Outdoor Security Cameras

[Jon Bon]

Hey All,

Need some recommendations on outdoor security cameras. This would be for my detached garage, its alley facing and I have had problem with the a-holes driving by and stealing for me.

Really I want a set it and forget it system. I don't want to have to recharge batteries because I will forget and that will annoy me off if I ever need it. Solar would be ok I guess? I can also hard wire it to an outlet/light fixture etc.

I'd like to have a 3-7 days of storage on the footage. No idea of that is the norm or not. Basically something I can have to play back to the police when this happens again.

Yes I did just get robbed, so yeah I'm kind of pissed. Any recommendations would be appreciated.

[ToTheMoon]

Sorry to hear you got robbed. We had all of our work tools stolen last winter and it is not a good feeling. Worse would have been at our personal residence - you have my sympathies.

We have an Arlo essential camera. A charge lasts about 6 months but would probably last longer if there was not so much action in our back alley (not nefarious stuff - just way more people dog walk/drive down it than we had ever realized.) I also love checking to see what animals come out at night - turns out skunks have moved into our neighbourhood!

The video is good quality,  it has a built in spotlight, and you can even chat back and forth with people - we use it to check in with our kids when they arrive home before us.

We DO pay a subscription fee of about $4.00 CAD/month but I think there was a free version too.

I admit to not looking around too much. I had read that Arlo cameras were great, but too pricey for me. Then they released the "essential" line at half the cost and I jumped. I may consider adding the solar attachment at some point, but for now I recharge a couple times a year.

[iluvzbeach]

We bought this system on Amazon a few years back and we’ve been quite happy with it. It plugs in, so no batteries to deal with, and has 1TB of storage, which I think lasts about 3-weeks before recording over existing footage. We can review footage on our smart devices through an app, or via monitor that we connected to the storage drive. No ongoing subscription costs. This exact one may not be available now, but there are other similar options out there.

Hornbill Wireless Security Camera System 8CH 1080P Expandable Home Surveillance DVR Kits with 4pcs Outdoor Security Camera [Clear Night Vision] 1TB Hard Drive Plug Play No Montly Fee https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07RGCXMLC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_MQ413S28E8XJMATHMV0P?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Thieves suck!

[Sibley]

I bought cameras a couple years ago. Mine is fully self contained, not connected to the internet (though you can if you want). If you feel so inclined, go back through my post history. It would have been 2018 I think. They're still working, though the sound has gotten wonky.

[STEMorbust]

We have Ring cameras and they work well. The storage is cloud-based and has plenty of history (not sure of the limit). Clips are saved when movement is detected.

The upside to using a big provider like Ring is that the product has few bugs, lots of opportunities for integration, and is easy to use. I was willing to pay a price in terms of privacy and autonomy to NOT have to set up a local network and storage.

Cost is $10/mo for the subscription. You can connect devices either via AC plug, solar attachment, or data cable.