Wireless surveilance cameras?

[Happiest mommy]

Hi DISers! looking into getting some wireless cameras before our trip would like to download an App that enables me to see the house via phone/tablet please give me your recomendations TIA

 

[vacationer1954]

The ones we have are Foscam cameras. http://foscam.us/products.html We set them up to email us if they "see" someone.

 

[Bnb0627]

I am also interested in getting wireless cameras before our trip. I would want at least 3 cameras but wondering if night vision is a good idea?

 

[vacationer1954]

The night vision works very well. We can switch it on and off and with it off you can't see anything when it is dark of course, so it couldn't detect anything moving in the room. With the night vision on it is very easy to see everything though it is mostly black and white.

 

[Chaoster]

I was looking into a system for my home and found out you need to be sure your wireless camera is encrypted. A lot of cameras are on a 2.4Ghz and its not secure. There was an article in a magazine where a person installed a wireless backup camera on their pickup. Put the screen on his dash and drove around. He was able to pick up video from peoples security cameras and baby monitors. So he said be careful what you buy it could do more harm than good. just a little info I found. you don't want strangers looking in on your camera.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

One thing to remember that a wireless camera is NOT 100% wireless. You still have to supply the camera with electricity for it to work. What wireless means is that you don't have to run a video wire to the camera in order to see the video.

We have a wired system called Q-See. Got it from Costco for $400.00. I am able to see our camera's from my laptop or my smartphone when we are away from home.
It has great night vision. We can see our barn in the backyard at night so we have full coverage of our backyard.

It can email you if it senses motion.

 

[vacationer1954]

The Foscam cameras won't even let you see anything if you don't have a valid username and password for the camera. There are smartphone apps that let you see into your home while on the road, but the older models ($75) require Java which we have disabled because of a recent security alert. The newer models ($95 or $180) don't.

 

[Twende]

I am not so camera or computer literate with this stuff. What all do you really need to make this work say in your yard? We are having trouble with someone vandalizing things outside on the house and yard. The police suggested we set up a camera but I have no idea how to really do it.

We do not have any internet at this house. There is electricity though. Can we still use these products and then see what is happening from a computer where we are now (in another state)? Or does there have to internet where the cameras are?

 

[travelcoupons]

My foscam captured some 'intruders' last month at 3 am one night...

The camera above is a FI8905W which is suitable for outdoor use. You CANNOT point these directly into the sun so keep that in mind when mounting them.
The Tinycam Monitor Free smartphone app works good with Foscams & yes you need internet in your home to use them remotely.

 

[vacationer1954]

I am not so camera or computer literate with this stuff. What all do you really need to make this work say in your yard?

I think the camera and computer part of it would be the easy part for you unless you have a perfect place where you can put the camera inside a window looking outside. Putting a camera outside means things like running wiring, screwing things into the side of the house, and other things that I don't understand.

We do not have any internet at this house.

That's a problem. One way or another, the cameras have to communicate with a router, which is connected to the Internet all day long.

 

[Swimalie]

If you want to be able to save the images or review them later, you also need a dvr and the program on your computer to review things from away from home.

 

[wiigirl]

My DH installed a Qsee system. It works really really well.

http://www.amazon.com/Q-See-QSWOC2R-Outdoor-Wireless-Receiver/dp/B000REQN1E/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1358101805&sr=8-15&keywords=qsee

 

[disneylove69]

One thing to remember that a wireless camera is NOT 100% wireless. You still have to supply the camera with electricity for it to work. What wireless means is that you don't have to run a video wire to the camera in order to see the video.

We have a wired system called Q-See. Got it from Costco for $400.00. I am able to see our camera's from my laptop or my smartphone when we are away from home.
It has great night vision. We can see our barn in the backyard at night so we have full coverage of our backyard.

It can email you if it senses motion.

I use this brand for my job. It's a fairly good brand. You can get them at Fry's or order through them online fairly cheap. You don't have to go wireless. Since you have to run power you could just run the cable to a dvr. They are plug in play. Wireless cameras are very sensitive, not always clear, and you can't run to far away from the main unit. So check the distance rating on your camera.

 

[mel&me]

I've been thinking of getting a system. Whats a good water proof system.

 

[seashoreCM]

One advantage of a camera that transmitted the pictures to a remote location for recording is that, if some miscreant found and destroyed the camera, the pictures are still saved.

Also check the resolution. Standard definition is 640x480 more or less but some have analog transmission and cables that may limit it to 480x480 but stretched to the same width. The majority of security systems are not high definition (greater than 1000x700) You will be able to tell that abnormal things are happening but probably not be able to identify people by name on a less than top of the line standard definition system.

Believe it or not, VHS VCR tape, although it also gives a picture of the same width, gives a resolution of about 320 horizontal by 480 vertical. If not in black and white, it supports only gradual color changes, at most 40, going from left to right. There are still a few security systems that store images, ranging from full motion video to one snapshot every ten seconds, on VHS tape.

There are some "sub-standard definition" systems operating at 320x240.

 

[goodfood4ursoul]

Along the same lines as a security camera, but for less $$ and hassle,
you could try a wildlife camera.
I know, it's not the same- it won't let you watch online or call you when someone is on your property, but we simply could not afford those kinds of cameras on our farm- as we have multiples covering more area.

Our camera is motion activated- if something moves in the field of vision, we have a record of it.

This includes proof that yes, my good neighbor, your dog IS visiting us daily and thinks she owns our property, which is why we had a dog fight 2 days ago.
And YES, (a different neighbor) I SAW that you visited my farm in your silver and green truck with license plates (123****) and left with one of my Christmas trees in the bed of your truck.
Yes, really these things happened and we have a record that will stand up in court if we chose to pursue that.

There are no wires or cords on our cameras, they are battery operated and yes, we have to bring the camera in and download the pics to see what occurred- not a problem for us.
You can strap it to a tree or anything else outside.

We have also put up signs with eyeballs on them that say "Security Camera watching 24/7- no hunting with rifles on this property"
and we have found that we have virtually no trespassing as opposed to past years where people ran their ATVs through our fields and opened our rear gates and let our livestock out.

It only takes one encounter for word to get out that you have eyes watching continuously.
And then people steer clear.