Security camera

[Downtown]

I know I should just Google this, but I trust the members opinions, mostly.

What would you suggest for a simple camera, just for the room with the safe? I'd like to have a simple phone app to view while I'm away. I don't use any other "smart" device in the house. I do have a desk top computer, if that's needed. The room is alarmed, with monitoring, but nothing fancy or hooked to the internet. I just see these doorbells in the news often. No end to videos from people's cameras. So it seems like it would be cheap and common.

I'm just old enough to have not paid much attention to new technology for a while. Unless shooting was involved.

Thanks.

 

[Sogan]

Id just get a Wyze Cam 1080p HD Indoor Wireless camera off Amazon for $25. It has free 14 day cloud storage and has over 10k reviews with 4.3 stars. Several friends have them and love them.

 

[Downtown]

Thank you. That looks like exactly what I was thinking of. Man, I love this place.

 

[Ribo68]

I looked these up out of curiosity as I am wanting something along this line. Read the reviews on Amazon.
They mention Chinese IP address a few times.

 

[Downtown]

Yes, I saw that too. I should have known there would be a catch like that. That's why I'm uncomfortable with those other "smart" devices, like assistants, thermostats, doorbells, etc. There are sites full of hacked video cameras allowing you to see into people's living rooms, nurseries, offices. I suppose that just comes with putting a camera in your house and wanting a convenient phone app. I'm sure a proper system using a dedicated server is the better way to go. Always a trade off.

 

[thexman]

Budget wise: https://www.amazon.com/YI-Wireless-Security-Surveillance-Tracking/dp/B01CW4BLG8
1080P, two way audio, 360degree, motion detection/tracking(rotate the camera), night vision.

One level up: https://canary.is/canary/
1080p, two way audio via paid service, motion detection, night vision,
Temperature, humidity, air quality sensor, siren alarm, it can dial 911 with pre-set address.

 

[sharpdoug]

We have the “Ring” doorbell, nothing like the TV commercial. The bad guys have to hang around for many minutes to speak to them and yeah you do get a delayed video of the porch pirate stealing your package. That does nothing to deter in my opinion.

 

[missed]

I use the Ubiquity Unifi security cameras. I just upgraded all the exterior cameras to the G4 cameras. There are G3 micro on the porches and domes inside the shop. No fees for remote monitoring easily expandable, no proprietary extras to buy or have a service fee on.

 

[021411]

Id just get a Wyze Cam 1080p HD Indoor Wireless camera off Amazon for $25. It has free 14 day cloud storage and has over 10k reviews with 4.3 stars. Several friends have them and love them.

From what I was reading, a different company handles their video transfers with offices in Japan and China. So take that for what it’s worth. Not trying to start shit but that’s what I read when I was researching cheap cams in the past.

 

[021411]

We have the “Ring” doorbell, nothing like the TV commercial. The bad guys have to hang around for many minutes to speak to them and yeah you do get a delayed video of the porch pirate stealing your package. That does nothing to deter in my opinion.

I switched to a Nest Hello. It usually can distinguish between just sound, motion, and people. When it’s a person, it’ll alert as a person. The Nest is actually rolling 24/7.

 

[RS14]

I’ve got a canary and it works awesome for what you are wanting. I’m sure there are other cheaper options. But the canary just works. Any motion your notified. 2 way Audio and video

 

[ken4570tc in WY]

No matter what you get, don't position it where it would be transmitting your combination to the hackers in China or elsewhere.

 

[Bluewater132]

I have the Amazon Blink cameras inside and out. Easy to setup and great app to use. I like that there are no wires and long battery life.

 

[Anthonyc]

It’s not as cheap as the ones mentioned above but thought it was worth a mention: Nest cams are great. Their picture quality is amazing.

 

[bullseye13]

A video security company near me suggested nest cameras. He said they were excellent. I no nothing about them though.

 

[Strykervet]

I'm a former security expert and I used to do UL listed security (jewelry, government, other commercial). Now a lot has changed over the years but the basis of what constitutes security hasn't in thousands.

