Let's talk LED bulbs.

CCTVCam

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TBH the power of the light you need is going to depend on the camera you have. If it performs well in low light, you're probably not going to need a huge lamp. My drive has 6 x 10w LED floods for a total of 4,800 lumens (it's done this way to spread the light evenly and those lights are distibuted over an area of 30ft by 12 feet along both sides (3 lamps each side staggered)). As soon as I have a 5442 or 4Kx and the system up and running I can post some shots and maybe some from the back garden where I have only a 330 lumen 5w bulb as a background light. However, it won't be for some time due to other DIY projects standing in the way atm. In the meantime I believe Looney and others have LED lights reinforcing their front lighting with the above cameras so if you search threads on here, youi should be able to see the clarity they obtain at night. Part of the whole point of a low light camera is to have it able to function without too much light. Also, haveing a smaller PIR light, delivers less of a light adaptation shock when the light comes on and should result in a lesser and shorter effect on the camera.
 

akatsushi

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Neighbor woke up to a man hovering over her bed the other night at 3AM. Luckily his presence woke her up and when she bolted up and screamed WTF he got scared and ran back out the side door. I didn´t ask but I think she left her side door unlocked. We live in a row of identical small garden cottages from the 1930s. Pretty, but very easy to get into if left unsecured, especially if you´re not using the locks ... that said...
My security is already pretty hardened, bump proof deadbolts, dowels in all windows, vibration detectors on all windows and doors, etc. You may get in over time if you´re bound and determined but not without https://vlc.onl a good deal of effort and a hell of a lot of noise. No way you´re getting in undetected.
That said I´d like to add some lightbulb security cams so I can see what´s going on outside the cottage, take pics, communicate, video etc. Plan to put one on both entryway doors (front & side). Would love to hear your recs, experiences, etc with lightbulb security cams. Thanks!
 
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Ri22o

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Neighbor woke up to a man hovering over her bed the other night at 3AM. Luckily his presence woke her up and when she bolted up and screamed WTF he got scared and ran back out the side door. I didn´t ask but I think she left her side door unlocked. We live in a row of identical small garden cottages from the 1930s. Pretty, but very easy to get into if left unsecured, especially if you´re not using the locks ... that said...
My security is already pretty hardened, bump proof deadbolts, dowels in all windows, vibration detectors on all windows and doors, etc. You may get in over time if you´re bound and determined but not without a good deal of effort and a hell of a lot of noise. No way you´re getting in undetected.
That said I´d like to add some lightbulb security cams so I can see what´s going on outside the cottage, take pics, communicate, video etc. Plan to put one on both entryway doors (front & side). Would love to hear your recs, experiences, etc with lightbulb security cams. Thanks!
It's too bad she had to wake up that way, but fortunately nothing happened.

My recommendation is to use a proper camera and system and that the light bulb cameras are gimmicks, but below is a video covering several of the offerings you can find.

 

CCTVCam

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I recently watched the video above before this thread existed. I wasn't impressed. The concept is nice but the picture quality is dreadful. All the extra work is worth it to put a proper camera in place.

As has often been said about many consumer cams, there's very little point in having a camera if the person recorded is indistiguishable or unidentifiable in the final recording. This holds especially true at night.
 
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