Security Camera Recommendations

[Doc995]

+1 on the WYZE cameras. They're cheap (~20.00) and you can always add to the system as needed. No subscription fees or any other BS....I've had mine for a while and they're great. Minimal investment that you can always re sell if they're not your cup of tea.

 

[TonkaJoe]

I have a Hikvision set up, all POE. (Definitely the way to go) 8ch NVR, I run x7 4mp 4mm lens Turret cameras which is perfect for home use. Everything is outside except for the one camera inside my garage. All the wiring is hidden and ran to a locked cabinet housing the NVR and monitor. I have remote monitoring and all that good stuff which should be standard these days.

Had the system installed for almost 3 years now without any major issues.. Already my cameras were used on more than one occasion by the police.. both break and enters on my street where they ID'd the criminals from my video footage, the police were really shocked at how high the quality of the video was.

If you can, try to avoid dome cameras ( they reflect IR and can cause IR bleed) turrets are open faced and house the camera on one side and the IR cube on the other with no IR bouncing back to the camera lense.

I spent roughly $800CDN for the CAT5 cable, 5 cameras and the 8ch NVR, plus had it installed and configured ( I pre ran all the cable, and installed into a secure cabinet the way I wanted) I've since added the other 2 cameras for around $250ea CDN.

If you aren't very tech savvy I would say go with a company that will offer you plenty of support through customer service until you get the hang of things yourself, after that it's a breeze.

I'll grab some pics of my set up and some screen shots in the daytime tomorrow when I'm not at work and post them up so you can see the quality.

Sent from my SM-G973W using Tapatalk

 

[goingtoarizona]

I use Lorex systems from Costco. I recommend getting die cast, vandal proof cameras if they are at all reachable and especially in a public place. I also recommend putting the DVR in a hardened DVR enclosure, or going to a cloud based system. Professional thieves will steal the evidence.

 

[Glemon]

I got a relatively cheap system off of Amazon. Didn't want cloud, care less about storage than live viewing. It works fine, cameras need power but hook to the box via wifi-box hooks to tv via HDMI so I can view on my TV, and can also view in my phone app.

1 TB storage. Playback is a little clunky, can't fast forward, you have to basically pick a new point on the timeline, but works. Like the, setup was easy, like the pan tilt option zoom is digital so picture quality quickly goes away as you zoom, making it practically worthless.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09CM9RH82/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[Renegade1LI]

I have ring at one house & wyze at another, they both work good, I like the person detection,I only want to know if there is a person there.

 

[Yankeefarmer]

Before anyone currently looking for cameras buys something, spend some time poking around ipcamtalk.com. Those guys can help you avoid buyers’ remorse.

If you’ve never had a security camera system, you’ll likely think a Nest or other WiFi system is great. I did. Then one day, while working in my shop, a pair of people arrived with clear intent to break in. Although my Nest cameras clearly showed their intent, the cameras were completely inadequate to identify them. Worse, that evening, while I was still concerned they may return after dark, every time I opened the app to check what was going on, I’d get the annoying ”pinwheel of bufferring” that had me wondering if it would even open. And of course with those cameras, if your internet goes down, you can’t view your cameras and they aren’t recording.

I decided I wanted a system that would open “right now” and function with or without Internet. I bought a used PC, installed Blue Iris NVR software, and haven’t looked back. Camera image quality is better, and I have complete control over motion detection without any monthly fees.

 

[Denwood]

4K POE is the way to go for sure. I've been using Amcrest cameras at home which are rock solid, and record to an onboard card (free), local NAS (free), ftp (free) or their paid cloud service. The camera OS can be a bit daunting for beginners but there are a lot of options to configure the cameras. I like this setup for home as you don't need an NVR, and they can be viewed remotely (VPN or direct) on smartphones.

These are really hard to beat (POE, full 4K etc) at $105 each. The oldest (a 1080p PTZ camera) has been in operation 24/7 for 7 years now.

