Security cameras

[Vader809]

For one thing, I'm not a conspiracy type of guy.If my camera records a crime or impaired driver I will let law enforcement use that information. My family is either in law enforcement or military, and I have a very strong knowledge of what they are doing. My security system is not accessible to others and isn't in plain sight. It's also not cheap except for the one that I have as a visible deterrent. My choice came from a company that upgraded system. I had installed the first system and at the time it was necessary to have a hidden system that was capable of self focusing and the camera small enough to not be noticeable. I have a ring camera for my drive way and mailbox after having issues with the mail delivery. That wasn't enough for the post office to do something about the issue. After installing the latest system, I get my mail delivered every day and earlier, and the thefts have been stopped. After years of bad service and union issues the cameras put a stop to all of the self serving employees. A Federal investigation is still pending and many of them will have their day court. With all of the cameras in use these days, some still feel the need to help themselves to what isn't theirs.

 

[gogittum]

I don't know guys. I look at this differently. I witness a crime, I'm happy to share that with the PD. My camera witnesses a crime, they can have that too. That is a lot different than someone having access to my personal life. But (there is always a "but", haha), if I ever thought I was being monitored or something like that, then it definitely would be an issue.

You beat me to it with your last 2 posts. I'd gladly give up footage that would help in solving a crime and would volunteer it if I saw I had it. I hate a thief worse than almost anything else and will go to great lengths to deter or catch one.

Paranoia works in strange ways. I had an inexpensive Lorex system at my home in NM, mainly for seeing who was at the door, but 3 cameras in total to record a break-in. The Lorex system was such a raging PIA to work with that I never did get it set up the way I wanted. That home was fairly isolated in a semi-rural area, so it wasn't a real problem.

Now I've moved to FL; have rented for the past 7 months and have my mail forwarded and packages delivered to a box at the UPS store. I get a lot of packages. Convenient and secure.....no need for a camera.

Paperwork is underway now for my own place and closing in about 3 weeks. Since I'm a senior living entirely on SS, my income is limited (very) and my new place is an older mobile home in a very rundown neighborhood. My big concern now is package theft off my porch - some of my neighbors look pretty sketchy and, tho' I do realize you can't judge a book by its' cover......frequently the cover gives a good idea of what's inside.

I'm going to want a new, somewhat better setup to remotely record what's happening at my door and also with my small boat parked beside the home. LDUBS setup where he saw the sprinkler from 300 miles away sounds interesting. Which system ?? How much hassle to program ?? How big the cameras and how easy to hide ?? It's got to be moderately priced - can't afford a $500 system.

(don't know which button I hit - didn't intend for this to be centered like it is)

 

[LDUBS]

I don't know guys. I look at this differently. I witness a crime, I'm happy to share that with the PD. My camera witnesses a crime, they can have that too. That is a lot different than someone having access to my personal life. But (there is always a "but", haha), if I ever thought I was being monitored or something like that, then it definitely would be an issue.

You beat me to it with your last 2 posts. I'd gladly give up footage that would help in solving a crime and would volunteer it if I saw I had it. I hate a thief worse than almost anything else and will go to great lengths to deter or catch one.

Paranoia works in strange ways. I had an inexpensive Lorex system at my home in NM, mainly for seeing who was at the door, but 3 cameras in total to record a break-in. The Lorex system was such a raging PIA to work with that I never did get it set up the way I wanted. That home was fairly isolated in a semi-rural area, so it wasn't a real problem.

Now I've moved to FL; have rented for the past 7 months and have my mail forwarded and packages delivered to a box at the UPS store. I get a lot of packages. Convenient and secure.....no need for a camera.

Paperwork is underway now for my own place and closing in about 3 weeks. Since I'm a senior living entirely on SS, my income is limited (very) and my new place is an older mobile home in a very rundown neighborhood. My big concern now is package theft off my porch - some of my neighbors look pretty sketchy and, tho' I do realize you can't judge a book by its' cover......frequently the cover gives a good idea of what's inside.

