I need some assistance/recommendations for a camera system. Background: I'm a LEO, so security is naturally important to me. I just can't ever seem to get around to doing enough research on the topic due to work and young kids. Now, there's a peeping tom lurking around my neighborhood, and today we found out a sex offender apparently moved in to the neighborhood this month. My wife says the neighborhood Facebook group is going nuts over these developments, so we need a system ASAP... Hence, this post.
I live at the end of a cul-de-sac; I have a new(er) house that is pre-wired for four exterior cameras - basically CAT-5 cables run to a central location in a closet where my router, home network and cable lines, and security system is all located.
Three of the cameras will be for normal, close-in view - I'd like to be able to clearly distinguish a face at up to 30ft. at night. There's tons of different cameras out there, and I'm looking for recommendations.
Now, the tough part: I need one camera with the ability to read a license plate on a vehicle moving up to 25mph, at a distance of about 150ft., from a 45-degree angle offset, in near darkness. Vehicles basically turn around in the cul-de-sac facing my house, and my state doesn't have front license plates, so due to the trees along the roadside that is the only angle/location with a clear rear-view of vehicle plates. This fourth camera does not need to be PTZ - it can simply be set up permanently zoomed in if need be (~10x zoom?), if that is feasible.
I'd like all four cameras run into one hub (not two separate systems for the two camera types) with enough NVR/DVR space for preferably 30 days - I do not want a cloud storage system. I assume I'll need some type of PoE injector/device to power at least the fourth camera, if not all of them. If there are cameras/systems that meet these needs without the requirement for PoE, that would be a huge plus. I am not concerned with audio recording - if it can be effectively done, great; if not, I'm fine without it.
I'm on the fence regarding networked vs. stand-alone systems. I'd like to be able to access the system from my home computer/laptop, and possibly even my phone, but on the other hand my understanding is popular cameras like Hikvision present a privacy/data risk if associated with a home network.
I'm not rich, but I don't have a set budget, and I'd rather invest in a quality system than try to get by cheap. I'm definitely not going to throw up a $300 boxed system from Best Buy and call it a day. I'll likely hire a professional for setup/configuration, but I really need help with specific component recommendations.
If you've made it this far, and you're still reading, you have my eternal thanks. Please help!
I live at the end of a cul-de-sac; I have a new(er) house that is pre-wired for four exterior cameras - basically CAT-5 cables run to a central location in a closet where my router, home network and cable lines, and security system is all located.
Three of the cameras will be for normal, close-in view - I'd like to be able to clearly distinguish a face at up to 30ft. at night. There's tons of different cameras out there, and I'm looking for recommendations.
Now, the tough part: I need one camera with the ability to read a license plate on a vehicle moving up to 25mph, at a distance of about 150ft., from a 45-degree angle offset, in near darkness. Vehicles basically turn around in the cul-de-sac facing my house, and my state doesn't have front license plates, so due to the trees along the roadside that is the only angle/location with a clear rear-view of vehicle plates. This fourth camera does not need to be PTZ - it can simply be set up permanently zoomed in if need be (~10x zoom?), if that is feasible.
I'd like all four cameras run into one hub (not two separate systems for the two camera types) with enough NVR/DVR space for preferably 30 days - I do not want a cloud storage system. I assume I'll need some type of PoE injector/device to power at least the fourth camera, if not all of them. If there are cameras/systems that meet these needs without the requirement for PoE, that would be a huge plus. I am not concerned with audio recording - if it can be effectively done, great; if not, I'm fine without it.
I'm on the fence regarding networked vs. stand-alone systems. I'd like to be able to access the system from my home computer/laptop, and possibly even my phone, but on the other hand my understanding is popular cameras like Hikvision present a privacy/data risk if associated with a home network.
I'm not rich, but I don't have a set budget, and I'd rather invest in a quality system than try to get by cheap. I'm definitely not going to throw up a $300 boxed system from Best Buy and call it a day. I'll likely hire a professional for setup/configuration, but I really need help with specific component recommendations.
If you've made it this far, and you're still reading, you have my eternal thanks. Please help!