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[Mistake]

Long story short, I've had a few issues on my property and the family wants to get cameras. But I know squat about them and what's good these days. I do know I'd prefer local storage and that they not be connected to the internet, but it also would be more convenient to have them on the local network to check video or manage storage and whatnot. Kind of a toss up, so maybe I'd put them on the guest network and disable the internet on it.

Another issue is accessibility. I have a two story house, and putting them higher up would be nice, but then it would be a complete pain to change batteries unless I can hardwire them. I should also mention we have all four seasons, so hopefully it doesn't break in different weather. What are some of your experiences? Any recommendations?

 

[Dr.Morris79]

Two story?

Bolt actions probably best.

 

[jason10mm]

I use Ring. They have hardwired, battery and solar options. If you get decent sun a single solar panel keeps 1 camera pretty charged if it isn't shining a spotlight all the time. I do use their ~$100/yr subscription to cover all the cameras and the doorbell cam and it's out in a cloud somewhere so probably not super secure, but I can look at them from my phone, they can have areas blocked out for privacy, the motion settings are decent, and they have siren or voice speaker options. Since we have alexas inside the ones with a display screen can also display a camera feed. Suck that amazon tittay

 

[Mistake]

Two story?

Bolt actions probably best.

Oh I have that covered. The issue is when I'm not around or working. Bastards case the house and wait for an opportunity to steal stuff. Took some things from one of my parts cars

 

[Dr.Morris79]

Oh I have that covered. The issue is when I'm not around or working. Bastards case the house and wait for an opportunity to steal stuff. Took some things from one of my parts cars

I hear that. I just thought I'd chuck in a stupid gif whilst you get a real answer, because I want to know too..

I've had quite a few things nicked from the garden by turds. Once some dickhead stole my sons bike in broad daylight on a Saturday, and we were surrounded by houses, bloody hundreds that cost me!

I've bought a few crap cameras from Amazon, total rubbish. It would be nice if any Gaffers knew of a proper set up. Like you we're in a two story.

From looking around it has to be hard wired for an at 'least' functional setup. And from looking around some more, it's either Chinese shat or megaton money.

 

[HeisenbergFX4]

I use Ring. They have hardwired, battery and solar options. If you get decent sun a single solar panel keeps 1 camera pretty charged if it isn't shining a spotlight all the time. I do use their ~$100/yr subscription to cover all the cameras and the doorbell cam and it's out in a cloud somewhere so probably not super secure, but I can look at them from my phone, they can have areas blocked out for privacy, the motion settings are decent, and they have siren or voice speaker options. Since we have alexas inside the ones with a display screen can also display a camera feed. Suck that amazon tittay

I second Ring, have them both inside and outside

 

[Trogdor1123]

my Costco has a set of 4 that is totally local for storage. Might be worth looking at yours to see what they got.

 

[Dr.Morris79]

I second Ring, have them both inside and outside

Would you say they're the best?

I've seen a few things where deviants could knock out the cameras remotely. Or was that horsedung?

I've got a Ring 3. It's pretty good, I stick it inside when we go away..

 

[HeisenbergFX4]

Would you say they're the best?

I've seen a few things where deviants could knock out the cameras remotely. Or was that horsedung?

I've got a Ring 3. It's pretty good, I stick it inside when we go away..

I haven't had any issues with them and their setup is pretty easy so you can adjust the outdoor cams to only pickup up movement up close or even block out a certain area like if you have a lot of traffic you don't want it recording all the time

 

[Rockondevil]

I’ve had Arlo Ultra cameras for 5 or 6 years now and they’ve been great but the batteries are getting old.

I’m looking at moving to a hardwired system and was considering Swann but haven’t settled yet.

 

[T8SC]

 

[HeisenbergFX4]

I’ve had Arlo Ultra cameras for 5 or 6 years now and they’ve been great but the batteries are getting old.

I’m looking at moving to a hardwired system and was considering Swann but haven’t settled yet.

When I was looking I saw Arlos had great reviews

Do they not have a solar power option as an add on?

It’s something I use on all my outdoor cams that made it super easy to cover spots that I didn’t have any nearby wires to tap

 

[dsp]

I use Ring.

I'm sorry Jay, I can't let you do that.

It's been a strange thing to watch man willingly engage in his own enslavement to the state's giant spying apparatus. If The Dark Knight were made today, Lucius Fox would tell Batman that his giant spy machine is not only a necessary good, but that he won't stop until every human being's internal thoughts are constantly being inputted into AI to be scanned for wrongthink.

 

[Rockondevil]

Do they not have a solar power option as an add on?

Arlo was amazing when I originally got them though they definitely have a lot of competition now.

They do indeed have a solar panel accessory that just plugs into the charging port. I do have 1 on the camera with the highest traffic (my pets running around) as it would be dead constantly otherwise.

It is a lot of effort to crawl around in the ceiling and run cables which is mostly why I've been delaying. Maybe I'll just grab a few more solar panels.

 

[Mistake]

Arlo was amazing when I originally got them though they definitely have a lot of competition now.

They do indeed have a solar panel accessory that just plugs into the charging port. I do have 1 on the camera with the highest traffic (my pets running around) as it would be dead constantly otherwise.

It is a lot of effort to crawl around in the ceiling and run cables which is mostly why I've been delaying. Maybe I'll just grab a few more solar panels.

