Outdoor Camera Recommendations

Does anyone have good recommendations for outdoor cameras? I’m thinking about getting some for the house. I looked at something like the Nest for ease of use, But they have an advertised operating range of 104 degrees, In my opinion not good enough for Tx. FYI I know hardly jack about the subject matter.

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Next time we’re both at the space I can talk your ear off about them.

If you want to spend money, Axis is good. If you want to go cheap, HiKvision is cheaper and still very good.

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I second AXIS! Having installed many many many of these lovelies I am a hardcore fanboy. As stated as well Hikvision is ok, but not as good.

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Axis is great, but very spendy. We use HIKVision at DMS.

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I really like Dahua starlight varifocals. Go to the forum ipcamtalk, you’ll be able to find a supplier.

You can get a solid wired system for around $300-$400 with 4-8 cameras, I usually just wait for something to go on sale. Most of those bare bones kits don’t come with a hard drive, but that’s super simple to install. Check out www.slickdeals.net

I have a bunch of vivotek fd8171 and fd8162 cameras. They are PoE and I have a PoE switch as well. My company uses these and they are great. Full HD, Infared, Focus. They’re awesome IP cameras and easy to set up. I’d be willing to sell some for cheaper since they’re used!

As someone that has to collect security camera footage on a regular basis you get what you pay for a lot of the time. Most of the cheaper cameras are pretty good during the day but at night you can’t see squat. In my experience Nest are really good at night time and they record audio as well which can be very helpful in a criminal investigation. I’m thinking about getting nest for myself.

A wide field of view is in the area of unless in my opinion. Say you have something near 180 ish degrees the image usually becomes distorted and getting an ID off that is next to impossible. I’d look at night time quality when looking for a camera system and not what the manufacturer shows for their nighttime demos. Those are done under optimal lighting conditions for their cameras not what you will have in real life.

I’m definitely no expert in security cameras.

I have a couple of Hikvision connected to a POE router. An old laptop running Ubuntu collects video to a NAS.

I have had 2 Nest outdoor cameras for a long time with no issues.

Do you want to run a server at your house?
Do you have any required retention requirements?

I run two systems. I have an 8 camera Swann which does well, image quality is good, newer systems have much better cameras.

I also use Nest Cameras. Image quality is very good. Very easy to install, off site storage is available and they have had no problem with the Texas heat so far. Even an outdoor camera should be installed in a protected place, under the eve of your house or similar place.

Very interesting. I would like to save about a month with the ability to capture the video if I run into issues. My neighborhood seems to be getting more low petty crimes. Just trying to keep an eye out for things that may escalate.

The reason I even looked at Nest was the video I saw the other day from that shooting in Oak Lawn area. The video looked pretty decent.

I have 3 ring cameras and love the service.

I have a Ring doorbell and I would not recommend one to my enemy, much less a friend. Steer clear of Ring products.

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Buy my Vivoteks and they wont let you down!

I’ve got the Nest Hello. It’s pretty good, clear images and will tell you who is at the door if it know them.

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There’s Arlo Pro (720P) at Costco for <$500 for a 3 camera system or you can get Arlo Pro 2 for 1080P.
Netgear offers free rolling cloud storage for up to 1 week for a 5 camera setup. No subscription fees.
Over 5 cameras it’s supposed to be $100/yr(forgot how long it is stored for with paid cloud)
It’s battery powered and wireless connection.

I have used several Hikevision Turret Cameras. They are amazingly sharp and nice. They come in 3, 4 and 5 MP.
IP cameras are the way to go. check out this linke just to get an idea and check their other cameras.
https://us.hikvision.com/en/products/cameras/network-camera/value-series/turret/4-mp-exir-cmos-network-turret-camera-ds-2cd2342wd-i

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