Like with firearms, a lot times you get what you pay for. That said, Watec cameras are about the best.

Supercircuits (if they'll sell to civilians) has some of the best variety of hidden and micro cameras. What you don't notice, you don't see. In fact, if you only want one camera, what I'd consider doing is hiding the real one and planting a fake one with a flashing LED so it looks real. That way if anything does happen, that one will get smashed and not the real one.

It'll need to be wired unless it's wireless. Usually either coax or you can use twisted pair if it accepts that OR if you get an adapter. The phone line is cheaper and easier to run. Wireless has the benefit of installation ease and it's harder to track down the recording device. Generally with UL listed security and cameras we installed that stuff inside a secure room or else use a rated tech safe to store the computer in (these can usually be had for cheap on craigslist, they show up all the time, can keep a few handguns, etc., in one too). They look like an AMSEC TL15 and are about as secure, some moreso, but usually have built in UPS and wiring receptacles that safes don't have. Some have racks inside.

Despite knowing all this, what I'll probably do when I move is get one of the better camera packages at Costco, if they still have 'em, and upgrade as needed. A lot of the digital shit today is as good as the next unless you plan on paying out and I think you can get Sony cameras (they're kinda like the Colt of security cameras, not the best, far from the worst, well priced). Panasonic and some others are similar. They mass produce that shit. If you protect the recorder, some of these kits are gtg for perimeter and interior security.

Again, if the recorder isn't either backed up or secured, cameras will do you no good.

I'd also HIGHLY consider wiring this camera(s) into the alarm system so when it goes into alarm, it'll contact you and display the camera images.

Whether or not to advertise the cameras is up to you. I tend to feel that advertising the security system along with no trespassing signs, and a mix of hidden and visible cameras does the trick. I'd also highly consider looking at GPS tags to install into high dollar, easy to steal items. TV's and shit. Do NOT advertise these! If you get robbed, they'll lead you straight to your shit. There is a cheaper RFID solution, but it depends on other randoms downloading the app... If the RFID doesn't come in proximity with an app, it won't register location. But the GPS shit will, it's just more expensive so you can't tag everything.

Good luck!

 

[Mr.BR]

I know its easy to install ,but i wouldn't trust WiFi camera system for anything , far to easy to jamm in addition to being hackable when it basicaly ends up surveiling you.

 

[Jefe's Dope]

Arlo. They have both wired and battery (for power). You will need their router but setup is quite simple. IIRC, they store 2 weeks for free and you can pay for more storage.

Wireless Security Camera Systems | Home Security | Arlo

America’s #1 internet connected wireless security camera systems for home or business: flexible wired or wire-free use for where you need it.

www.arlo.com

 

[Rootshot]

I own 2 Wyze and a Nest IQ camera. Nest is considerably more expensive. Wyze gives you 80% of the features for a fraction of the price. For areas such as my reloading room and room where I keep my safe, I opted for the Wyze cameras.

One key advantage is that there is no subscription cost. You can also expand on-camera storage with a cheap SD memory card. Picture quality is excellent. Low light performance is really impressive - I can see things clearly in a totally dark room. The new "person detection" capability works pretty well. Alerting in the app can sometimes be delayed by a few minutes. Wifi connectivity was impressive - I get a strong signal from my shed that is about 50 feet away from my Wifi access point.

There is also a plug-in for the back of the Wyze camera that allows you to expand is to add motion and contact sensors. I've played with this a bit and it appears to work well. Again, at a fraction of the price of others.

 

[Sean the Nailer]

"I know a guy" who has a 16 channel DVR and at least one of his cameras is FLIR. Very nice system, drive holds a Terabyte of information, and everything is hardwired so there is NO signal hacking or 'other people surveilling' him. From his own system, that is.

Definitely recommend this manner, and personally, I'd suggest avoiding Costco. But that's just me, and from what I've seen. YMMV.

 

[Geno C.]

