Economical IP Camera To Monitor Door Access

Is the camera is going to be mounted above the doorway looking out or across the parking lot to the door? How wide of an area do you need to cover? How well lit is this at night? I.e., lots of lights in the parking or just a few lights above the door?

Also, when you say 'monitor access' do you mean record the entry activity? Or is there an access control system that will grant access?

the max mounting height will be 8 feet as requirement is to monitor people getting in hence the focus will be strictly on the

small stair. as far as lighting is concerned, its well lit area at night. However any budgetary IR domes can be suggested.

Brian,

Its to record the entry activity only.

Some of the budget brands, like Dahua, Hikvision, and Geovision have all improved in quality, from what I'm seeing. Chances are you could find something sub-$200 that'll work fine here. Vivotek and ACTi have new lower cost series out as well, but I haven't any hands on experience with those models.

Check out our Testing Dahua Cameras report. We tested their 1080p bullet in there. However, motion detection doesn't work in Exacq (unless it's been updated lately, which I don't think it has). We're in the process of testing Hikvision's current bullets, which are right around $200, and I believe their motion detection will work. The only Geovision test we've got is of an indoor IR camera, which did fairly well, and supported motion via ONVIF. I can't make claims as to the quality of their other gear, though.

Since economical is the factor here, and it's a fairly small area, I'd think you could get away with one of those.

If you want to monitor traffic into the building why not put the camera on the interior. Easier install, you don't need an outdoor camera, and you won't need as much storage since you'll only record what you need. The interior camera will cost less and you will need less storage so that might keep cost down slightly.