Outdoor security camera recommendations.

[Migrant]

I live in a small single story home but have a moderate sized yard.

I am looking for cameras that produce very high quality / sharp / clear images and can cover up to 40 feet. The images should clearly capture / show faces and vehicle license plates, especially in the dark and / or where there is minimal to no lighting. Is 1080P enough for this?

My WiFi works OK for the most part. The camera needs to have some storage capacity or the ability to let me move important footage to the cloud or a local device.

Also, I no longer want to climb ladders to install cameras or to recharge them at regular intervals. So the cameras would need to have long battery lives. Would solar powered cameras eliminate the need to frequently recharge draining batteries? It doesn't get too cold here in the winters and the sun is usually out most days.

I am technically challenged so set up / installation needs to be "me proof". Please recommend any outdoor cameras that fit my criteria. I am willing to invest in the safety of my home and family so willing to spend, if need be.

Thank you.

[RiskAnalyst]

I have found Ring cameras suitable for this purpose, but have not used the solar powered models, though I suspect they would be fine. You could also get hardwired cameras (including Ring). You can even pay for a professionally installed Ring system and get all the cloud infrastructure without having to install anything yourself, if the premium is worth it to you.

[lthenderson]

I personally feel to get all the things you want, you need to go with wired Poe cameras. Any WiFi option won’t have great resolution 100% of the time and horsepower to send it all wirelessly to a place with enough storage. I have wired Poe cameras that meet all your requirements but it is saved onto a spare 200GB hard drive on my computer that by saving only clips where motion is detected gets me about a month of storage before overwriting old data.

Hire the installation done and you’ll never have to touch the system again.

[tooluser]

I installed a couple of these and like them:
https://shop.panasonic.com/products/hom ... monitoring

You'd have to evaluate them against your criteria.

They are 1080p resolution. 1080p is not enough to reliably read license plates much beyond a couple of car lengths distance.
(I also have a 1080p dash cam for my car).
They will not stay powered up during a power outage.
I like that they are completely indoors, remotely accessible via wifi, and have no other fees (need to buy a MicroSD card separately though).
Setup was a breeze, had no issues with an Android phone.
Need an outlet reasonably close to where they are installed.
If you have storm windows:
Field of view is quite wide, so you may end up with portions of the window frame in view.
After dark you may get reflections off the inside of the outer storm window (visible annoyance but not very obstructive in my situation).

[Carl53]

Take a look at this Eufy, https://www.amazon.com/eufy-Security-Ce ... 116&sr=1-7. Solar powered, 4k resolution and claims license plates at 30 feet (10 meters? Which is more than 30 feet). Son has slightly cheaper model mounted near corner of house to monitor size yard and kids play area and it is great anytime. He set me up with a wired eufy camera on front porch and he has several other wired eufy cameras in kids rooms and his porch. To power my porch camera he had me get a usb light socket adapter by wyze. I had a daylight sensitive bulb already there and leave the switch to it always on. I’ve been pleased with my eufy camera as he has it to be human sensitive so I don’t get every dog or car passing by.

[onourway]

Eufy cams will do it. You'll want a set with the S380 Homebase 3. This provides a stand-alone 2.4ghz network for the cameras to communicate on, and an enclosure in which you can add an additional hard drive for more storage. We have the S330 cameras which have the solar panel built into the camera itself. One is located underneath an overhang, so gets little sunlight. That one lasts 3-6 months on a charge. The others get more sunlight much of the year but we live in a cloudy location, so they do 8-12 months before I might need to pull it down to charge. Potentially the larger, stand-alone solar panels they sell would resolve this.

The entire setup is extremely simple to set up, manage, and use. It's a complete system that we've had zero issues with. It notifies us automatically when it spots a person, animal, or vehicle. You can train it to recognize certain people and it will identify them by name (this is one part that is not 100% reliable, but still pretty good!)

[WoodSpinner]

I personally feel to get all the things you want, you need to go with wired Poe cameras. Any WiFi option won’t have great resolution 100% of the time and horsepower to send it all wirelessly to a place with enough storage. I have wired Poe cameras that meet all your requirements but it is saved onto a spare 200GB hard drive on my computer that by saving only clips where motion is detected gets me about a month of storage before overwriting old data.

Hire the installation done and you’ll never have to touch the system again.

Agreed, I had a La View system installed and it’s run flawlessly for 10+ years. Only change I needed to make was when my external IP address changed and needed to update the App.

https://go.lvt.com/construction-demo

WoodSpinner

[tm3]

I am willing to invest in the safety of my home and family so willing to spend, if need be.