We use Arlo our on the road. They have their own cell signal and send immediate alerts to my phon when movement is detected. I can talk through it quite quickly as well

 

[2aBaC̶a̶]

Check out Arlo, FLIR, and Lorex(made by FLIR)

Arlo for individual wireless and cloud backup.

Lorex for wired, DVR, 4K with audio. Also has mobile access.

both can be had at Costco.

 

[broncoaz]

To the OP, the Wyze cams seem to be cheap and easy with a decent app and only a little chinese spying.

I have a ring system for the doorbell camera, a main floor indoor camera, soon to be a driveway camera (as soon as I wire an outdoor receptacle over the garage), and their alarm system. I was using Simplisafe for a monitored alarm, but when their new system came out and they told all the previous users to suck it, I switched to Ring. SS was $180 per year with no cameras, Ring is $100 per year including camera services. I recently added the indoor camera because I had a false alarm and couldn’t confirm without going back to the house. I had left 5 minutes earlier and got an alarm on the front door sensor, but the doorbell camera showed nothing. Since I was reasonably sure it was a false alarm (I left 5 minutes prior) I canceled the police response. The indoor camera shows all three entrances on the ground floor and has better motion detection than the doorbell cam, so if there were another false alarm I could confirm remotely. Once the cam is in over the garage I’ll be able to see 180 degrees around the front of the house, showing any vehicles parked in the vicinity.

Although not perfect, I disagree with sharpdoug that the delay is a dealbreaker. The doorbell camera alerts about a second after the hardwired doorbell is pressed and the video comes up on my phone in another 1-2 seconds, but once watching the video the two way audio takes a couple seconds to fire up. I think that is largely a function of the cellular connection on my phone. Even if there is a delay for live view, the camera does catch and record anyone coming into its frame for police use later.

I like that everything is in one app and easy to use from multiple devices. One thing that does seem to confuse the system is multiple responses to a doorbell alert. If my wife accepts the alert first it doesn’t load anything on my end, but doesn’t tell me she responded.

I ordered a couple of the Wyze 360 cameras off Amazon, I found a seller with them for $1.26 each instead of the usual $35. They are shipping direct from china, so I’m assuming they are chinese intelligence. I got a shipping notice, but who knows what may arrive. If they actually arrive and I use them they will be in the garage and SD card only. If I were home and left the garage door open maybe it would catch someone coming in and stealing a tool or something.

A wired system would be a major pain to install in my two story house, plus I really neeed to be able to monitor remotely. Although I have a home NAS, I don’t know that I want to deal with logging into it remotely to view a video on the go.

 

[acourvil]

Do any of these provide remote access without uploading to the cloud?

 

[Jefe's Dope]

You can watch the Arlo live on your phone/tablet/lap top/desk top.

 

[2aBaC̶a̶]

Do any of these provide remote access without uploading to the cloud?

Pretty much standard. Even on the wired DVR systems.

 

[acourvil]

Hmmm . . . I tried Arlo and another (nest maybe?) a while and they uploaded the video to the cloud. Not really workable on a slow dsl connection. I haven't looked at any wired dvr systems, might have to look into that.

 

[padom]

I design, sell and install commercial IP CCTV, along with VOIP, network architecture design and installation, etc, etc for a living. 1000's of cameras and NVR's a year... we dont sell or install any of the brands/systems mentioned.

I run 14 Darkfighter/LightFighter 4K vandal domes, 2 bullets and a PTZ with smart tracking/follow enabled in a hit box, some with built in mics. My 32CH POE NVR has 2x8TB WD Purples for 16TB of storage with room for 2x8TB more which gives me about 8 months retention. NVR, POE Gigabit switch, Security Gateway, Cloud Key and VOIP are all housed in a locked, fan cooled security cabinet bolted to a block wall in a locked closet. The vandal dome cameras can handle up to a 22lr impact and baseball bat. They are full metal housings and impact rated plastic domes....not your cheap plastic HomeDepot/Costco cameras.. Darkfighter Pro Series have a .0005 lux lense. See full color in virtually pitch black dark. I get instant email or push notifications if anyone enters any hit box or line crossing I setup.