Amcrest UltraHD 4K (8MP) Outdoor Bullet POE IP Camera, 3840x2160, 105º FOV, 98ft NightVision, 2.8mm Lens, IP67 Weatherproof, MicroSD Recording, White (IP8M-2496EW-V2)

AMCREST MODEL: IP8M-2496EW-V2CAMERA FEATURES:Stunning UltraHD 4K (8-Megapixel / 3840x2160) resolution , 4K @15fps. Best in class low light capability utilizing the latest CMOS image sensor and chipset. Super-Wide 105° viewing angle. Wide Dynamic Range: 120dBPlayback and record professionally on...

amcrest.com

Hikvision are fine too. The big thing is 4K so you can actually use the footage to ID licence plates, faces etc. We've used the 4K cameras in a local retail store to actually settle a dispute on change to a customer. The outdoor cameras for this company (has four sites) have been used in one murder investigation and a few accidents as well by local police. You want 4K.

 

[kyrbz]

I could easily start a thread of crazy things captured on my ring cameras

 

[05snopro440]

You guys are commenting on a 3 year old thread started back up by a spammer.

 

[Kenstone1]

Thanks so much for all the suggestions. I'd like to keep overall cost in the $800 or less range. I like the idea of local hosting; that makes great sense. But I'm not nerdy...so I'll have to stumble through the set-up I guess.

I also was looking for a system with no monthly fees or cloud connection and bought this, back in Feb:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07W1HKYQK/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Totally happy with it to date, and it's expandable too.
Take a look,
jmo,
.

 

[AP514]

OLD THREAD or Not...
Just make sure your CAMS are ISO'd so they can not Phone home or get Hacked.(Ring comes to mind)
---------- DO NOT CHASE PIXELS ------------
I second the (ipcamtalk) Great Place to learn and get help with Cams, NVR or Blue Iris to Installation tips.

 

[Yankeefarmer]

You guys are commenting on a 3 year old thread started back up by a spammer.

Was the post that revived it removed? And how are GJ users to recognize spammers? And is there harm in reviving an old thread if the topic is still of interest?

 

[NUTTSGT]

Was the post that revived it removed? And how are GJ users to recognize spammers? And is there harm in reviving an old thread if the topic is still of interest?

Ryan deleted one and I deleted the other that brought it back.

No real harm in bringing it back. However, technology has changed drastically since this thread originally went around.

 

[Yankeefarmer]

Thank you. You guys do a great job, and we appreciate that.

 

[smackey05]

I like and use Arlo but am planning on moving to this.

PoE System from Unifi: https://store.ui.com/collections/unifi-protect

 

[mcbane]

I like and use Arlo but am planning on moving to this.

PoE System from Unifi: https://store.ui.com/collections/unifi-protect

Kind of spendy. The only camera not sold out is $1800 each.

 

[smackey05]

Kind of spendy. The only camera not sold out is $1800 each.

That's the reason why I haven't upgraded yet. Needed to do my network equipment anyway and left the optionality for these when they become available.

This is a more small/medium commercial office system.

 

[fteufert]

Ring is cheap, easily setup, and reliable.

$200 a year or so for the Pro plan and it includes alarm and 60 days of history on every device.

And with Pro you get a 10% Amazon discount on everything ring related

The quality of the videos is fantastic

 

[Yankeefarmer]

Ring is cheap, easily setup, and reliable.

$200 a year or so for the Pro plan and it includes alarm and 60 days of history on every device.

And with Pro you get a 10% Amazon discount on everything ring related

The quality of the videos is fantastic

Like I wrote earlier, if you haven’t had a good camera system, you’ll think the Ring video is fantastic. They do look great, especially in the daytime. But when you need to capture a face or license plate for identification purposes, you’ll likely be disappointed, unless it’s the face of someone at your doorbell. Been there, done that. That‘s why I’m using POE IP cameras now, that I can access within my home network even if our internet service goes down (which it does).

