apartment entrance door camera without drilling?

[afddwfadwfadwf]

The goal is to see if there is anyone loitering outside the door/stealing packages.

What camera/mounting options are there without drilling? PoE is available, but I can't drill or run cable that's too obvious. I am thinking some small form factor camera (size of the raspberry pi camera) with flat cable thin enough to go underneath the door. Any IP inspection camera out there? Any there better ways to do it?

 

[Kawboy12R]

Yes. Run a cable and put up a real camera. Dahua 4431C-A with a 4mm lens would probably be a good start. You have to run power anyway so why not put up a real cam with good night vision as well? Plus, if the cam is visible, there's always a possibility that it'll prevent a theft rather than just evidence of your missing package?

 

[Q™]

Yes. Run a cable and put up a real camera. Dahua 4431C-A with a 4mm lens would probably be a good start. You have to run power anyway so why not put up a real cam with good night vision as well? Plus, if the cam is visible, there's always a possibility that it'll prevent a theft rather than just evidence of your missing package?

+1 for this good advice. Find a way. You're a human; you can do it.

 

[nayr]

PoE wont work on flat ethernet cables FYI, stranded copper with such a small wires just dont work.

if your careful you can usually pull trim off both sides of a door w/out damage and get a path inside big enough to run a cable through.. there is enough room on either side for shims, if you have to drill through some trim pieces it'll be pretty easy to patch up and repair before you leave this property.. just some wood filler and matching paint.

If you have a peep hole, there are some cameras that will mount to that from the inside.. but quality will be limited; they are pretty shit in low light conditions.

 

[Q™]

How about conduit down the side of the house, dig down a foot or two, then through the foundation, into the basement and then back upstairs. A well-installed security camera would be an improvement to the property and would add value to the unit. You may want to offer the property owner to leave the camera behind when you leave.

 

[afddwfadwfadwf]

PoE wont work on flat ethernet cables FYI, stranded copper with such a small wires just dont work.

if your careful you can usually pull trim off both sides of a door w/out damage and get a path inside big enough to run a cable through.. there is enough room on either side for shims, if you have to drill through some trim pieces it'll be pretty easy to patch up and repair before you leave this property.. just some wood filler and matching paint.

If you have a peep hole, there are some cameras that will mount to that from the inside.. but quality will be limited; they are pretty shit in low light conditions.

PoE does work with flat cables (at least for 30ft). It doesn't work with bad cables...

imo you guys are missing the point. It's an apartment so I can't do any modification (drilling, running a conduit or anything outdoor).

Yeah I am looking into some peephole cameras, might be an option. The door is on a hallway (like a hotel setting), well lit area and I don't expect too much quality wise from this particular camera, getting the time of motion and outline of people is good enough. Wide FoV is important.

 

[nayr]

we've had many users here try and fail with flat cabling, they are 32awg stranded copper.. vs 24awg solid copper for standard installs, thats a massive difference.. YMMV, it might work sometimes.. but the vast majority of the times its not a viable option.

if you had to use it, I'd take a small section just long enough to get through the door to the camera with a punchdown box inside to go to something heavier.. thats how they ran the coax cable for satelitte into my apartment.. but windows werent getting opened/closed nearly as frequently as the front door was, it might not last the long haul.

like this: https://www.amazon.com/Cable-JUMPER-Network-Directv-Approved/dp/B003ZVRU1S

 

[Kawboy12R]

I didn't miss the point. If you were willing to drill for a peephole camera you could drill for wire. Unless you're talking about an industrial apartment setting with a fisheye peephole in the door already. Seems to me I've seen cams before that can replace a fisheye peephole and you could replace the original lens when you move.

 

[nayr]

apartments with a shared entry way almost always have peep holes.. but those cameras are almost always 1/4 size sensor and terrible at lowlight, especially when paired with a narrow aperture wide angle lens.

when I was at an apartment I had packages delivered to the main office or work, population density was far too high to leave outside my door.. I also gave up on security cameras as I had previously owned and hated the limitations; bought again asap..