Anyone got one they can recommend?
it must:
Be heap
Be WiFi enabled
Have the ability to store output directly to my NAS
Allow multiple users to look at the pic on their phones
Have clear night vision
Be mountable outdoors, though it is likely to be under a roof and this not get directly wet (could possibly be mounted in a window if not too obtrusive)
Be motion activated
Not have any ongoing cost e.g. for cloud storage
and ideally
be powered by a USB type lead
Maybe have pan and tilt
Maybe have two way speaker
And did I already say cheap? :-) It can come directly from China if necessary. Under £25 is good!! :-)
I have Raspberry Pi boards and have camera and infrared modules, and have made cameras which do lots of the above but I don't know how to wire up the light, and they aren't in cases or anything posh. I've really just used them to monitor the bird station and the cat eating. Oh, and I did a great time lapse video of a seed popping up in my propagator! They may be he way I go though, for the time being, unless someone can suggest a better fit.
The Clever Dog looks close but doesn't have the NAS storage as far ass I see. ( but cheaper elsewhere)
I would have liked doorbell functionality but I need proper ringers indoors as we can't be relied on to always be carrying our phones.
Last edited by: smokie on Thu 27 Jun 19 at 10:09
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I've got lots of them and unless you spend 000s from a security point of view they are all rubbish. At night they need light, whatever they say.
What are you actually trying to achieve?
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>> Anyone got one they can recommend?
>>
>> it must:
>>
Blimey you dont want much for your "cheap" do you
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I don't think you'll get all that delivered for £25. I used to know someone who fitted them professionally, a few years ago now, but cheap and good for cctv didn't go together. I suspect it's still the same now.
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"What are you actually trying to achieve" - not sure really, I could pretend that it's for a bit of security but I'd be fooling myself. It's just a "project" to give me a device which might turn out to be useful for something sometime. . As per above, I used the Pi cams to monitor animals feeding and also for time-lapse photography (first effort tinyurl.com/y4lq34la, expires in 1 week).
The Pi's have enabled me to make and tear down a few bits and maybe something useful will come of it, once I have something running. E.g. I now have an inbound VPN server so I can log onto my home network when out and about as a local device. Not that useful to many but I like it. So also on the same Pi I (which is on 24x7) I have, but on an ad blocking product, so you set the Pi as your DNS server and it doesn't connect to a load of blacklisted ad serving/tracking servers - it has limitations though. And lastly on that server I have the prototype programmes which I've been developing which interrogate and provide data from my energy supplier about my energy usage. Again not a lot of use, and the amount of data I now have is ridiculous. But it's all a bit of fun... :-)
So Cheap - yes. But as I said I really have most of the capability so without a real purpose I don't want to spend a lot on it. Maybe I'll just look at some IR lights to lights the place up when I fancy it - or better still work out how to use the ones I've got :-)
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www.pcmag.com/roundup/366149/the-best-outdoor-home-security-cameras
www.telegraph.co.uk/recommended/tech/best-home-security-cameras/
Any camera under £100 is worthless as a security camera. If you're just playing around then go buy the cheapest POS you can find. It'll let you prove the concept.
www.amazon.co.uk/ieGeek-Waterproof-Security-Surveillance-Detection-black/dp/B073GPKH4S/ref=sr_1_14?crid=1MWRAIQJ9E55X&keywords=security+cameras+outdoor+wireless&qid=1561568593&s=gateway&sprefix=secuirty+camera%2Caps%2C336&sr=8-14
Then you've got to decide how/if you will store the image (computer, cloud or DVD) and how you will see the image (monitor) and the wiring. They're not USB, they are standard BNC & Power cables.
If you're thinking DVD then something like this but you'll have to buy the disk you want.
www.amazon.co.uk/Swann-Channel-Security-System-DVR-4575/dp/B07FRPGX3L/ref=pd_sbs_60_5/257-5171032-3215600?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B07FRPGX3L&pd_rd_r=3e64c204-9835-11e9-b1eb-4784b345ea18&pd_rd_w=a2anO&pd_rd_wg=WpZhP&pf_rd_p=18edf98b-139a-41ee-bb40-d725dd59d1d3&pf_rd_r=3JGVFZDMVRYQWW8M1SP8&psc=1&refRID=3JGVFZDMVRYQWW8M1SP8
If you decide to involve the cloud you'll need to think about internet connection.