 

[Denwood]

Yes, you want 4K POE with a local storage option for home. Don’t bother with 720/1080/2K or WiFI for anything outside. Yes, the cameras are cheap, however with a wide angle lens outside, these resolutions are not of much use in an investigation. I linked to 4K POE cameras for $100.

 

[MerlinsBeard]

Anyone have a system that works with a Synology NAS?

 

[dcg9381]

I've done Hikvision, Ubiquiti, and WyzeCam.
WyzeCam is the easiest and cheapest - but it's wireless and requires an outlet.
Ubiquti is the best hands down in terms of high quality images and plug-and-play on the network (It's Power over Ethernet). It's also the most expensive and has a closed ecosystem so you have to buy their branded stuff. Their cameras are currently backorder and have been for some time.

HikVision (I buy mine from Nelly Security) - most flexible, open ecosystem. They require the most configuration and you have to be reasonably tech savvy.

 

[5mall5nail5]

I am using Amcrest 4K to Synology Surveillance Station and love it. I have 6 cameras recording to a DS1821+.

 

[adrenalinejeeper]

I run Ubiquiti, but that is mainly just because I already had their full Unifi setup running 3 buildings on the property.

The advice to go POE 4k if you can is solid. Whatever you choose though, make sure to dive into the camera and nvr settings. Storage is cheap, so always choose the settings that use the most storage- highest fps, highest resolution, NO MOTION DETECTION RECORDING, lowest compression.

Resolution is your friend but compression is the enemy that will kill your friend. I have gotten multiple 4k surveillance videos recorded in daytime that you can't read the license plate off a slow moving car due to the compression used. The compression algorithms used on surveillance systems throw away high frequency data that is needed to see details. THIS is the difference between quality name brand systems and cheap knockoff junk...

Do a test of your system as if there was an incident and the police want the video. How do you download or export it? Does it add additional compression? Does it even work? (many cheap systems don't) Can it play on a computer without the proprietary NVR software?

Just some thoughts from a humble forensic video analyst.... trying to enhance your crappy video that caught a homicide is my day job.

 

[andrew61987]

I highly recommend a PoE based system and 24/7 recording. Motion based recording will never capture everything and you'll find yourself wanting to see things that happened outside your motion zones ("How the hell did this Mickey's bottle get on my property?").

I have a Blue Iris system running on a dedicated refurbished HP box and I absolutely love it, but it's not for people who don't know their way around an IP configuration menu.

 

[Yankeefarmer]

I highly recommend a PoE based system and 24/7 recording. Motion based recording will never capture everything and you'll find yourself wanting to see things that happened outside your motion zones ("How the hell did this Mickey's bottle get on my property?").

I have a Blue Iris system running on a dedicated refurbished HP box and I absolutely love it, but it's not for people who don't know their way around an IP configuration menu.

I use and love Blue Iris also, and, instead of what you wrote in bold, I would say it’s not for people who “are afraid to spend some time and effort learning how to configure their system.” The customization available in BI is amazing, yet I went from no experience to having my system running in just a couple of hours. Really, the only IP configuration needed is assigning your camera a fixed unused IP address within your home network. Use your router security settings to block the camera from accessing the internet. The rest is pretty much just learning how to use the software to do what you want, no different than learning a new money management, spreadsheet, or CAD package. And there’s tons of help resources available on YouTube and forums.

 

[dcg9381]

I looked into Blue Iris - it's another valid option, but it's going to require a server (or VM). It's a great component to a roll-your-own system in conjunction with generic IP cams like Hikvision. But by using this stuff, you're well into "techie" land and there is a learning curve.

Ubiquiti is a bit like Apple - it's just simple. You plug a camera in and it just works. The people identification, alerting, all of it are top notch. I can plug in a Ubiquiti camera and have it fully configured in about 3 minutes.