IP Camera Help (Security Camera)

[mayday0017]

I know we had a thread pop up a few months back on the topic of security camera's but it didn't end with enough information and we all know technoligy is constantly changing so what would be been decided then as the best bang for buck might not be today.

I do a lot of work out of my home for people as a side gig and though all of them are high end cars (min car is 60k msrp) which means I typically deal with a people who arn't looking to steal from me. I still want some cameras if nothing else to hide from those witnesses and solicitors.

Last time Foscam was brought up as a good choice, however the PTZ cameras arn't ment for outdoors. So I would have to buy the $70 kit to put it outdoors and even then Foscam won't warranty it if it faces outside at all.... Read some reviews where the cameras loose the ability to see in color after some time being exposed to the sun and Foscam wouldn't warranty it even though the cameras were inside the house facing out a window.

So I guess my question is can anyone recommend camera's or a package set they have had personal experiance with?

If you do own a system do you mind posting some screen shots in full size so we can view the quality along with posting the system information?

Those who have PTZ cameras, do you see a need for them or do you find once you set them you really have never used the PTZ feature and a bullet would be just as good?

If you arn't running a turn key system what software are you running on your phone and on your server to record the video and to view the video?

How many cameras do you run on your system? Did you start with that many or add to it?

 

[scarpozzi]

I'm going to be putting in a new system soon. I'm probably going to go with foscam as my first choice inside. For outdoors, I'll be picking up a few Agasios and installing them up high.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005QT7ZBC/?tag=atomicindus08-20

If you invest in a NAS from a company like Qnap, you can set up your camera feeds to log to a RAID array....and then have the data sent up to the cloud. That way if your NAS gets jacked too in a burglary, you'll still have some evidence in the cloud to reference.

There are are a lot of systems and services to choose from. Just keep looking and read reviews before investing in cameras. Many have poor night vision or resolution. 640x480 is ok at a short range, but you can't get much from those images if you're looking across a driveway, for instance. If you can find a high res camera for 1-2 angles on motion detectors and do 640x480 for indoors, you should be able to cover your bases.

 

[softailgarage]

I picked up an 8 channel, 4 camera, 500g hard drive DVR made by Zmodo on Ebay for less than $200.00. It's not a bad system, IR, motion detection, alarms, PTZ (if you want to add on). right now I'm going to set up internet so I can watch remotely on a computer, tablet or phone.

 

[mayday0017]

Biggest things for me is I need to be able to clearly make out a face in my yard and be able to read a plate on a car at about 30ft. From what I've heard/read many of the cheaper cameras don't have enough "detail" to be useful for identifying people you just get general information that could fit 100's of people.

I'm pretty sure I need HD cameras for what I'm wanting.... :/

Any screen shots/model info on your system Softailgarage?

 

[scarpozzi]

I picked up an 8 channel, 4 camera, 500g hard drive DVR made by Zmodo on Ebay for less than $200.00. It's not a bad system, IR, motion detection, alarms, PTZ (if you want to add on). right now I'm going to set up internet so I can watch remotely on a computer, tablet or phone.

That's a pretty good setup for the money if the cameras are rated for outdoors. The only downside to most of them, is that the closed circuit systems aren't typically wireless....but even wireless has some limitations (power for instance).

Another thing to look for is PoE. (Power over Ethernet) This is a network switch that uses the Cat5 cable to power network devices. A lot of wifi hotspots are PoE compatible...as well as IP Cameras. It allows you to run a bundle of Cat5 through your house/garage and keep all the power/network traffic on the same circuit. This means you could easily hook it up to a centralized battery backup unit and tape looters that expect all the cameras to be down in a power outage.

 

[softailgarage]

This is a hardwired system. The hardest part was running the camera cables thru the attic. Make sure you have enough length, 60 ft fell about 3 ft short, so I had to buy additional cables and connectors. As for the quality of the camera's they do vary. Mine are outdoor, color at day, b&W at night w/ infra red, good up to 65ft. and yes, facial recogition is good. Wireless would definetly be easier. If you have a Fry's Electronic store in your area, they have some pretty good deals.