I'm going to want a new, somewhat better setup to remotely record what's happening at my door and also with my small boat parked beside the home. LDUBS setup where he saw the sprinkler from 300 miles away sounds interesting. Which system ?? How much hassle to program ?? How big the cameras and how easy to hide ?? It's got to be moderately priced - can't afford a $500 system.

(don't know which button I hit - didn't intend for this to be centered like it is)

I have a home security system through Xfinity. I bought the four outside motion cameras from them a few years back for I think $80 each. Not sure what they cost now. I pay them $20/month to store the camera data. Easy hook up as long as you have a 120V power source. BTW, I was able to see the broken sprinkler gusher because the guy walking by tripped the camera. I doubt the water shooting up by itself would have been enough motion.

Now for the bad news. I recently had someone clean out my truck. Took all my boat keys and a bunch of other stuff that was of little account. Even though one camera was pointing right at the truck, it did not pick them up. Maybe because it was completely dark out, but whatever the reason it was disappointing to me and feels like a waste of my money. The good news is these guys were making the rounds and ended up stealing a car and getting caught. While they were not caught on my camera, they were caught full face on another victim's camera. I got my boat keys back! It is a good idea to put your name and phone number on the key floatie.

In addition to the Xfinity camera I have a ring doorbell camera. I actually like that better but it only covers an area at the front door. My daughter has Ring security cameras inside and outside of their house. They access them remotely on their smart phones. I'm not sure of the cost or the install, but they look like they work pretty good.

Kind of sad, but here in California, I don't think the small time crooks care at all about security cameras. If these guys hadn't stolen the car, I doubt they would have even been arrested. But that is an issue we probably should avoid talking about for the good of the forum.

 

[Kismet]

Congratulations on getting your stuff back.

That is not usually the case.

 

[LDUBS]

Congratulations on getting your stuff back.

That is not usually the case.

Thanks. I was completely surprised when I got the call from the police officer. I had already taken my remote box apart so I could get the key code from the side of the ignition switch. The call came soon enough that I was able to cancel the order for the replacement keys.

I talked to the guy who had his care stolen. They used the garage door remote to get into his house. Took his laptop and wife's purse. They were already into his bank accounts when he discovered the stuff missing. These guys know what they are doing. It is likely the guys caught driving the car were just part of a crew involved in these break-ins. I can only hope they spill the beans on the rest of the crooks.

 

[gogittum]

There's a very powerful lesson right there. I've never thought of what hackers could accomplish, but there it is, right there. Who cares if they can hack into my motion detector camera ?? My garage door and my bank accounts are a whole 'nuther thing.

My cousin has a very nice condo in CA and they use the garage remote as their primary entry.

 

[LDUBS]

My truck is always parked outside on the driveway. I never put the garage door opener in it. But it has a programmed button up above the rearview mirror that will open the garage door. I'm sure the crooks know all about those. When we are gone overnight, we always disable the garage door.

BTW, Mrs Ldubs wanted to hit garage sales for fun last weekend. I paid $3 for a little league aluminum bat. Excellent club. Won't even need to choke up.

 

[Kismet]

UH..

get a softball appropriately-sized for the bat and scuff it up a bit, then keep the two together--obviously a casual play-thing and not a potential weapon at all. :roll: :roll:

 

[KMixson]

I just had the police show up at my door a couple of minutes ago asking if I had video footage of my neighbors place across the street from me which was broken into today. All I have is a Ring doorbell camera which is aimed in that direction but it is too far for my camera to activate the motion detection from motion on their property. My camera does have a feature that it takes a still picture every 15 minutes so you can view a stop motion video as long as it does not pick up motion. It did not pick up any motion between the time I left for work and the time I returned home today. There was no usable footage on it for my neighbor. Too bad. I hate a thief. I would love to help catch a thief.

 

[Vader809]

The ring camera I put on above my garage door works better than the other system. I'm surprised at how well it works. Infrared, motion activated, sounds and a range zone that I have just for the lazy post lady. I really don't care if she likes me or not. A neighbor a few streets over caught her on camera throwing his mail out in the rain and then putting it in the mailbox!? Crazy $!$:

 

[consejosatisfy]

If you want to install a good quality surveillance camera, you should know that almost all automatic cameras are now controlled by apps.

