Where do you prefer to use narrow lenses versus ultra-wide ones in your home setup?

Reolink.Oskar

Ultra-wide lenses cover more ground but may lose detail or distort the object, whereas narrow lenses excel at focusing on specific areas. What is your placement strategy in a multi-camera system?

KimchiGUN

I think you need to look at what you are needing.

Ultra wide is ultra...wide. But it usually has a very small vertical FOV. Unlike the 1240A, which had a huge FOV, but not as wide as the ultra-wide cams.

I prefer the ultra wide if I'm trying to capture a large area. Then i use other models when I need more accurate view.

Chopstix

There a few different camera deployment methods depending on the area of observation and what your needs are. The 4-corner method is very common but assumes a structure with 4 relatively flat sides (you can Google it). That method doesn't work well for my home so I went with a different approach (I don't recall the name of it) but I am setup like this...

I have a Duo 2 over looking the front of my home. I have it placed about 10 feet up in the middle and it gets me full overwatch of the front yard. As others have said, at the reaching edges of the FOV you will loose clarity as you zoom in however that is not my objective with this. I am not interested in grabbing license plate numbers or facial details from here. I simply want a complete picture of the home's frontage. For detail, I support this with a doorbell cam and an RLC-1240A on my porch pillar.

Rear of the home is setup similar. Duo 2 Floodlight high up on the eve of the 2nd floor for overwatch and an RLC-843A on the eve of my patio door. I have IR disabled on both and installed a 90-degree 20-watt IR illuminator that turns by backyard in to daylight without IR glare/reflection.

My garage door faces out from one of the sides so an RLC-1240A about 12-feet directly over the driveway gives me overwatch on that side. The 1240 FOV is just wide enough to slightly overlap the Duo 2's.

The 4th side I have a neighbor so to avoid capturing his property, I have an RLC-843A at one corner, twisted slightly to capture in a skewed corridor orientation.

I do have some blind spots which I plan to fill over time as I assess the best camera options for those areas. As for now, I have managed to accomplish my initial surveillance objectives:

1) 4-side overwatch
2) Detail at points of entry

Here is what I have learned about the cameras I use...

1) The doorbell fisheye is horrible, but it captures what I need.
2) Since the Duo uses image stitching, ambient lighting fluctuations and IR reflection (front yard) can cause the two sides to expose differently.
3) The RLC-843A has a narrower FOV but exceptional low-light performance (I have no need for the IR lights in a suburb setting).
4) The RLC-1240A has an ideal FOV (opinion) but needs IR assistance.
5) The internal small flood lights are much brighter in the 843 vs the 1240 (due to zoom on the 843) so you have to make a compromise based on your needs--this was the toughest for me.
6) When the small floods lights turn on, you loose depth of field. Only the flooded area will be visible. They are great for getting someone's attention, but if triggered from the edge of the FOV, you will likely loose the subject when the light comes on.