Home Security video Cameras & Apps

For the first time yesterday I saw a home security camera that i'd consider buying
It was SmartFrog. (Yes I saw it on the 6 News)

https://www.smartfrog.com/en-ie/

What i liked about it is that it was simple. But just because it's simple doesn't mean it's good. Anyone out there have experience of similar cameras with apps? I searched for reviews of SmartFrog but couldn't find any.

I like the price and simplicity of this home security device but could anyone else advise on what home camera security systems to look at that are similar but maybe better?

Thanks.

exaisle

Curiously, a home security expert on the radio this morning advised NOT to put CCTV cameras indoors....

exaisle

exaisle wrote: »

Curiously, a home security expert on the radio this morning advised NOT to put CCTV cameras indoors....

Did he give a reason?

Smart frog and a lot of the other cameras/apps are cloud based and records to the cloud so at the very least you have a chance to capture the burglars' image

KoolKid

exaisle wrote: »

Curiously, a home security expert on the radio this morning advised NOT to put CCTV cameras indoors....

He was probably advising along the lines of the possibility of them being hacked.

OU812

Interesting concept. As I read it there's no payment for the camera and no contract.

OU812

OU812 wrote: »

Interesting concept. As I read it there's no payment for the camera and no contract.

I think you have to hand the camera back if you cancel within 2 years which is fair enough.
With 24 hours free cloud storage I think it's a good entry level home protection unit. I'd like to get a system that you can add additional cameras to over time, like a Sonos speaker system or something.

OU812

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7kk3pUAyXs

kub

OP do you already have an intruder alarm system?

kub

Deleted User wrote: »

Did he give a reason?

Smart frog and a lot of the other cameras/apps are cloud based and records to the cloud so at the very least you have a chance to capture the burglars' image

I would not have too much confidence in that happening, they usually have their hoods up.

kub

KoolKid wrote: »

He was probably advising along the lines of the possibility of them being hacked.

I heard that guy, I think he was on with Pat Kenny, he mentioned the going to the Kitchen at night scenario and activating your system, thereby pictures of you half dressed going onto strangers in monitoring stations.

He recommended, as we do, external cameras with a proper Intruder Alarm system

kub

OU812 wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7kk3pUAyXs

Therefore if your electricity is off, this thing is useless.

Del2005

Deleted User wrote: »

Did he give a reason?

Smart frog and a lot of the other cameras/apps are cloud based and records to the cloud so at the very least you have a chance to capture the burglars' image

Too late when they are already inside. The way to defeat CCTV has been known since CCTV was invented, wear a hoddy/hat

KoolKid

Del2005 wrote: »

Too late when they are already inside. The way to defeat CCTV has been known since CCTV was invented, wear a hoddy/hat

And yet Crime Call and the likes is always full of clear facial images.

Del2005

KoolKid wrote: »

And yet Crime Call and the likes is always full of clear facial images.

Because they know how ineffective our justice system is.

KoolKid

Hardly relevant to the previous comment.
Just because someone wears a hoody doesn't make cctv useless.
A combination of clothes, height, build etc can be enough. It can also help trace to other cameras for identification.

OU812

kub wrote: »

Therefore if your electricity is off, this thing is useless.

Isn't that true of every security or ip camera, or alarm system etc?

KoolKid

All good alarm systems will operate perfectly in the event of a power cut.
Good CCTV can come with a UPS that will give the system time to shut down correctly & save the last images.

exaisle

Deleted User wrote: »

Did he give a reason?

Smart frog and a lot of the other cameras/apps are cloud based and records to the cloud so at the very least you have a chance to capture the burglars' image

I'm sure he did but I can't remember what it was....possibly something to do with one's own privacy. The interview was on the Marian Finucane show on Saturday (I think). You can probably listen to it on the rte website....

kub

OU812 wrote:

Isn't that true of every security or ip camera, or alarm system etc?

Every security system company that is licensed by the PSA are professionals, not chancers, so no it is not true.

OU812

OK, took the plunge on the smartfrog gear.

Very easy to set up/ Footage is reviewable for 24 hours & you can save clips etc from that footage for evidence if needed, however...

It's only 720p so identifying faces is not easy. The cameras are VERY obvious White with an orange ring & a big black shiny front.

They keep dropping from the app meaning you have to start recording again to be able to view the footage on your iPhone.