I have done commercial installs for a few of the big name companies here on the Hide...

No wireless, no cloud, onsite closed loop system, camera network on separate subnet as your data network, wired POE are all a good start....

 

[padom]

Heres footage of one of my license plate cameras I pulled from my NVR. 3am, pitch black dark, zero ambient light, just whatever light the cars taillights put off, car is going between 35-45mph. No problem for this camera..

 

[padom]

Heres my 4K DarkFighter PTZ when I was programming the Smart Tracking/Follow inside a hit box I created. Sent my son for a walk around the yard to test it out so I could make some final tweaks. That camera has a preset park area. It then senses humans (or anything else I program it to sense) and follows till that person leaves the hit box or is picked up by another one of my cameras.

Camera technology is insane these days. Hidden fish eyes in my gun room. Instant notifications, inside zoom and picture quality

 

[missed]

I design, sell and install commercial IP CCTV, along with VOIP, network architecture design and installation, etc, etc for a living. 1000's of cameras and NVR's a year... we dont sell or install any of the brands/systems mentioned.

I run 14 Darkfighter/LightFighter 4K vandal domes, 2 bullets and a PTZ with smart tracking/follow enabled in a hit box, some with built in mics. My 32CH POE NVR has 2x8TB WD Purples for 16TB of storage with room for 2x8TB more which gives me about 8 months retention. NVR, POE Gigabit switch, Security Gateway, Cloud Key and VOIP are all housed in a locked, fan cooled security cabinet bolted to a block wall in a locked closet. The vandal dome cameras can handle up to a 22lr impact and baseball bat. They are full metal housings and impact rated plastic domes....not your cheap plastic HomeDepot/Costco cameras.. Darkfighter Pro Series have a .0005 lux lense. See full color in virtually pitch black dark. I get instant email or push notifications if anyone enters any hit box or line crossing I setup.


I have done commercial installs for a few of the big name companies here on the Hide...

No wireless, no cloud, onsite closed loop system, camera network on separate subnet as your data network, wired POE are all a good start....

You design/install commercial networks what do you think about the Ubiquity gear?

 

[PDXGS]

Ubiquiti/Unifi
Nothing else comes close.
!

 

[Mr.BR]

I design, sell and install commercial IP CCTV, along with VOIP, network architecture design and installation, etc, etc for a living. 1000's of cameras and NVR's a year... we dont sell or install any of the brands/systems mentioned.

I run 14 Darkfighter/LightFighter 4K vandal domes, 2 bullets and a PTZ with smart tracking/follow enabled in a hit box, some with built in mics. My 32CH POE NVR has 2x8TB WD Purples for 16TB of storage with room for 2x8TB more which gives me about 8 months retention. NVR, POE Gigabit switch, Security Gateway, Cloud Key and VOIP are all housed in a locked, fan cooled security cabinet bolted to a block wall in a locked closet. The vandal dome cameras can handle up to a 22lr impact and baseball bat. They are full metal housings and impact rated plastic domes....not your cheap plastic HomeDepot/Costco cameras.. Darkfighter Pro Series have a .0005 lux lense. See full color in virtually pitch black dark. I get instant email or push notifications if anyone enters any hit box or line crossing I setup.


I have done commercial installs for a few of the big name companies here on the Hide...

No wireless, no cloud, onsite closed loop system, camera network on separate subnet as your data network, wired POE are all a good start....

Sounds like 30+K$ in gear alone

 

[Badfinger]

Just put a Ring doorbell in there..Done

 

[padom]

Sounds like 30+K$ in gear alone

Nah. But not $500

 

[One1Bravo]

Sounds like 30+K$ in gear alone

Indeed he has very nice equipment but you can set up a quality IP camera system for much cheaper. I use Dahua Starlight cams on a dedicated PC running Blue Iris. Did the install myself. Everything including the host PC and switch cost around $2000.

