Surveillance Camera

[masoncgy]

Any recommendations for a good surveillance camera, small in size, that I can mount discreetly on the front of my house? Not too familiar with this kind of stuff, but I assume they make battery operated/wireless type units that record on motion, have night vision and operate on a wifi signal?

Neighborhood has been quite sketchy lately and I am not feeling comfortable.

Thanks!

[Thaco]

anything from hikvision wont disappoint. Just needs a 12v power supply or POE wire.. if you need wireless just make sure there is a W in the product code, you likely also want an I (infrared for night)

example is my most recent one, it's a 2cd2532f-IWS the IWS means it's for infrared, wiresless, and sound.

this is a link to the one i bought.
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Original-Hikvision-DS-2CD2132F-IWS-V5-2-5-EN-version-WIreless-wifi-Network-Mini-Dome-IP/32278619325.html

it's a little spendy, but a great product, i also have this one that i have been using for about a year, it's also a great camera, a lot cheaper, but less features.
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/2013-Hikvision-Original-infrared-gun-waterproof-network-camera-DS-2CD2032-I-3MP-IR-ip-camera-support/1397052584.html

[The_Penguin]

+1 for Hikvision. I would not go wireless unless you have to, wired is always more reliable.

[The_Penguin]

Originally posted by Thaco
i also have this one that i have been using for about a year, it's also a great camera, a lot cheaper, but less features.
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/2013-Hikvision-Original-infrared-gun-waterproof-network-camera-DS-2CD2032-I-3MP-IR-ip-camera-support/1397052584.html

I have 5 of these, great cameras.

3 are currently being used for mouse detection.

[TL911]

What program are you guys running for the Hikvision? Blue Iris?
I've bought 2 camera's from aliexpress and downloaded the hikvision software online. But the hikvision program isn't the best..it doesn't record contineously and isn't very user friendly.

[Thaco]

Originally posted by TL911
What program are you guys running for the Hikvision? Blue Iris?
I've bought 2 camera's from aliexpress and downloaded the hikvision software online. But the hikvision program isn't the best..it doesn't record contineously and isn't very user friendly. i use blue iris, once you get it set up it's pretty self sufficient, i like it because it sends me instant alerts pushed to my phone via their android app.

[The_Penguin]

Yes, Blue Iris. If you tune it right (direct to disk recording etc.) and don't go crazy with 30fps and 1080p it performs very well.

I have 5 Hiks, and 3 other misc cameras most are 720 P 10fps and my i7 sits at about 14% utilization.

[blairtruck]

I got 5 hikvisions with the blue iris to run them. Love it. Great price. Works great in -30

[TL911]

thanks Beyonders! i think ill be buying Blue Iris :thumbsup:

[syscal]

I just started using Ivideon last night. Not bad, and free if you don't store in the cloud.

I had a couple spare mac-mini's in the house so hooked one of those up as the vid server. I would do blue-iris, but the only computer I really have to run it reliably on would get stolen, lol. Don't feel like making a hardware purchase so I'll see how Ivideon works.

EDIT ::

Apparently was tired when I looked this up.

I have two Hikvision outdoor cameras, which work fine with it. But I also have three TrendNET indoor cameras. To hook up all five I'd have to pay $1.99/mth each camera. Soooo, I think I'll have to explore other avenues.

[revelations]

Originally posted by masoncgy
Any recommendations for a good surveillance camera, small in size, that I can mount discreetly on the front of my house? Not too familiar with this kind of stuff, but I assume they make battery operated/wireless type units that record on motion, have night vision and operate on a wifi signal?

Neighborhood has been quite sketchy lately and I am not feeling comfortable.

Thanks!

Are you close to the High School in Ladysmith by chance?

[masoncgy]

No, I live in the north end... there's just a been a rash of thefts from people's properties in the area... figure I might as well do what I need to do.

[civic_stylez]

Im looking to install wired cameras as I have heard of nightmares with Wifi connections. Has anyone installed these to a detached garage? Im assuming a wire needs to be run from the house all the way to the garage? (im obviously bad with wiring..) Does anyone use IP with NVR cameras?

[revelations]

I have found more success with using a WIFI bridge and then hard-wiring the camera to the bridge.

For eg. wifi bridge in the garage and then camera through Cat5 in the garage.

Not always possible though, but I always try to use a dedicated device for each function. Camera for video, and WIFI bridge to handle networking. My experience shows the performance is usually better.

[blairtruck]

Originally posted by civic_stylez
Im looking to install wired cameras as I have heard of nightmares with Wifi connections. Has anyone installed these to a detached garage? Im assuming a wire needs to be run from the house all the way to the garage? (im obviously bad with wiring..) Does anyone use IP with NVR cameras?
i ran 2 cameras to my garage with an overhead wire. its called a messenger wire. was like 20$ at home depot i think. you can even get cat6 with the messenger wire already built in.

http://i01.i.aliimg.com/photo/v0/2012820259/4_pair_cat5e_cat6_stp_cable_cat5e.jpg

here is my blue iris screen when the camera in my kids room needed to be reset. 5 cameras and only had one that needed a reset in about 2 year.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v203/BlairTruck/Capture_zpszowtkl5n.jpg

[The_Penguin]

Blue Iris motion detection, cranked up pretty high will occasionally trigger on dust catching the IR light, but picked up this tiny mouse no problem:

[ZeroGravity]

Kind of off topic... but looking to install a dome camera on the soffit just above the garage door.

