Quantum

Maybe these upper-end cameras aren't worth it.

I don't understand why it says for a sanyo 3300, on the one hand, "Effective 16:9 1920 (H) x 1080 (V) 4:3 2288(H) x 1712(V)", and on the other hand 4MP? 1920 x 1080 is about 2MP. Where is the rest of that resolution going?

Would a DLink or Panasonic serve decently for alot less money?

True, that would be optimal, but I'm living in a rent-house. Not worth it, so I just ran the wire.

Can't find a suitable camera though. I wonder how much the Avigilon 2.0MP-HD-DOME-DN would be.

I didn't realize they can be waterproof. As long as I can mount it on a vertical post (partially obscured by bushes), and it is rainproof (lots of rain - Seattle) sure it'd be fine. Of course I'll paint the housing for camouflage.

I want it to be very inconspicuous, so a housing camera wouldn't work. I like the Sanyo 3300, but can't find one for $500 or less. Axis and Mobotix are all over $1,000, and Avigilon is coy about their prices as is everyone in this thread who's hinted about them, so screw that.

Here's (yet another) question: I've run Honeywell cat5e down the 100' or so of driveway, but how do you plug that into the camera waterproof? I saw a hint of a special RJ45 connector, but no idea where to get them nor whether they'd secure to regular cat5e.

Any suggestions for $500 or less?

Dome just won't work, but thanks. And Sanyo's others would require a housing, blowing the budget and making it conspicuous.

OK, maybe I could do 2-3MP. Sharpness of image is paramount. Focus in depth of field is a worry. Ya 1080 lines was the best way I could get across what I am hoping for.

Haven't seen the new pricing on Avigilon cameras, in fact I can't find -any- pricing on them. They all seem to be indoor cameras though, which I guess would require a bulky housing.

(Hm, I'll have to figure out what this varifocal is...)

I'd also like to know how to do a door camera that would be able to see visitors' faces, yet not be up in their face?

Well what about these calculations? For 1080p I'm getting about 1.5MP. Can that be right? Any perspective on resolution?

After studying the forum quite a bit, I think I've come to some conclusions.

I want to monitor my 100' driveway and front yard for no particular reason. This is about a 45 degree field of view. I have a backup server running in the garage which regularly backs up my 4TB RAID10 array for the HTPC in the house. This backup server could also serve as my security camera server, running ZoneMinder. (MythTV is my media server over Debian, and the backup server runs Debian as well) I want to mount a camera on the post at the entrance of my drive, obscured by bushes, and aimed toward the house to catch license plates.

I think that a realistic expectation for me would be 3-5MP resolution, and I'd like good night vision but it's not mandatory as I'm home at night. Seems to me that the best brands are Avigilon (out of the question), Axis, Sanyo, and Mobotix. Ideally I'd like to spend $500 or less on the camera.

Sharpness of image is paramount. Focus in depth of field is a worry. Ideally I'd like it to alert my Android phone of motion during the day, and maybe stream me video.

Can you recommend some camera candidates? Used cameras are fine, as long as the quality is there.

I'd also like to know how to do a door camera that would be able to see visitors' faces, yet not be up in their face?