Seeking info about surveillance cameras

[Brunolem]

I am looking for surveillance cameras, both for outdoors and indoors, and I find the info provided by the sellers generally very confusing. 

 

Here is what I am looking for:

 

I want cameras that are usually in sleeping mode and start recording only when there is movement in their field of vision. 

 

I also want these cameras to immediately send to my phone an alert message when such a movement occur, while letting me see what is happening. 

 

Finally I want these cameras to be easy to install and set up. 

 

If you know cameras fitting my requests, and available in Thailand, even via Aliexpress or Amazon, thank you for providing me with some guidance. 

[Tayaout]

You need cameras that support ONVIF protocol (most do) that should be managed via a dedicated computer. If you want video acceleration for object detection/license plate reading you might need a good graphic card. Check if the software you use works better with Nvidia or ATI cards.

 

You should use Gigabit cable and network switch or router. For software on Windows Blue Iris is pretty good and easy to use. I prefer Shinobi on Linux but it's not easy to setup for a begginer however they provide a paid cloud service that only require you to do the physical installation and no dedicated computer needed. 

 

You should setup remote access to the software via VPN and DDNS if your ip address is dynamic. Ideally you want a segregated network that can't reach the Internet but can be reached from the dedicated PC. Most of these camera are insecure by default and don't have automatic update or the company simply close and reopen under another name. 

 

Of course you can cut corner but will also lose functionality and probably get a lot of false positive alert. 

 

The cameras are never in sleeping mode. Usually they use motion detection that is unreliable but can be cleaned via post processing (object detection). I think some camera use infrared and probably have less false positive but I only installed the cheapest model that don't have this feature. Some camera can also be moved via software. Outdoor camera should be protected from the sun or the image will soon all be pink and black.

[Peterw42]

A lot of the funtionality you are looking for is the main DVR unit not the individual cameras. A dedicated unit runs the system, stores the video, does the networking etc. A camera can do what you want but more than one will need a unit to run the system.

[CharlieH]

Very easy to do and wireless (must have power supply). They carry sd cards for recording. They can snapshot an image of full record video on motion depending on what you set it to. The system will email you when triggered and you can log in to it from your phone from anywhere, provided the computer the cameras are linked to is connected to the internet.

Once logged in you can move the cameras around and even speak through them.

 

Easily and readily available from Lazada from arounnd 800 baht each.

Not suitable for car number plates or any distance, ideal around the home for "visitors/monitoring"

 

If you want a dedicated recording unit there are full 8 camera systems with base unit from 8k upwards.

[KittenKong]

1 hour ago, Brunolem said:

Here is what I am looking for:

I want cameras that are usually in sleeping mode and start recording only when there is movement in their field of vision.

I also want these cameras to immediately send to my phone an alert message when such a movement occur, while letting me see what is happening.

Finally I want these cameras to be easy to install and set up. 

 

It really all boils down to how much you want to spend, how many cameras you want and over how big an area you need to install them.

 

So you need to be much more specific about the details of your installation. (How many cameras, whether you want some sort of centralised viewing position or whether you only need to view on your phone or PC, how easy it would be to run cables to the cameras, how long duration for recordings you want, how good your wifi coverage is over that area, and how fast your internet connection is generally.)

 

Motion detection for recording is available on all systems and so is not an issue at all. Warnings to other devices are also standard features.

[Brunolem]

5 hours ago, CharlieH said:

Very easy to do and wireless (must have power supply). They carry sd cards for recording. They can snapshot an image of full record video on motion depending on what you set it to. The system will email you when triggered and you can log in to it from your phone from anywhere, provided the computer the cameras are linked to is connected to the internet.

Once logged in you can move the cameras around and even speak through them.

 

Easily and readily available from Lazada from arounnd 800 baht each.

Not suitable for car number plates or any distance, ideal around the home for "visitors/monitoring"

 

If you want a dedicated recording unit there are full 8 camera systems with base unit from 8k upwards.

Can you recommend a few cameras (names, models...)? 

 

Thanks. 

