Many suffer from analysis by paralysis LOL. I do from time to time as well.
You only buy cheap consumer grade stuff you can get at the store if all you care about is what time it happened.
If you want to be able to get clear pictures day and night, start with the varifocal recommended.
Check out this thread on all the consumer grade junk (most of it wifi) that people have bought and look how poor the performance is.
The Typical picture of a Perp on Nextdoor-type Apps with Consumer Grade Cameras like Ring, Nest, Arlo, Canary, Wyze, etc.
I think the example that
@samplenhold provided a while back in
this thread shows the difference in quality and that should negate the argument that you have to spend more than consumer grade prices to get quality images.
So they had a door checker one night in 2020.
@samplenhold is using IPC-HDW5231R-ZE which sold in the $150ish range, which has since been replaced with the
5442-ZE that sells for $190ish and here was his capture in a position similar to what his neighbor captured with a Ring:
Meanwhile his neighbor has the Ring system and his
Ring Camera depending on the model ranges from $200 to $250. Here was his image when the perp rang across the street to his house:
Which camera do you think provides a better image - the expensive cameras we recommend at $150-190ish or the consumer grade Ring at $200-250ish (that also requires a monthly fee)? True expensive top shelf would be going to Axis and better with starting price points around $1,000 per camera. For most of us, we do not see as big of an improvement for a camera 5 times more expensive as we do going from a cheaper reolink to a Dahua OEM as an example.
For most of us, the perps are out at night and that is when we want good video and that can only be obtained by better cameras.
Unless common core math has changed basic arithmetic, our "expensive" camera is cheaper than the consumer grade camera and provides much better results....plus no annual fee that is needed with many of these consumer systems!
I can assure you the Arlo, Reolinks, Nest, etc. will be no better than Ring and probably a lot worse.
If I can get better quality and cheaper cost with no ongoing annual fees, that decision is a no-brainer...and that is the point! Instead of buying a $250 Ring Camera that produces quality like we see here, one would be better off purchasing the varifocal above or $120-ish Dahua OEM varifocal and get much better quality. So start out small with just the Dahua OEM camera and the DMSS app which won't come with an annual fee like Ring and maybe someday one decides to add an NVR or BI to the mix.
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