Home security camera systems

[clone4life82]

Wife and I have been kicking around the idea of some sort of home camera system. Haven’t really don’t much research on systems, manufacturers, etc. do you have a ring doorbell and other cameras or a different manufacturer? Pros and cons to what you have? Just upfront cost or is there ongoing costs?

 

[CYDJ]

I use Reolink. Like the cameras, use an NVR and have no need for internet to run the system on ly property. You do need internet if you want to see your cameras at a distance. Cost is reasonable and seems pretty good quality. Not American made, but that is hard to find.

 

[dmclone]

I use Nest for everything. Two cameras outside, one in the front door, and one inside that runs when we're not in the house and at night. I can set up zones so that when people or things go inside a certain zone, it will send me an email. It also provides 30 days of recordings.

 

[IcSyU]

Nest for me simply because I want everything in one damn app and that ecosystem is what I have the most devices in. The hardware can be had cheaper elsewhere certainly. For the exterior cameras I had to get PoE cable from a non Google supplier so that may be interesting.

 

[Clonehomer]

If you’re an Android user, can’t go wrong with Nest products. They work on iPhones, but it’s not as well integrated. The doorbell works really well and we have one camera and floodlight combo for the backyard.

 

[nfrine]

 

[RedlineSi]

We're putting in 3 Ring cams to our new home. I had Blink previously which were just ok.

I'll put more info in here when we move in next month. We also have a security system with motion and door monitors.

 

[pourcyne]

Ring appears to be the best choice because

Ring is offering $1 million to anyone who captures an alien with their doorbell camera

Do you believe "the truth is out there" -- maybe even on your doorstep? Well, if you can prove it, you could win $1 million.

abc7chicago.com

 

[galactawitz]

Obviously depends on what you are looking for. We ended up doing Blink ones as we were so integrated with Amazon stuff already and they seemed to be the cheapest option. Especially if you buy during Prime days/Black friday time period when they run them like 50% off. Plug in cameras are really cheap, outdoor cameras and doorbell are pretty affordable too. We have 4 in the house, 2 ouside plus a doorbell. They ave a sync system that you can plug a usb drive into for several months worth of storage which doesn't cost anything beyond the price of the usb, or you can do the cloud subscription. Not an elite system by any means but it does what I want it to do.

 

[ISUalways]

I’m looking to get a system for my pole barn which is a few hours for my residence. Any recommendations on that?

 

[dmclone]

We've had our driveway one (4k) for maybe 5 years? We bought the Nest door a couple of years ago. Here is how I have it setup.


Nest door recognizes faces so if it's me it will "dmclone is at the front door"



Here is a picture of the zones I've set-up. I've made sure not to include the sidewalk or I'd receive a bunch of alerts. Green is objects and blue is people. When something enters that area, I get an email.

 

[RLD4ISU]

We have Ring - doorbell, hard wired security lights, battery/solar security lights, door alarms and a couple of chimes (upstairs & garage, where we can't hear a doorbell). We can also connect with police/fire, but haven't yet. We like it. It is connected with our Alexa, so we get alerts on it and our phone. We can shut off or snooze devices - which is nice when we're outside and don't want constant alerts. And we also know when a door has been opened/shut. My family is now considering the door alarms - Mom has dementia and is starting to wander outside.

 

[dmclone]

I pay $60/year for unlimited cameras and 30 day recording subscription. Be aware that 4k can be a data hog but quality/size is adjustable. We also have it tied to our Google smart displays so if someone rings the doorbell, it will come up on the smart display. I can also tell google to view the cameras on the displays. This seems a little crazy but having a side load garage makes it so you never know what's going on.

 

[RLD4ISU]

I’m looking to get a system for my pole barn which is a few hours for my residence. Any recommendations on that?

Maybe a cellular trail cam system? It's been a few years since my husband had one (Tactacam Reveal), and the pictures were great. My guess is they've improved since then and I would think some have video capability, too.

