Camera Recommendations

[snmhanson]

I am hoping someone can give me some advice on a few outdoor IP POE dome cameras to hang under our soffits.  I have run cat6 to the locations we want cameras so now I am just trying to hone in on the best cameras for my needs.
 
I would like lower profile cameras with good resolution (at least 1080p but preferably 4K) and I would be interested in PTZ cameras, but I am hoping to stay under ~$200 or so per camera so maybe I'll have to be happy with fixed.  Ideally I would like the cameras to be able to host their own web page and be viewed (and controlled if PTZ) without requiring a DVR or any proprietary equipment.  However, I do need the option of integrating with a DVR as well as with an OPII if possible.  Any finally, all else being equal I prefer to stick with the more well known companies in the industry such as Speco, Flir, Lorex, etc... if possible. 
 
Three of the cameras are for near-field viewing of our driveway and yards with maybe 75-100' being the farthest out I'd need it to see.  However, I also need one camera to look out over a range of about 1/3 to 1 mile off of our deck with maybe a 45-60 degree field of view.
 
I should also mention that I am going to have a Ring Elite doorbell so if I can somehow integrate the camera and doorbell into the same "system" to some degree it would be the icing on the cake.
 
Any advice on what specific cameras/DVR/system I might want to look at?
 
Thanks for any advice,
 
Matt

 

[upstatemike]

You will probably get better advice if you talk a little more about how you want to use the cameras... view remotely from your phone, capture a couple of weeks worth of recording while away, etc.
 
Example using my requirements:
 
Have a screen on my Home Office desk with a 24/7 live view of all cameras at once (in a grid) so I can quickly notice anything out of the ordinary during the day or evening.
 
Have the ability to call up a camera on the nearest Echo Show (I have several) to see what set off an alert when I am not at my desk.
 
Have the ability to view cameras on my phone when I am away and get an alert on my phone.
 
Have the ability to review overnight footage to see what happened while I was asleep (usually animal issues).
 
Cameras need to be POE with good night vision.

 

[snmhanson]

Thanks.  Yes, that initial post was probably a bit jumbled.  As far as how I want to use the cameras:

• Be able to view the feeds when I am away from the home (at work or on vacation in another country) and see what's happening in real time from an iPhone, iPad, computer, or any device with a web-based browser
• Also wouldn't mind an app on my devices to view the cameras, but the above would suffice if an app isn't in the card
• Connect to a DVR so that I can record and review events at certain times or when motion is detected.  Ideally I'd like to be able to remotely access and view/manage recordings the DVR as well.
• Integrate with OPII touch panels and possibly OPII apps so we can check things out from various locations in the house where touch panels are located such as on the panel next to our bed
• For the longer-range camera I want to be able to create a public webpage to allow anyone to view it
• Cameras need to be a dome style and fairly unobtrusive with POE with reasonably good resolution and night vision
• Finally, I like it when things can be standalone and continue to function if a part of the system (such as a DVR) goes down, so a camera that fits that bill would be awesome

Those are the main things I am hoping for.  Seems like there are a lot of options that would suffice for the above - just looking some good reasonably priced recommendations.
 
Thanks,
 
Matt

 

[upstatemike]

I will let some of the experts weigh in but it sounds like you can address you requirements in three parts:
 
1 The cameras themselves which will be driven by what POE models will work with the other parts of your system.
 
2 The Remote access/DVR function which would be handled by something like Blue Iris Software on a PC or a proprietary DVR such as those from Amcrest
 
3 The OPII screens and public feed which would likely access the camera feeds directly and not involve the DVR setup
 
 
I don't know what the constraints are for displaying stuff with OPII screens so maybe figuring that out will inform as to what options are available for the rest.

 

[mikefamig]

I know little about surveillance cams but I want to mention something that I've seen that may serve you well. There are 180 degree and I think even  wider fish-eye cameras that use software to break the image into several streams so that it appears to be several different cameras. The fish-eye images are corrected digitally and they even can have electronic pan/tilt/zoom.
 
Mike.

 

[johnboy70_99]

I am using axis cameras and blue iris and it meets all of your requirements except for opII.

One note - you may not want to bother with op integration. I used to integrate with homeseer and also use modulators to put on my house cable system. I dont feel the need to do that anymore. I have the blue iris app on my phone, my iPad, and can view on my laptop via web browser, one of which I usually have in my hand or at arms length pretty much all of the time. It is so easy to view the cameras that way.

 

[snmhanson]

Thanks for the replies.  I think that's a pretty good summary of what I'm after upstatemike.  The only thing I'll add is that I'd like the cameras to be standalone and not rely on any other component (aside from our home network) to do a live stream.
 
I've looked at blue iris and it appears to be a pretty robust system.  I can't tell whether it is required to see the camera feeds in your system johnboy, or if it just supplements the basic functionality of the system.  Are the axis cameras able stand by themselves so that if the computer running blue iris goes down you still can see the feeds if you are off-site? 
 
As far as OPII integration, it's something that I'd like to do.  If nothing else it provides a "reason" to get the touchscreens for the OPII rather than just the keypads.  That said, it is probably towards the bottom of my must have list so not vital if it doesn't work out.
 
Thanks again for the replies and suggestions.
 