Have them since Tuesday. Emailed the company to cancel my subscription tonight.

OU812

OU812 wrote: »

OK, took the plunge on the smartfrog gear.

Very easy to set up/ Footage is reviewable for 24 hours & you can save clips etc from that footage for evidence if needed, however...

It's only 720p so identifying faces is not easy. The cameras are VERY obvious White with an orange ring & a big black shiny front.

They keep dropping from the app meaning you have to start recording again to be able to view the footage on your iPhone.

Have them since Tuesday. Emailed the company to cancel my subscription tonight.

I'm most grateful to you for posting that.

Since starting this thread, I've looked deeper into reviews online and it seems there's an element of "you get what you pay for".

They recommend 1080p over the 720p for the reason you've mentioned- still though, I was going to take the plunge anyway to give it a try considering the low monthly price but with that review, I'm not sure now. Is it the images of people that aren't clear or is it a "people recognition" function that's not good?

I really thought that smart frog was going to be the first reasonably priced mass-market home camera but looks like we're a bit away from that yet. I think every home will have something like this some day but it doesn't look like we're there yet.

Irish Times reviewed it in March this year and gave it favourable reviews, albeit with a 2nd attempt at initial set-up.

http://www.irishtimes.com/business/technology/tech-tools-review-smartfrog-cam-1.2591016



Most other cameras appear have the price of the camera charged up-front which i was trying to avoid:


http://uk.pcmag.com/webcams-products/39333/guide/the-best-home-security-cameras-of-2016

KhyrieLiam

Great post here.
It will be a lot better to take 1080p security camera as with 720p there is a good change you will not see clear what you need when you need it.
You can take a look about best security wireless cameras here:

https://bestcheapreviews.com/best-wireless-security-cameras-2017-reviews/

Peronsal advice go with 1080p did you will see faces clearly. :)

JuanGreen

OU812 wrote: »

kub wrote: »

Therefore if your electricity is off, this thing is useless.

Isn't that true of every security or ip camera, or alarm system etc?

p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; color: #454545}
Not necessarily. These days many of the manufacturers have taken power outages into account so they ensure that some of these cameras are able to function in the absence of power. There are some cameras that have backup protocols in place that kick in once an outage occurs. Also, there are some alarms and surveillance cameras that operate via other means, which in effect makes them somewhat resistant to power outages.

kub

JuanGreen wrote:

p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; color: #454545} Not necessarily. These days many of the manufacturers have taken power outages into account so they ensure that some of these cameras are able to function in the absence of power. There are some cameras that have backup protocols in place that kick in once an outage occurs. Also, there are some alarms and surveillance cameras that operate via other means, which in effect makes them somewhat resistant to power outages.

You need not go there with regard alarms, but how long will this back up keep the CCTV system operating for and have they some magic worked out for the traditional broadband connection?

JuanGreen

I am not to sure about the length of time that the CCTV systems will remain operational. I believe that this will vary for different systems and will be based on the specifications that they each have. In regards to the traditional broadband connection I think that using a UPS might be able to keep in online for a limited amount of time during a power outage. I am not to sure about any other long term solutions, so if anyone knows any please add on to this post, it'll help to educate ourselves a bit

super_sweeney

has anyone done this themselves or got a system that doesnt require a monthly subscription. It seems these days everything needs a monthly sign up. i dont wanna pay 400 for a good system and that anotheer 10/15 a month to actually get the footage. Does that make sense? I know it sounds cheap but i just want a once off payment what happened to those days

super_sweeney

has anyone done this themselves or got a system that doesnt require a monthly subscription. It seems these days everything needs a monthly sign up. i dont wanna pay 400 for a good system and that anotheer 10/15 a month to actually get the footage. Does that make sense? I know it sounds cheap but i just want a once off payment what happened to those days

TinCool

I'm in the same boat and looking around at opsiont.s The Blink system, although records to the their secure cloud servers, is free, no monthly subscription.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01M675RC9/ref=dra_a_ms_mr_hn_xx_P1400_1000?tag=dradisplay0bb-21&ascsubtag=e47db7dc572523bee9ce625bea3faaad_S

Looks quite good too and appears to be getting good reviews.

2011

The logitech circle camera looks great.

Meet Circle 2, the only indoor and outdoor, weatherproof, wired or 100% wire-free 1080p HD home security camera with night vision and up to 180° field-of-view that you can set up in minutes.

