CCTV camera positioning?

[Azimuth]

Hello,

I'm trying to compare some options for positioning some cameras at my house. I need to be sympathetic to the building (it's not listed or anything, but my wife needs to be kept happy!) and also ensure I don't compromise too much on footage captured.

I've had three companies round to survey/quote, but none seemed to care about positioning or aesthetics - e.g. sticking the cameras on feature brickwork, external cable runs, and trunking on the inside! I'm thinking doing it myself would enable me have more patience and spend more time doing a neat installation.

So my question is...

Is it possible to get a good idea of the camera coverage by using a mobile phone to take photos from the prospective camera's point of view? e.g. get up a ladder with my phone, angle approx on the area I want to cover, and take a photo.

And if this is a reasonable idea, what camera settings do I need to take into account as I appreciate the camera on a Pixel 6 vs a Hikvision DS-2CD2347G2-LU/G will be very different. Note: I'm only wanting to compare coverage area, and what I'll be able to see with a 2.8mm vs 4mm focal length - I know colour, resolution, etc, will be comparing apples to oranges!

Thanks.

 

[Thor]

If there is one thing I can tell you it's:

Do not mount them high pointing down like in the movies, because you end up with footage of the bald guy's head instead of his face and shirt etc.

Try to position the cameras no higher than 2 meters

You will thank me.

 

[Azimuth]

If there is one thing I can tell you it's:

Do not mount them high pointing down like in the movies, because you end up with footage of the bald guy's head instead of his face and shirt etc.

Try to position the cameras no higher than 2 meters

You will thank me.

Thanks - I had picked up on this advice from reading other threads on this forum. My initial instinct was to put them on the soffits (which would have been unobtrusive aesthetically), but too high, like you say. Hence the concern with mounting lower down and potentially clashing with the brickwork etc.

 

[Azimuth]

I found an app for Android called 'Camera Lens Simulator', which allows you to enter the sensor width/height in mm, and also the focal length (only allows a whole number unfortunately, so will use 3 for the 2.8mm version). It then uses the phone camera to simulate the lens with those parameters - although not sure how accurate it is!

I've also found Lens Calculator which looks helpful.

 

[Thor]

Thanks - I had picked up on this advice from reading other threads on this forum. My initial instinct was to put them on the soffits (which would have been unobtrusive aesthetically), but too high, like you say. Hence the concern with mounting lower down and potentially clashing with the brickwork etc.

Even this mount, is too high, I should have dropped it by 30cm to be head of human height.

Function over Looks for me.

 

[Sonic007]

You've also got to think about someone ripping it off the wall.
I'd always go the height of one person standing on someones shoulders and a little higher to make sure it cant be reached.

In the photo above a thief could stand on the red pipe and rip the wire down.