Security Camera Recommendations

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MurrayM

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#252887 15-Jul-2019 15:57

I'm thinking of getting a security camera to keep an eye on the house while there's nobody home. One of those little ones that use WiFi to connect to my router, can detect motion and alert me on my phone, with an app that lets me view what's happening, and possibly audio so I can talk back. Probably only need one camera that will be placed in the lounge pointing across the room to the front door.

My friend has recommended Arlo but they're a bit expensive. I think the main difference between Arlo and the rest is that they have rechargeable batteries (my friend says his last about 45 days) and 7 days free cloud storage (others off no cloud storage or want to charge for it).

I'm thinking that cloud storage is pretty important, many cameras allow an SD card to be inserted but that's not much good if a thief takes the whole camera.

Also I don't really want it recording and notifying me when we're at home (early mornings, evenings, weekends). So how do these cameras get around that?

My budget is $100 - $200.

Any recommendations?

Also, since I know nothing about how these things works, maybe some general advice on what features are important to look for.

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#2277129 15-Jul-2019 16:21

Have you looked at Wyze? I found them via this thread:https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=141&topicid=247882

While there have been some issues since installation, I have to say I'm impressed that most if not all have been resolved in the last few weeks, plus they're always rolling out new features. This week they've added Google Home integration (already had Alexa). I also like the new feature of including a screenshot of the video when it sends alerts.

I doubt there are many better options for your budget, especially given the inclusion of free cloud storage; amazing value, even if not the greatest quality optics (what can one expect at this price?!)

jonathan18

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#2277136 15-Jul-2019 16:30

Re your question on not getting alerts when home - the more expensive models will supposedly be 'smart' in that they know when you're home based on your phone's location; friends of mine bought Nest cameras with this function but found it unreliable.

The Wyze cameras aren't nearly that smart - they do provide for shortcuts, which can issue a set of instructions like turn on/off cameras, disable/enable notifications etc; these can also have times/days attached to them, or run at the press of a button. So I have both cameras recording after we leave for work, one turns off when we get home while the front remains on while notifications stop etc. I wish they allowed control of more variables (eg, turning off the scan/pan at night), or had the ability to prioritise certain shortcuts (eg, when away on holiday it would override any other shortcuts set to run), but again for the money...

Oh, they work with IFTTT as well, if that's of any use to you.

filboz

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#2277138 15-Jul-2019 16:34

Have you seen Wyze camera's? Not officially supported here (and you'll need to use youshop) but I just swapped out the USB charger

You can talk through them, I even gave the cat feeder a fright one ;-)

I also added the sensor kit which works really well ...

robjg63

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#2277184 15-Jul-2019 16:48

They have also just added person detection - so this refines the whole motion detection feature.

Also - at $20USD each they are a bargain. I bought 2 via Amazon.com last year - they were $25 each on Amazon, but Wyse.com don't ship outside the USA. Think it was around $90NZD which included freight. You will also need to get a NZ USB adapter as they are supplied with US ones.

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MurrayM

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#2277583 16-Jul-2019 09:16

Thanks for the Wyze recommendation. I've had a look and they look pretty good. I see they're available on TradeMe for about $80 if I want to get one quickly.

A few questions:

I'm heading off overseas for a month. I see people are recommending putting in an SD card. Will it store a months worth of motion detected footage on an SD card?

How good is the 14-day cloud storage? I assume I can log into it and view any clip and download any that I want to save for later use? Other than the 14-day limit, is there any size limit?

I see there's 2 USB ports on the back. I guess one is power and what's the other used for?

Can I have the app on two different phones (mine and my partners) and we can both control the camera and view video?

How does the smoke detector work?

Is access to the cloud storage all through the app or can I use my PC (eg a website that I can log into to view my videos)?

@jonathan18 I see you had some problems with motion detection initially. Has it got any better? I'm thinking of having a camera in the corner of my lounge looking over the room and towards the front door which is a ranch-slider. There are trees outside that will blow in the wind, is this likely to set off the motion detection all the time?

nathan

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#2277606 16-Jul-2019 09:27

Blink XT2, US70 for a waterproof battery powered camera with motion detection, US100 for 2

"All-new Blink XT2 Outdoor/Indoor Smart Security Camera with cloud storage included, 2-way audio, 2-year battery life"

afe66

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#2277671 16-Jul-2019 10:53

Cheap. Raspberry pi with camera running motion eye or similar. I've got motion detection on and the email the photos to be and copy video to nas then cloud.

Running two now while on ski holiday.

I can remember the exact software.

The default camera isn't the greatest but if you've got a USB webcam sitting unused you could try that

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MurrayM

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#2277687 16-Jul-2019 11:32

afe66: Cheap. Raspberry pi with camera running motion eye or similar. I've got motion detection on and the email the photos to be and copy video to nas then cloud.

Running two now while on ski holiday.

I can remember the exact software.

The default camera isn't the greatest but if you've got a USB webcam sitting unused you could try that

Interesting, I do have an old Raspberry Pi that I'm not using....

afe66

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#2277694 16-Jul-2019 12:00

Motioneyeos.

JaseNZ

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#2277743 16-Jul-2019 13:15

I had a setup with Motion eye and it worked pretty well.

I did however move to a nest setup, 3 cameras out side and a nest protect smoke alarm for the house. It is costly and you have to pay a sub monthly for the cloud service but I am happy with it. I have it synced into our Philips hue system so if we are out if it detects motion it turns light's on in the house etc so it looks like somebody is home. You get a push notification with an image of motion and you can set zone's within the camera field of view.

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MurrayM

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#2277754 16-Jul-2019 13:43

afe66: Motioneyeos.

Thanks, I see there are lots of tutorials online on how to get this up and running. Might be a nice project!

afe66

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#2277833 16-Jul-2019 17:27

It's easy to use.

Picture quality depends somewhat on cam capability and power of the pi but if you've got one lying around it might be good enough for no outlay.

Better quality options exist but then everything is cost quality equation.

I "caught" a friend who had the keys turning off lights as a neighbour thought we had left too many on. I was at a hotel in Dubai when phone went ping with email notification of movement and pictures of friend. He said it was spooky to get text message from me asking if he was using my house for clandestine liaisons 30s after leaving the house..

That was an original model b pi about 5 years ago. Now I run to pi3s.

neb

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#2278012 17-Jul-2019 00:16

afe66: Cheap. Raspberry pi with camera running motion eye or similar. I've got motion detection on and the email the photos to be and copy video to nas then cloud.

Running two now while on ski holiday.

I can remember the exact software.

The default camera isn't the greatest but if you've got a USB webcam sitting unused you could try that

The ODroid mag has been running a series the last few months on how to set up a ZoneMinder system, it's a pretty comprehensive guide, and uses hardware that's more reliable than a Pi.

neb

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#2278013 17-Jul-2019 00:23

afe66: I "caught" a friend who had the keys turning off lights as a neighbour thought we had left too many on. I was at a hotel in Dubai when phone went ping with email notification of movement and pictures of friend. He said it was spooky to get text message from me asking if he was using my house for clandestine liaisons 30s after leaving the house..

I've done the same thing to a neighbour, he was a bit spooked to get a text from me saying I'd be back in an hour or two as he was walking back up the front path.

MurrayM

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#2279428 19-Jul-2019 08:22

I've bought a Wyze from TradeMe. Couldn't wait for it to arrive from overseas as I'm heading off on holiday soon and wanted it all set up before then.

I'll definitely try the Raspberry Pi solution when I have more time, that sounds like a great little project as I have all the parts sitting here not being used.

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