I've looked into security cameras and my first suggestion is to think carefully about what you expect a security camera to accomplish. In discussing cameras with multiple folks who own them, it seems as though a common belief is that a security camera is some kind of magic talisman that will keep the bad people away. I don't think that it works like that.

My prowling around led me to https://ipcamtalk.com/forums/, which seems to be the Bogleheads of security camera systems. The prevailing opinion there seems to be that if one is going to use a camera system for security, they need to invest in a wired system like lthenderson said. But security is not the only use and may not be the main use.

[papiper]

the solar panel with ring cameras work fine to keep the battery charged.

[Cruise]

I am willing to invest in the safety of my home and family so willing to spend, if need be.

I've looked into security cameras and my first suggestion is to think carefully about what you expect a security camera to accomplish. In discussing cameras with multiple folks who own them, it seems as though a common belief is that a security camera is some kind of magic talisman that will keep the bad people away. I don't think that it works like that.

My prowling around led me to https://ipcamtalk.com/forums/, which seems to be the Bogleheads of security camera systems. The prevailing opinion there seems to be that if one is going to use a camera system for security, they need to invest in a wired system like lthenderson said. But security is not the only use and may not be the main use.

Other than surveillance of neighbors. What are the other uses?

[onourway]

Other than surveillance of neighbors. What are the other uses?

We bought our first camera to watch a family of foxes that had moved in on the property. We then added a couple more and have found them to be useful for all sorts of things.

We have a large house with multiple buildings, when someone is ringing a doorbell, they are not always audible from all locations. The cameras act as defacto door bell because we get notifications on our phone (and by proxy, watches) as soon as a car comes in the driveway or if someone approaches an entrance. We can see if packages have been delivered. I can tell when the kids arrive home from school. We were traveling this week, and there was a snowstorm. We used the cameras to determine that, despite the forecast, there was not much snow falling at home and we decided to travel home earlier than we would have otherwise. When I have people working on the property, I can see when and for how long they are there working.

'Security' is another aspect, one we hope to never need to have call for, but far from our primary use case.

[biscuit5]

I no longer want to climb ladders...

cameras (like security lights) would need to be 'higher' then someone can reach, else a thief would just rip the camera down or hit it w/ spray paint - YMMV

[Tony-S]

I also suggest Eufy. Great system.

[Doom&Gloom]

Other than surveillance of neighbors. What are the other uses?

We bought our first camera to watch a family of foxes that had moved in on the property. We then added a couple more and have found them to be useful for all sorts of things.

We have a large house with multiple buildings, when someone is ringing a doorbell, they are not always audible from all locations. The cameras act as defacto door bell because we get notifications on our phone (and by proxy, watches) as soon as a car comes in the driveway or if someone approaches an entrance. We can see if packages have been delivered. I can tell when the kids arrive home from school. We were traveling this week, and there was a snowstorm. We used the cameras to determine that, despite the forecast, there was not much snow falling at home and we decided to travel home earlier than we would have otherwise. When I have people working on the property, I can see when and for how long they are there working.

'Security' is another aspect, one we hope to never need to have call for, but far from our primary use case.

Your use case seems very similar to mine.

If I'm home my dogs will let me know if someone is at the door or entering the house. I don't need a camera for that.
If someone is at the door, I prefer knowing who it is before I go to the door. My dogs are useless for that.

If I'm not home, I don't care about getting a notification that someone is entering my house. I don't want to rush home and confront them. I have insurance. I don't really want to be bothered to call the police and possibly come home to find someone oozing blood in my bedroom. If I come home and someone is there, I will almost certainly be aware of that as I drive up so I won't be walking into any surprises.

I do not want to pay for a system to notify law enforcement, etc as that is not worth the expense for me. I am not at all interested in playing help-a-cop by feeling compelled to help law enforcement catch any criminals. I hope they do, of course, but I won't lose much sleep if I'm of no help because my cameras weren't wired to some security company or positioned optimally.

Even though they may be labeled "security cameras," that is not how I view them for my usage. They may provide some security in a very narrow range of security for me. I regard them as more of a monitoring and information aid.

[Cruise]

Other than surveillance of neighbors. What are the other uses?

We bought our first camera to watch a family of foxes that had moved in on the property. We then added a couple more and have found them to be useful for all sorts of things.

