Recommendations wanted for a basic network camera

[aczlan]

Looking for recommendations on a basic network camera that we can put out in the barn for when the cows get closer to birthing to watch them from the house.
Range from where the camera will be mounted to the cows will be about 10-20 feet.
We have power out there, I can get wired Ethernet out there if needed, but would prefer wireless and it needs to have IR.
Looking to spend under $200 if possible.

Aaron Z

 

[RNeumann]

Tried a few without any luck. Finally settled on the iSmart camera. Pan and Tilt and IR. It needs power but is WiFi. I don’t have the base station with the storage- I just have the camera. It has treated me well.

 

[mmancuso13]

Amazon has quite a few wireless night vision capable 1080p (better resolution) cameras starting at $65

Any should work for you.

Before you go that route just make sure you have good WiFi signal in the barn.

 

[mmancuso13]

For example: eGeek Wireless Security Cameras -1080P HD WiFi Outdoor IP Cameras CCTV Home Security Surveillance with Night Vision Email Alarm Motion detection Easy Remote Access for $60

 

[aczlan]

Amazon has quite a few wireless night vision capable 1080p (better resolution) cameras starting at $65
Any should work for you.
Before you go that route just make sure you have good WiFi signal in the barn.

I will have good wireless, working on setting up an AP to sit out there.

Aaron Z

 

[RNeumann]

Amazon has quite a few wireless night vision capable 1080p (better resolution) cameras starting at $65

Any should work for you.

Before you go that route just make sure you have good WiFi signal in the barn.

I spent hours with several different models from amazon- all had good reviews but didn’t work for me. You are relying on their server for the DNS if you want remote access. A lot of the lesser known names don’t have this set up very well.
I needed to be able to view and control the camera from anywhere though.

 

[RNeumann]

If all you need is a fixed camera this should do. I have the pan/tilt unit.

 

[aczlan]

Most of these things have terrible security. If they're on the internet they get hacked. Then they can be used in a bot net to attack other machines on the internet and to attack the other computers on the same network. The hackers also get to see what the camera sees.

True. If I go that route, I would want one that cannot get out the internet except to a VPN from the phone to the firewall. No need to expose anything to attack from the outside or risk problems from somebody else's poorly setup server.

Aaron Z

 

[techman]

I have 3 of these at my house. Seem to fit your requirements, except they may be too low cost !

Amazon.com: Zmodo 1. Megapixel 128 x 72 Pan & Tilt Smart Wireless IP Network Security Camera Easy Remote Access Two-way Audio - Cloud Service Available: Electronics

Paul

 

[RNeumann]

Just to be clear. My issues were mostly related to the software interface with my computer, phone etc- especially when I wanted to view the camera from outside the network.
A little webcam that just “sits” on the home network and can’t be viewed from anywhere else, doesn’t have some storage to see what happened and doesn’t alert you that their is movement and or sound is a different beast in my mind.

OP- besides IR, what features were you looking for?

 

[LittleBill21]

any of the foscam's work great!

 

[aczlan]

Just to be clear. My issues were mostly related to the software interface with my computer, phone etc- especially when I wanted to view the camera from outside the network.
A little webcam that just “sits” on the home network and can’t be viewed from anywhere else, doesn’t have some storage to see what happened and doesn’t alert you that their is movement and or sound is a different beast in my mind.

OP- besides IR, what features were you looking for?

I want to store the data locally (that could be on an internal SD card or my network drive ) and be able to view it from a phone tablet or computer.
I can set up a VPN so that I can access it remotely without it being able to go anywhere and it will be blocked on the firewall so it can't get out to the outside world.
Worst case, if someone hacks in and watches the cows and horse in the barn, they won't learn much...

Aaron Z

 

[jwstewar]

I've been using the Foscams and the Amcrest in our barn. I'm running a total of 10 cameras in our barn. Tried the wifi thing with a couple, that didn't work. Installed a wireless bridge and then hard wired everything in the barn to the bridge. Works like a charm. All cameras are hidden from the internet, but then I run a software package called Blue Iris that monitors them and rebroadcasts them over a web server for viewing from the phone. Works great. We are working on 2 years with this setup. Since I do IT consulting on the side from my computer programmer job, I've installed several of these systems in barns and everyone has been please with them. I have one customer that cheaped out on me and weren't totally satisfied, they sent me a message on Saturday, they are ready to step up and go the rest of the way

 

[RNeumann]

I want to store the data locally (that could be on an internal SD card or my network drive ) and be able to view it from a phone tablet or computer.
I can set up a VPN so that I can access it remotely without it being able to go anywhere and it will be blocked on the firewall so it can't get out to the outside world.
Worst case, if someone hacks in and watches the cows and horse in the barn, they won't learn much...

Aaron Z

If that’s the case I’d find one that offers storage and remote access- think “network security camera”. Nest makes one but charges a monthly fee. iSmart can be either have local or cloud storage- free or paid. Ring has a service- I’ve heard good things but don’t have personal knowledge of that one.
I’d skip the VPN unless you already have that set up. That’s a whole other bunch of crazy plus you will need to leave your computer on all the time. Not worth it IMHO.
First choice is a camera and system that is designed to do what you want to do.
Distant second would be remote access to your computer. What a PITA though.
Miles down in third is the VPN route.

The nice ones allow you to open an app and boom you are looking live through your cam. Some of these other work arounds won’t be nearly that smooth.

 

[LittleBill21]

If that’s the case I’d find one that offers storage and remote access- think “network security camera”. Nest makes one but charges a monthly fee. iSmart can be either have local or cloud storage- free or paid. Ring has a service- I’ve heard good things but don’t have personal knowledge of that one.
I’d skip the VPN unless you already have that set up. That’s a whole other bunch of crazy plus you will need to leave your computer on all the time. Not worth it IMHO.
First choice is a camera and system that is designed to do what you want to do.
Distant second would be remote access to your computer. What a PITA though.
Miles down in third is the VPN route.

The nice ones allow you to open an app and boom you are looking live through your cam. Some of these other work arounds won’t be nearly that smooth.

vpn can be done via most routers these days, and setup is generally very easy. i use vpn routinly at home, and it works wonderful if users don't want to port forward. i have multiple camera's and the vpn allows me not to port forward all of the camera's making the vpn setup actually easier.

 

[kcassidy]

I just purchased 2 WYZE Cams. Can't beat the price @ 19.99 each. Check it out :WyzeCam: 1p HD Smart Home Camera With Free AWS Cloud

 

[aczlan]

vpn can be done via most routers these days, and setup is generally very easy. i use vpn routinly at home, and it works wonderful if users don't want to port forward. i have multiple camera's and the vpn allows me not to port forward all of the camera's making the vpn setup actually easier.

Exactly, I run custom software on my router (LEDE/OpenWrt) and it has built in support for VPNs, it will talk to my phone with the minimum of hassles and it is at least as secure as a cloud based service (smaller target, less places the system could be compromised).

Aaron Z