 

[mayday0017]

Maybe I'll run to Fys during lunch, it would be nice to see some on display. Snap some screen shots if you would an post them up. If $200 gets me a setup I'll be happy with that's great!

POE is a feature I would love to have but won't make or break me buying a system. I don't plan on using wireless at all, it is a requirement if the system is wireless to also have hard wire feature.

 

[ducktapeguy]

Biggest things for me is I need to be able to clearly make out a face in my yard and be able to read a plate on a car at about 30ft. From what I've heard/read many of the cheaper cameras don't have enough "detail" to be useful for identifying people you just get general information that could fit 100's of people.

I'm pretty sure I need HD cameras for what I'm wanting.... :/

Any screen shots/model info on your system Softailgarage?

I've got a Foscam and tried out a few other systems, I think for your requirements it's going to be difficult for any camera. There are a lot of other variables involved that make choosing a "best" camera almost impossible.

For instance, if you want to be able to read a plate. Under ideal conditions I think it could be done up to 50 feet away, but you'll never have those ideal conditions. At night, I doubt you'd be able to read it all. Biggest problem I've encountered is lighting, license plates are highly reflective. That means it'll be hard to get the proper exposure in the overall frame. If the sun is shining on the plate it turns into a giant white spot within the camera. At night, when the IR led's kick in, same problem. Everything else will be dark, the license plate will be a giant white spot. If there's a shadow on the plate, or if there's sunlight hitting any part of the frame, it'll throw off the exposure. If it's too far away, it'll just be too dark. Those are just a few of the problems you'll have with the lighting.

Also, if you're not pointed straight with the plate, any angle above or to the side will decrease those distances a lot. I have the Foscam on my driveway, but at probably a 30-40 degree angle. Even with the right lighting I can't read a plate from more than about 5-10 feet , and not at all if someone is coming in too fast. To get good results you'll need to control the traffic to where the cars are stopped or going very slow, like at a gate or speedbump.

With the right lens, the right lighting, and the right placement, and right setup, almost any camera will work, but probably won't be very useful for anything else. If it's really important, I would have a dedicated camera whose only function is to focus on the plates, then you can tailor it for that purpose.

Recognizing faces has similar issues. You really have to try out a few cameras to know whether it will work.

Also, I've seen people use the Foscam's outside, and I plan on mounting mine out there eventually. If it's kept away from direct sunlight and rain (good advice for any camera), I don't think you'll have a problem. I wouldn't bother getting Pan/Tilt camera unless you plan to actively monitor it. 2 or 3 cameras setup at different angles are more useful IMO.

 

[Eslader]

I have Foscams and two Tenvis cameras. The Foscams are far superior. One Tenvis broke 20 minutes after I unboxed it. The other waited 31 days - just outside of the time when I could return it to Amazon, and Tenvis won't do anything except tell me to unplug it and plug it back in, which would work if the camera weren't broken.

The Foscams, meanwhile, just keep going.

That said, none of the little round-ball PTZ consumer grade cameras are going to do what you want them to do. You'll need a much more expensive one like the zoomable (real zoom, not digital) ones they have for in-store security setups. And even then, reading a license plate at night is going to be iffy.

 

[Falcon67]

I've got a Foscam and tried out a few other systems, I think for your requirements it's going to be difficult for any camera. There are a lot of other variables involved that make choosing a "best" camera almost impossible.

Not really - the cameras in our nursing school can probably do that easy, in HD. Your "problem" is that a PTZ camera of that caliber is $2000 or so. Cheap **** won't do it. These guys sell affordable stuff, but may not have what you need - quality if up from Foscam, for sure.

http://www.ubnt.com/airvision

 

[pmiranda]

Dumb question... do these new-gen PTZ cameras automatically zoom in on and follow stuff that moves, or is the zooming and what not only useful if you've got a human monitoring them?

 

[dbonne]

Here is a picture taken with a low cost analog PTZ camera over internet. The distance to shop is about 45 feet. The picture is much better if it is put on a memory stick at the DVR, less compression.

View media item 30455
The camera is at 0% zoom level or its full FOV.