 

[padom]

You design/install commercial networks what do you think about the Ubiquity gear?

I use Ubiquiti network hardware a lot. LOVE there stuff. Use their Nanobeam AC Gen2 a ton for PtP camera networks when running cat 6 isnt possible. Nanobeams, Cameras mounted on pole, waterproof network box, ToughPower switch. 20miles line of site. Amazing

 

[0dd]

Further on Ubiquity. Just installed one of the G3 flex camera was about $75. i installed mine using a VM for the data storage/NVR but you are able to install it on your desktop as well.

My wife remarked that she was impressed about how good the night vision is.

One of the things I like about Ubnt systems is that i do not have to make it publicly accessible. This is very important to me as a IT professional with significant understanding of Security. I am of the opinion the smaller the surface area for some one to attempt to attack the better.

 

[Long Range 338]

FWIW if you are viewing your camera feeds over the internet, they can be intercepted with the right tech. Recording locally is more secure as it gives you more control but you might struggle to view remotely depending on your skills and you ISP. Personally I would not put a camera in a gun safe and have it go straight to the cloud... Just trying to make sure people have both eyes open as we are launched forward with all the new cheap tech.

 

[padom]

FWIW if you are viewing your camera feeds over the internet, they can be intercepted with the right tech. Recording locally is more secure as it gives you more control but you might struggle to view remotely depending on your skills and you ISP. Personally I would not put a camera in a gun safe and have it go straight to the cloud... Just trying to make sure people have both eyes open as we are launched forward with all the new cheap tech.

That's the problem. So many cheap options out there with easy remote viewing from your phone but they arent "secure". Most are uploading to a 3rd party cloud server then your connecting to that cloud server to view your cams. Yes, they work, but very insecure.

Local NVR with cameras on a subnet with no WAN. Properly configured security gateway/router, proper ports forwarded, static wan IP on data subnet (or DDNS) for dynamic IP routers.

 

[missed]

Further on Ubiquity. Just installed one of the G3 flex camera was about $75. i installed mine using a VM for the data storage/NVR but you are able to install it on your desktop as well.

My wife remarked that she was impressed about how good the night vision is.

One of the things I like about Ubnt systems is that i do not have to make it publicly accessible. This is very important to me as a IT professional with significant understanding of Security. I am of the opinion the smaller the surface area for some one to attempt to attack the better.

Only my exterior cameras I can see on the UBNT cloud. There is a 6 G4 cameras around the outside with G3 micros at each of the doors. There are a few dome cameras inside the shop also.

Im in process of building some off grid 4G LTE security camera towers for some construction and mining sites. Solar powered and Cell 4G with a bunch of Unifi 4G cameras on them.

 

[nexusfire]

If you want to go big baller go Avigilon. If not just use Nest. Your phone is spying on you anyway.

 

[Mike_Pancake]

Arlo for sure

 

[padom]

Do any of these provide remote access without uploading to the cloud?

Yes

 

[Maddybrook]

I have a few of the Amazon cloud cams. No monthly service fees if you don't need some long term video clip memory. Super easy install and setup. Cameras are only 120 each. The app is also easy to operate. I've had mine for a little over a year and they work great. They are not the most high tech system out there but it's friendly on the budget with no fees

 

[padom]

I have a few of the Amazon cloud cams. No monthly service fees if you don't need some long term video clip memory. Super easy install and setup. Cameras are only 120 each. The app is also easy to operate. I've had mine for a little over a year and they work great. They are not the most high tech system out there but it's friendly on the budget with no fees

And insecure

 

[jojotheclown]

Only my exterior cameras I can see on the UBNT cloud. There is a 6 G4 cameras around the outside with G3 micros at each of the doors. There are a few dome cameras inside the shop also.

Im in process of building some off grid 4G LTE security camera towers for some construction and mining sites. Solar powered and Cell 4G with a bunch of Unifi 4G cameras on them.

Interested in what your 4G LTE solution is. I’m using a few cellular game cameras right now and while they are OK, I’m sure there’s a better solution.