Cabelas has a few of the Reveal cameras with very good photo and HD video quality. They even have a solar panel for recharging.

From past experience: Buy more than one giving different views. Install them so someone has to climb a ladder or do some serious work to steal them.

 

[ISUAgronomist]

I’m looking to get a system for my pole barn which is a few hours for my residence. Any recommendations on that?

Stealth Cam
Spartan Camera

Both have cellular game/trail cams. I have a Spartan GoLive in a remote location with a solar panel for power. Works great for what I need. Resolution could be better is my only complaint. I think the Stealth Cams could have better resolution but haven't checked recently.

 

[Agclone91]

Home Security Cameras

We are looking into getting some wireless home security cameras for outside the house. I would love to go with a wired setup, but the layout/finishing of our house would make that more difficult and costly than I would probably like. I have the ability to get to an outlet with a couple of them...

cyclonefanatic.com

Here's a link to a thread I started a few months ago about the same topic if you want some more opinions. We ended up going with Blink because they were dirt cheap on Prime Day - We got 5 cameras for $170. Overall I would say we have been satisfied, but went in with tempered expectations knowing we were going with the cheapest option. We will likely upgrade to something better at some point, but Blink is serving us well enough that we aren't in a rush.

Pros:
-Cheap
-Excellent App, very easy to set up and use
-Subscription free option

Cons:
-Blink intentionally cripples functions if you choose not to purchase the subscription, which sucks
-If you live in an area with lots of wildlife or blowing trees/plants, you will get a lot of false alerts unless you can easily mark the areas as exclusion zones (Gen 4 may have helped fix this with person detection)
-Limited motion detection range, <12 ft is excellent, 12-20 ft is inconsistent, beyond 25 ft is non-existent
-Takes 2 lithium Ion batteries per camera which can get expensive. Ours have been up since July and haven't needed changed yet

 

[MJ29]

We've had our driveway one (4k) for maybe 5 years? We bought the Nest door a couple of years ago. Here is how I have it setup.

View attachment 117923
Nest door recognizes faces so if it's me it will "dmclone is at the front door"
View attachment 117924

View attachment 117925
Here is a picture of the zones I've set-up. I've made sure not to include the sidewalk or I'd receive a bunch of alerts. Green is objects and blue is people. When something enters that area, I get an email.
View attachment 117926

View attachment 117927

Those images are super clear.

 

[TXCyclones]

Wife and I have been kicking around the idea of some sort of home camera system. Haven’t really don’t much research on systems, manufacturers, etc. do you have a ring doorbell and other cameras or a different manufacturer? Pros and cons to what you have? Just upfront cost or is there ongoing costs?

I have both Ring and Nest. I used Ring exclusively on my old house, and the new house i'm in now had a couple of Ring products and then when I had ADT come out they installed some Nest products as part of the package. I will say that they are nearly identical in function and pick up the same activity in terms of sensitivity. I do feel like I like Nest's library of recordings better.

 

[carvers4math]

Does anyone have an interior system to spy on their dog?

We haven’t been able to take the leap of faith to leave him alone outside his crate and he is two already.

Would eventually like to give him free roam of the house like we have done with previous dogs but he has destroyed more stuff than previous dogs.

Could probably confine him to large open area on first floor but would like to see what he does while nearby maybe working outside or something so we can go in if he starts gnawing on the woodwork again. Guessing we would need 2-3 cameras to cover the area.

 

[RLD4ISU]

I have both Ring and Nest. I used Ring exclusively on my old house, and the new house i'm in now had a couple of Ring products and then when I had ADT come out they installed some Nest products as part of the package. I will say that they are nearly identical in function and pick up the same activity in terms of sensitivity. I do feel like I like Nest's library of recordings better.

We had ADT at a previous home and liked them. Until we sold the house. We had to buy out the remainder of the contract since the new owners did not want to continue with ADT. It was an expensive lesson.