Discussions

just looking for feedback on what everyone is using for a security camera to cover the yard and driveway.

We use arlo. They have good quality picture in day and night. They’re set up to record when motion is detected. Anytime they go off I get a notification from the app. You can also check them live or save videos. There is two way communication where I can click a button on the app and set off an alarm or talk through the app to the cameras. Batteries last a decent time and they hold up decently in cold weather.

Anyone else??

I use reolink POE cameras.  
 
Just need a POE switch and 1 cat 5 to each camera location. No batteries to replace or have die faster in the cold. No extra power cable to feed the camera, just 1 cat5 cable with a poe power switch inside my network rack.  
 
I have 4 of the bullet style POE 4K cameras and the image is amazing and I use Blue Iris on my PC for recording and viewing but you can log directly into each camera and view it.

I too really like my reolink 4 camera & nvr set I got off amazon, $600 or so after tax, no complaints yet

We have multiple nest cameras, they are alright for picture quality. At night if someone was walking quick at end of our driveway 50’ away you would not be able for identify them 100% by the image of their face alone but most cameras couldn’t do that either. They are wifi cameras but you need to plug them in, it comes with a very long power cord. I simply drilled holes through the exterior wall of our house and have it plugged in inside. Each camera uses around 150GB of data per month so make sure you have unlimited data on your internet plan, I use the online subs:cription service it costs me $5 per month for 5 days of video storage, the iOS app works flawlessly, I can see live and past video history on my phone quickly and seem lessly where ever I am. You can set zones and notifications and 2 way audio even tho I really use that feature. I would prefer if I could buy an onsite storage device for the video footage incase the internet cuts out but that’s not too often.

we are thinking of getting the arlo cameras! They are good?

Petty crime & bike thefts are so frustrating in this city. Even with cameras does anyone get caught/charged?

Further to DougDoug's post, we love our Nest. We have two cameras (one covering our front door/driveway/yard and the second covering our back door/yard). It was extremely easy to set-up as we had outdoor plugs at both locations already. It simply involved attaching a bracket to the house which has a very strong magnet on it and the camera then attaches to the magnet and is very easy to modify the direction you want the camera to point. I would consider myself not to be overly handy and yet installation was easy. We've had it for about a year now and have never had any issues with it going down due to extreme weather, unless the home internet/wifi goes down. As Doug mentioned, notifications are sent to the phone and it is very easy to access the camera from my phone, tablet, computer, etc.

I started with Swann but after a year the cables kept failing. the of the system was fine. I switched to a Reolink system 4- 5mb cameras and a nvr. camera quality is very good but I cant use it to send me emails as it has numerous failed motion eg, leaves, shadows etc regardless of how I set the sensitivity settings. I does record so if needed I check the recordings. I have 2 wireless reolink cameras at the lake that are much better at not sending false readings. I am adding a 4x zoom on the reolink to see how it works. Watch any camera you buy that does not force you into paying for a cloud account. I have a camera in Arizona and it will only record 6 or 10 seconds without paying for cloud. I refuse. I will be looking a a tracking 30x zoom maybe the end of oct once I have found the right one. price of that camera will be 350 to 800. pm me to know more.

Personally I would avoid Nest cameras, they are expensive and no better quality than many others. They mount with a magnet, if they are reachable they will be gone. Even if they are a bit higher they can and likely will get stolen by just pulling them off the magnet or whacking it down with a stick. The extra cost of cloud service is ridiculous.  
 
I dont use the Reolink NVR so i cant speak to that or even the app but the cameras them selves are great and i've had no issues so far. They can be had on Amazon individually for $68 but most of the time have a $10 off coupon so they are only $58 each. For the quality that price is unbeatable in my opinion. The ease of POE is much better than running power and data cables or the sketchy reliability of wireless with batteries that need changing.  
 
Like I said earlier, I run Blue Iris on my PC for recording. I added an extra 2TB HDD for the cameras and setup Blue Iris how I wanted. So it records stills and video to that drive, which I then have that PC on battery backup and all data is backed up on a local server but certain items are backed up offsite.  
 
There are all sorts of options depending on how fancy you want to get and how much you are wanting/willing to spend. $200 for 5MP POE outdoor cameras is a steal of a deal as 1 nest cam is more than that.

search wyze camera on amazon.ca. They're free to use, they take a micro sd card and record on a loop for a few days. has night vision, people and smoke detection. two of them for $70. good luck.

Have you used wyze cameras? What’s your general review of them

Yeah I have them, no complaints what so ever. You just need a power outlet and they operate on wifi. If you put one outside you need a case for it. There's a pile of reviews on Amazon aswell.  
 
Edited by macgruber, 2020-09-26 08:31:45

Meh.. We have a couple wyze cameras at our house they are ok for what you pay. Quality is ok but don't expect to be able to clearly see a face or a licence plate from any distance, day or night. The software is also meh. If you just want to be able to see something you might like them. We have an Arlo at the cabin and it works well in the summer. But forget about it when its cold outside. Also arlo only records when it detects something. Neighbors have the Nest and if money isn't really a thing then I would go with them. They record 24/7 in 1080 hd and depending on your cloud plan can store up to 60 full days of recording. The only downside is cameras are pricey and monthly or annual fee.

Has anyone used the Blink cams?

I have used Blink for 3 years, free online storage, batteries change once per year but depend on usage, no cable set up. They are weatherproof and work at -30 C. They have instant alert, rather than after the recording is done. They could be prone to theft, however, they can be set so that the recording light is muted. Zones can be set and work well. Sound detection is i:ncluded. Recording is movement activated with sensitivity and interval adjustments to conserve battery usage. Would repurchase the product if needed.