We have a large house with multiple buildings, when someone is ringing a doorbell, they are not always audible from all locations. The cameras act as defacto door bell because we get notifications on our phone (and by proxy, watches) as soon as a car comes in the driveway or if someone approaches an entrance. We can see if packages have been delivered. I can tell when the kids arrive home from school. We were traveling this week, and there was a snowstorm. We used the cameras to determine that, despite the forecast, there was not much snow falling at home and we decided to travel home earlier than we would have otherwise. When I have people working on the property, I can see when and for how long they are there working.

'Security' is another aspect, one we hope to never need to have call for, but far from our primary use case.

Thanks.

I guess I view all of what you mentioned under the heading of “security.” But, that’s just me.

[Vinny_in_NJ]

We have been thinking about security cameras for our house, we have had 2 incidents in the 20+ years we have been here. One was an attempted break in that for some reason the person stopped and the second was very recently, our house was egged for whatever reason. The second incident had my wife very upset and she wants something to possibly deter people. Then this thread popped up as she started talking Black Friday and getting cameras again.

Getting the house wired was not an option although I know that would be the best. I ordered the Eufy S340 cameras along with the home base yesterday. It may not be the best but for capturing people's images and to possibly deter people it's good enough based on what people are saying about it. We ordered four cameras, I wanted to order a couple stationary cameras for more "security" but my wife thought it was overkill ... I usually go over the top with things! The Black Friday deal on Amazon was pretty good and we took advantage of it.

For us it's not really security but a deterrent with an added bonus of if someone does do something and our cameras do catch it there is some evidence. We're thinking, and maybe wrongfully, that having a "security" device hanging there and having it track a person's movements will stop a not so dedicated person to rethink doing something to our house. We live in an average middle class neighborhood and drive regular cars so they can go to the homes that look like they have money!

[Luke Duke]

I live in a small single story home but have a moderate sized yard.

I am looking for cameras that produce very high quality / sharp / clear images and can cover up to 40 feet. The images should clearly capture / show faces and vehicle license plates, especially in the dark and / or where there is minimal to no lighting. Is 1080P enough for this?

My WiFi works OK for the most part. The camera needs to have some storage capacity or the ability to let me move important footage to the cloud or a local device.

Also, I no longer want to climb ladders to install cameras or to recharge them at regular intervals. So the cameras would need to have long battery lives. Would solar powered cameras eliminate the need to frequently recharge draining batteries? It doesn't get too cold here in the winters and the sun is usually out most days.

I am technically challenged so set up / installation needs to be "me proof". Please recommend any outdoor cameras that fit my criteria. I am willing to invest in the safety of my home and family so willing to spend, if need be.

Thank you.

I've looked into security cameras and my first suggestion is to think carefully about what you expect a security camera to accomplish. In discussing cameras with multiple folks who own them, it seems as though a common belief is that a security camera is some kind of magic talisman that will keep the bad people away. I don't think that it works like that.

My prowling around led me to https://ipcamtalk.com/forums/, which seems to be the Bogleheads of security camera systems. The prevailing opinion there seems to be that if one is going to use a camera system for security, they need to invest in a wired system like lthenderson said. But security is not the only use and may not be the main use.

What you're looking for doesn't exist. You will either have to make compromises in what you're looking for or educate yourself to raise the "me proof" bar. I highly recommend visiting the IP Cam Talk forum already mentioned.

[WoodSpinner]

I've looked into security cameras and my first suggestion is to think carefully about what you expect a security camera to accomplish. In discussing cameras with multiple folks who own them, it seems as though a common belief is that a security camera is some kind of magic talisman that will keep the bad people away. I don't think that it works like that.

My prowling around led me to https://ipcamtalk.com/forums/, which seems to be the Bogleheads of security camera systems. The prevailing opinion there seems to be that if one is going to use a camera system for security, they need to invest in a wired system like lthenderson said. But security is not the only use and may not be the main use.

Other than surveillance of neighbors. What are the other uses?

Well, we travel quite a bit and find the security cameras an excellent way of checking up on our home.

[Broken Man 1999]

Our home came with floodlights on a couple of the corners, I don't remember if they were motion detection type or not or installed some other time.

Long story short, we replaced our motion detection lights with the latest Ring floodlight motion detection lights with cameras. At same time we installed a Ring door bell. About $240 total for the cameras, $149 for top of the line Ring doorbell camera.

Installation was easy as wiring was already in place for the lights and doorbell, though we did need a transformer for the doorbell portion inside he house. As with all the things we buy that are compatible with Alexa, everything was simple to set up.

DW loves it all. She is an uneasy sleeper who woke up with an intruder in her bedroom when she was a child. So, I get it.