What's the software like? Is it for pc or phone? Can you manage things on a local network or do you need internet to set up?

 

[Rockondevil]

What's the software like? Is it for pc or phone? Can you manage things on a local network or do you need internet to set up?

Software is easy to use and has an app and a website you can use to access the cameras.
They run on wifi so if your net is down they're useless.

You have the option of inserting an SD card in the base station to record the videos locally rather than in the cloud.
My biggest gripe has been that there are 2 subscriptions. One saves the videos in the cloud as 2K and the more expensive one as 4K, assuming you have the 4K cameras which I do.

I really like the smart notifications it has but I think most others do that now. Basically, it will tell you if it's a vehicle, a person, an animal or a package that it has detected and give you a notification on your phone.
If you are in the Apple world you can open the live feed on your watch too. Perhaps Android does this also, but I can't confirm that.

Another part I really like about the cameras I have (the Arlo Ultra) is the 180 degree view they have meaning you need less cameras to cover an area than you would with a camera with a smaller view.

I think Eufy has some pretty decent cameras now too. Pretty sure there are some that actually have a solar panel built into them so no need for extra accessories.

 

[SJRB]

 

[Mistake]

Software is easy to use and has an app and a website you can use to access the cameras.
They run on wifi so if your net is down they're useless.

You have the option of inserting an SD card in the base station to record the videos locally rather than in the cloud.
My biggest gripe has been that there are 2 subscriptions. One saves the videos in the cloud as 2K and the more expensive one as 4K, assuming you have the 4K cameras which I do.

I really like the smart notifications it has but I think most others do that now. Basically, it will tell you if it's a vehicle, a person, an animal or a package that it has detected and give you a notification on your phone.
If you are in the Apple world you can open the live feed on your watch too. Perhaps Android does this also, but I can't confirm that.

Another part I really like about the cameras I have (the Arlo Ultra) is the 180 degree view they have meaning you need less cameras to cover an area than you would with a camera with a smaller view.

I think Eufy has some pretty decent cameras now too. Pretty sure there are some that actually have a solar panel built into them so no need for extra accessories.

Yeah, that's part of the issue I'm having looking around. Everything wants a subscription and internet, when all I need is local storage and for it to only go off when it detects stuff. Maybe I'll just look at trail cameras instead

 

[ReBurn]

I use Ring. They have hardwired, battery and solar options. If you get decent sun a single solar panel keeps 1 camera pretty charged if it isn't shining a spotlight all the time. I do use their ~$100/yr subscription to cover all the cameras and the doorbell cam and it's out in a cloud somewhere so probably not super secure, but I can look at them from my phone, they can have areas blocked out for privacy, the motion settings are decent, and they have siren or voice speaker options. Since we have alexas inside the ones with a display screen can also display a camera feed. Suck that amazon tittay

I've had some issues at my house so I invested in Ring devices, too. My drug-addled neighbors keep stealing stuff from my yard to sell to get their fix. The video is stored in the cloud, but there's nothing on it that wouldn't be visible from the street so I'm not too worried about it. A doorbell, a couple of plug in outdoor cameras and an outdoor cam with a solar panel pointed at my shed alert me when they walk through my yard and I can monitor all of it from wherever I am.

I did have to buy an outdoor access point to integrate with my mesh network to get good wifi connection for the solar camera but it's worth it.

I also bought some solar charged motion activated flood lights and mounted them around my place so lights come on when anyone walks through places where I keep any stuff worth stealing. If they're going to steal they're not going to do it in the dark.

 

[AJUMP23]

UniFi Bullet Security Cameras - Ubiquiti

Designed for precise video capture, even at range. Featuring high-performance optics and advanced video analytics in a durable yet elegant enclosure.

ui.com

I use these. They do require that you run CAT5e at least because they run off of Ethernet power. But they are good and compact and continuous and internal to your system.


Here is a look from today. Resized for web

Also a good site to find these things https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-wireless-outdoor-home-security-camera/

 

[ReBurn]

Yeah, that's part of the issue I'm having looking around. Everything wants a subscription and internet, when all I need is local storage and for it to only go off when it detects stuff. Maybe I'll just look at trail cameras instead

There are some decent cost effective hardwired systems. Like this:

https://www.amazon.com/ANNKE-Security-1920TVL-Cameras-Weatherproof/dp/B00ZZMVC1Y/

I helped a friend install this one on his garage a while back and it works pretty well for him. Each camera has a 60 foot BNC cable and it has 1 TB HDD. He complained about the menus but once he got used to it he's pretty happy with it. He can access it remotely but the video stays local. If you don't mind running and hiding wires something like it could be an option.

 

[EverydayBeast]

Best surveillance cameras for outside a home?​

https://www.neogaf.com/threads/best-surveillance-cameras-for-outside-a-home.1673832/#reply

 

[Jenov]

Got some decently priced, stand alone solar-powered cameras for the front of house and pool and they're still rocking almost 3 years later.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09P62ZR7V/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

 

[Mistake]

Thought I should update this. I went with these solar powered cameras. Not sure on quality yet or how good the detection is, but I'll hook them up soon. I actually wanted to mention something I completely forgot about, and only realized after I got this Wifi mesh set. You can selectively block IPs from accessing the internet, so getting a camera of your choice for local use shouldn't be an issue

 

[Trilobit]

I highly recommend the Italian ones: