Basic Indoor camera

paarlberg

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My daughter is looking for an indoor camera for a small apartment. It is mainly to watch the dog if she has to leave it alone. No need for BlueIris or similar, just a simple camera she can access. Would RING or WYZE be a good option? I imagine they are similar in features. She wants something simple that is reasonably priced and secure.
 

ThomasCamFan

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+1. The Amcrest IP2M-841 (see link above) has been a popular recommendation for basic indoor installations. I have a feeling that this choice will satisfy your daughter's dog watching requirements.

Not a user yet, but I ordered one yesterday. Alexa just announced that it will be arriving today. BTW, Amazon currently has a $8 coupon, so price is only $39 USD.

EDIT, later the same day: Camera arrived, thanks to the nice man in the blue van. I bought the white model, which looks nice. Very good daytime images too. And everything (including Pan/Tilt) works great with my Dahua 5216 NVR.

- Thomas
 
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Cupofschmoe

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That camera has a lot of bang for the money. Mine are still holding up strong after a few years now.
 
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Avoid Ring, Wyze, Arlo, Nest, etc.
I am curious about your recommendation of Amcrest.

I have several Amcrest indoor cameras myself, but an Amcrest camera is very much a security risk if she is connecting directly to it via the Internet. Cloud storage of video is not the only risk. Any Internet-facing camera is hazardous regardless of where the video is stored.
 

tangent

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I am curious about your recommendation of Amcrest.

I have several Amcrest indoor cameras myself, but an Amcrest camera is very much a security risk if she is connecting directly to it via the Internet. Cloud storage of video is not the only risk. Any Internet-facing camera is hazardous regardless of where the video is stored.
With Amcrest here people are choosing most likely to trust their P2P NAT traversal system. DO NOT forward ports or expose any camera directly to the internet.

A distinction is that video isn't always sent to the internet only when being viewed. You can choose more secure methods of remote access / tunneling into your network but that takes some effort to set up. There are certainly security risks to these cameras too.
 

Mike A.

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Don't really trust Amcrest any more than Ring or Wyze or any of the rest of them. The Amcrest gets recommended here a lot because it's a decent inexpensive Dauha-made cam that works well and is easy to pull into BI. Whatever cloud and remote access are kinda moot in that case. I also have one as well as a few of the Wyze V3 cams and a couple of old Annke/Hikvision cubes (that are full of holes). But none are using their respective P2P or other services, everything is kept local, Internet access is blocked, and only way in is via VPN.

Not sure what I'd recommend to someone just hooking up a simple cam and wanting remote access. Pick your poison I guess based on price and features. The little Wyze cams are cheap and do work well indoors. Amcrest has more features and control within the cam. Haven't looked at the pricing models for either.
 
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With Amcrest here people are choosing most likely to trust their P2P NAT traversal system. DO NOT forward ports or expose any camera directly to the internet.

A distinction is that video isn't always sent to the internet only when being viewed. You can choose more secure methods of remote access / tunneling into your network but that takes some effort to set up. There are certainly security risks to these cameras too.
Agreed, but my concern is that the daughter is probably going to following the Amcrest setup instructions, which will connect her directly to the Amcrest cloud service. An Amcrest camera won't provide any security advantage at all in those circumstances.

An Amcrest camera can certainly be made more secure than a standard cloud camera if you know what you're doing. But Amcrest is pushing their own cloud service very, very hard, and my impression is that the daughter is not very tech-savvy.
 

paarlberg

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I will take a look at the config next time I am there and lock it down.
 

Daninkins

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I have one of this Arlo Pro 3 Spotlight cameras here that I love - more expensive but excellent quality wireless night vision security camera with plenty of features, offering resolution up to 2K. Outdoor and indoor use. 160° viewing angle. 1080p and 720p also available.
 
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TonyR

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I have one of these Arlo Pro 3 Spotlight cameras that I love - more expensive but excellent quality wireless night vision security camera with plenty of features, offering resolution up to 2K. Outdoor and indoor use. 160° viewing angle. 1080p and 720p also available.
Glad you like it.
Do you view with their app and did you scan a QR code or enter a camera UID?
 

wittaj

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I have one of these Arlo Pro 3 Spotlight cameras that I love - more expensive but excellent quality wireless night vision security camera with plenty of features, offering resolution up to 2K. Outdoor and indoor use. 160° viewing angle. 1080p and 720p also available.
Could you please post a sample video of this excellent quality night vision with someone moving?
 
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Sybertiger

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Anyone utilizing the "two-way" speaker on the Amcrest IP2M-84? Does it reasonably put out sound and receive? Also, does the two-way speaker only work using the Amcrest app or does it work fairly well through Blue Iris?
 

looney2ns

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I am curious about your recommendation of Amcrest.

I have several Amcrest indoor cameras myself, but an Amcrest camera is very much a security risk if she is connecting directly to it via the Internet. Cloud storage of video is not the only risk. Any Internet-facing camera is hazardous regardless of where the video is stored.
That concern is no different than if I had recommended any other camera brand.
How to Secure Your Network (Don't Get Hacked!) | IP Cam Talk
 

wittaj

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Anyone utilizing the "two-way" speaker on the Amcrest IP2M-84? Does it reasonably put out sound and receive? Also, does the two-way speaker only work using the Amcrest app or does it work fairly well through Blue Iris?
I wouldn't call it overly loud, but within a room someone can hear it.

It works with BI, but it is more like walkie-talkie than a phone. Push the speakericon to talk and then push again to mute so you can here them.
 
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