See link:

https://www.logitech.com/en-us/product/circle-2-home-security-camera

Circle comes with free cloud storage of the last 24 hours. Circle Safe™ is a subscription plan that gives Circle users access to additional storage and so much more. There are two Circle Safe™ subscription plans available.

See link:

http://support.logitech.com/en_us/article/Cloud-storage-capacity-for-the-Logi-Circle-camera


Very secure too, the Logitech circle camera provides almost instant notification of being offline and mere seconds when movement detected.

bk

I've the first Gen Logitech Circle camera. Excellent product. I paid just £70 for it last year during an Amazon sale.

24 hours of free notifications and video storage. 1080HD

It detects motion very well and is mere seconds to notify you of motion. If it goes offline, you get a notification in a minute or two.

They have now added Google Home support, so you can ask GH to cast the video to a chromecast on your TV, very nice.

It can use your phones location to switch off or switch to privacy mode when your home. Mine has a battery built in. so it would continue to work after a power outage, though obviously you would also need your broadband on a UPS.

I think it is a nice addition to increase the security of a home. But maybe not the only device.

I also previously had a Canary camera, very good too, but I got rid of it after the company started messing customers around with subscriptions. I wouldn't recommend them now.

Other people have and like Nest Cameras, Blink, Arlo, etc. They all get discussed a lot over on the Home Automation forum.

2011

@bk, to be honest I never heard of this camera until I read your post.
It was only then that I googled it.
I am upgrading my alarm system and general security system at present so the next thing on my list is one of these.

bk

bk wrote: »

I've the first Gen Logitech Circle camera. Excellent product. I paid just £70 for it last year during an Amazon sale.

24 hours of free notifications and video storage. 1080HD

It detects motion very well and is mere seconds to notify you of motion. If it goes offline, you get a notification in a minute or two.

They have now added Google Home support, so you can ask GH to cast the video to a chromecast on your TV, very nice.

It can use your phones location to switch off or switch to privacy mode when your home. Mine has a battery built in. so it would continue to work after a power outage, though obviously you would also need your broadband on a UPS.

I think it is a nice addition to increase the security of a home. But maybe not the only device.

I also previously had a Canary camera, very good too, but I got rid of it after the company started messing customers around with subscriptions. I wouldn't recommend them now.

Other people have and like Nest Cameras, Blink, Arlo, etc. They all get discussed a lot over on the Home Automation forum.

Thanks BK - very informative post and didn't realise there was a Home Automation forum - where is it located?

2011

Deleted User wrote: »

Thanks BK - very informative post and didn't realise there was a Home Automation forum - where is it located?

It's here.
Plenty of smart security devices that can be self installed for minimal cost.

bk

2011 wrote: »

@bk, to be honest I never heard of this camera until I read your post.
It was only then that I googled it.
I am upgrading my alarm system and general security system at present so the next thing on my list is one of these.

FYI The Circle 2 is on sale on amazon.co.uk today, £99 and another 20% off if you buy two.

Now mine is the Circle 1, so I can't personally vouch for this one, but I assume it is much the same.

2011

bk wrote: »

FYI The Circle 2 is on sale on amazon.co.uk today, £99 and another 20% off if you buy two.

Now mine is the Circle 1, so I can't personally vouch for this one, but I assume it is much the same.

Thanks, think I will look into that

budhabob

Started looking into getting a home security camera for front and back of house - partially for security, partially to keep an eye on the dog. The Logitech looks to be a decent piece of kit I must say. Was looking at the nest also.

Will have a look at the home automation forum to see if I can find out more.

bk

budhabob wrote: »

Started looking into getting a home security camera for front and back of house - partially for security, partially to keep an eye on the dog. The Logitech looks to be a decent piece of kit I must say. Was looking at the nest also.

Will have a look at the home automation forum to see if I can find out more.

The difference between Nest and Circle is that you will almost definitely need a Nest subscription to use it, while with Circle, depending on what you need, you might get away without a sub.

BTW for those interested, I did some testing of my Circle 1 and the speed of notifications.

Motion detected notifications are almost instantaneous. Well a few seconds max.

Camera Offline notifications, take longer, it seems to be exactly 5 minutes after I turned off my wifi. I guess they know sooner but are waiting to see if the network comes back, avoids issues around temporary network disconnects.

Pretty decent, though I'd prefer if it did it after 2 minutes.