I am not that technical and looking for an inexpensive wireless outside security camera that I can watch on my computer ONLY, I am not looking to download any apps. Does anyone know of any brands and models?
Thanks
Thanks
Looking for wireless outside security camera
- Thread starter petefig
- Start date
What is your idea of "inexpensive" ?
Since you said no apps, I'm hoping you mean on your phone. Would you be willing to install a free and safe video viewer on your PC called VLC ?
What is it that you expect this 'wireless outside security camera' to do? Just one camera? Do you expect it to just give a nice wide overview of the area that will not be able to get a face shot to ID a perp, or are you looking to be able to see the face of a perp well enough for the police to convict?
You need to define your expectations.
You need to define your expectations.
"Yes, I am looking for one camera that will give a wide view and be able to get a face shot if possible"
That is not possible. A wide-angle overview cam will NEVER get a shot of a face for ID. So if you want only one cam, you have to decide what its purpose is.
That is not possible. A wide-angle overview cam will NEVER get a shot of a face for ID. So if you want only one cam, you have to decide what its purpose is.
+1 above.
You need to get the correct camera for the area trying to be covered. A wide angle 2.8mm to IDENTIFY someone 40 feet away is the wrong camera regardless of how good the camera is. A wide angle 2.8mm camera to IDENTIFY someone within 10 feet is a good choice OR it is an overview camera to see something happened but not be able to identify who.
But if you put the camera on the 2nd floor, then you lose the entire IDENTIFY distance in the vertical.
One camera cannot be the be all, see all. Each one is selected for covering a specific area. Most of us here have different brands and types, from fixed cams, to varifocals, to PTZs, each one selected for it's primary purpose and to utilize the strength of that particular camera.
So you will need to identify the distance the camera would be from the activities you want to IDENTIFY on and purchase the correct camera for that distance as an optical zoom.
If you want to see things far away, you need optical zoom, digital zoom only works in the movies and TV...And the optical zoom is done real time - for a varifocal it is a set it and forget it. You cannot go to recorded video and optically zoom in later, at that point it is digital zoom, and the sensors on these cameras are so small which is why digital zoom doesn't work very well after the fact.
See this thread for the commonly recommended cameras (along with Amazon links) based on distance to IDENTIFY that represent the overall best value in terms of price and performance day and night.
The Importance of Focal Length over MP in camera selection
Nobody here uses wifi cameras unless they don't care about drop outs and poor quality - like a pet cam.
Here is a whole thread dedicated to the wifi cameras and see for yourself if this is the quality you are looking for:
ipcamtalk.com
You need to get the correct camera for the area trying to be covered. A wide angle 2.8mm to IDENTIFY someone 40 feet away is the wrong camera regardless of how good the camera is. A wide angle 2.8mm camera to IDENTIFY someone within 10 feet is a good choice OR it is an overview camera to see something happened but not be able to identify who.
But if you put the camera on the 2nd floor, then you lose the entire IDENTIFY distance in the vertical.
One camera cannot be the be all, see all. Each one is selected for covering a specific area. Most of us here have different brands and types, from fixed cams, to varifocals, to PTZs, each one selected for it's primary purpose and to utilize the strength of that particular camera.
So you will need to identify the distance the camera would be from the activities you want to IDENTIFY on and purchase the correct camera for that distance as an optical zoom.
If you want to see things far away, you need optical zoom, digital zoom only works in the movies and TV...And the optical zoom is done real time - for a varifocal it is a set it and forget it. You cannot go to recorded video and optically zoom in later, at that point it is digital zoom, and the sensors on these cameras are so small which is why digital zoom doesn't work very well after the fact.
See this thread for the commonly recommended cameras (along with Amazon links) based on distance to IDENTIFY that represent the overall best value in terms of price and performance day and night.
The Importance of Focal Length over MP in camera selection
Nobody here uses wifi cameras unless they don't care about drop outs and poor quality - like a pet cam.
Here is a whole thread dedicated to the wifi cameras and see for yourself if this is the quality you are looking for:
The Typical picture of a Perp on Nextdoor-type Apps with Consumer Grade Cameras like Ring, Nest, Arlo, Canary, Wyze, etc.
Love these posts on Nextdoor type apps LOL. This thread will be used for members to post the poor quality consumer grade type camera images that we see people post to the Nextdoor type apps. Can anyone make out this person that went thru their cars LOL.... And this thread is where members...
Thank you very much for the info, I will look into what you suggested.+1 above.
You need to get the correct camera for the area trying to be covered. A wide angle 2.8mm to IDENTIFY someone 40 feet away is the wrong camera regardless of how good the camera is. A wide angle 2.8mm camera to IDENTIFY someone within 10 feet is a good choice OR it is an overview camera to see something happened but not be able to identify who.
But if you put the camera on the 2nd floor, then you lose the entire IDENTIFY distance in the vertical.
One camera cannot be the be all, see all. Each one is selected for covering a specific area. Most of us here have different brands and types, from fixed cams, to varifocals, to PTZs, each one selected for it's primary purpose and to utilize the strength of that particular camera.
So you will need to identify the distance the camera would be from the activities you want to IDENTIFY on and purchase the correct camera for that distance as an optical zoom.
If you want to see things far away, you need optical zoom, digital zoom only works in the movies and TV...And the optical zoom is done real time - for a varifocal it is a set it and forget it. You cannot go to recorded video and optically zoom in later, at that point it is digital zoom, and the sensors on these cameras are so small which is why digital zoom doesn't work very well after the fact.
See this thread for the commonly recommended cameras (along with Amazon links) based on distance to IDENTIFY that represent the overall best value in terms of price and performance day and night.
The Importance of Focal Length over MP in camera selection
Nobody here uses wifi cameras unless they don't care about drop outs and poor quality - like a pet cam.
Here is a whole thread dedicated to the wifi cameras and see for yourself if this is the quality you are looking for:
The Typical picture of a Perp on Nextdoor-type Apps with Consumer Grade Cameras like Ring, Nest, Arlo, Canary, Wyze, etc.
Love these posts on Nextdoor type apps LOL. This thread will be used for members to post the poor quality consumer grade type camera images that we see people post to the Nextdoor type apps. Can anyone make out this person that went thru their cars LOL.... And this thread is where members...
The other thing we forgot to mention is you need to get a wire to it anyway for power, so run an ethernet cable and eliminate the wifi and power it and provide data over that one cable.
And if it is a difficult location, a powerline adapter that runs data over your existing electric lines is far more stable than any wifi connection. I have been using one for years.
And if it is a difficult location, a powerline adapter that runs data over your existing electric lines is far more stable than any wifi connection. I have been using one for years.
FWIW, I did not receive a reply to "What is your idea of "inexpensive"" ?
It's so a response can be tailored to your budget OR the replies will cause you to adjust your budget.
It's so a response can be tailored to your budget OR the replies will cause you to adjust your budget.
I was thinking about $100 or so. I was looking just to attach to my garage to watch my back yardFWIW, I did not receive a reply to "What is your idea of "inexpensive"" ?
It's so a response can be tailored to your budget OR the replies will cause you to adjust your budget.