CCTV system help & advice

major_shortie

Standard Member
Joined
Dec 5, 2007
Messages
32
Reaction score
2
Points
32
Hi all.

Looking for some CCTV recommendations for a typical semi detached house.

Would like atleast 4 cameras (2 front 2 rear) but an 8 channel recorder to allow future expansion.

Happy to have 1 camera with lower mp if it was darkfighter / colourvu.

Driveway is approx 7m wide by 10m long.
Garden is approx 7m wide by 40m.

Wanting decent quality footage that could identify someone (assuming face not covered). If possible 2 weeks storage and access to footage by smartphone.

Thanks in advance for any help.
 
Hikvision. You've already mentioned 2 of that camera models so guess you already knew about them ;)

What's the budget?
 
I got a Hiwatch kit, same people as hikvision I think but cheaper. €600 for 8 channel recorder and (I think) 5 cameras. I added another few cameras myself.

20200501_085850.jpg
 
Hi DrPhil.

Footage looks good from the image.

Can I ask what mp / spec the system is?
Is the night footage any good?
 
I have just fitted a Hikvision system with three colorVu cameras 4mp with audio and find them very good colour all night with minimal lighting from the on-board lights and i can see every detail.
 
Hi DrPhil.

Footage looks good from the image.

Can I ask what mp / spec the system is?
Is the night footage any good?
I think this is the one I bought:
IP CCTV Systems On Sale | Get Free Ireland & UK Delivery

My mistake, it was €520 when I bought it, and it is 6 cameras, not 5.

Night vision isn't as good, but I could improve that with a bit of adjustment to reduce building glare.

I'll try to remember to take another app screenshot after dark tonight.

The day footage is very good though. Bear in mind that the app lets you view in "basic" or HD stream. And for some reason it won't let me view HD. If I select it, it times out at 92% when loading. So these pics are basic quality. Also I crossed out the plate as it's not mine!
20200501_105417.jpg

20200501_105534.jpg
 
I think this is the one I bought:
IP CCTV Systems On Sale | Get Free Ireland & UK Delivery

My mistake, it was €520 when I bought it, and it is 6 cameras, not 5.

Night vision isn't as good, but I could improve that with a bit of adjustment to reduce building glare.

I'll try to remember to take another app screenshot after dark tonight.

The day footage is very good though. Bear in mind that the app lets you view in "basic" or HD stream. And for some reason it won't let me view HD. If I select it, it times out at 92% when loading. So these pics are basic quality. Also I crossed out the plate as it's not mine!

Thanks DrPhil.

I'll have a look into that link. Would definitely be happy with the footage quality there.
 
I have just fitted a Hikvision system with three colorVu cameras 4mp with audio and find them very good colour all night with minimal lighting from the on-board lights and i can see every detail.

Thanks Tricky-Ricky.
Did it come in around the £600 budget?
 
Thanks DrPhil.

I'll have a look into that link. Would definitely be happy with the footage quality there.
No problem. I think you can get the same package on Amazon and other UK sites cheaper. I'm in Ireland and with shipping costs etc this worked out best.

I'll get you some night time shots later if I remember!
 
Miraculously I remembered to take some night shots. These are all from the app, and at the HD stream quality.

20200502_004009.jpg


20200502_004029.jpg


20200502_004047.jpg


Excuse the mess!
20200502_004106.jpg


Effing spiders...
20200502_004131.jpg


20200502_004153.jpg


As I say I could be doing with some adjustments, the front camera is getting some glare off the house etc. And they all need a dusting and occasional web removal.

Also I need to adjust my clock settings for daylight saving...
 
Just for comparison here is a ColorVu image at midnight with the lighting on low setting.

KuAXATL.jpg
That's fantastic. You got that image in complete darkness?

And next questions, what model/spec is your camera and are they compatable with my system? I wouldn't mind gradually upgrading.
 
Last edited:
That's fantastic. You got that image in complete darkness?

And next questions, what model/spec is your camera and are they compatable with my system? I wouldn't mind gradually upgrading.

That is with the on-board light set at about 30% and the camera is DS-2CD2347G1-LU Hikvision 4MP colorVu IP camera 2.8mm

As for compatibulity i am sure someone here can tell you.
 
Ah I get you, so the camera has a low level led light rather than IR.

How bright are they when in use?

You can turn them off or run anything from 10% to 100% which IMO equates to a 10w to a 60w bulb this pic is taken at 21.15 just before the light auto turns on and it was pretty black to the naked eye.

iqofg3m.jpg
 
Ps just for comparison, I managed to get the app to load the HD stream. I need to figure out why it won't do it most of the time.

That HD stream looks really good. Thanks for taking the time to do that.
 
I'd love to upgrade to those colour ones that @Tricky-Ricky has, but my wife isn't keen on the idea of having lights on outside.

I am keen to upgrade though. The picture is good but like everything, I'm always looking at something better.

There is a UK cctv forum (not sure if I'm allowed mention other sites here?). Not very busy but some excellent knowledge there.

I'll be asking around with a view to upgrading my system maybe a camera at a time. I also upgraded the storage in my system from 2tb to 4tb if I remember correctly.

I wanted to be able to have recordings for 2 weeks on all 7 cameras at high quality. I'm not quite there, only maybe 12 days but it's better than it was.
 
You can turn them off or run anything from 10% to 100% which IMO equates to a 10w to a 60w bulb this pic is taken at 21.15 just before the light auto turns on and it was pretty black to the naked eye.

iqofg3m.jpg
Even on low setting, does it light the garden up Much? Similar to post below or above, not sure if I would want the garden illuminated by a camera.
Also do they work well with light off too? I.e, have infa red too?
 

The latest video from AVForums

Is 4K Blu-ray Worth It?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom