have you had any cameras stolen from your cctv setup??

[wozzzzza 0]

theres a person at the end of my street who has had the 4 cameras on the front of his house stolen last week i just found out today by people with masks on so couldnt be identified.

Anyone here had any of their cameras stolen??

What sort of things have you done to your cameras to prevent them from being stolen??

[scorpion 0]

Kind or rare for just the cameras to be taken.

 

I run scenarios through my head.

 

Would this be a next door neighbor upset about the cameras, or one who fears the "big bother" issues?

 

Were these cameras of value, and resellable for a profit?

 

How the cameras were removed would identify the motives. It is hard to resell damaged cameras unless they were of extreme value. If they were hammered off the wall then I suspect the "big brother", or a disturbed neighbor.

 

What is missing from the equation is this: Was there a robbery also? If not could they be prepping for a return?

 

Were they home, and is the DVR setup to beep an alarm with video loss?

 

For those designing a system you can run another 2 conductor wire to the camera that is tied in to a zone on an alarm panel. If the wires are cut then the alarm panel will sound (assuming the alarm panel is armed to away, or home).

 

It is possible to put a contact on the surface, and to put a magnet on the camera base, or inside of the camera to trigger the alarm when the camera is moved away from the contact switch.

 

Using plants can elevate safety such as cactus, or roses with thorns, and other fauna that is unpleasant.

 

What do you think?

[Soundy 1]

Kind or rare for just the cameras to be taken.

 

Ha, not in my world About once every six months, we get a call for a "camera down" that turns out to be a "camera stolen", almost always from one of our gas stations. The last one, just about a month ago, they climbed on the roof of the c-store and ripped down a camera that was on the roof parapet in an EH3512 housing on a short pedestal mount.

 

We're pretty certain it's always for the same reason: people with grow ops or drug houses want cameras to watch their approaches, and they don't want to go buy them.

 

Stupid thing is, a lot of these places still spec these kinds of housings rather than the domes... one site, there are a pair of IQ511s in EH3512s, attached to the front of the building with the standard bundled wall mounts, no more than 12' up... and they're not attached to much more than the Alucobond buildign shroud. Toss a rope over the mount, one good tug, and you've got yourself a $1000 megapixel IP camera in a nice weatherproof housing. This, mind you, was the spec of the oil company's head office, and there's no changing anyone's minds with reason. Thankfully, we were just sub-contracting on that job...

 

Funny thing is though, I drove past that site the other day... the cameras are still there, some 4 years later. Wow. Tempted to go nab them myself

[wozzzzza 0]

well what im thinking of doing, tell me if there is something wrong with it, i have one of these cameras

im thinking of drilling a large hole the size of the lens in the eaves of the house and mounting the camera in the roof with just the lens sticking through and paint the outside of the lens that protrudes the same colour as eaves.

would this work ok?

[thewireguys 3]

well what im thinking of doing, tell me if there is something wrong with it, i have one of these cameras

im thinking of drilling a large hole the size of the lens in the eaves of the house and mounting the camera in the roof with just the lens sticking through and paint the outside of the lens that protrudes the same colour as eaves.

would this work ok?

 

It will work for a while but not for ever box cameras need to be install in housings with heaters/blowers when installed outdoors.

 

Something like this would work but you would have to find the one for box cameras

 

http://www.videolarm.com/family_item.jsp?content=195

[Soundy 1]

well what im thinking of doing, tell me if there is something wrong with it, i have one of these cameras

im thinking of drilling a large hole the size of the lens in the eaves of the house and mounting the camera in the roof with just the lens sticking through and paint the outside of the lens that protrudes the same colour as eaves.

would this work ok?

 

It will work for a while but not for ever box cameras need to be install in housings with heaters/blowers when installed outdoors.

 

Not necessarily with heater/blowers... that depends largely on the location and temperatures. I have cameras that have been in simple weatherproof housings for close to a decade without problems.

 

Domes like the one you show are fine if they're out of the weather (like under the eaves), but a bigger problem they have is that bugs can get inside too easily - spiders, flies, bees, etc.

[rory 0]

and this is why you use $50 bullet cameras

[wozzzzza 0]

im from australia, heaters i dont think owuld be necessary as the coldest nights are only about 4 degrees and hottest days about 42 degrees. maybe a fan in summer might be needed?

[thewireguys 3]

well what im thinking of doing, tell me if there is something wrong with it, i have one of these cameras

im thinking of drilling a large hole the size of the lens in the eaves of the house and mounting the camera in the roof with just the lens sticking through and paint the outside of the lens that protrudes the same colour as eaves.

would this work ok?

 

It will work for a while but not for ever box cameras need to be install in housings with heaters/blowers when installed outdoors.

 

Not necessarily with heater/blowers... that depends largely on the location and temperatures. I have cameras that have been in simple weatherproof housings for close to a decade without problems.

 

Domes like the one you show are fine if they're out of the weather (like under the eaves), but a bigger problem they have is that bugs can get inside too easily - spiders, flies, bees, etc.

 

That housing is IP66 rated

 

"Designed to be water and dust tight, IP66"

[rory 0]

Why not just do the installation correctly, with the proper equipment and be done with it?!?

