Outdoor camera(s) - idiot's guide?

Ben Done

Hi folks,


I've never thought I needed a security camera, so haven't done any research previously.


The recent spate of dog thefts has made me think I need an outdoor camera to cover our back yard.


I'm really not sure what I'm after - don't think cloud recording is strictly necessary - there's almost always someone in the house, but I wouldn't be put off by it either (providing there weren't any potential home network security issues).


Probably one camera would cover it, but might consider a second to cover the front of the house.


Not even sure what I need is a 'smart system' or whether I'd be better looking in the Home Security Systems forum, but I guess getting motion alerts might be handy



Would appreciate if you could let me know what outdoor cameras you are using, and whether you'd recommend.

ted1

Get a camera like the YI outdoor camera. It takes a local SD card so there is no monthly fee to pay for cloud storage.

Clareman

In my opinion cameras are a great addition to a security setup rather than a security solution. Imagine you have the best camera in the world covering all the areas of your property and someone comes in to steal your dog, what use are the cameras? You'll have a video of the person taking the dog but if they're wearing a mask you won't be able to identify them, all you'll have is the last images of your dog on your premises. Most thefts are opportunity crimes, the more deterrents you put in the way the less likely someone will risk robbing anything from you, I'm not saying turn your house into Fort Knox but locked gates, sensor lights, keeping the dof in a shed/garage, stuff like that would be a better idea but as you say the Home Security Systems forum would probably be best for that discussion.

Anyway, your original question was about outdoor cameras and as it's the IoT forum it'll be all smart stuff Without knowing your home setup, internet connection, ease of wiring, etc. etc. it's difficult to know what to recommend, personally I have a Nest IQ Outdoor for the back of the house and a Nest Hello for the front of the house and I have almost full coverage, if I wanted to have total coverage I'd get a couple of more cameras to cover the sides but I'm not all that bothered As you are primarily interested in protecting your dog and alerting a potential thief that they are being watched I think something like a Ring Floodlight Camera could tick a lot of boxes for you, I don't have 1 myself and don't need the light options so haven't researched them but it seems to tick all your boxes.

ablelocks

i was going to post a similar request today so very interested in peoples recommendations and opinions...

punisher5112

Look up blink cameras.

Have them and don't need wiring and no fee, they detect motion and send the clip to your phone in the app.

Ring doorbell or similar is brilliant.

Philips hue do outdoor lights and flood light.... Expensive but brilliant.

alanhiggyno1

im also interested in getting a camera or 2.just wondering whats your setup

Clareman

The Blink carmeras are a great job, battery and wifi mean they can be put almost anywhere but because they are battery operated they aren't really suitable for constant use, I think they are rated for 40,000 seconds of use over 2 years so you will be changing the batteries if you are viewing a lot of clips.

There are a lot of things to take into consideration when getting a camera, off the top of my head you've to take wiring (power, camera, network), access (cloud, local, recording), notifications, image quality, camera size, cost, security, internet quality, etc. etc. etc. First off I'd be looking at wiring and then figuring it out from there. If you are running wired cameras, can you run a cable to each of the cameras from a central point? Does the central point have network and power? Is the central point easily accessible in case you have to restart the box (for example)? If you can get access then wireless battery operated cameras are the way to go but if it's a really difficult place to get to is there decent consistent wifi access and how difficult will it be to get to the cameras to replace the batteries? Then there's security, I was at a mates house who had wireless cameras up, I was able to get into the feed by just googling the default username and password of the devices, will you be able to set the security up properly?

Personally, I've gone down the Nest route because I have SIRO unlimited broadband with mesh wifi so the cameras are always accessible, I was going to run a central CCTV box in the attic but that would have required me running a load of cables in an already messey attic.

alanhiggyno1

Clareman wrote: »

The Blink carmeras are a great job, battery and wifi mean they can be put almost anywhere but because they are battery operated they aren't really suitable for constant use, I think they are rated for 40,000 seconds of use over 2 years so you will be changing the batteries if you are viewing a lot of clips.

