Security Cameras -update

[Torvy]

I figured i should update the thread. My wife got me a pair of the Spypoint cell cameras. Shout out to @Midniteoyl for the suggestion. In the beginning, the 100 photos per month was more than enough. Then construction started.

It is fun to be able to see up-to-date shots of the progress without the drive. Even at the least frequent setting, I am getting 12-16 shots a day.

Cameras use regular batteries and monitor their charge, so I don't have to check them. They have been up 2 months now and haven't used much juice. (Over 80% remains). They also have a temp reading, but they are not calibrated correctly. For instance, right now it says 69 F, but the weather app says 77 F. Difference has been too large for minor variations and is pretty consistently 8 degrees low. We didn't need to do anything with our cell plan. Just uploaded the app on my phone, put batteries and memory card in and scan the Code in the box to register.

Tested them out about a week in town, then placed them on propert. Just this morning it caught a coyote walking across the garage location. Happy with them so far. Also had neighbor's cattle on the property. Cameras allowed us to contact the landowner who notified the lessee.

 

[grsthegreat]

I have been told, but never actually checked, that a cellphone camera can see infrared light from a trail cam. If this is true, than a thief can find camera location. Ive seen this so called fact posted everywhere online when i was shopping for a trail cam. Personally i didnt care as mine is to see wildlife. We dont have a theft issue here (yet) to worry about. And deer dont have cell phones (yet).

 

[ponytug]

I have been told, but never actually checked, that a cellphone camera can see infrared light from a trail cam. If this is true, than a thief can find camera location. Ive seen this so called fact posted everywhere online when i was shopping for a trail cam. Personally i didnt care as mine is to see wildlife. We dont have a theft issue here (yet) to worry about. And deer dont have cell phones (yet).

Two tidbits:
1) some cheap IR LEDs glow reddish in the visible, making some cameras visible to the naked eye after dark. Better cameras usually advertise "pure" IR, or "black", and don't glow in the visible.
#2) CMOS, the silicon technology used for almost all digital camera intrinsically has some near infrared sensitivity. Almost every camera maker puts a filter on that blocks the IR portion to enhance the visible performance. There was a batch of Sony cameras many years ago that had some near-infrared sensitivity, due to their choice of filter. More or less as soon as the internet woke up to being able to filter out the non-infrared, the phones and cameras were pulled. Lots of click bait around "see-through" clothing. (The clothing had to be pretty thin to begin with...) I tried one out for detecting lameness in horses, but the infrared performance was really just too feeble. You would never have found a trail camera with it. A few years later FLIR came out with their add-on infrared camera. Those work really well.

Whether FLIR cameras work for finding trail cameras and security cameras, I don't know. As a general rule, I subscribe to the line of thought that the most effective security cameras are hidden where folks don't think to look.

All the best,

Peter

 

[oosik]

I'm retired and live at my property. Before I spent a whole lot of $$$$ on any security system I check this out. What is local law enforcement going to do if you come to them with pics on your security device. Will they immediately begin an investigation. Will the pics on your security device be adequate for them to do much of anything.

There is only one way into/out of my property. A mile long driveway. I have an outer gate at the county road and an inner gate where the driveway meets the property.

You would be surprised how many finally realize that they are trespassing and turn around before coming thru the inner gate.

I don't need no lousy security cameras. Just more shotgun shells.............

 

[newbury]

I've about 50 Wyze cams for 4 locations plus a bunch of floaters. Stock was built up since 2018.
Plus one or 2 of several other major brands before I focused on Wyze.
Most of the Wyze Cams are V2's & V3's. The V2's cost about $25@ and the V3's about $30@ with shipping.
Inexpensive enough so when I have a concern about a leaking pipe or stray dogs I can put a camera on the area. I've about three I use for backup cameras/FEL cameras
My biggest problem had been bandwidth.
With 10 cams operational at my Mississippi site and an upload bandwidth of about 0.7Mbps or less I couldn't watch more than 2 cams at a time. After I was upgraded to fiber with 100 up/100 down that went away, I can run all 10 at once with live feed.
Wyze has done a couple of corporate screw the consumer actions in the past, one was to drop support of older Android devices sooner than expected.
But for me the cameras have been very "hardy", I think I've only had about 4 die over the years. And they were indoor cameras placed outside over winters.
Those get assigned as decoy cameras.
/edit - a big sticking point for years was that you had to go 3rd party app to even display on windows, but now they have it implemented so I can monitor my cameras with Windows 10.

 

[grsthegreat]

I've about 50 Wyze cams for 4 locations plus a bunch of floaters. Stock was built up since 2018.
Plus one or 2 of several other major brands before I focused on Wyze.
Most of the Wyze Cams are V2's & V3's. The V2's cost about $25@ and the V3's about $30@ with shipping.
Inexpensive enough so when I have a concern about a leaking pipe or stray dogs I can put a camera on the area. I've about three I use for backup cameras/FEL cameras
My biggest problem had been bandwidth.
With 10 cams operational at my Mississippi site and an upload bandwidth of about 0.7Mbps or less I couldn't watch more than 2 cams at a time. After I was upgraded to fiber with 100 up/100 down that went away, I can run all 10 at once with live feed.
Wyze has done a couple of corporate screw the consumer actions in the past, one was to drop support of older Android devices sooner than expected.
But for me the cameras have been very "hardy", I think I've only had about 4 die over the years. And they were indoor cameras placed outside over winters.
Those get assigned as decoy cameras.
/edit - a big sticking point for years was that you had to go 3rd party app to even display on windows, but now they have it implemented so I can monitor my cameras with Windows 10.

Yeiks….im sure glad i dont need to surround myself with 50 cameras.

 

[Midniteoyl]

I figured i should update the thread. My wife got me a pair of the Spypoint cell cameras. Shout out to @Midniteoyl for the suggestion.

Happy those are working out..

 

[streamin]

Just bumping this tread as there may be newer stuff out that could be better or something. I bought a Reolink and it failed to connect at the property, I did have cell service so I don't get it. I wasted $250. Now I am looking for a good alternative.

 

[Fishin-4-a-Livin]

I am in my second month of using Solium brand 4G cameras.

So far, so good. Very easy setup and use. And I am not very tech savvy at all.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09V2JG9G1?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

 

[nyone]

I also have a remote piece of land with a spypoint cam on it. I can tell you that if your not there every month and it gets below 32*f get the solar cam. I didnt at first and changing the lithium AA batteries cost me $80 in fuel alone.

I would also caution anyone wanting to do this to make sure the camera isnt the most expensive thing on the property. I used (and still use) the $25 walmart Tasco cams for years. There more reliable than the bigger name brand units and even more reliable than my solar spypoint.