 

[consejosatisfy]

If you want to install a good quality surveillance camera, you should know that almost all automatic cameras are now controlled by apps.

I like to use the new cameras that can pick up motion and also inform me about movements with notifications and banners on my phone. Think about how convenient that is. Are you reluctant to take it because of the difficulty of working with smart devices or because you think these cameras have weak optics? I bought a surveillance camera at alloptica.com. I think you can find a waterproof device that allows you to detect movement even under the pressure of the water column.

 

[gogittum]

Reading all this and thinking about the Lorex cameras I had in NM, I wasn't real crazy about the Lorex - mostly because of the crappy software - but I did like the always-on feature on a loop. Didn't hafta be any motion, so anything and everything got picked up. I'll be shopping for a new one here in FL soon and will look for that feature.

 

[consejosatisfy]

I agree with you about Lorex cameras, I use them too, but now I choose better models.

 

[CarleeSavage]

I can totally relate to your concern about finding a secure security camera solution. Having faced a similar dilemma, I decided to go for a smart home security system, and I've had a great experience with Vivint. As for me, what sets them apart is that their cameras are seamlessly integrated into a broader security ecosystem, which provides an extra layer of protection. In my opinion, this not only simplifies the setup but also enhances the overall security of your home. The peace of mind you get from knowing that your security system is designed with your safety and privacy in mind is priceless.

 

[Bailey Boat]

I also have LOREX (9 cameras and a doorbell gizmo) and really like it. When I go to bed I activate the app and it alerts me to any human size movement outside the house. I want to know their in the yard, well before they enter the house. Normally my dog (Lucy) alerts just about the same time as the cameras so it's like having a backup system.

 

[flatheadsteve]

I have multiple reolink cameras around the farm and house . I like being able to monitor them real-time from my phone anytime. We've had plenty of trespassers in the past and even a whack job animal rights group that cut our fence and tried to "free" our cows. They've come In handy kinda sad that they are needed but the world isn't what it was.

 

[dcbz]

I am a retired school administrator from a large district and my duties included district security. I have bought hundreds of security cameras for several situations and would offer this general advice for the original poster:
1. This is not a hard and fast rule, but a general rule that has served me well. See a demonstration of the cameras or system that you are interested in before you buy it/them. You should be able to read a license plate from the maximum distance of the coverage that you wish to monitor. For example, an inexpensive camera might do well enough for your stoop or porch. That camera will only need to read a license plate (or burglar's facial features or tshirt) from perhaps six feet away. A camera that is monitoring the driveway will need better resolution for the images to be useful to you, the police, or the grand jury. If the camera's resolution is so grainy that a license plate cannot be read from the end of the driveway, it is doubtful that the images it produces will make it through a grand jury investigation. Again, this is just a general rule of thumb to use before purchasing.
2. Buy a system with motion detectors. I suppose most systems are now capable of this, but I offer this advice in case it is an option for the system that you are interested in. I speak from experience when I say that it is certainly boring to look at footage of a school parking lot for hours before the thieves arrived to steal three school vehicles. An early system I used simply recorded constantly until full then wiped the data and started again.
3. If a local police department officer asks for a copy of your footage for an investigation of an alleged crime on your property, by all means, give a copy to him or her.
4. If a local police department officer asks for a copy of your footage for an investigation of an alleged crime on someone else's property, ask for the footage to be subpoenaed. No officer worth his salt will offended and the subpoena will offer you a layer of legal protection if you need it later. I have done this many times and had a great working relationship with my local law enforcement department.
Good luck with your purchase.

 

[Driftless]

Good subject and comments. Yeah, if your data is in some cloud, that's just a word they use that means "someone elses computer". My guess is somewhere in the user agreement is them stating that data is theirs.

There are some valid uses for cameras that use phones.....but if someone can hack into the app, they are in your phone as your phone granted it permission to come in.

Depending upon the level of security one wants and what for, having it hardwired might be something to consider. This is especially great if one is using a back up system with a lower quality/wireless/dummy one out there for deterrence.
It having it's own DC power source is a great idea too as someone can just turn off your power from the outside.