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Hey Guys, don't know if I posted this in the right place, but here it goes.

I was wondering if anyone had any good recommendations for a wireless security camera that could be checked via a phone/laptop/etc.
Most likely positioned at the peak of my roof pointed at the driveway street area. Don't really need a package with a ton of cameras, maybe 1-3.

Not looking for really cheap and blurry, but more of a midrange if possible.

Thank you, SP
 
I've had success with Wyze cameras, have 4 of them now. Best thing is no monthly fees.

Same with Ring. Unless you want video footage archived. I use mine for motion detection and it's placed where it can see the front and back doors and my safe. The fisheye cam style is really handy here. The app on my phone will alert me of motion in a second or so.
 
I have a reolink. It's not too bad. No monthly fees, completely wireless and can run off a solar panel. It will go off on things like moths and the trees blowing in the wind. The alarm on it has saved my place from being robbed, and you can also talk through the speaker. I do wish the resolution was better.
 
How high is your roof and are you hardwiring it ? Some of the small wifi cameras, like Arlo, can be used plugged into mains, or completely wireless on a rechargable battery- which is fine so long as you can get to it to and have spare batteries. Arlo also uses it's own wifi hub for the cameras, seperate from your homes'. supposed to be more secure...The hub also stores a few days of video, so you don't need the monthly subscription. Cameras are relatively expensive though. The phone app is pretty decent though.

As a lot of cameras have wide angle lenses, you'll find that if your roof is high, details will get tiny, you'd want some street level-ish cameras for licence plates and faces.

I've got a few different types of Samsung Smartcam cameras, a couple that track subjects and some static ones- They're very flexible, the app is ok, but the picture quality is excellent and the nightvision is good too. The cameras store footage onboard on 32 g micro sd cards, so if you don't have the monthly subscription and someone nabs your actual camera, your footage goes with it. I use them mostly inside, tucked discreetly behind things.

Have you thought about old fashioned cameras with a digital hard drive ? They can be a pain to install if you don't have attic/ crawlspace access, but picture quality is usually very good, they tend to be more rugged and an 8 camera set up can be had under $300. Most of them have decent companion apps for viewing.
 
Thanks for all the input.

So it sounds like most options are:

Wireless cam with a card that saves a day or two of motion.
Wireless cam with a with a service/hardware that saves as long as you want of motion.
Hardwired cam* hardware/software, save as much as your hardware allows.

*Best resolution for the money?
 
I've been using a Blink system for three years with 5 cameras encircling my house and the approaches. No monthly fees. Clips uploaded to server and can be saved as MP4s. Moniterable via cell phone, tablet, iPhone, iPad, etc. Each camera can be adjusted for sensitivity and clip length, etc. Each camera costs between $70 (on sale) and $99.

I've set my monitor schedule for dusk to dawn to save battery, which has lasted for three years now. Stated battery life is 2yrs.

I've also monitored the system from halfway around the world from my cell phone (that's correct).

If you like Alexa (I don't), you can link the system to that now.

It's good to hear that other wireless systems are available rather than just being stuck with wired systems which have some limitations.
 
I've been using a Blink system for three years with 5 cameras encircling my house and the approaches. No monthly fees. Clips uploaded to server and can be saved as MP4s. Moniterable via cell phone, tablet, iPhone, iPad, etc. Each camera can be adjusted for sensitivity and clip length, etc. Each camera costs between $70 (on sale) and $99.

I've set my monitor schedule for dusk to dawn to save battery, which has lasted for three years now. Stated battery life is 2yrs.

I've also monitored the system from halfway around the world from my cell phone (that's correct).

If you like Alexa (I don't), you can link the system to that now.

It's good to hear that other wireless systems are available rather than just being stuck with wired systems which have some limitations.
Thanks for the info, have your cams done well in the elements or do you keep them kind of sheltered?.

Yeah the security industry especially cameras and the wireless world we now live in has really accelerated.
 
