Question regarding setting up a POE system

[james28909]

Howdy!

i am trying to figure out a few things here and having a hard time understanding the how part of most of it.

i am wanting to setup 4 poe cameras, but plan on adding more in the future. i was also trying to run my idea through chatgpt but that left more questions than answers i guess.

but the overall idea is to have 4 poe cameras (not sure which type i need) connected to a POE switch (not sure if i need managed or unmanaged or active or passive). i am wanting to connect the switch directly to the PC, which would effectively make it my "NVR".

besides which camera types and switch type, i am trying to figure out how to access the poe camera and assign them ip addresses or be able to configure them. if anyone could help, i sure would appreciate it!

EDIT: i am looking for cameras that do not have built in wifi or cellular capabilities. just strickly POE/ethernet. again, any help would be appreciated!

 

[looney2ns]

The current best all around camera at this time is THIS.
You navigate to it's default IP address of 192.168.1.108 with a browser, and setup the cam that way.
The computer you use for setup must have it's IP range set to the same as the cam, or you won't be able to connect to the cam.
You don't need a managed switch, but don't cheap out on a POE switch, it's the core of your system.
This switch is a good start HERE.

 

[looney2ns]

Also, read this: Cliff Notes cam models are outdated, but the rest of the info is good.

 

[Flintstone61]

AND, remember, if you " go live" with 4 brand new cameras, you will have an IP conflict with 4 cams at 192.168.1.108. This is bad.
plug in one cam and using Blue Iris, surf to the .......see video...its a right click to the gear icon that opens the menu box to see " add new Camera"

 

[james28909]

are there any cheaper cameras? i have a budget of about 250-300 bucks and need to buy 3 cameras and a poe switch. the switch linked looks like a good one. it provides enough power for most any poe cam that i hook to it?

i guess all i need now is some cheaper cameras. they can be bullet style. if anyone has any suggestions please do share. i can and do not mind buying used either.

also, thanks for the suggestions this far!

 

[wittaj]

There is a saying here "buy once, cry once"

Many of us have boxes of used cameras because we went the cheap way and quickly (but unfortunately after the return period) replaced the cameras with something better.

If you want to stand any chance of low light performance (when most of us are concerned), you need to be on the ideal MP/sensor ratio, which is anything in green.

Sure there are cheaper cameras than we recommend, but the perform poorly at night.

Doesn't do any good to have cameras if you cannot provide anything to the police other than what time it happened.