Home CCTV

[Raven]

I am planning on getting this in the near future, 2 out front and 2 out the back. I have had a look on Amazon and there is the usual Chinese made cheap stuff.

I don't want a pixalated mess but I don't really need full HD super pictures, so long as you can see what is going on and make out faces etc. My front garden is about 20 metres give or take, the back about the same, so I would like it to pick that up. Nighttime recording too.

Does anyone have it? How much should I be looking to pay for a set of 4 cameras and a base station? I guess its reasonably easy to fit myself, just a case of buying extra (CAT5, I assume?) cabling.

I had it put in at work and it was a couple of grand, I certainly don't want to spend that sort of money, £200-£300 if possible.

 

[caLLous]

I've only ever used Axis stuff but it's excellent. Look at the F44 (or slightly less feature-rich F34) base unit and then up to 4 compatible sensors. They put all the clever stuff in the base unit, then you have a camera sensor on the end of a cable (all sensors are available with either 4m or 12m cables iirc). One PoE-enabled Cat5e or Cat6 connection is enough to power the whole system (PoE injectors are available for fuck all if you don't have a switch with the capability). It records to either the 2 built-in SD card slots or to a network share. You're probably looking at £250-350 for the base unit and £150-200 per camera sensor.

 

[Raven]

Thanks, something to think about.

 

[smurkin]

I have a couple of foscams, one indoors (a C2) and one on the driveway (FI9900P) - they are both HD, wireless, saving video to my synology DS. There is also a subscription cloud storage.

They are ok - the software and set up is a bit of a faff (you need an iPhone) - picture quality is ok - I wouldn't say its brilliant - but they are quite cheap.

 

[Hawkwind]

As @smurkin states

Foscam FI9900EP 1080P PoE Outdoor IP Camera, HDR & Magic Zoom | Foscam UK

Been looking around recently at this, Foscam ones get good write ups and come in various resolution models. Outdoor bullet cam in 720p is what I'm looking at. Connect that to a homeward set up for remote sms/email alerts.

 

[caLLous]

(you need an iPhone)

wtf

 

[Gwadien]

 

[old.user4556]

I've looked at this on and off over the years. Worth popping into your local Maplin and looking at their range of kits - they also offer fitting services for said kits.

But wait! Google's Nest products have expanded in the past few days to include an exterior security cam that comes with WiFi built in meaning you don't need to run a shit load of wires through walls etc (my pain put-off of some of the cheaper kits). Can also pay a sub for additional features including cloud recording of footage.

The wait is over -- Nest's outdoor camera hits retail today

 

[Gwadien]

I'm confused, you say wait, but it says the wait is over

 

[old.user4556]

I'm confused, you say wait, but it says the wait is over

US have got it, UK later this year.

 

[Hawkwind]

Compatible With iOS (iPhone/iPad) & Android

From foscam website for the bullet camera

 

[Raven]

I've looked at this on and off over the years. Worth popping into your local Maplin and looking at their range of kits - they also offer fitting services for said kits.

But wait! Google's Nest products have expanded in the past few days to include an exterior security cam that comes with WiFi built in meaning you don't need to run a shit load of wires through walls etc (my pain put-off of some of the cheaper kits). Can also pay a sub for additional features including cloud recording of footage.

The wait is over -- Nest's outdoor camera hits retail today

That's sweet as fuck, I have iron guttering so that would be perfect.

 

[smurkin]

wtf

Aye, iirc you need to search for the foscam with the idevice in order to configure the camera to access the wireless router (can't really vouch for ansroid) - there are possibly other ways to do this, but the iphone is the most straightforward (you can borrow one, if need be) - you can watch the feed on your phone and it will send notifications when motion is detected. Outside cameras will give a lot of motion detections - birds, cloud shadows, spiders webs, rain - they go off all the time.

I had a homemonitor HD for a while - but it broke and the company's help desk proved to be retarded - so I sent it back - wouldn't recommend

I considered the nest cams as i have quite a few nest products - problem was that they need cloud access (its a pay service) and they send data continuously to the server -which is a waste of bandwidth imho - plus there are pretty expensive.

Foscam is good with synology surveillance station - the only down side is you need firefox to run the plugin.

 

[smurkin]

As @smurkin states

Foscam FI9900EP 1080P PoE Outdoor IP Camera, HDR & Magic Zoom | Foscam UK

Been looking around recently at this, Foscam ones get good write ups and come in various resolution models. Outdoor bullet cam in 720p is what I'm looking at. Connect that to a homeward set up for remote sms/email alerts.

Its worth investing in a junction box and glans for outside fitment - there are quite a few wires to deal with - the ethernet and analogue audio wires need to be protected and the power cable/transformer needs to be routed in-doors - I think there is ppoe, but its not something I've tested.

 

[Hawkwind]

Its worth investing in a junction box and glans for outside fitment - there are quite a few wires to deal with - the ethernet and analogue audio wires need to be protected and the power cable/transformer needs to be routed in-doors - I think there is ppoe, but its not something I've tested.

Placement will be an issue for me, as the walls on the house are 3 ft thick (granite). So eaves or wiring through window frame and protected as best we can. I figure if someone is going to the trouble of taking the camera out they are probably going to get in anyway not much I can do about it from 4000 miles away.

 

[smurkin]

Placement will be an issue for me, as the walls on the house are 3 ft thick (granite). So eaves or wiring through window frame and protected as best we can. I figure if someone is going to the trouble of taking the camera out they are probably going to get in anyway not much I can do about it from 4000 miles away.

If the camera is disconnected (and you have a diskstation) - it can notify by email - so you could get a heads-up if someone nicks the camera.

The ethernet connection plug is quite chunky and its part of a sealed plug - its too big to fit through a small hole - if your confident with networking, you could cut the ethernet plug off and terminate it - the audio connectors are also quite chunky - I cut these off and terminated them inside the junction box.

I'd say the IP66 junction box/glans is probably the best way to go for fitment - it makes the job much easier and potentially gives the flexibility to site the unit exactly where you need it as the cables supplied with the camera are quite short. About 5 quid from amazon - you can also get them at B&Q for a bit more.

 

[soze]

I have a Homemonitor HD that watches the Front door of my flat. A week ago I would have highly recommended it. Online recording for free and a decent video signal. But recently I saw that it does not record everything, some days it records me coming home but not leaving. I spoke to support who said change the trigger zone and see how it goes. So as above the support has not filled me with hope.

We have rolled out 40 ubiquity cameras in our office that are OK but I believe they are a little limited on features for the price. Lack of PTZ I find particularly annoying.