Planning CCTV and lighting

[david mcc]

I know there are folk on here who have built there own CCTV systems or work in the industry so looking for some advice.

Recently purchased a new house and would like to add CCTV. I have drawn up rough plans below but would like any suggestions / advice you can offer. Im not sure if the angles im hoping for are a bit optimistic? Any suggested lens sizes for the areas im hoping to cover? Also, any minimum distance the camera should be from the security lights or will it be ok as long as they are below the light?

At the moment I have PIR security lights at 5 points around the house. For CCTV cables I have large crawl space on both sides to run wires along and into either the loft or the master bedroom (above porch).

Thanks very much for any help given

Positions
1 - Under canopy covering entrance and edge of garage door, lantern style light already present
2 - Corner of house covering driveway
3 - Corner of house covering front garden area
4 - Corner of house covering side garden, LED PIR present
5 - Corner of house covering patio doors and patio area
6 - Corner of house covering back door and rear of garage, LED PIR present
7 - Corner of garage covering side lane and garden gate
8 - Overview of garden and shed/kennels

Edited by david mcc on Thursday 25th August 00:58

[Henry-F]

The short answer is yes, for the most part you are being optimistic in terms of angle of view versus worthwhile footage. If you fit wide angle cameras the image pixels spread apart rapidly as you move away from the camera meaning no detail is captured.

You will recognise people you know and kid yourself that you've got good images but they will prove useless should you ever need to use them in anger.

Re: the lighting don't worry too much. Providing the lights aren't shining directly into the cameras then the camera will use what ever light is available to it. There will be a period of transition as the lights switch on.

Have a look through our CCTV camera guide to get more of an idea about camera angles and so on.

Always happy for PH'ers to give me a call during office hours. I can have a look at your site via the internet whilst discussing your requirements and put together a list of equipment from there. No charge or obligation on your part.

Henry

[motco]

If you expect to use motion detection then avoid built in IR illuminators on the cameras because they attract spiders and the webs make motion detection unusable. Spiderex works a bit, but it isn't a longer term solution. Perhaps Henry-F will advise on the answer but AFAIK separating the IR illuminators from the cameras will go a long way to solving it.

[dmsims]

motco said:

If you expect to use motion detection then avoid built in IR illuminators on the cameras because they attract spiders and the webs

Not quite the whole story if you buy a turret style camera which has built in IR they do not suffer the same issues

[motco]

dmsims said:

motco said:

If you expect to use motion detection then avoid built in IR illuminators on the cameras because they attract spiders and the webs

Not quite the whole story if you buy a turret style camera which has built in IR they do not suffer the same issues

I accept your wider experience. Mine are bullet style and are plagued with webs. By turret, do you mean what I would call domes?

[dmsims]

Turret: