New Blue Iris user from Johnson City, TN

[BobKat]

Hello, I'm just getting started. I've purchased the computer, PoE switch, and a Reolink doorbell camera so far just to test everything before going further. I've got my system set up with BI v6. I set up a VPN server within my Asus router with DDNS so I can access videos and NAS from outside my home network. I have fiber direct to the house with 750 Mbps up & down. The doorbell camera is set up to send me & my wife phone messages when someone presses the doorbell or just walks into the zone I've created. I have a separate LAN using a 2nd NIC on the PC to isolate that traffic from the main home network.

So now I'm ready to add 7 cameras to be installed under the eaves but don't know what type to get. Thought I'd sign up here and read what other people are having good results with. I'm thinking 5 or 8 MP and fixed lens cameras to keep things simple. Probably with something like 100-120 deg HFOV. I'll be creating pretty tight zones and only recording when there's a trigger, so hopefully my current disk size will be enough for a few days of recording, but getting a bigger drive specifically for surveillance is something I may need to consider in the very near future.

Looking forward to some lively discussion.

Equipment so far:
Dedicated BI PC: Dell Optiplex 7060 with Win 11 Pro, 32 GB RAM, 2 512 GB SSDs, 2 NICs
NetGear GS308EPP PoE switch
ASUS RT-BE92U router
Reolink D340 PoE doorbell camera

Cheers!

 

[wittaj]

Welcome,

Without knowing what your goals of the camera is, this thread is used as the go to for the new person here outlining the commonly recommended cameras (along with Amazon links) based on distance to IDENTIFY that represent the overall best value/best bang for the buck in terms of price and performance day and night. It might be a 2MP camera in some instances.

Many here feel 4MP is the current sweet spot for these cameras.

The Importance of Focal Length over MP in camera selection

And coupled with that thread is this great thread which will show why all of the same 2.8 or 3.6mm cameras is the wrong choice (these are the common focal lengths consumer brands sell):

i-want-2-8mm-cameras-everywhere-to-see-everything-this-is-why-you-need-specific-fovs-with-purposeful-focal-lengths.70053/

We would encourage you to look at those threads in detail.

It will probably raise more questions than answers LOL.

 

[BobKat]

Thanks for these links. My camera requirements are for exterior home surveillance from about 15 feet under the eaves. I’m currently looking at the EmpireTech IPC-T58IR-ZE-S3 camera which has 2.7mm - 12mm vari focal motorized optical zoom. This would allow me to get up to 113 degrees HFOV while being able to fine-tune the zoom angle Down to as little as 47 degrees to suit the individual scene. This camera seems to have great reviews. I’ll do more research.

 

[Flintstone61]

EmpireTech IPC-T58IR-ZE-S3 1/1.8" CMOS 8MP IR 2.7mm–12mm Vari-focal Tu

Expedited delivery is not available. 8MP 1/1.8" CMOS image sensor Built-in IR LED, the max. illumination distance is 40 m Deep learning algorithm Built-in MIC IP67 protection Smart Motion Detection 3.0

empiretech01.com

I'm sure you will be able to start with one of those, and don't lock yourself in on it's location until you see it in place for 24 hours or maybe even a week.
the 4Mp version of that camera is historically a best seller.
here it is in action.
We have 1 driveway lamp on at night with a 60 watt equivalent LED bulb.
with the 8MP you should probably use the IR at night and maybe have another camera that partially covers the same area to get some color data in low light.