Purchasing CCTV system in stages - Does it make sense?

[IED]

I’ve been planning my CCTV for almost a year, but there is always another decision to make!!
My existing thoughts for a system are the following:
A DS-7608NI-I2/8P NVR Fitted with a 4TB Western Digital Purple Drive with
5 or 6 cameras attached: Leaning towards all cameras being ColorVu 4MP Ds-2CD2347G1-LU (most probably all 4mm but one maybe 2.8mm)
Recording 24/7, with 14 day storage.
Furthest distance for coverage is approx 10m based upon the positions I have planned: This keeps changing, but 10m is the max!!
I have good street lighting (except between the hrs of 1am-4am) but that lighting can easily be supplemented as required).
I currently run my Nest door camera in colour 24/7 for example.
My house is on a corner plot and I have potential entry points on all sides, so I have to consider camera positions carefully.
Now my plan is to buy the system in 3 stages:
Stage 1 -
1 off ColorVu DS-2CD2347G1-LU at 4mm
1 off DS-1280ZJ-DM21 Junction Box
1 off PSU or POE injector to enable stand alone test and evaluation.

Stage 2 -
1 off DS-7608NI-I2/8P NVR Fitted with a 4TB Western Digital Purple Drive +
2 more cameras + junction boxes as required.

Stage 3 -
Final purchase of remaining cameras and junction boxes as required.

My intention is to use the Stage 1 purchase to verify that the camera can cover the areas I want covered in sufficient quality and that I do have enough background lighting.
Stage 2 is to get the initial CCTV system operational and to confirm that I won’t have a problem with cameras interfering with each other.
My current planned camera positions put two of them on same wall at about 10m distance from each other, but angled so that both cover that wall (and all the ground floor windows and doors along it).
Stage 3 is just to complete the system.
I would of dummy fitted the cameras from the previous stages into my desired positions to verify that they are suitable, or if I need to change position, or use a different focal length or even camera type!!

Does this seem a sensible approach?
I think I just need to actually stop the planning and just get on with it, but I don’t want to make an expensive mistake.
Any thoughts?

Ian

 

[Dan]

Hi @IED

This all seems very sensible

We, as sellers of IP systems, always prefer that customers who are new to surveillance systems take their time when selecting their system so we would totally agree with the idea of testing a camera first to see if it suits your needs.

This is especially a good idea with the ColorVu cameras as they are not suitable for every scenario, the cameras have a built-in visible floodlight to achieve clearer colour images at night and this light will stay on all the time it is needed, but if you have enough existing light in the scene (e.g. street lights, floodlights, etc...) you can turn this light off completely and just use the ambient light. By trialling the camera you can test the camera with the light on, off, or at different levels of brightness to see what works for you and whether the ColorVu is suitable or not.

We at use-IP offer a 14-day buy & try offer on individual Hikvsion items, so you could always purchase multiple focal lengths or different models like the 2345FWD or 2385G1 Darkfighter turrets to see the difference and what works best for your location and then as long as it is within 14-days of purchase and the cameras are in "as new" condition with all the accessories you can return the cameras you do not want.

The one other thing we would suggest if you are going to trial cameras without an NVR is to purchase a small MicroSD card (probably 64 or 128GB) to record footage from the test camera so you can review the overnight performance the next day.

 

[IED]

Thanks Dan, hadn‘t thought about a MicroSD card so that is useful advice.
Any opinion on whether a PSU or POE injector is better for test purposes?
I’m thinking a POE injector would be better as I can then just run an Ethernet cable over a greater distance.

 

[Dan]

Yes, we would suggest the PoE injector as that allows you to run power and data over a single cable, no need to mess around with separate data & power cables.