What makes you think that camera cant be stolen?

Even a small straight screw driver can loosen those things, Ive done it a million times when i dont have the alan key. And anyone can get their hands on those alan keys now, I have a bag full of every type and they even sell them at the hardware store. All they need is a cordless drill and zoom zoom zoom zoom and couple more screws and its gone. I dont buy into the whole vandal dome thing any more, its mostly hype, all they are good for is preventing people from moving their FOV. A hammer, spray can, tape, whip cream, and many other things can blind them easily. Most are simple board cameras anyway, and you pay for the housing. Takes longer to install and harder to adjust, the glass covers scratch way too easy .. for the price ... no thanks, unless there is no other choice.

Edited October 12, 2009 by Guest

[blake 0]

So Rory,you mainly stick with bullet cams?

[scorpion 0]

I prefer this style over the bullet cameras. Bullets can be bumped with a broom, or a long 2X4.

 

http://www.avssys.net/?s=product&sub=camera&cat=outdoor&p=vnd49ir

[rory 0]

So Rory,you mainly stick with bullet cams?

 

yes and no, unless there is no other choice but to use something a little less easier to be adjusted by passers by such as a camera at face height. Indoor retail stores there is typically no need, can use a standard dome, no need for vandal housing, and bullets can suffice in most cases, if they want best image then go with a box camera. It does depend on the app but I dont use vandal domes because they claim to be vandal proof. Everything is beatable, buy a cheap can of Hornet spray and you can take out that dome mounted up on the top of the roof!

 

For outdoors I have used box cams many times in the past but the price is just too much to make them worth trying to resell down here anymore, add cost of lens, housing, and additional installation typically outside on a large ladder in the sweltering heat, additional IR for low light/pitch dark, x labour x labour etc + maintenance - YES a bullet camera is the easiest thing to install, that means less labour and lower cost for your client. Granted they have their issues, but so do $1000 box cameras.

 

It depends on the app and what the client can afford.

[blake 0]

I thought bullet and box cameras offer a better view/picture than dome cameras.

[Soundy 1]

Why would they? The innards are usually the same: your typical bullet camera is just a small board camera in a round housing, while your typical dome camera just puts that same board in a flat, round housing with a plastic bubble over it. If anything, domes and boxes have more room for better support circuitry for better image processing.

 

As for view, that's entirely dependent on the lens used. Most bullets have a fixed lens and don't have room for varifocals, and while most dome cameras use the same boards and thus the same mini lens mount, there's more room inside most dome designs for varifocal lenses, allowing more flexibility.

 

Camera "style" is the LAST thing you should consider when it comes to view and picture quality.

[scorpion 0]

 

As for view, that's entirely dependent on the lens used. Most bullets have a fixed lens and don't have room for varifocals, and while most dome cameras use the same boards and thus the same mini lens mount, there's more room inside most dome designs for varifocal lenses, allowing more flexibility.

 

 

Here is one:

http://eclipsecctv.com/ECL-598V_security_camera.html

Edited October 3, 2009 by Guest

[rory 0]

all kind of bullets with VF lenses here

http://www.cnbtec.com/en/html/product/product_list.php?maxx=1&midx=6

 

varifocal bullet cams are a dime a dozen now ..

 

http://www.ktnc.co.kr/english/viewtopic.php?t=396

http://www.ktnc.co.kr/english/viewforum.php?f=84

[rory 0]

I thought bullet and box cameras offer a better view/picture than dome cameras.

 

Box cameras do. In most cases you will get a better image from an similarly priced bullet to dome as alot of the dome cost is in the housing, least with vandal housings, so essentially you need to spend alot more on the Dome cameras to get an equivalent picture.

[rory 0]

they both are easy to remove, thats the point.

Just that Vandal domes are over rated, their covers scratch VERY easily even with just the skin on your hand (ive used hundreds of brands and models), and they CAN be destroyed and or disabled almost as easily. For 3 times the cost to get an equal image quality, most times a Vandal dome is just not justified, especially when that dome cover is so scratched up from cleaning or whatever and the manufacturer does not supply replacement covers.

Edited October 11, 2009 by Guest

[scorpion 0]

Good points! This is great info for others who want to get in to the business, but did not really think about the "real meat" that goes in to putting these systems together.

 

In a convenience store I would imagine that the camera is behind the clerk on the wall to get that face shot!

 

I like to use these:

http://eclipsecctv.com/ECL-CPIR_hidden_camera.html

 

It cuts down on shirts being thrown on the cam. Now put a cam within reach of the perp so that he "thinks" he has killed the evidence gathering device!

 

Nothing wrong with domes. In some cases having a wide variety of choices is a good thing.

 

They are all tools of the trade. I think a camera type selection is sometimes more based on the distributor. In other words what they specialize in, and the base price may dictate what you sell to keep a profit.

 

Some dealers have cheap bullets, and others have cheaper boxes compared to other dealers, and sometimes a dealer may not carry exactly what you want, but they are nearby, and you can get products in the next day rather than waiting 5 days to come from the opposite coast from where you live.

 

Thank you guys! Great food for thought!

[zmxtech 0]

for sure! even a pinhole cam at face level built into a feature. 99% of all holdup pics have a baseball cap !