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200 feet might be a bit of a stretch without some intense IR illumination. Most cameras respond to near IR around 900 nm wavelength. Light-intensified cameras operating in the visible can easily do this without illumination, i.e., so-called starlight scopes, but they are rather pricey and would have to be fitted to a CCD camera. The second-generation scopes are available on the surplus market, and maybe later generations too. The current state-of-the-art generation is unobtainable unless you are fighting in a war zone, or perhaps are a law enforcement officer.
There are also real IR cameras operating in the mid-IR around 10 to 12 μm wavelength that need no illumination, but these are quite expensive and most require cryogenic (liquid nitrogen) cooling of the detector to obtain a good signal-to-noise ratio. I saw one in Dallas TX about thirty years or so ago, built by Texas Instruments for a government project, that could see for miles in total darkness. Our company was acting as an intermediary for a foreign government who wanted to mount these puppies on gun boats to interdict smugglers. It featured video auto-tracking (you just used a joy stick to place a cursor on a target) so a servo-equipped gun mount could track and aim at targets automagically. Pretty awesome stuff back then. I am sure the technology has improved a lot since then because you can now buy un-cooled microbolometer cameras that are almost as good while responding to mid-IR wavelengths.
Are you concerned that whoever you are looking at will see a near-IR illuminator? Some folks (I am one of them) can see an IR LED in dim light. And if you have a cell phone camera they show up like headlights in the night. Try aiming an IR remote control at your cell phone camera to see what I mean.
I use a wireless CCD camera with IR LED illumination to keep tabs on the inside of my detached garage both day and night, but the wireless transmission range is very short, about fifty feet or so. I used to hook it up to a VCR in my living room and let it record overnight, but it became very boring fast-forwarding the next day through hours of recordings. So I gave that up. There are solid state disk drives that do a better job of recording, and there is software video motion detection that triggers the recording only when the scene changes. You should Google some of those key words to see what is currently available to see what you can afford.
There are also real IR cameras operating in the mid-IR around 10 to 12 μm wavelength that need no illumination, but these are quite expensive and most require cryogenic (liquid nitrogen) cooling of the detector to obtain a good signal-to-noise ratio. I saw one in Dallas TX about thirty years or so ago, built by Texas Instruments for a government project, that could see for miles in total darkness. Our company was acting as an intermediary for a foreign government who wanted to mount these puppies on gun boats to interdict smugglers. It featured video auto-tracking (you just used a joy stick to place a cursor on a target) so a servo-equipped gun mount could track and aim at targets automagically. Pretty awesome stuff back then. I am sure the technology has improved a lot since then because you can now buy un-cooled microbolometer cameras that are almost as good while responding to mid-IR wavelengths.
Are you concerned that whoever you are looking at will see a near-IR illuminator? Some folks (I am one of them) can see an IR LED in dim light. And if you have a cell phone camera they show up like headlights in the night. Try aiming an IR remote control at your cell phone camera to see what I mean.
I use a wireless CCD camera with IR LED illumination to keep tabs on the inside of my detached garage both day and night, but the wireless transmission range is very short, about fifty feet or so. I used to hook it up to a VCR in my living room and let it record overnight, but it became very boring fast-forwarding the next day through hours of recordings. So I gave that up. There are solid state disk drives that do a better job of recording, and there is software video motion detection that triggers the recording only when the scene changes. You should Google some of those key words to see what is currently available to see what you can afford.
Because of the vast number of available parts, this is hard to answer... As mentioned above, IR does not mean 'invisible'. It gives off a faint red glow (at least to me), and would easily be spotted by a cell phone camera regardless of size.
Additionally, as you shrink your camera, the range, and resolution goes down, or the price exponentially goes up.
So draw out your 'plan' and use some obvious cameras for longer range surveillance, and use the tiny cameras for closer more confined regions... ie, between the house and garage.
As far as the DVR is concerned, you can build one yourself, or you can buy one. How many channels, do you want to record 24/7 or only when motion is detected? Do you want the cameras to be able to pan/zoom? Do you want to view your cameras online? Lots of unknowns here.
$$$ Budget?
Additionally, as you shrink your camera, the range, and resolution goes down, or the price exponentially goes up.
So draw out your 'plan' and use some obvious cameras for longer range surveillance, and use the tiny cameras for closer more confined regions... ie, between the house and garage.
As far as the DVR is concerned, you can build one yourself, or you can buy one. How many channels, do you want to record 24/7 or only when motion is detected? Do you want the cameras to be able to pan/zoom? Do you want to view your cameras online? Lots of unknowns here.
$$$ Budget?
Sorry I was on vacation, to answer your questions back. This is to video tape out my second floor window as I've had a few packages taken off my steps. I'm in a condo complex that is townhouse style and there all connected, almost shaped like an "L" and I'm in the middle. So I have a walkway coming at my condo in both directions. I'm looking for a camera that just records motion , single channel I'm guessing, something I could view online or on a smartphone. Can pickup motion at night, and something I can use to zoom in , in hopes of catching a license plate.
Well. Check with local regulation to ensure you can record public space. What you are wanting to record is not your exclusive property.
Additionally, you can hook a camera up to your computer and use it as a simple DVR. You will need a good resolution if you want to zoom in to get a plate number.
You also need external lighting. An IR camera will not give you the range you desire to get a plate number from that far away behind a glass window.
It may be a better solution to simply require a signature, or require the package to be picked up at a nearby UPS or Postal Building.
(Even with a plate number, you will need proof that the package taken was not theirs. I doubt the camera will be able to zoom in enough for those details. They may need to be caught in the act by a person, or this may simply result in a note being made on file)
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