 

[ducktapeguy]

Not really - the cameras in our nursing school can probably do that easy, in HD. Your "problem" is that a PTZ camera of that caliber is $2000 or so. Cheap **** won't do it. These guys sell affordable stuff, but may not have what you need - quality if up from Foscam, for sure.

http://www.ubnt.com/airvision

Do the cameras in your nursing school read license plates outdoors in all lighting conditions? I doubt it. It's not about the resolution or picture quality, it's just license plates in particular are very hard to capture reliably. Without the right light, even high priced digital cameras won't help much. Indoors, with controlled lighting, any camera would probably work.

 

[cowboyjosh]

I had a couple WIREPATH IP 750 Dome cams installed recently, a huge upgrade from my analog system, great night vision, POE, they integrate into my home automation system, but they are super expensive, over $600 each, they come with a 5 year warranty, and all the bells and whistles.

 

[Motofixxer]

I have an 8 channel with 8 cams Night Owl kit using a 1gb HD. Viewable online easily and convenient. The cam quality is not the greatest with the included cams. The angle of the lense is too narrow. People and cars are fairly identifiable during the day. At night it's difficult to see much. But it's better than nothing at all. It's great to see who is at the door from anywhere. And I can see all around my house as well as inside my shop from anywhere in the world with internet.


The camera resolution quality with larger CMOS and lots of IR LEDs is important as well as the total FPS of the DVR should be closest to 30fps x number of channels.

 

[6t7gto]

Lots of good camera info here...
http://forum.autocareforum.com/

 

[macdabs]

The best bang for your dollar is purchase analog cameras with a Ethernet output DVR over IP. The reason is most IP only or IP / Analog DVRs use only their IP cameras . A good IP camera is twice if not three times as much as a analog camera. Most of your analog DVRs have a Ethernet out put with remote viewing for your laptop or smart phone with more output ports than the cost of one digital IP camera. The only time a IP camera makes any sense is if you need just one camera and you are using a scan disk or pc for recording instead of a DVR..If the camera industry develops a standard for Ip cameras to work with any IP or hybrid DVR instead of proprietary formats the price is just to salty. You can get some quality day night cameras from $80.00 to $250.00 wholesale . Same with DVRs with months of storage average $250.00-$800.0o0 depending on the # of ports.

Mac

 

[rlitman]

The price of DVR's has gone way down my friend.
I recently purchased one for around $110 on eBay. 16 ports, no drive included, but a 2TB drive still keeps it well below $250 all said and done. And it works nicely with an iPhone app, just like all the newest ones.

As for a standard format for IP camera DVR. Check out Blue Iris software. It acts like a DVR, with lots of IP cameras. We use that with IP cameras at work.

 

[Big-Foot]

I have Foscams and while I had a dickens of a time setting them up I did ultimately prevail.
They have no DVR capability (mine) but work well enough. Ducktapeguy summed up the Foscam capabilities pretty well..

For help setting up Foscams, check out this guy's blog - it was a huge help for me::

http://www.wealthyaffiliaterevoluti...irelesswired-pan-tilt-ip-camera-video-review/

 

[rlitman]

Like I said. The Foscam may not have DVR capability, but if you don't mind leaving a computer running all the time, get the Blue Iris software, and now you have DVR with them.

 

[Todd.Brock]

I bought a Foscam a couple years ago. It is a total POS. it is an IP outdoor cam. Aside from the brightness and motion triggers that work when it wants to, the interface is total ****. I bought it on amazon, set up port forwarding and it would work sometimes, but not always. I spent hours on it and now it just hangs outside as a visual deterrent for the neighbors.

While it was only 100 bucks what do you expect... I know...

 

[arwi]

Hi,

for surveillance system I would recommend http://www.milestonesys.com/
They have a free version XProtectGo that supports up to eight cameras and will keep the records for five days (you can probably get more if you put down some cash).

Arwi

 

[Killervette]

Blue iris for your recording system and logitech alert cameras for hd with night vision. I have mix of 9 cameras, mostly logitech alerts, and blue iris records on motion and is rock solid. Cheap too.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Related.

I highly recommend Synology RAID Network Attached Storage for storing your images. These aren't some cheap, but they work well. A 2 bay is "adequate", but a 4 bay will allow you to easily swap disks around and use Synology's proprietary expandable RAID software.