If you're sticking on your PC then you'll need to have some acceptable video card or other device. If you keep a single camera and store a rolling month then the space is quite manageable. As a rough guide a rolling month for 4 cameras is about 500GB if I remember correctly. Closer to 1Tb if you go higher resolution.
www.amazon.co.uk/SSL-Video-Camera-Security-System/dp/B075Z3VL55/ref=sr_1_35?keywords=security+camera+dvd&qid=1561568672&s=gateway&sr=8-35
You can use Baluns & cat 5, which is what I have done if you need longer distance because it's easier and considerably cheaper
www.amazon.co.uk/VIMVIP-HD-CVI-Passive-Connector-Transmitter/dp/B06XCGZ3H5/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=baluns&qid=1561568769&s=gateway&sr=8-6
M.
Last edited by: No FM2R on Wed 26 Jun 19 at 18:11
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Lots of times cameras are just a toy or ineffective. However.
I played about with putting security cams in my mum's house. In the end, we went for Nest, which are ludicrously not cheap, but just work, and also have funky things like face recognition and movement sensors. I put four in her house, all downstairs.
Everyone in the family thought it was overkill and a bit mad. My mum never really knew or remembered they were there, being ancient and a bit confused.
Last New Year's Eve at about 6pm, I had a pattern of alerts on my phone that made me look on the cameras via the web. I played back the footage, and saw (and heard) my mum fall over and break her hip just ten minutes earlier, which was an unpleasant experience for us both.
We dealt with it all immediately from that point on of course, and within an hour or so she was in hospital and being seen to. If I hadn't put the cameras in, she would have been lying in her kitchen for at least 48 hours over the holiday, and to be frank at the age of 91 probably would not have made it.
So for us, there was absolutely a use for the darn things. Now she's no longer in her home, but I've left the cameras there in case of burglars or whatever. But I'm pretty sure they were a literal life saver.
Last edited by: Crankcase on Wed 26 Jun 19 at 18:19
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And monitoring is an excellent use for them. As is general viewing, gate monitoring for visitors and that sort of thing.
But for security, especially outside and night and double especially with moving objects, mostly worthless.
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Yep, I like the informal monitoring, of anything which may be of interest (but not a la Chuck Berry!!). I'd be quiet interested to see what wildlife is in my garden at night. For at least one night anyway :-)
I don't really feel the need for full-on security here, though we were burgled once some years back.
I've taken the comments on board and rooted around some of the links, all much appreciated.
Maybe I ought to be looking for a codger's course on using the Pi, as I think that's likely to be closest to what I want. I bought a whole bag of sensors from my Chinese eBay friends but I'm not sure how (or why) I'd use a lot of them, even if I could work out how to connect them!!
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I just noticed I used the word security in the title. Misleading of me, sorry...
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>> I just noticed I used the word security in the title. Misleading of me, sorry...
Doh.
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>> I just noticed I used the word security in the title. Misleading of me, sorry...
Would you like to borrow my edit key while yours is being serviced ;)
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So I messed around setting up the Pi camera yesterday afternoon, and sellotaped it on my office window looking out onto the street just because I can.
A neighbour was telling me earlier that there was a lot of police activity just along the road at about 02:45 this morning, which ended up with a police wagon turning up and someone being carted off under loud protest. Not sure if it was a neighbour or a ne'er-do-well.
I heard nothing but a review of my recordings does show some police cars passing a couple of times then one stopped outside, then a bit of coming and going for 40 minutes or so. I can't see any people or action as the picture quality isn't good enough at night.
So maybe it ought to be a security camera after all :-) And maybe there's more going on here than I ever know about...
I'm thinking I may waste £18 on the infrared camera for the Pi.
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Hi-tech curtain twitching? Such a geek.
