IP Camera's

[ian16th]

Anyone one any experience with IP Security Camera's?

I'm getting one of these, tomorrow to play with.

IP Camera.jpg (30.11 KiB) Viewed 525 times

[Pontius Navigator]

Similar. Mine is Foscam. Sends me email image. Allows me to remote control with an App. For away from home remember it's a different IP address.

One catch is that the IR illuminator is reflected by glass. All is not lost though. By reducing the angle of incidence away from the normal the IR reflection is away from the lens. Sufficient IR will pass though the glass to illuminate things outside but obviously degrade compared with an outside camera.

We used ours in anger once. We were just about to depart on a cruise an in an hotel away from home. First was an email showing a strange car on the drive. An hour later a hand and arm and the camera was moved.

We rang 999 and were patched through to the local police. We next contacted the pub and Chris and a neighbour joined the police. The police were quite impressed.

The system worked although the intruders were my daughter and grandchildren who had arrived unannounced from Germany.

[llondel]

Make sure you change the default password(s) if there are any. Also give some thought to where to site the camera and its field of view from the perspective of someone managing to hack it. If you've got one covering the hallway then think about what others might see if they had access.

[unifoxos]

I had a similar small one once, but found the PTZ operation very slow and clunky. This was a couple of years ago. I hope they are better now.

[Rwy in Sight]

My sister and her partner has one for several years now to see what her three cats are doing while she is away. She uses it also to check on me while I am doing cat-sitting and talk to me if she does not want to call me. One time I checked the quality of the image it was not bad and it is several years old.

[Pontius Navigator]

Touching on mention of Romanian cleaners, my son in law and daughter only got home Friday night to Sunday night. They employed a cleaner once a week to come in for the usual light work, nothing heavy and nothing above 4 feet.

Her money was left on the side.

They were not sure they were getting the two hour's work so he set up a webcam. It was quite obvious and he also told her. One time she did under the two hours but at least the place was clean and tidy.

Then one day the cleaner came, collected her money and departed. When challenged she said she had had a pressing engagement. He gave her one more chance and then she quit.

[ian16th]

This project has gone abeyant!

The local store declines to sell me the camera at the advertised price.

I am now in 'aggrieved consumer' mode and communicating with Head Office.

For those that know SA, the store involved is Game. Part of Massmart, and in turn part of Walmart!

[Pontius Navigator]

https://m.guzzle.co.za/deal/2065309/

It has a different cam at R650 until 1 Sep but the link takes you to one at R700 until 15 Sep.

Looking at lowest prices they obviously realised their price was a steal.

[ian16th]

https://m.guzzle.co.za/deal/2065309/

It has a different cam at R650 until 1 Sep but the link takes you to one at R700 until 15 Sep.

PN
Thanks for that, but their nearest store is 100Km from me!
Shipping cost by courier would make them too expensive.
This is a problem that one learns to live with when residing is the wilds of Africa.

The camera isn't an urgent requirement, and I think that Game will eventually stand by their advert.
If I can spin it out to next Wednesday, I can get an additional 10% off for Pensioners Day!

[OFSO]

I have bought several at Robert Dyas in England. I think they were £25 each. You have to set them up plugged into your PC, then you can use them wirelessly. Very basic but I wanted them to make sure power was on in houses when away, also check automatic KASA lighting was working. For this purpose, excellent.

[Pontius Navigator]

I wanted them to make sure power was on in houses when away, . For this purpose, excellent.

Brilliant idea.

[ian16th]

It appears that I have failed as a consumer.

My e-mails are simply not replied to.

[llondel]

Wireless cameras have the downside that someone can jam them, they're easier to hack than wired cameras, and if they're streaming video then they're using up your WiFi bandwidth that you might want for other purposes. Obviously some or all of that might not be a problem in some cases.

[CharlieOneSix]

I did a DIY install of four external cameras about 5 years ago here at home. I can see them on my PC, iPhone and iPad. The Police were delighted with the quality when I gave them video of a suspicious couple who called here selling Persian rugs from the back of a Mercedes.
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It's not much use to ian16th but I can highly recommend a firm called CCTV42 in the UK who supplied all my equipment and masses of advice. They have a lot of info on their website https://www.cctv42.co.uk plus some excellent training videos. However they will not supply wireless cameras - reasons below. I have no connection to them other than as a satisfied customer.

This CCTV42 video is very informative about cheap products.....


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From the CCTV42 website:

Before you buy wireless CCTV cameras or a wireless system read this.

There are a number of problems with wireless CCTV. Firstly it isn't actually wireless, you still need to power the cameras via a cable. Wireless cameras tend to be fairly poor quality aimed at the lower end of the DIY market. The electronics aren't great and you only have a limited choice of lens options. Choosing the correct lens CCTV camera is the single most important factor in determining the overall quality of your CCTV system. Read our camera buying guide to understand what you need to consider when looking at CCTV cameras.

Wireless problems and limitations

The wireless link itself often causes problems. In the UK a lot of other devices share the relatively narrow frequency bands allocated to this sort of device. Wireless routers which stream the internet around your home share the same 2.4GHz frequency of many wireless CCTV systems for instance. Microwaves, baby monitors, bluetooth devices, structural building components, cordless telephones, walls and other solid objects are just some of the things which can get in the way of a potential signal.

[Boac]

https://www.which.co.uk/news/2019/10/th ... your-home/

[OFSO]

Anyone hacking into and viewing my living room cameras would die of boredom.

[Boac]

Unless, of course, you had slinky cat with you?

[OFSO]

Slinky enough for you ?

[Pontius Navigator]

I just bought two IP cameras. One is a FOSCAM which will be hard wired for power with the option of a cable LAN too. Excellent picture and good night range. Not quite out of the box set up.

The other is SDETER Outdoor Security Camera,Wireless Rechargeable Battery Powered Surveillance System,WiFi IP Hd CCTV Video House Monitor (Battery Camera White)
by SDETER. This was easy to set up. Battery powered, stick anywhere. It's battery capacity is about double that of others. It only works with a smart phone. Its IR illuminator is smaller than the mains powered camera so the range is less. We have two sets of patio doors about 30 feet apart and it can cover both. IR detail is very good but I have just done a test. Both doors have solar PIR and these cause flare with the camera. Might have to rethink the position.