High Quality Wireless Outdoor Cameras?

[check12]

Hi Folks,
It has been a quite some time since I was in the market for new outdoor cameras but I wondered if you all might point me a good direction or two for some high quality wireless (I know - this is not ideal to say the least but I don't have the ability to run PoE right now) outdoor cameras.

I would like to put some in my front porch, carport and backyard. I don't have a lot of ground that I need to cover - maybe at most 20 feet or so.

After looking at HikVision and Dahua, it seems like the vast majority of their cameras don't support WiFi anymore?

Any help would be greatly appreciated from you experts.

Thanks very much in advance for your time and assistance.

 

[TonyR]

Distance from each proposed camera to a wireless access point?
And is that a 2.4GHz, 5Ghz or both?
Is there any ambient lighting or very dark?
What is your geographic location?

 

[check12]

Distance from each proposed camera to a wireless access point?
And is that a 2.4GHz, 5Ghz or both?
Is there any ambient lighting or very dark?
What is your geographic location?

Current cameras are all: DH-SD1A203T-GN-W

Distance from APs: 10-15 feet for all cameras (3 different APs)

AP Bands: Both 2.4GhZ and 5 GhZ

Ambient lighting: I would say it's decent for front yard and carport. Backyard has a light on at all times which creates issues for my camera back there. I live in a city so always some kind of ambient lighting around Previous cameras have done decently in it.

Location: Canada (major city)

Thanks so much once again for your help on this.

 

[TonyR]

Consider the TP-LINK Tapo C325WB, perhaps try one as an overview camera. Although it has a large 1/1.79" sensor it has no IR and depends on ambient lighting or its built-in visible white LED's. The exposure settings are automatic and pre-set so blur is highly likely with perp motion at night. But it is outdoor, wired or 2.4GHz wireless, RTSP capable, ONVIF-compliant, 2-way audio, microSD card storage, 2K QHD resolution but is not POE; it is powered by a 9VDC wall-wart.

Overview and Specs tab:

ColorPro Outdoor Security Wi-Fi Camera

ultra low light camera, ColorPro night vision, AI detection, IP66, super-aperture lens, 1/1.79'' large sensor, F1.0 Lens

www.tp-link.com

At amazon Canada ==>> here

 

[check12]

Thanks so much, @TonyR. Do you think that this is an upgrade based on my current camera? There are no "professional" versions with WiFi that would work better?

I will definitely order one of these to try out based on your suggestion (thanks so much once again) but just wondering if there is anything else that might be a an even better option. I am happy to invest more money into something amazing.

Thanks again for all of your help.

 

[TonyR]

Do you think that this is an upgrade based on my current camera?

No, not really.

There are no "professional" versions with WiFi that would work better?

Not that I'm aware of. The alternative would be to use a wireless PtP (point to point) or PtMP (point to multi-point) wireless bridge between each camera and the camera network and I'm quite sure that could work very well but it would be an additional expense but mainly a lot of setup at each camera for powering the radio with a POE injector. It would be a variation hardware-wise of the below diagram. Think of a layer 2 transparent bridge as an Ethernet cable for data but no POE.

 

[TonyR]

When compared to typical Wi-Fi, the Ubiquiti wireless bridge (as do others) uses proprietary protocol and transceivers with higher transmitter power and higher receiver sensitivity and a channel width optimized to provide the best throughput and reliability.

You can also choose which band to use which provides the best performance and has less interference in your area, should that be an issue. The 2.4GHz has the best penetration through foliage and walls, the 5GHz provides a higher data rate and throughput but less penetration power, the 60GHz an even higher data rate and throughput but requires a completely clear LOS (Line Of Sight), from what I've read. I've installed only 2.4 and 5 Ubiquiti Nanostations, Locos and AC Locos and some TP-LINK 5GHz bridges as well.

You may consider trying a pair of TP-LINK CPE510 radios in a simple wireless bridge between 1 camera and your network to see how it works. It comes with a 24VDC passive POE injector (not 802.3af/at compliant) so it would need 120VAC at the camera or close by to power the injector. If it works you can add a radio at each camera and re-configure to multi-point, it just depends on what the signal strength is at each camera. You may have to go PtP on more than 1 camera or all cameras, I can't say not knowing the physical layout and wireless quality at each location. The CPE510 is available at amazon, for one.

Also, you may consider a pair of PLA's (Power Line Adapter) between a camera and your network, just insure the device at the camera end is protected from the elements. They work best when plugged into circuits that are on the same leg of 120 (same side of the electrical panel) in a 120/240VAC service.