[CharlieH]

It would help if you could clarify what you need ? full system with hard drive, just 2 or three nothing fancy ? etc etc.

Then I can give better examples of what you actually need. I personally have several individual around the house that work very well for what they are.

[Brunolem]

4 hours ago, KittenKong said:

 

It really all boils down to how much you want to spend, how many cameras you want and over how big an area you need to install them.

 

So you need to be much more specific about the details of your installation. (How many cameras, whether you want some sort of centralised viewing position or whether you only need to view on your phone or PC, how easy it would be to run cables to the cameras, how long duration for recordings you want, how good your wifi coverage is over that area, and how fast your internet connection is generally.)

 

Motion detection for recording is available on all systems and so is not an issue at all. Warnings to other devices are also standard features.

Probably one outdoors camera and one indoors, for basic house surveillance. 

 

Both cameras don't need to be synched, they can work independently from each other. 

 

Can you recommend some specific cameras... I am not looking for anything fancy and expensive, but resilient enough... not a super cheap Chinese crap that will last a month... 

 

[Brunolem]

1 minute ago, CharlieH said:

It would help if you could clarify what you need ? full system with hard drive, just 2 or three nothing fancy ? etc etc.

Then I can give better examples of what you actually need. I personally have several individual around the house that work very well for what they are.

Basic home surveillance, no computer or hard drive involved, just the cameras and my mobile phone. 

 

I would need one camera outdoors (meaning waterproof) and one indoors, working separately, no need for a network... 

 

[CharlieH]

Ok, well whatever you get will need to be connect wirelessly to a computer and that to the internet to function.

 

Here are some ideas:

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/vstarcam-ip-camera-wifi-c7837wipblack-i832868-s348170626.html?spm

 

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/home-ip-security-camera-wifi-ip-1080p-hd-128gb-home-ip-security-camera-i316136194-s586000039.html?spm=a2o4m.searchlist.list.18.5e2e6d4eQ1jstM&search=1

 

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/vstarcam-c16s-wifi-ip-camera-1080p-2-i116221935-s120628169.html?spm=a2o4m.searchlist.list.38.5e2e6d4eCcyilZ&search=1

[NCC1701A]

5 minutes ago, Brunolem said:

no need for a network...

you would need a completely stand alone camera(s) with a SIM card that would be setup to text you when motion is detected.

 

[Brunolem]

6 minutes ago, CharlieH said:

Ok, well whatever you get will need to be connect wirelessly to a computer and that to the internet to function.

 

Here are some ideas:

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/vstarcam-ip-camera-wifi-c7837wipblack-i832868-s348170626.html?spm

 

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/home-ip-security-camera-wifi-ip-1080p-hd-128gb-home-ip-security-camera-i316136194-s586000039.html?spm=a2o4m.searchlist.list.18.5e2e6d4eQ1jstM&search=1

 

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/vstarcam-c16s-wifi-ip-camera-1080p-2-i116221935-s120628169.html?spm=a2o4m.searchlist.list.38.5e2e6d4eCcyilZ&search=1

Thanks, I will look at it... 

[CharlieH]

If you want a completely stand alone with sim, look at this:

 

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/aiiseecam-outdoor-camera-4g-sim-1080p-hd-i369010544-s721040253.html?spm=a2o4m.searchlist.list.13.58056d64yA5JtL&search=1

[Brunolem]

4 minutes ago, NCC1701A said:

you would need a completely stand alone camera(s) with a SIM card that would be setup to text you when motion is detected.

 

Yes... I don't have a computer, don't need one and don't want to buy one just for the cameras... 

[Brunolem]

3 minutes ago, CharlieH said:

If you want a completely stand alone with sim, look at this:

 

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/aiiseecam-outdoor-camera-4g-sim-1080p-hd-i369010544-s721040253.html?spm=a2o4m.searchlist.list.13.58056d64yA5JtL&search=1

Good... that's more like what I am looking for. 

 

I didn't know about these cameras with a sim card... 

