VAC that lets you run long distances, or do you need a 110AC outlet for the wall warts right at each camera?
Do you want a beep on motion detect?
Do you only want to record when there is motion? (very nice option, saves searching through hours of useless video)
IP Cams are nice, they let you use Ethernet cable.
Does it rain on the camera?
Motion can be sensed with the camera or with a cheap (21$) IR sensor with a remote beeper, I use both.
Brad, think about what you really want to view:
In our case the cameras are for theft prevention during the week, A overview of the parking lot from up high, and protecting the children's area/nursery during worship. For the later, I have the lenses set up for excellent facial recognition, you can't get in and out of the area without two cameras recording your face and a volunteer getting a beep . One camera lets us see who's approaching the main entrance, and for letting the ushers know we have guests.
Steve
Last edited by mixedgas; 05-20-2014 at 07:11.
Qui habet Christos, habet Vitam!
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When I still could have...