There are a lot of things to take into consideration when getting a camera, off the top of my head you've to take wiring (power, camera, network), access (cloud, local, recording), notifications, image quality, camera size, cost, security, internet quality, etc. etc. etc. First off I'd be looking at wiring and then figuring it out from there. If you are running wired cameras, can you run a cable to each of the cameras from a central point? Does the central point have network and power? Is the central point easily accessible in case you have to restart the box (for example)? If you can get access then wireless battery operated cameras are the way to go but if it's a really difficult place to get to is there decent consistent wifi access and how difficult will it be to get to the cameras to replace the batteries? Then there's security, I was at a mates house who had wireless cameras up, I was able to get into the feed by just googling the default username and password of the devices, will you be able to set the security up properly?

Personally, I've gone down the Nest route because I have SIRO unlimited broadband with mesh wifi so the cameras are always accessible, I was going to run a central CCTV box in the attic but that would have required me running a load of cables in an already messey attic.

Thanks for input. Ideally I would like to have in attic but have no power point up there for a central point. Also live in a bungalow and have my work station in corner of my kitchen.im OK at setting these wifi ones up. Just for general security reasons and have 2 dogs also. Had a aldi one years ago that is still up as a dummy one thst worked well

Ben Done

Thanks for the input folks.

Some great knowledge shared and things to ponder on re extra security measures etc.
Went to the home place this evening and my Da had a big padlock bought, so he's obviously on the same page.

It's a terror certain people would take a pet that's (for non-doggie people) actually a member of your family, but that's what we're up against these days.

I've a great launchpad now to get researching from, much appreciated.

Definitely IOT security will be an issue - I've smart plugs here in my own place I never set up due to security concerns.
(The Sonoff ones that were on a deal posted here, if anyone needs them).

Power over Ethernet should be easily achievable, and there's mains power there also.

Will do some investigating, and will update the thread for the benefit of others thinking of something similar.

machiavellianme

This forum and the Home Security forum are littered with similar requests.
It might be worth reading this thread:
https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin//showthread.php?t=2058077021

There are lots of different camera types for lots of different applications. The main ones to think about are the quality of the picture. No sense in spending hundreds on a camera that's semi useless in the dark but has super high resolution in daylight unless you only require monitoring of daylight activities such as children playing etc. Similarly you want to consider field of view, wider views mean lower detail. Some cameras cope better with movement than others etc.

Ben Done

machiavellianme wrote: »

This forum and the Home Security forum are littered with similar requests.
It might be worth reading this thread:
https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin//showthread.php?t=2058077021

There are lots of different camera types for lots of different applications. The main ones to think about are the quality of the picture. No sense in spending hundreds on a camera that's semi useless in the dark but has super high resolution in daylight unless you only require monitoring of daylight activities such as children playing etc. Similarly you want to consider field of view, wider views mean lower detail. Some cameras cope better with movement than others etc.

Thank you machiavellianme.
Aye we did end up going with a closed circuit type deal, so not actually relevant in this forum, expect for the crossover in options in this field.

We went with two of these:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B07TSDW786?ref=ppx_pt2_mob_b_prod_image

and this box to record onto

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B07QC2Z3CN?ref=ppx_pt2_mob_b_prod_image

This quick video shows the night mode of the camera well.
It's literally night and day compared with the other one under review..

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KFVZg-re3NY

Thanks to all for advice, and hope everyone stays safe.

dam099

Ben Done wrote: »

Thank you machiavellianme.
Aye we did end up going with a closed circuit type deal, so not actually relevant in this forum, expect for the crossover in options in this field.

and this box to record onto

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B07QC2Z3CN?ref=ppx_pt2_mob_b_prod_image

It looks like the box you linked to is internet accessible by App so possibly still relevant

Presume if you are saying closed circuit you may not be using the functionality but its probably available to you if you chose to set up.

Ben Done

dam099 wrote: »

It looks like the box you linked to is internet accessible by App so possibly still relevant

Presume if you are saying closed circuit you may not be using the functionality but its probably available to you if you chose to set up.

Indeed.
We have decided not to use that functionality, but it might come in handy at a future date.

Blanchy90

I've two yi camers placed inside windows looking out. I put a sd card in each of them so I don't need to use the cloud service. I've used both for 2 years with very minor issues. The quality is pretty good and they're cheap.

I also have an arlo camera / baby monitor which was about 4 times the price of the yi and I've had more issues with it than both yi cameras put together.

machiavellianme

Ben Done wrote: »

Thank you machiavellianme.
Aye we did end up going with a closed circuit type deal, so not actually relevant in this forum, expect for the crossover in options in this field.