[Rimmer]

VStar cams from Lazada are cheap and good,  Arlo Netgear are probably the best but expensive buy from Amazon, both can do exactly what you need

 

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/vstarcam-c17s-1080p-outdoor-ip-camera-20-white-i128602385-s518744860.html?spm=a2o4m.pdp.recommendation_2.2.558646fa3Ro8IF&mp=1&clickTrackInfo=db031ce8-4da6-4066-a10a-3aa732aaa2b6__128602385__14396__1&scm=1007.16389.99110.0

 

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=netgear+arlo&crid=E33SKCN48KQ7&sprefix=netgear+arlo%2Caps%2C1182&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_3_12

[wgdanson]

27 minutes ago, Brunolem said:

Yes... I don't have a computer, don't need one and don't want to buy one just for the cameras... 

Do you have a Smart Phone?   Then you DO have a computer.    LOL

[Brunolem]

1 hour ago, Rimmer said:

VStar cams from Lazada are cheap and good,  Arlo Netgear are probably the best but expensive buy from Amazon, both can do exactly what you need

 

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/vstarcam-c17s-1080p-outdoor-ip-camera-20-white-i128602385-s518744860.html?spm=a2o4m.pdp.recommendation_2.2.558646fa3Ro8IF&mp=1&clickTrackInfo=db031ce8-4da6-4066-a10a-3aa732aaa2b6__128602385__14396__1&scm=1007.16389.99110.0

 

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=netgear+arlo&crid=E33SKCN48KQ7&sprefix=netgear+arlo%2Caps%2C1182&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_3_12

Thanks. 

[TimBee]

Vstarcam are well priced; I have three around my home. However, they use Linux lite as their OS and this has vulnerabilities (https://www.cvedetails.com/vulnerability-list/vendor_id-19746/product_id-53101/year-2019/Vstarcam-Eye4.html) which would allow a hacker to view your cameras (so don’t put one in your bedroom!) and to gain access to the rest of your network via your router. It’s essential to replace factory passwords on each camera (default is 888888) with something much stronger. Don’t forget you need Cat 10 SD cards and the cams support up to 256GB (about B500 on Lazada). Also be aware of the warning on Vstarcam’s website that some (Chinese manufacturer) has distributed fake Vstarcams, which you can identify because they have lower res picture quality. So beware of the cheapest ones on Lazada and go with reputable dealers there, endorsed by other buyers.

[sfokevin]

I have these set up both indoors & outdoors... They can be controlled and viewed via app and have internal sd card that records everything... They can be set to alarm me via app but it becomes a pain at you get a lot of notices that are false positives (I would guess this is true of any system) 

 

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/xiaomi-dafang-1080p-smart-ip-camera-360-4-i346918369-s678332356.html?spm=a2o4m.searchlist.list.38.60137071qqAOCN&search=1

 

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/yi-outdoor-camera-1080p-cloud-cam-english-version-i235329804-s360920004.html?spm=a2o4m.searchlist.list.18.1c281665Xj5PPd&search=1

[david555]

This looks interesting , sim card ip ,solar and battery /usb powered possibility's for the outside  THB 4,169.38

 

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32960458010.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.70ca3d74A5YXxJ&algo_pvid=657875a7-1ca1-4f9c-91bc-abbca34cd277&algo_expid=657875a7-1ca1-4f9c-91bc-abbca34cd277-53&btsid=9ce37184-764e-47bf-a56b-97a398b3deb4&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_6,searchweb201603_53

[Brunolem]

39 minutes ago, sfokevin said:

I have these set up both indoors & outdoors... They can be controlled and viewed via app and have internal sd card that records everything... They can be set to alarm me via app but it becomes a pain at you get a lot of notices that are false positives (I would guess this is true of any system) 

 

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/xiaomi-dafang-1080p-smart-ip-camera-360-4-i346918369-s678332356.html?spm=a2o4m.searchlist.list.38.60137071qqAOCN&search=1

 

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/yi-outdoor-camera-1080p-cloud-cam-english-version-i235329804-s360920004.html?spm=a2o4m.searchlist.list.18.1c281665Xj5PPd&search=1

I like one the camera recommended above, which also flashes lights and sounds an alarm when it detects movement. 