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Take care. Overlook a neighbour and they may have a case to complain. Point it at any public street and you'll be liable for GDPR stuff.
www.gov.uk/government/publications/domestic-cctv-using-cctv-systems-on-your-property/domestic-cctv-using-cctv-systems-on-your-property
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Be careful indeed
Friend of mine has one in his kitchen overlooking the street which has sound recording
He checked it a few months ago and picked up his wife talking on the phone to a boyfriend apparently describing in some detail what she was going to do to him when they next met.
Divorce is going through and the tape will be used by him when it comes to getting custody of the kids.
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Eek!! Camera now taken down!! Being not much larger than a man's thumbnail it wasn't that visible, and I'd turned off the red always-on LED on the front, but I can do without getting into trouble or upsetting the neighbours!!
I had actually masked everything but the actual street as it was being triggered by trees and bushes swaying in the wind, and the occasional passing bird, but the recordings include everything, including the house fronts opposite.
The Pi doesn't record sound...
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>> Divorce is going through and the tape will be used by him when it comes
>> to getting custody of the kids.
Won't help him unless it shows a risk to the kids (eg they might have been neglected or observed aforementioned sexual activity).
Court decision will be about what's best for kids, not the morals of the parents.
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>> Take care. Overlook a neighbour and they may have a case to complain. Point it
>> at any public street and you'll be liable for GDPR stuff.
I understood it's perfectly legal to take a photo in any public place and presumed that includes video.
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>> I understood it's perfectly legal to take a photo in any public place and presumed
>> that includes video.
It is. Its the storing it and how secure you keep it afterwards thats the issue with GDPR
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Not sure where that leaves street photographers? I've taken pictures of interesting street scenes - think brightly coloured market stalls, statues, benches etc, most with people in. Also just people shots - think Glastonbury hippies, bearded tramp types, odd clothes - many times, as have lots of photographers. Some of the pics are deleted, but some are on Flickr, some are just sitting on one of my hard drives somewhere.
None are for commercial use, so no releases or anything, and though it shouldn't matter, none are of children.
Am I going to jail?
Last edited by: Crankcase on Fri 28 Jun 19 at 10:39
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>> Am I going to jail?
No. It's perfectly legitimate to photograph in public areas. Photographers have though significant issues with security guards etc who assert differently.
There's a difference between photography and the use of surveillance cameras which record continuously. The latter are OK if they only survey your own property. Probably also OK if any neighbour consents to their comings and goings being recorded.
Neighbour over road has several cameras under his eaves which cover his own property, parts of adjacent homes and the public road that forms the head of the cul-de-sac. Added them about two years ago after another neighbour's Audi TT was taken from his drive. We were happy to consent but that consent cannot extend to other comings and goings. It's also a grey area for any visitors to my home.
He has registered with the Information Commissioner and attached notices, provided by the alarm installer, announcing presence of CCTV and giving his surname and mobile number as contact for anybody wanting more detail or, I suppose, a subject access request.
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>>Street / public photography.
Totally legal unless someone is being harassed by the photographer which would usually involve more than 1 or 2 photos. Even for publication - otherwise newspapers would need to ask for permission from everyone identifiable in a crowd photo!
Also, it is perfectly legal to photograph the police in most circumstances even if they say otherwise. Again, harassment can be an issue and if they think that you have recorded a crime they can confiscate your equipment to preserve evidence.
If photographing very close up, always ask permission. A work mate of mine got some cracking photos of the "Hells Angel" type bikers when they were in Brighton recently. Walking around with a camera in close proximity got their heckles up. Ask politely and it they were as keen as mustard to show the chrome and tattoos!
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I video on stations a lot. Challenged by staff quite a bit who have no idea of the legality of such, trying to say it's banned.
I carry a print out from Network Rail and British Transport Police that asserts my rights and their control, and they do have some.
Funnily enough tripods are banned on the London Underground, but filming isnt
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>> Funnily enough tripods are banned on the London Underground, but filming isnt
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I guess they see tripods as a trip hazard
Hope the recovery is continuing
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Yes I'm fine, only problem is my treatment has been moved from an integrated care team into two streams. Cancer surveillance team and surgical team. My ileostomy reversal is now a non urgent surgical procedure, which means much shoulder shrugging and " who knows" responses
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>> Hi-tech curtain twitching? Such a geek.
>>
Oh yes, surely so!! :-)
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Cheap security cameras - No FM2R