The picture quality is really great from all cameras. One camera is near some tall plants that needed to be trimmed a bit because the wind thru them would move the branches and set the light/cameras off.

There are other cheaper light/cameras that are compatible with Alexa.

Our home also came with an alarm system. When DW and I were both working, we had it monitored. Once retired, no longer have it monitored. The contacts wiring have gone thru window and door replacements and are still working perfectly. The alarm company we used for monitoring put in a new control panel that can use wireless units, so we have added more over time.

Broken Man 1999

[tm3]

Other than surveillance of neighbors. What are the other uses?

Well, we travel quite a bit and find the security cameras an excellent way of checking up on our home.

Checking on a vacation home is something I've heard more than once. I guess neighbor surveillance is possible. Animal monitoring is done by some folks.

I don't see how a camera system can prevent theft/break-in, however.

[Sandtrap]

Consider the "Arlo" camera system. It has worked well for us for many years.
We also have an excellent set of "Orbi" router/extender/system.
j

[onourway]

What you're looking for doesn't exist. You will either have to make copromises in what you're looking for or educate yourself to raise the "me proof" bar. I highly recommend visiting the IP Cam Talk forum already mentioned.

As I stated earlier, the Eufy camera system meets all of the stated requirements and is as simple to set up as any system like this could possibly be.

No need to take on a new hobby just to get reliable cameras at home.

[WoodSpinner]

Well, we travel quite a bit and find the security cameras an excellent way of checking up on our home.

Checking on a vacation home is something I've heard more than once. I guess neighbor surveillance is possible. Animal monitoring is done by some folks.

I don't see how a camera system can prevent theft/break-in, however.

Agreed!

[Luke Duke]

What you're looking for doesn't exist. You will either have to make copromises in what you're looking for or educate yourself to raise the "me proof" bar. I highly recommend visiting the IP Cam Talk forum already mentioned.

As I stated earlier, the Eufy camera system meets all of the stated requirements and is as simple to set up as any system like this could possibly be.

No need to take on a new hobby just to get reliable cameras at home.

I doubt that a Eufy will make a reliable night and day license plate camera. I don't see the sensor size mentioned in any of their specs.

[onourway]

As I stated earlier, the Eufy camera system meets all of the stated requirements and is as simple to set up as any system like this could possibly be.

No need to take on a new hobby just to get reliable cameras at home.

I doubt that a Eufy will make a reliable night and day license plate camera. I don't see the sensor size mentioned in any of their specs.

Daytime plate visibility is no problem for my cameras. Fair enough on the night-time requirement. In that case I agree - you need to adjust your requirements. I suspect that's a tall order for any camera - headlights/tail lights/brake lights plus highly reflective plates makes for a tough problem.

[RichL]

We installed wired Ubiquity power over Ethernet (POE) cameras a couple years back. I wanted local storage and no subscription costs. Upfront costs and install effort was more than I would have liked but I’ve had no issues since.

I do not expect the cameras to deter a break in, although we appreciate a quick check for the occasional “bump in the night”.

[Tony-S]

In discussing cameras with multiple folks who own them, it seems as though a common belief is that a security camera is some kind of magic talisman that will keep the bad people away. I don't think that it works like that.

Yeah, the ED-209 hasn’t been invented yet.

[CascadiaSoonish]

We installed wired Ubiquity power over Ethernet (POE) cameras a couple years back. I wanted local storage and no subscription costs. Upfront costs and install effort was more than I would have liked but I’ve had no issues since.

I do not expect the cameras to deter a break in, although we appreciate a quick check for the occasional “bump in the night”.

+1 on Ubiquiti gear. Reasonably priced, fully integrated with semipro-grade network management, no subscription costs. Our overbuilt home network has half a dozen access points, two cameras, and roughly fifty clients running on several purpose-managed WLANs. Outdoor PoE camera does a great job capturing traffic in the area and the UI makes it easy to review, which is good -- main purpose is to spot the occasional person prowling around our yard in our semiurban neighborhood, but 99% of the time it's just amusing footage of raccoons setting off the motion detection.

[tonyfrez563]

Well, we travel quite a bit and find the security cameras an excellent way of checking up on our home.

Checking on a vacation home is something I've heard more than once. I guess neighbor surveillance is possible. Animal monitoring is done by some folks.

I don't see how a camera system can prevent theft/break-in, however.

Surprisingly when I was trying to get a quote for home insurance at Amica, their online system asked me if I have a security camera, suggesting that it adds value to security risk. I don't know how. Perhaps higher possiblity of recovery? Reduction of theft because of perpetrators getting caught on camera?