 

That is enough to discourage most tresspassers... 

[Skallywag]

15 minutes ago, Brunolem said:

I like one the camera recommended above, which also flashes lights and sounds an alarm when it detects movement. 

 

That is enough to discourage most trespassers... 

Unless the movements are by dogs or cats or birds!  555   Cats are nocturnal, soi dogs am not sure

[david555]

14 minutes ago, Brunolem said:

I like one the camera recommended above, which also flashes lights and sounds an alarm when it detects movement. 

 

That is enough to discourage most tresspassers... 

Do you realize they can just grab it and put in a sink full of water , looks good ,but so cheap priced ...if can hide it would be fine , but then probably less efficient 

[Brunolem]

12 minutes ago, david555 said:

Do you realize they can just grab it and put in a sink full of water , looks good ,but so cheap priced ...if can hide it would be fine , but then probably less efficient 

Or if I set the camera 3 meter high on a post, which I intend to do... not easy to grab, at least quickly... 

 

Just 10 or 15 seconds of alarm will be enough to wake up quite a few people around... 

[david555]

Just now, Brunolem said:

Or if I set the camera 3 meter high on a post, which I intend to do... not easy to grab, at least quickly... 

 

Just 10 or 15 seconds of alarm will be enough to wake up quite a few people around... 

That would do fine , but how it is powered as then also you would have to climb high to check battery's , BTW would you put that outside ? as it is for inside use ! 

Looks like working good in video for inside .

 

Security can give headache if starting thinking negative about it ….. I know ...

[sfokevin]

2 hours ago, david555 said:

Do you realize they can just grab it and put in a sink full of water , looks good ,but so cheap priced ...if can hide it would be fine , but then probably less efficient 

I have had them installed for 2+ years and the only problem I have had is a sd card (which I bought at Tesco) in one failed - simple replace... I have them mounted on the outside eaves and inside from the ceiling... Too high to get to without a ladder... they are powered by a USB type phone brick which I simply ran power to in the attic... They don't have a siren or flashing light and the algorithm that detects movement has to many false alarms... I have a standard motion alarm too inside... 

[sfokevin]

Here is a new option that is totally wireless (you need to recharge them every few months) 

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/ezviz-c3a-microsd-64gb-battery-camera-1080p-i334804577-s648964646.html?spm=a2o4m.pdp/revamp.0.0.d54447924DvUdG&mp=1&clickTrackInfo=38389c18-0cef-494f-9986-0875e8ba2031__334804577__14397__trigger2i__124582__0.246__0.259341__0.0__0.5128197__0.0012899999__0.25947002__11__1__PDPV2V__244__null__null__0__&scm=1007.16389.126158.0

 

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/b20-battery-powered-960p-wireless-ip-camera-wifi-13mp-hd-surveillance-camera-waterproof-ir-audio-cctv-i257969246-s397655902.html?spm=a2o4m.pdp/revamp.0.0.240774edjhZH2i&mp=1&clickTrackInfo=e010b804-d94a-432b-ba3a-61c1d92c6ac9__257969246__14398__trigger2i__124582__0.13__0.14553791__0.0__0.44075844__4.4499998E-4__0.34558243__1__1__PDPV2V__244__null__null__0__&scm=1007.16389.126158.0

 

[Tayaout]

Like I said motion detection is almost useless without post processing with a graphic card. The default motion detection give a lot of false positive: wind, rain, birds, animals and insect that come smashing in the night vision LED at night. To mitigate this without post processing you can restrict the area of motion detection from the camera software. I never tested them but probably a camera that use infrared motion detection instead of software motion detection would probably help a lot. 

[Brunolem]

This is way more complicated than I imagined when I started this thread. 

 

I think I am going to opt for a more simple solar powered motion sensor alarm... which is already quite complicated to find... 

 

The main purpose is to keep away from our garden and cows potential thieves, during the night. 

 

A shrieking alarm and flashing light should do, but it is still difficult to find the right product, because many customers complain that they are generally too sensitive...