Advice and recommendations please! CCTV security cameras

bowkett · 26 October 2015 at 6:19PM

Hi folks,
Advice and opinions sought on purchasing cctv or security cameras. Looking for something that is easy to install and record from.
Thanks folks

enfield_freddy · 26 October 2015 at 6:45PM

a piece of string can be anything from an inch long to several miles long ,please explain what you want better

bowkett · 26 October 2015 at 7:45PM

Er, something to use at home. 24hr recording. Front and back of house. Want something that will record and keep for a few days or so. I have heard there are some wireless ones out there. Some you can view orver the internet etc. No nithing about any so asking for advice and opinions :-)

Marktheshark · 26 October 2015 at 7:48PM

The B word is BUDGET
Low budget = VGA quality potato cam.
High budget = 4k recording with 720 steaming and low light capability with motion sensor alert and phone app remote viewing.

Delia_Cardei · 27 October 2015 at 11:22AM

Hi, I guess the reason why you unable to add more specific details to your needs is that you're not a techie in cctv ah?

Whatever. Will do my best to help you.

There're many cctv security cameras costing not that much but with quite a good quality. But I haven't had a chance to test those, only having some experience with traditional cctv kit (dvr + cameras). I have a floureon 4ch 1200 tvl ahd cctv security camera kit and it's so far so good. This kit has four 720p cameras which offer a quite crispy view IMHO. DVR is responsible for the email alert and recording.

If you only wanna buy some cameras with remote recording & reviewing function, ip cameras can be a good option. (IP camera can send and receive data via a computer network and the Internet, thus you can control remotely as long as hooking internet to it).

As for ip camera, you need to focus on the following points.

Type: Bullet or dome or turret . Bullet cameras are the most popular. They can be used inside or out. These security cameras casings are usually weather resistant and don’t require added external protection. The dome cameras are obviously named for its dome shape. Dome cams are generally used inside buildings, although some domes can be used outside as well. Turret (ball) cams are also popular, I usually get them requested for indoors in professional offices. But now manufacturers make outdoor-weatherproof types of all three types of cams.

Wireless or wired. Wired cameras can be a little bit difficult to install and not that easy to hide. While wireless cameras are plug-n-play which makes it much easier to set up.

Weatherproof. You mentioned front and back of your house, so IP66 rating is a must.

Lens. A camera lens with a higher focal length number will deliver more crispy viewing.

P2P. To avoid complicated DDNS network setup, P2P function should take into account. It is the easiest and fastest one-step network setup function.

Night vision. To see clearly under low light condition, IR led is required. Generally speaking how far the illumination of Infrared determines the night vision range.

Network bandwidth. IP security cam requires network bandwidth to transmit and store images, video and data. The higher the resolution of your camera, the greater your bandwidth requirements.

Hope those give you some hints.

mspritch · 2 November 2015 at 8:39PM

If considering wireless cams, bear in mind that they still need power, and therefore wires.

s_b · 2 November 2015 at 11:42PM

mspritch wrote: »

If considering wireless cams, bear in mind that they still need power, and therefore wires.

more importantly in my opinion is the fact that people can see what your cameras are looking with basic equipment thus finding where they are and then smashing them prior to burgling you
this is why i have gone back to wired

kwikbreaks · 3 November 2015 at 11:59AM

And they can't figure out where wired cameras are pointing?

Plus proper wireless IP cameras can be made reasonably private. They are still a more expensive option and still need power wires though.

Delia_Cardei wrote: »

Lens. A camera lens with a higher focal length number will deliver more crispy viewing.

Focal length is much more about the field of view provided. Long focal lengths will limit the field of view which is probably not what you want unless you figure on having more cameras to cover the required area.

Simplest to set up IMO is a CCTV DVR. You can get purpose made cables that will carry the video from and power to the cameras so it all becomes plug and play. You'll probably want to network the DVR so it can be viewed and controlled on a PC and maybe phones/tablets. There are cloud or P2P options that avoid the need to make any router settings but then you will be dependent on the manufacturers servers for remote access.

Le_Kirk · 18 May 2016 at 9:56AM

New poster, joins specifically on a thread from last year to recommend a specific camera or supplier - suspicious or what?

Nilrem · 18 May 2016 at 7:32PM

kwikbreaks wrote: »

And they can't figure out where wired cameras are pointing?
.

It's a lot harder to tell with a wired camera what the focal range of the camera is, the quality of the image, how it's dealing with low light

For example if you've got a close in camera it might only cover the immediate area around your gate, if you've got a longer focal length camera it might cover the gate, the approach to the gate, and the edge of your drive, but just looking at the camera won't give that information.

Personally one of the problems I would have with using wireless cameras is that if the channel gets busy, or there is interference from other devices the camera is likely to either stop working totally, or go very blocky.

And if you go with a POE camera you can run a singe cable that does both power and signal which can be little larger than just the power cable.

googler · 19 April 2018 at 4:38PM

I/we use Arlo. There's no point in recording 24/7 if nothing is happening. The Arlo cams respond to movement. Wireless cams, cloud storage, operation from PC, tablet or smartphone, extra cams easily added to starter sets, no wiring, apart from connection between base unit and household broadband router

Advice and recommendations please! CCTV security cameras

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