Best camera for only recording to SD/HDD?

asbcon

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Hi Guys,

Newbie here trying to learn a bit more about cameras. Long story short, I've asked my elderly neighbours to put a camera in their home which is pointed at my front fence. I've just demolished my home and would like to keep an eye on it in case anything dodgy happens.

As they are quite old I want to keep the setup easy. They probably have one of those ISP routers with no features on it at all anyway, nor would they know their router login im guessing. Just want to make it less hassle for them overall.

Is there anything that would satisfy my needs? I'm flexible on budget as I realise I am in a bit of a unique situation.

If i'm just looking for recording to SD, how long will 128GB last? Is that a few days? If it's SD only itd be better if it had motion detection so didnt waste time recording nothing.

In terms of connectivity, I'd like to be able to plug it directly into the wall outlet. No POE etc. Simplicity is king here :)

Please let me know if you have any recommendations.

Thank you very much!!
 
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fenderman

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In a situation like this, where you dont want to be messing with their router and IF you want remote access..bite the bullet and use something like nestcam, then when you have no need for it sell it...the dahua will require you to setup a proper vpn, for remote access.
 

asbcon

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In a situation like this, where you dont want to be messing with their router and IF you want remote access..bite the bullet and use something like nestcam, then when you have no need for it sell it...the dahua will require you to setup a proper vpn, for remote access.
Ah. I had overlooked this completely.

At first glance, it seems like the Arlo might be a better fit as it can save it onto SD card whereas Nest can't?

Will this level of camera be able to record what I want it to in decent enough quality? Day/night pointing from inside to outside at a distance of about ~15m?

Thanks!!
 

fenderman

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Ah. I had overlooked this completely.

At first glance, it seems like the Arlo might be a better fit as it can save it onto SD card whereas Nest can't?

Will this level of camera be able to record what I want it to in decent enough quality? Day/night pointing from inside to outside at a distance of about ~15m?

Thanks!!
no, nest or arlo do not have the lenses to support your needs...
 

fenderman

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Thanks

Im thinking maybe im better off looking at something closer to a trail cam that runs off batteries...
That would not give you remote access and poses other issues...
you can setup a camera with a proper lens and an nvr..then come back to look at footage if something happens...
 

fenderman

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Strictly speaking I would trade off remote access for robustness. Do I need an NVR if I get a IP Camera (ie Dahua Starlight Varifocal Turret (IPC-HDW5231R-Z)with an inbuilt SD card?
You would be limited to the storage capacity of the sd card...how sill would you feel if you missed footage because you didnt want to spend a bit more?
Another thing you can do is run a small pc using milestone or blue iris...this way you can log in using teamviewer and take a quick peak..not vpn/port forwarding needed...a pc to handle a single camera would cost you 100 bux or so..
also you might want the version of the dahua that has a longer lens..
 

mat200

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no, nest or arlo do not have the lenses to support your needs...
Hi Asbcon,

As Fenderman notes, the Nest and Arlo's have very short ID distances due to low resolution and wide FOV. 15M is significant.

There are security cameras designed for work sites, however they are significantly more expensive than what most of us are willing to buy.

I have not seen a good solution for something easy to setup, easy remote access, and that has good "range" for viewing that seems affordable to me.

If you'd like to read more info here, there's a lot of good people sharing their knowledge, so I wanted to share some notes with you

Please check out @giomania 's notes:
Dahua Starlight Varifocal Turret (IPC-HDW5231R-Z)

I have also made notes which are a summary of a lot of the reading I've been doing here,:
Looking for some advice and direction!

Have fun joining us here.
 
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