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Advice Needed: Outdoor Security camera

Akira-R

Akira-R

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 4, 2002
Location
Bay Area
Moto(s)
07 rsvr, 04 nsr50
Barf-minds.

Due to some Piece of Shit Mailbox thieves, I need to procure a decently high resolution (2k+) with night vision camera.

The requirements are as follows:

Needs to be battery powered
Needs to be able to be shared between multiple autonomous accounts. (neighbors need access as well)
Needs to be WiFi
Need to able to store at least 5-7 days of full streaming with remote access at 2k+ resolution.
Paid subscriptions ok if under $10/mo
Zoom capability a plus. The subject (mailbox) is a good 15 feet from mounting location, plus would be good to be able to get a view of the street to catch the car/people who break in.

Price would preferably be around $50, but can go to $200. If it's in the $200 range, subscription should be none or cheaper than $10/mo

So far i'm looking at this:

This has a local 128GB SD slot that can store ~144 hours before pruning. Footage can be accessed remotely.
But i have no experience on the video quality/range etc.

Thanks in advance!
 
We've had Ring for 3-1/2 years, we've been happy with them. Batteries last about 3 months.
Neighbor across the street has Blink and his battery lasted 2 years.

Both are wifi powered and available to share.

I know for Ring, when you pay the subscription, they save your videos (you can set the criteria) for 6 months.
 
No advice on wireless cameras. But if you want to read LP or get a good picture put up of a battery powered (solar) light. This will make a BIG difference in quality. I have 4K wired cameras at home. 5 across the front of the house. Pictures under street lights or motion lights are much better.
 
We may need something like this too
 
bikeama said:
No advice on wireless cameras. But if you want to read LP or get a good picture put up of a battery powered (solar) light. This will make a BIG difference in quality. I have 4K wired cameras at home. 5 across the front of the house. Pictures under street lights or motion lights are much better.
Click to expand...
The problem is that this will be looking at a sidewalk. I can't have lights turning on unfortunately. A lot of people walk their dogs at night.
 
We went with VicoHome which offers different camera and subscriptions.
Solar powered WiFi motion detectors and infrared. Our Cameras are backed up with game cameras that are placed at a level to clearly read license plates. These are SIM card only.
 
We have Eufy cameras in the front and rear of the house. The thing with solar powered cameras is they need direct sunlight to charge. They seem to like all day sun.
The rear door camera never needs recharging.
Our front door camera is below a porch overhang so we end up having to charge it once a month or so.

Picture quality is good and the WiFi connection is good too.

We were in the Philippines over Christmas, my daughter had a package delivered while we were gone.
We connected to the front door camera using our phone in Manila, played the video of the delivery to make sure it came, and directed our next door neighbor where to find it using a live feed from the Eufy cam.

Best thing is there is no subscription.
 
Akira-R said:
Barf-minds.

Due to some Piece of Shit Mailbox thieves, I need to procure a decently high resolution (2k+) with night vision camera.

The requirements are as follows:

Needs to be battery powered
Needs to be able to be shared between multiple autonomous accounts. (neighbors need access as well)
Needs to be WiFi
Need to able to store at least 5-7 days of full streaming with remote access at 2k+ resolution.
Paid subscriptions ok if under $10/mo
Zoom capability a plus. The subject (mailbox) is a good 15 feet from mounting location, plus would be good to be able to get a view of the street to catch the car/people who break in.

Price would preferably be around $50, but can go to $200. If it's in the $200 range, subscription should be none or cheaper than $10/mo

So far i'm looking at this:

This has a local 128GB SD slot that can store ~144 hours before pruning. Footage can be accessed remotely.
But i have no experience on the video quality/range etc.

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
I have that exact camera, plus one of their doorbell cameras. They work well. I'll probably be adding another to watch the driveway. The doorbell camera has a split camera. One watches the path and the other sees the porch for packages and such and it displays on a vertical split screen.
 
Elfin installed a ring camera at our cabin. We are repeatedly informed of butterflies.

Mineral, California—the gateway community just outside Lassen Volcanic National Park—experiences a remarkable seasonal phenomenon involving massive swarms of California Tortoiseshell butterflies (Nymphalis californica)

Good times
 
I use Ring battery powered cameras at several locations. I also keep an extra battery charged so that I can swap it out like I had to this morning when I got notified it was at 10%

I get immediate notification when it gets triggered and I can view the recording history which is good

Regarding Ring and Flock:
Ring does not share data with Flock Safety. Although Amazon's Ring announced a planned integration with Flock in late 2025 to let police request footage through the Neighbors app, Ring officially canceled the partnership in February 2026 due to resource constraints, and the integration never launched. [1, 2]
 
I'm not taking their word for it. I'll stick with locally stored footage.
 
I have an eufy, it's kinda hit and miss. I got it to record poop leavers but the area is 25 feet from the camera and even if I set up a zone and set it to the highest sensitivity it records half the events. I'd say it isn't good beyond 15 feet and often misses things.
 
tuxumino said:
I have an eufy, it's kinda hit and miss. I got it to record poop leavers but the area is 25 feet from the camera and even if I set up a zone and set it to the highest sensitivity it records half the events. I'd say it isn't good beyond 15 feet and often misses things.
Click to expand...
That hasn't seemed to be an issue for us. Biggest problem is we have a flag in the front yard that frequently triggers motion
 
I’m surprised no one has mentioned Wyze. They make excellent video cameras. I have them all over my house.
 
I have an old set of arlos. No personal experience with this camera but I have tp-link WiFi extenders and they work flawlessly with our Starlink.
www.pcmag.com

TP-Link Tapo Wire-Free MagCam Review

The TP-Link Tapo Wire-Free MagCam is a 2K outdoor camera that's easy to install and packed with features, including built-in spotlights, color night vision, and a rechargeable battery that can last nearly a year.
www.pcmag.com www.pcmag.com
 
NATEWA said:
I have an old set of arlos. No personal experience with this camera but I have tp-link WiFi extenders and they work flawlessly with our Starlink.
www.pcmag.com

TP-Link Tapo Wire-Free MagCam Review

The TP-Link Tapo Wire-Free MagCam is a 2K outdoor camera that's easy to install and packed with features, including built-in spotlights, color night vision, and a rechargeable battery that can last nearly a year.
www.pcmag.com www.pcmag.com
Click to expand...
 
Akira-R said:
Barf-minds.

Due to some Piece of Shit Mailbox thieves, I need to procure a decently high resolution (2k+) with night vision camera.

The requirements are as follows:

Needs to be battery powered
Needs to be able to be shared between multiple autonomous accounts. (neighbors need access as well)
Needs to be WiFi
Need to able to store at least 5-7 days of full streaming with remote access at 2k+ resolution.
Paid subscriptions ok if under $10/mo
Zoom capability a plus. The subject (mailbox) is a good 15 feet from mounting location, plus would be good to be able to get a view of the street to catch the car/people who break in.

Price would preferably be around $50, but can go to $200. If it's in the $200 range, subscription should be none or cheaper than $10/mo

So far i'm looking at this:

This has a local 128GB SD slot that can store ~144 hours before pruning. Footage can be accessed remotely.
But i have no experience on the video quality/range etc.

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...


I would say that my Arlo systems is very reasonable. I bought it because I refuse to host or participate with any camera service on the cloud, or where any outside mofos may have access to my data.

It works well and I always know if it keeps the lotion on its skin.
 
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