We went with two of these:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B07TSDW786?ref=ppx_pt2_mob_b_prod_image

and this box to record onto

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B07QC2Z3CN?ref=ppx_pt2_mob_b_prod_image

This quick video shows the night mode of the camera well.
It's literally night and day compared with the other one under review..

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KFVZg-re3NY

Thanks to all for advice, and hope everyone stays safe.

Best cameras you can buy (for reasonable money). I have 2 myself and will pick up another.
I don't use the built in LED as the streetlight nearby is sufficient to keep daylight mode always on.
You can connect directly to the cameras from an app if you set it up to do so. Ditto for the nvr.

vienne86

I have a ring spotlight camera for the front of my house and car port. Connecting to it can be a bit slow, but the picture is good and I think the €25 approx per year for cloud storage is worth it. I can turn on the spotlight, sound a siren and talk through a speaker remotely, and someone can talk back to me. Very very easy to set up - I did it myself - it comes with a long lead with 3 pin plug - we too live in a bungalow, and I just plugged it in to a socket in the attic. Friends of mine have a battery operated one, which is much the same, and just needed to be screwed into the wall and no wiring - battery seems to last for ages, and they keep a spare.

Irish Gunner

ok Spotlights need replacing on the house

Have a ring Doorbell out the front so just going to get a new sensor spotlight

However for the back looking at getting the floodlight cam

https://eu.ring.com/products/floodlight-cam

Getting sparks to installed it as he installed Ring

However before purchase anything I need to check? Do I need to go outside and check speed of wifi on 2.4ghz?

There is old spotlight there already that is wired so just going to use that

Anything else I need to check

rodneytrotter15

I've a floodlight going up out the back next week or week after, have it since Dec and only getting round to setting up now. All I did was check the wifi speed where it is being mounted. I'll let you know how it goes, sparks is doing the intall.

Irish Gunner

rodneytrotter15 wrote: »

I've a floodlight going up out the back next week or week after, have it since Dec and only getting round to setting up now. All I did was check the wifi speed where it is being mounted. I'll let you know how it goes, sparks is doing the intall.

Picked one up myself as prices came down. Just waiting on sparks to install it hopefully soon

vidapura

I'd be interested to hear how ye get on with those Ring floodlights.

I'm thinkin I might get one myself.

Just wondering if it would alert me if anyone comes in my gate during the day?
Also whether it gets set off by a cat or dog wandering around?

I had a PIR on the gate before and it drove us mad that way..

Black_Knight

My outdoor camera "idiot's guide" would be not to get blink. I've only ever bought 1, yet I have 3 now. 2 are replacements, and recently I noticed no videos on the camera. Everything seems ok with it, battery says OK etc, but live video and thumbnails don't work. Same as what happened to my original a year or 2 ago. Blink will say "replace the batteries" but the unit reports them as ok.

It's an adequate outdoor camera, that's all.

punisher5112

vidapura wrote: »

I'd be interested to hear how ye get on with those Ring floodlights.

I'm thinkin I might get one myself.

Just wondering if it would alert me if anyone comes in my gate during the day?
Also whether it gets set off by a cat or dog wandering around?

I had a PIR on the gate before and it drove us mad that way..

You select what you want it to do, you pick zones, make them yourself using the drag symbol across to create lines/zone area....

happydude742

I have a number of cameras set up around the outside of my house.... 2 Google Nest cams and a number of Wyze cams. I have a Wyze cam in my dog's run and one watching the run from another angle too. They work off Wifi and can be bought for $20.... Google Nest Cams are $200 and I honestly think the Wyze cams are as good. They offer free 10 second recording of clips or you can put an SD card into them. They're meant for indoor but you can buy enclosures online and use the indoor ones outside.

Rosahane

vidapura wrote: »

I'd be interested to hear how ye get on with those Ring floodlights.

I'm thinkin I might get one myself.

Just wondering if it would alert me if anyone comes in my gate during the day?
Also whether it gets set off by a cat or dog wandering around?

I had a PIR on the gate before and it drove us mad that way..

I have the floodlight cam looking over the back garden for the past year year. I think it's a super piece of kit. The video quality is excellent - far better than the Ring gen 2 doorbell which I also have.