I helped an elderly neighbor with the same dilemma. We ended up going with Lorex and the 4 camera system. We have frequent power outages here so the key deciding factor for us was the local storage (assuming battery backup on the DVR) so could still have a system if the power goes out. For extra fee you can have the videos sync'd to the cloud if you choose. As others mentioned (Ring, Blink, Wyze, Arlo, etc), they only upload to the cloud with no local storage. For some this is great but in our case we wanted recording when power was out.

This is the one we chose:
Lorex 1080p HD Wire-Free Security System with 4 Battery-Operated Active Deterrence Cameras

Setup was a breeze and I liked that some cameras could use the onboard battery but we also had the ability to buy power cords which keep them alive longer. Cameras able to be monitored from smart phones, can choose either motion detection or "person" (which it does a fair job at differentiating), motion alerts, etc. The quality is very good (1080p) but the cameras do have a little "fish eye" view. When we looked at all of the options (all mentioned above), Lorex customer service was the worst but I we didnt have any issues working through the install.
 
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I'm using the Arlo battery powered cameras. Three cameras. They wirelessly connect to base station inside. The base station is hard wired to my router and internet. I can check and monitor live from anywhere I have internet via cell phone app or computer. Cameras have speakers/mics. Can talk out to someone say at front door, or, get off my lawn to local urchins. Arlo has option to pay for cloud storage. I do not. I have a huge capacity USB thumb drive plugged in the base station. Not any footage I've wanted to keep. You certainly learn the daily routines of your neighborhood. You can set camera sensitivities... you will tire of getting cell phone notifications every sound from trash collection on tuesdays, the leaf blowers, edgers and mowers of the HOA landscapers every Thursday, the neighbors kids that bounce the ball in the street around 2pm everyday. And it is a minor PITA to keep up with batteries. I bought a spare I keep charged and rotate. I have a camera up high at the front door (covered front porch) which is nice... I know when I get package deliveries, I can see who is at the door, ie somebody I don't know with a iPad, I,e., selling something I don't want.
 
Wired PoE if at all possible. More robust, works better, can't be jammed, equivalent cameras are less expensive. There are network cables designed for external and underground installation. A great resource, wired or wireless, is ipcamtalk.com.

Here is a pretty good review about some popular wireless cam systems and breaks them down pretty well. He has a summation in the comments if you open it in YT, I personally avoid Ring due to their lack of a secure model, incidents where unauthorized employees have looked and listened in on people, and the monthly service fee.

 
I helped an elderly neighbor with the same dilemma. We ended up going with Lorex and the 4 camera system. We have frequent power outages here so the key deciding factor for us was the local storage (assuming batter backup on the DVR) so could still have a system if the power goes out. For extra fee you can have the videos sync'd to the cloud if you choose. As others mentioned (Ring, Blink, Wyze, Arlo, etc), they only upload to the cloud with no local storage. For some this is great but in our case we wanted recording when power was out.

This is the one we chose:
Lorex 1080p HD Wire-Free Security System with 4 Battery-Operated Active Deterrence Cameras

Setup was a breeze and I liked that some cameras could use the onboard battery but we also had the ability to buy power cords which keep them alive longer. Cameras able to be monitored from smart phones, can choose either motion detection or "person" (which it does a fair job at differentiating), motion alerts, etc. The quality is very good (1080p) but the cameras do have a little "fish eye" view. When we looked at all of the options (all mentioned above), Lorex customer service was the worst but I we didnt have any issues working through the install.

Thanks.

Power outages are an issue for me too (should be for almost anybody in the PNW), and we are always the last to have power restored. On top of that, being a prepper, I want something that works if SHTF.

At the same time, it is nice to have remote viewing; when we evac'd for the fire in September, it would have been great to be able to check on the property. I will have to check what is available - I don't want to have to subscribe to a server - again SHTF - but I do want to be able to see what is going on remotely.

I plan to get Starlink so I would have internet as long as the internet is available and the satellites keep flying and I plan to have battery backup for that too.
 