Matt

 

[mikefamig]

Blue Iris is used to view the cameras but you can configure as many IOS apps on your phone as you like that are also able to view hte cameras as stand-alone.
 
The problem with viewing the cameras as stand-alones is that you have to configure your firewall with a pinhole/port forwarding for each cam. If you have ten cams you have ten open ports. With Blue Iris you just open one port for the BI software and then BI addresses each camera locally within the firewall. This is more secure and allows for fast recording to the HD but it does make it necessary to run BI 24x7. I had 6 cameras set up individually for a few years but finally bit the bullet and set up a pc running 24x7 with BI and I've been very happy with it. Now that I have the pc running 24x7 I can also wifi stream music from it when I mow the lawn. Next I plan to see if I can set up some sort of NAS software on the same pc for access to pics and docs and stuff across OS platforms.
 
Mike.
 

 

[upstatemike]

I switched from stand-alone camera feeds to Blue Iris for viewing cameras while away from home and it is definitely the way to go. Reduced complexity and greater security more than outweigh any concerns about being dependent on Blue Iris. I get an email with a snapshot any time there is motion at my back door so I see all deliveries or other activity while I am away.
 
I have never used the phone/tablet apps for Blue Iris but might look into that. I wonder how much extra load it puts on the Blue Iris PC? How practical would it be to place half a dozen cheap Amazon tablets at strategic points around the house to run the Blue Iris app 24/7 to give a live view of the doors and driveway?

 

[snmhanson]

Thanks again all!  I'm warming up to a PC-based system, but I'm still concerned with the external link to the cameras being the software running on the PC.  We do get power flashes from time to time where I live and I often find myself having to reboot our computers.  Also, we hope to do a fair amount of traveling in the coming years and won't always be in a position to reboot or otherwise troubleshoot the computer/software.  Even when I'm in town but out of the house such as at work I don't want to have to run home if there is an issue so stability is important to me.  Has that been an issue for any of you using blue iris?
 
Also, I checked out the Axis cameras and they look nice.  However, the pricing on their PTZ models are a bit higher than some others such as Lorax and Speco.  That said, some of their fixed cameras are priced closer to the fixed models from other companies.  I did read in several of the online reviews that the lower priced cameras have issues with nighttime conditions.  As much as I'd like to be able to spend $500+ on a camera, I think I need to start in the sub-$200 range.  Any thoughts on PTZ from one of the other lower priced companies versus a fixed camera from Axis?
 
Thanks,
 
Matt

 

[mikefamig]

Yes I do lose my PC that is running BI in a power outage. It hasn't been a big problem because it isn't often and I't;s no big deal to go without until I get home and restart the pc. Maybe there is a way to have the machine restart itself? Otherwise I'd recommend a battery backup. How long does an outage usually last?
 
Mike.

 

[RAL]

Often in the PC BIOS, there is an option to automatically restart the PC after a power loss.

 

[wkearney99]

One important thing to consider is how readily will the system be usable from remote locations that may not have great internet connectivity, or have unexpected restrictions.  Trying to stream through a double-NAT'd cellular connection in a foreign country can be a real headache if you're not expecting it.  Waste a lot of your vacation time beating your head against a wall trying to work around it...

As for power outages and reboots, UPS boxes ARE CHEAP.  Get one, direct-attach it to the PC and let it monitor how to handle itself.  As in, detect power loss but do nothing until a certain percentage of power remains.  As in, keep running for a few minutes... it might just be a temporary loss.  But power off gracefully once levels drop past a certain point.  Then configure the BIOS on the PC to automatically resume operation when power returns. 

The weak point here is power coming back on and going down again before the batteries have recharged.  You can run into trouble if the UPS doesn't have sufficient capacity to bring the PC back to life long enough to finish booting and letting the operating system have a crack at checking the battery level again.   So when you buy a UPS for it you'd do well to have more capacity than necessary and program your shutdowns to occur sooner rather than later.

 

[wkearney99]

Also, I checked out the Axis cameras and they look nice.  However, the pricing on their PTZ models are a bit higher than some others such as Lorax and Speco.  

 
You get what you pay for when it comes to spending on cameras with features like PTZ and low light coverage. 

There's a lot to be said for higher-res cameras with wider viewing angles.  Because how often do you really do any PTZ'ing in anything other than a live viewing situation?  More often that not it's an after-the-fact situation and you need recorded pixels more than you need to move anything around.  

Some of the 360 cameras out there would be a great alternative to PTZ for a lot of situations.  But I don't know if BI has support for any.

 

[pbc]

Word of advice, unless you're going to add external IR lights, don't go with dome cameras for night time viewing with built in IR.  I did, and man do I regret it, tons of clouding.  Get Turret style for outdoors.
 
Second, never, ever port forward your cameras.  Instead use VPN (like OpenVPN) to access your cameras.  I had some issues with my openVPN config, port forwarded for a bit, and immediately found chinese and russian based IPs trying to hack into my cameras, bots presumably.
 
I use Hikvision cameras with a Hikvision NVR, all bought off of Aliexpress.  If I started again today, and was on a budget, I'd probably look at the Dahua starlight lineup with a refurbed Dell Optiplex tower running BlueIris.
 
ipcamtalk.com is a great place to review IP camera recco's.