Help choosing camera focal length

[Sonic007]

Hi,

I'm looking at installing cameras and buying the relevant equipment.
I know what I'm getting for my NVR and am going for hikvision bullet cameras but unsure on the 2.8 or 4mm options.

The front of the house needs to overlook the driveway as in the photo. Im thinking 2.8mm?
The camera in the porch at the door I'm thinking 4mm?

Round the back of the house I need a camera looking at the rear back door and patio doors. I'm thinking a 4mm here?

What do you think.

Many thanks in advance.

 

[Dan]

Hi @Sonic007

For the front of the house we would probably actually recommend the reverse - 2.8mm for the door and 4mm for covering the drive - this is because 2.8mm gives you the widest field of view over the shortest distance, so at 3-5m you will see a lot more with a 2.8mm camera than a 4mm, we would also recommend a Mini Dome for the door like this one - Hikvision DS-2CD2545FWD-I 4MP Mini Dome Network Camera - because they have a shorter IR range (10m) which will give you better detail in objects very close to the camera compared to the 30m IR on the Mini Bullet that will whiteout faces and objects that come very close to the camera.

For the rear of the house, a 2.8mm or a 4mm will work ok, a 4mm will give you ok coverage of the area directly in front of the patio doors but if you want larger coverage of the garden and surrounding space a 2.8mm would probably be the better option.

 

[Sonic007]

Hi Dan.
Thankyou for the detailed reply.
That definitely seems to make sense. I’m saving up to buy the kit and will definitely be buying through this site.

 

[Sonic007]

Hi @Sonic007

For the front of the house we would probably actually recommend the reverse - 2.8mm for the door and 4mm for covering the drive - this is because 2.8mm gives you the widest field of view over the shortest distance, so at 3-5m you will see a lot more with a 2.8mm camera than a 4mm, we would also recommend a Mini Dome for the door like this one - Hikvision DS-2CD2545FWD-I 4MP Mini Dome Network Camera -

Hi Dan,

Can the above camera you mentioned be wall mounted or ceiling only?

Thankyou.

 

[Dan]

Hi Dan,

Can the above camera you mentioned be wall mounted or ceiling only?

Thankyou.

It can be wall-mounted, but if you are not passing the cables through the wall behind the camera you will need to use a junction box as there isn't space behind the camera to store cameras pigtail/fly lead - Hikvision DS-1280ZJ-DM22 Junction Box

 

[Sonic007]

I'll be passing them through the wall and into the garage so should be ok.
Many thanks for your quick reply.

 

[Sonic007]

Hi Dan,
I've now got my cameras and ready to get them up.
I've since had a thought about where the front camera goes. This is to look over the driveway. Would you go with the original plan which was the right hand corner (in purple) or the left hand side (in red).
The camera is a DS-2CD2045FWD-I 4mm.

Which would get the best image in your opinion?

Many thanks for your help.

 

[Dan]

Hi Dan,
I've now got my cameras and ready to get them up.
I've since had a thought about where the front camera goes. This is to look over the driveway. Would you go with the original plan which was the right hand corner (in purple) or the left hand side (in red).
The camera is a DS-2CD2045FWD-I 4mm.

Which would get the best image in your opinion?

Many thanks for your help.

We would recommend the left position (red) as this will give you wider coverage of the drive and the approach to the front door whereas the purple position will be looking down quite steeply to get the front of the property in view and this will also mean seeing a lot of the tops of peoples head as they approach. We often say that to get the best coverage of an area like yours you should point the cameras in the opposite direction to where you mount. (e.g. mount left/look right or mount right/look left)

 

[Sonic007]

Thats great. I'm glad I checked first.
Once again, many thanks for your help.