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Use a security camera? Have any suggestions?
03/01/2017 8:35 AM by John M
Use a security camera? Have any suggestions?
From a reader:
Every now and then there are posts from folks with camera footage. We are looking to expand our camera system. Would be interested to know what people in the neighborhood bought… how they liked the equipment… and if needed, who installed it for them. I suspect others could uses this too and more cameras in the neighborhood would be welcome.
I just installed a HooToo security camera in my front window. They are available on Amazon. It’s nothing fancy, but it is easy to set up and operate.
I use cheap, Chinese white label cameras and a program called “iSpy” on my computer. The cameras are the same ones that are super easy to break in to from the internet, so I have them on their own isolated network for privacy’s sake.
If you’re not comfortable doing stuff like that, the Nest products are really nice.
I’ve noticed that the IR lights on “night vision” cameras tend to be hot garbage, so an additional IR spot light hooked up to a motion sensor might be a good investment.
I bought a system from Q-see via Amazon. $400 give or take. That includes a DVR, cables and 4 cameras.
App for iphone allows me to monitor from wherever. I can take pictures from my phone and upload or mail easily. I think I could do that with video clips to but i’ve never tried.
The algorithm isnt good enough — yet– to pull plate numbers, but faces are crisp, and getting better as the software updates come in.
The IR is good And the DVR allows a pretty long recall and view time, depending on the settings (running constantly/motion detection/scheduled).
Install was a bit of a task– cables are a pain to pull through walls and such. Then again, there are pretty much no bugs in the system once installed.
I’ve been impressed with Amcrest cameras. I use them with zoneminder, but their native desktop, web, and mobile apps are really well done–some of the most polished I’ve seen.
We use Nest indoor cameras for security at the restaurants.
I use Ring and I like it. Its good for renters because you do not have to run wires. The doorbell can be set with a recording range and auto-record when people step into the range. They also have an outside camera that will work with an additional solar panel. Does require a $30/year cloud service to get the true full functionality.
We bought an Arlo camera at Best Buy and my husband installed it easily. We get notifications on our phone when motion us detected. No problems since.