However, it does need a good wifi signal. I had to put in a mesh system to get it running without dropping out. I was able to set it up originally with the pre mesh system which was weak in that location but it kept going offline. It's very configurable wrt setting up the boundary zone and activation sensitivity.

vidapura

Thanks for that.

Does it do the alerts during daylight? Or does the light sensor render that part inactive?

I'd be hoping to know when a person or a car enters my driveway.

But not when a cat/dog/fox does so.

I had a cheapo driveway alarm worked off a PIR before but it drove us mad with cat alerts in the middle of the night...

Thanks

Rosahane

vidapura wrote: »

Thanks for that.

Does it do the alerts during daylight? Or does the light sensor render that part inactive?

I'd be hoping to know when a person or a car enters my driveway.

But not when a cat/dog/fox does so.

I had a cheapo driveway alarm worked off a PIR before but it drove us mad with cat alerts in the middle of the night...

Thanks

On the Ring App you can set ‘Home’ ‘Away’ or ‘Disarmed’ and this will turn off alerts. ‘Away’ is full detection and alerts. You do however have to remember to turn it back on. I do this when we are in the garden so it doesn’t have dozens of alerts on the phone and videos saved.

I think (I haven’t used it ) you can adjust the alert sensitivity to specifically human only recognition and you can also adjust the sensitivity up or down. I have the sensitivity set down slightly so or ignores small birds but will still catch the cats coming in during the night which I want to see so I can plan deterrents but have the phone set not to alert during the night

Rosahane

vidapura wrote: »

Thanks for that.

Does it do the alerts during daylight? Or does the light sensor render that part inactive?

I'd be hoping to know when a person or a car enters my driveway.

But not when a cat/dog/fox does so.

I had a cheapo driveway alarm worked off a PIR before but it drove us mad with cat alerts in the middle of the night...

Thanks

On the Ring App you can set ‘Home’ ‘Away’ or ‘Disarmed’ and this will turn off alerts. ‘Away’ if full detection and alerts. You do however have to remember to turn it back on. I do this when we are in the garden so it doesn’t have dozens of alerts on the phone and videos saved.

I think (I haven’t used it ) you can adjust the alert sensitivity to specifically human only recognition and you can also adjust the sensitivity up or down. I have the sensitivity set down slightly so or ignores small birds but will still catch the cats coming in during the night which I want to see so I can plan deterrents I have my phone set so an alert is silent during the night and doesn’t wake me.

vidapura

I went to the ring website there yesterday.. and it appears a new version of the ring floodlight is on the way.. this one has radar to give 3D motion detection... for some reason.. lol...

https://en-uk.ring.com/products/floodlight-cam-wired-pro

vidapura

Any of ye paying for the Ring Protect service?
Does it work in Ireland yeah?

Rosahane

vidapura wrote: »

Any of ye paying for the Ring Protect service?
Does it work in Ireland yeah?

Yes, I have it for both cameras. It’s very good value for something like €30 per annum for unlimited devices. I have only two at the moment but will be adding another soon.

2012paddy2012

Ben Done wrote: »

Hi folks,


I've never thought I needed a security camera, so haven't done any research previously.


The recent spate of dog thefts has made me think I need an outdoor camera to cover our back yard.


I'm really not sure what I'm after - don't think cloud recording is strictly necessary - there's almost always someone in the house, but I wouldn't be put off by it either (providing there weren't any potential home network security issues).


Probably one camera would cover it, but might consider a second to cover the front of the house.


Not even sure what I need is a 'smart system' or whether I'd be better looking in the Home Security Systems forum, but I guess getting motion alerts might be handy



Would appreciate if you could let me know what outdoor cameras you are using, and whether you'd recommend.

I have two -amazon , search outdoor camera and read the reviews - I pay the yearly iCloud fee as you have the footage saved - if they took camera for example - SD card could be gone - all have alert if you want it - just connects to WiFi -
50/ 60 euro each - can check inside / outside house anytime - say if alarm went off-
Security generally should be good - locks sensor lights again cheap and handy

babelfish1990

Rosahane wrote: »

Yes, I have it for both cameras. It’s very good value for something like €30 per annum for unlimited devices. I have only two at the moment but will be adding another soon.

How accurate is the "people only mode" detection on outdoor cameras? Does it prevent false notifications from trees blowing in the wind, cats, foxes etc?