Home security cameras

So I've been reading up on them enough to know that I don't know much, so I thought I would put the question to ATS.

What make and model am I looking for?

I'm looking for a camera that can record and store video 24/7, it doesn't need to have great resolution but it has to be outdoor.

I don't need to be able to access it on my phone or computer, I just need to be able to retrieve video from the previous 24hrs when I want to.

I know that there are some experts on this stuff here, any help would be greatly appreciated.

a reply to: wheresthebody

If you go cheap, expect to get what you pay for.

I install this stuff for a living and I use Hikvision NVR and cameras. I continually try other brands of cameras, cheap ones to see if any will hold up, and most don't. It may cost a few more $ up front, but you won't have to keep replacing bad cameras.

Be careful of buying from "grey market" (ebay) you can still get quality parts, but no support. If you don't need support, you can get some deals.

a reply to: network dude

Interesting.

I would like to wire up my property with about 4 or 5 quality outdoor cameras and a remote camera at the end of the driveway to catch anything coming in or out and have all that video sent to a server in the house which will have UPS back up.

Not really comfortable uploading to the cloud, not to mention my internet sucks out here in the rural US.

What company would you recommend to make that happen that doesn't carry monthly fees and mandatory cloud upload?

a reply to: network dude

Thanks, that's a good thing to keep in mind about the support, i'm not really a tech person.

a reply to: wheresthebody

Check out ubiquiti and their unifi-protect line of products. They're not terribly cheap but you can size the system to your needs and storage is local, but you can have cloud access if you're on vacation or something similar. Support is abundant and the interfaces are fairly easy to configure.

I used an old router to create a secure WiFi LAN for use with some SV3C wireless IR video cameras (commonly available and not too expensive). I use an old hard drive on a dedicated computer to store the videos when it gets triggered. It can access online, but I keep it local. I can even access the system on my phone. It was kind of rough figuring out how to set it up the way I wanted, but it works very well for me.

LINK

a reply to: infolurker

The equipment I use can be stand alone, or accessed from outside, depending on internet quality. it's all POE or Power over Ethernet. So you just need cat 5e cables to run the cameras. You can also use wireless AP's to send the camera signal back to the NVR. If you are at all handy, you should be able to run the cables for the cameras yourself and learn how to terminate the ends pretty quickly. The set up on the equipment isn't hard. A few hours on you tube and you will be good to go. If you hire it out, find a wiring guy and do the set up of equipment yourself.

Alarm.com

VC836 Turret Model or V723 Wifi. They sell the CSVRs 2 to 12 TB. Ubiquiti would be your POE switch. 8 ports to 24 ports. You also have Hunt Cameras but those might be harder to get.

Keep in mind there are plenty of other options, but thats just off the top of my head.

a reply to: wheresthebody

I am going to keep an eye on this thread.I am interested in
home security cameras as well.

a reply to: Hypntick

Thanks, I will!

a reply to: wheresthebody

I do this (among many other systems related things) for a living in aviation and federal regulatory environments. Here are some data points for you to consider.

First, 'cameras' generally don't store anything. They capture video and send it someplace, either to a monitor to be viewed, or a data storage array to be stored and recalled later...or both. But the cameras themselves don't 'store' anything, nor do you want them to.

Secondly, you need to decide how your cameras will be powered, and how they will connect to the 'Mother Ship'. Comms can be one of several ways; wireline (Ethernet), fiber optics, or wireless. Regardless, you'll still need power at the camera location, especially if they're outdoor cameras with IR capability and/or heaters and fans.

Third, you're probably best NOT to access this data remotely (as you correctly note), because this brings up another whole realm of security issues which cost money to provision for. You'd be better just having a local DVR type device (we use storage arrays, but you don't need anything that big).

Forth, you need to consider camera resolution and frame rates. 30 frames per second is generally adequate for most residential applications, and unless you're needing to zoom WAY in on things, 720p resolution should also be adequate. Yes, you could go with 60 FPS and 4K Ultra-HD resolution, but just remember those cameras are much more expensive and require exponentially more storage capacity because of the size of the files. (60FPS is considered real-time. 30FPS is half that, but essentially unrecognizable to the human eye unless it is slowed way down for slow motion.

Fifth, you need to decide if your cameras will be fixed or pan, tilt and zoom (PTZ). Both have benefits. PTZ's can move, but are often looking at the wrong thing when an event occurs. Fixed cameras have the same field of view all the time, but full coverage requires more cameras for the same area. Most times a combination of both is best.