Knowing that the soffit are just thin pieces of aluminum. Any suggestions to how to make the mount / installation a bit more sturdy?

[The_Penguin]

Can you pick a spot where the soffit is stapled to part of the wood framing for 1 screw to go into?
Then at least one screw will go into the wood, and the other 2 (assuming 3) will go into the soffit aluminum. Should be reasonably sturdy then.

[ZeroGravity]

Originally posted by The_Penguin
Can you pick a spot where the soffit is stapled to part of the wood framing for 1 screw to go into?
Then at least one screw will go into the wood, and the other 2 (assuming 3) will go into the soffit aluminum. Should be reasonably sturdy then.

Thanks for the tip. Will have to see if this is possible.

[TL911]

Originally posted by ZeroGravity
Kind of off topic... but looking to install a dome camera on the soffit just above the garage door.

Knowing that the soffit are just thin pieces of aluminum. Any suggestions to how to make the mount / installation a bit more sturdy?

How we did this was drill a hole smaller than the mounting plate size (just enough to get your hand in there). Drill smaller holes for the screws. and then used a screw/bolt system to mount the plate onto the soffit....it worked perfect and the camera isn't flimzy at all....it's been rougly 4 months without a problem.

[Thaco]

Originally posted by TL911


How we did this was drill a hole smaller than the mounting plate size (just enough to get your hand in there). Drill smaller holes for the screws. and then used a screw/bolt system to mount the plate onto the soffit....it worked perfect and the camera isn't flimzy at all....it's been rougly 4 months without a problem. this, or just use some short 1x2's or something that you can slide up in to the hole and then lay on top of the soffit, then put screws in to that... but easiest would be to find a stud.

[Khyron]

Originally posted by Thaco
anything from hikvision wont disappoint. Just needs a 12v power supply or POE wire.. if you need wireless just make sure there is a W in the product code, you likely also want an I (infrared for night)

example is my most recent one, it's a 2cd2532f-IWS the IWS means it's for infrared, wiresless, and sound.

this is a link to the one i bought.
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Original-Hikvision-DS-2CD2132F-IWS-V5-2-5-EN-version-WIreless-wifi-Network-Mini-Dome-IP/32278619325.html

it's a little spendy, but a great product, i also have this one that i have been using for about a year, it's also a great camera, a lot cheaper, but less features.
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/2013-Hikvision-Original-infrared-gun-waterproof-network-camera-DS-2CD2032-I-3MP-IR-ip-camera-support/1397052584.html

Just getting into this finally, got BV in demo mode with an old Dlink camera working pretty well.

If you were spending 250-300 on outdoor/wide cameras is there a lot of improvement on picture quality? My ideal setup would be some sort of 10+ MP still picture every second or 2 per second vs 3MP video.

That first one you posted would be perfect for the front door and above the garage door under the soffit.

[blairtruck]

Originally posted by Khyron


Just getting into this finally, got BV in demo mode with an old Dlink camera working pretty well.

If you were spending 250-300 on outdoor/wide cameras is there a lot of improvement on picture quality? My ideal setup would be some sort of 10+ MP still picture every second or 2 per second vs 3MP video.

That first one you posted would be perfect for the front door and above the garage door under the soffit.
im running 2 of the 2cd2532f-IWS in the backyard as they are small and less noticable on the house. and i have 2 of the 2cd2132f on the front of the house and the back of the garage as i wanted the better IR for when someone comes up to the house.

[Thaco]

Originally posted by blairtruck

im running 2 of the 2cd2532f-IWS in the backyard as they are small and less noticable on the house. and i have 2 of the 2cd2132f on the front of the house and the back of the garage as i wanted the better IR for when someone comes up to the house. yeah that was my purpose as well, i got the small dome for aesthetics.. right now i have conduit running up the outside for my cat5 poe, not really happy with how it looks, so i am putting the 2532 on a device box with a 12v power supply inside, and tapping in to the exterior light power to run it on wireless, it'll be about 10 feet above my router, so i am hoping the wireless will be reliable as i have no way of running a cat5 without ripping walls apart.

[Thaco]

Originally posted by Khyron


Just getting into this finally, got BV in demo mode with an old Dlink camera working pretty well.

If you were spending 250-300 on outdoor/wide cameras is there a lot of improvement on picture quality? My ideal setup would be some sort of 10+ MP still picture every second or 2 per second vs 3MP video.

That first one you posted would be perfect for the front door and above the garage door under the soffit. the biggest advantage is going to be infrared, waterproof, and i assume durability, i dont have anything to go on other than my assumption that a hikvision will easily outlast the d-link. I have a couple very small USB cameras for indoor, just pointed at the front door so i can easily identify anybody entering because we live in a condo and that's really the only point of entry.