Hey Guys, don't know if I posted this in the right place, but here it goes.

I was wondering if anyone had any good recommendations for a wireless security camera that could be checked via a phone/laptop/etc.
Most likely positioned at the peak of my roof pointed at the driveway street area. Don't really need a package with a ton of cameras, maybe 1-3.

Not looking for really cheap and blurry, but more of a midrange if possible.

Thank you, SP
I've had good luck with ring spotlight cam. Wireless and easy to install/setup. Alerts to ur phone and you can speak to person on video (or alarm) if so inclined. Automatically records video from motion. U can adjust motion sensitivity in different zones. Batteries last 1-2 months or so before needs a recharge. We get about 4 months when 2 batteries installed before recharging.
 
After looking at the different security cam options, we went with the Lorex POE system for our perimeter and approaches. Great video quality, both daylight and IR, we can watch/listen/speak at the cam locations through our phones/pads/computers from anywhere on earth, 1T onsite storage that can sync to any cloud storage of choice, no wifi signal issues/problems, and no worries about battery charging or battery life. Installation options for POE are only limited to where CAT5 can be routed, which for us was anywhere on our home.
 
Thanks.

Power outages are an issue for me too (should be for almost anybody in the PNW), and we are always the last to have power restored. On top of that, being a prepper, I want something that works if SHTF.

At the same time, it is nice to have remote viewing; when we evac'd for the fire in September, it would have been great to be able to check on the property. I will have to check what is available - I don't want to have to subscribe to a server - again SHTF - but I do want to be able to see what is going on remotely.

I plan to get Starlink so I would have internet as long as the internet is available and the satellites keep flying and I plan to have battery backup for that too.

Yea, we went rounds with all of the different options for him and although he has a smart phone, really doesn't know how to use it much. But we were able to get the Lorex software to work on it and he can check his cameras remotely while away. He also likes that he can selectively have motion alerts so he has a camera that sets off his alarm and he knows somebody is approaching (or in his case, deer ;)). We liked the Lorex (as mentioned above) that all of the cameras have their own batteries and can run on their own, but with the extra power cable accessories (you can find them for about $20ea) or even solar panels then you can still have security during power down. We ended up going with a pretty big UPS battery backup for the DVR which will keep it running quite awhile if needed along with his router so the videos can be seen remote if he is away).
 
I have one these: https://www.amazon.com/Wireless-Sec...=roelink&qid=1606246638&s=electronics&sr=1-32

If you just want one camera it would work well because you can put an SD card in it for continuous recording, the video is decent, the IR night mode works, and you can connect to it with a cell phone or computer for a live feed even when you are away from home. This is distinct from their "arlo" line -- those only record with motion detection. I've found motion detection to be either too sensitive or too insensitive -- it's nice to be able to review the entire day if you notice something amiss.

You can run it off a 12v battery and rig up some sort of charging system, solar or otherwise, but getting all that up to your roof might be a hassle, and heavy too. No matter what you do really, it needs power in some way. The wired cameras get their power over the ethernet line -- so either you run a power line to a wireless camera for power, or you run a power over ethernet (PoE) line to the camera for power and data. Whether wireless or wired, you need one wire. With the PoE cameras, you do need a switch or PoE injector to give them that power:

injector, one line: https://www.amazon.com/TRENDnet-Eth...e+switch&qid=1606247051&s=electronics&sr=1-15

Switch (four powered lines): https://www.amazon.com/Ethernet-Unm...oe+switch&qid=1606247129&s=electronics&sr=1-4

And for the price of one wireles 5mega pixel camera, you can get two wired PoE cameras: https://www.amazon.com/Reolink-Surv...elink+5mp&qid=1606246907&s=electronics&sr=1-4

or a slightly cheaper one with zoom like the wireless: https://www.amazon.com/Reolink-Secu...GS7PR5GM28V&psc=1&refRID=S0WV2W4TEGS7PR5GM28V

I have not found the zoom feature all that useful.
 

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