As far as brands are concerned, as long as you stick with names you've heard of and not some off-the-wall Chinese brand you should be fine. Panasonic and many others are out there. The stuff we use is all industrial / commercial stuff so brands like Axis wouldn't mean much to the consumer in a residential or light commercial installation.

Hope this helps.

ETA - As Network Dude mentioned above, you can solve many of your power concerns with POE cameras, but just remember you will need special POE capable switches for this, and there is a limit to what the cameras will be able to do. Heaters, for example, are usually not supported as they draw too much current for POE (some of the newer high end Cisco gear will do it, but this is way out of most consumer's budget range).

What I tried to paint for you is basic CCTV surveillance components and considerations, and something reasonable for a budget. Understand, the sky is the limit for some of this stuff. I've put in cameras which will pick out a bunny rabbit at over 4 miles, at night, in a snowstorm, under a chain link fence, but those cameras cost a quarter of a million dollars each, and they only last for about 2,000 hours (less than a year of continuous use). This was on top of an air traffic control tower at a major international airport.

a reply to: wheresthebody

Also forgot to mention a CCTV tech I know uses Blink. Which is an Amazon company. Yes I know Bezos taking over the world of surveillance. But he said everything is integrated and all you need is a smart phone or laptop. Its basically DIY and more cost efficient. If you want to delve more into that.

Hikvision NVR

Cameras themselves is up to you, I like the look of turret cameras alot better than bullet cams. Alot of the ir cameras have the visible red LEDs so you will probably notice them at night.

Make sure to mount them below the roofs fascia and clear site (a tree or post in the view would reflect alot more and make the rest of the image invisible at night).

Not sure how to quote but definitely dont need to use 4k and lower framerates are fine.

I'd only go for hardwired (ubiquity bridge between buildings if needed). I've done some "wireless" but they still need a power line (might as well use poe). The true wireless are annoying to recharge (mother got an arlo system from costco that requires charging every few days and the local storage is a pain to setup/view).

Our greenhouse aroused interest in outsiders last summer, every evening we closed greenhouse door in 10 pm and when hubby left to work at 2 am , greenhouse door was open. Who ever there had been stealing my tomatoes, cucumbers, bell and chili peppers always left door open. First hubby left a note in greenhouse door ( had no impact ). Thief knew exactly what time at night hubby left to work cos stealing happened between 10pm to 2 am.
So hubby bought reolink security camera system, 6 cameras to watch and record every inch of our yard. After installing the system stealing stopped ( propably thief saw him installing the system).

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Thanks!

These are great pointers to avoid potential headaches!

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

It should be noted that the better cameras have a mini SD slot for a memory card so they will record the last few hours of whatever it saw. (overwrites oldest data) just in case someone was to cut lines and steal the NVR. Most places won't need that option, but it exists for those who do.

I recently picked up a pair of Blink outdoor wireless cams to keep an eye on my backyard. (Someone was messing around)

I think I paid 179.00. They are battery operated, wireless to a unit that plugs into 110 in the house that wifi connects to your internet.

Super easy to setup, with the blink app you can connect with them on your phone from anywhere. They have motion activated video capture, or they can just take still shots.
They can use infrared, and have speakers/microphones so you can speak to someone your watching.

For 179 for 2 cameras and base unit, it's a decent deal.

I use Reolink at my house and the cameras have great quality and sound AND you can see in real time with an app on your phone.

I have the Argus II and they hold a 64 gig SD card right in the camera.

They also have a website like the cloud to store most of your recording.

reolink.com...

Simple set up and good quality for the price.

a reply to: network dude

For residential and light commercial applications I suppose it might be okay. Far more likely to have a camera damaged or stolen, so we don't store anything locally. It's also a security risk (especially for wireless cameras, which we also don't use). All our storage is remote and hardened. If we lose comms to a camera, LEO's and Fire are dispatched immediately, as are maintenance personnel. Plus we also have our PTZ's set up in the call-up matrix to swing and zoom to the area where the comms were lost. Hence the need for both PTZ and fixed.

ETA - But these systems are in the $60-100m range, just for comparison.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

I love the clarity and coverage of the PTZ's but without an operator, they are just a cool toy.
My work is a tiny bit lower on the cost scale. Biggest system I've done is a 32 channel at a sweet potato plant.