 

[tankd0g]

Consider Ubiquity's offering. Their software is excellent and the $100 cameras are POE and come ready for outdoor installation. http://www.ubnt.com/airvision The only bad thing I have to say about them is that the mount is not very strong so the camera has to be placed under an eve because falling ice could take it out.

 

[Todd.Brock]

A lot of folks speak of blue Iris. Will it take the place of the regular interface from the manufacturer? I see their trial is free. It would be worth purchasing if it made te camera usable. Thanks!

 

[dovjones]

So I guess my question is can anyone recommend camera's or a package set they have had personal experiance with?

If you do own a system do you mind posting some screen shots in full size so we can view the quality along with posting the system information?

How many cameras do you run on your system? Did you start with that many or add to it?

Hi,
This is not a budget solution however if you are going to buy once and to get a perfect choise I would suggest you to stick to Sony cam. They are really cool. You can zoom it 40x times and see clear picture on it. You can turn it the direction you want to see. You can also check here the real life online streaming Sony camera:
http://www.viralcameras.com/0/posts...nline-camera-little-rock-watch-cam-sony-.html

Check other Sony cameras there. The pretty thing you can do is you can access settings of the specific camera there by clicking the camera itself and there you can test the camera by tilting it/ zooming it.
Below are the screenshot of the Sony camera in different zoom settings:
Zoomed In and Zoomed Out - the same place - football field.

 

[e36jon]

Greetings

I put in a single fixed camera last year to watch my entry vestibule. I decided to go with a dedicated DVR with POE built in, vs. a PC based system since I struggle to keep my PC running...

I bought my equipment from Nellys (http://www.nellyssecurity.com/) on the advice of a number of folks on this great thread on AR15.com (http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_10_17/...able_of_Contents_in_OP____Updated_30_Jan.html) Between the AR15 thread and Nellys there is a ton of info on field of view and resolution to help you decide what you need for your application.

the stills from my camera are too large to upload (3MP), sorry.

I bought the following:

1) EYEsurv ESDV-NVRplusPOE-8 8 Channel NVR Network Video. I bought two 4 gig 'security dvr' drives on Amazon and installed them myself.
2) EYEsurv ESIP-MP3-DMVF2-R 3 Megapixel High Definition Infrared Varifocal IP Dome Camera - Recessed Mount. I added a 64Gb SD card to the camera, which is a nice feature. Even if they steal the DVR in the garage the SD card will have several hours of info on it.

Looking around last week prices have continued to drop on everything since I got my stuff last year. I intend to install two 5Mp cameras to cover my front yard + part of the street in a few months and will probably try and go through Nelly's again as resolving anything wonky with the OS of the cameras would probably drive me nuts.

 

[Motofixxer]

I just tried one of these IP 720p cameras for $26. But it does require some other Recording device on the network. Seems to work pretty good and is usable on my Network Recorder and the Mobile app I use is IP Cam Viewer by Robert Chou, which is the best one out there. Almost any cam or cam system you have can be viewed by it all on the same screen. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01E8A3I8S/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Otherwise if you want a whole system, definitely spend the extra for at a minimum 720P, the quality difference is stunning.

Something like these Samsung cam system would be excellent too. 8 1080p channel dvr and 4 cams included with a 2TB HD for $430ish. So you can add more cams if you want. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0163HCVTQ/?tag=atomicindus08-20
keywords=Samsung+8+channel

If you're wiring cams, no matter the type I suggest Cat6, or 5E minimum and video baluns on the end depending on your cam types. Like these below
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000T8SO4M/?tag=atomicindus08-20
or
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NRHNPUA/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[Cynical]

No one noticed this got bumped from 3 years ago by a spammer???

 

[revamped]

No one noticed this got bumped from 3 years ago by a spammer???

I'm glad it did... unless there is a better thread. I need a system this winter, high quality do it one time type of system, budget $1K and I want to be able to put 4 cameras in the shop and run 1 CAT 5e on a switch to the house where the system will reside and be able to put another 6 or so cameras on the house and pipe it all to a screen in my bedroom... right above my gun safe. lol.

Let me know if there is a better thread.