Opinion on cheap IP cameras from sites like AliExpress?

[pomtom44]

Hey everyone.
Iv been slowly upgrading my home security over the past year or so
Started by buying Blue Iris, and using some old laptops for the cameras, then working my way up to buying cheap cameras from the internet.
Currently I have some YI home cameras, with flashed firmware to allow for local usage (as they usually need to connect to their own cloud server as with most "Home security" systems)

However in browsing on AliExpress tonight I noticed there is alot of very cheap cameras which seem to match all my requirements
USAFEQLO Wide Angle 1.8mm Outdoor IP Camera PoE 1080P 960P 720P ABS Case ONVIF Security Waterproof IP Camera CCTV 6PCS ARRAY LED-in Surveillance Cameras from Security & Protection on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group
Its ethernet, IR, unvif, and HD (or so they claim)
I have used a similar one in the past and apart from having to use their onvif software to configure it rather than the one I usually use, I had no problems

So my question is
What is your opinion on these cheaper cameras
Yes I know their shelf life may not be as long as the branded ones, and their support is lacking.
But so long as it sends a half decent image to my server, does it really matter?

 

[mat200]

Hey everyone.
...
So my question is
What is your opinion on these cheaper cameras
Yes I know their shelf life may not be as long as the branded ones, and their support is lacking.
But so long as it sends a half decent image to my server, does it really matter?

Hi pomtom

How much does your time matter?
Are you willing to throw money away?

Strongly recommend getting cameras which others here have had good experiences with. Also buy from recommended vendors as many vendors on Ebay, Ali, Amazon are deceptive in their ads and claims.

 

[pomtom44]

Hi pomtom

How much does your time matter?
Are you willing to throw money away?

Strongly recommend getting cameras which others here have had good experiences with. Also buy from recommended vendors as many vendors on Ebay, Ali, Amazon are deceptive in their ads and claims.

That I strongly agree with, spend more now to save later on

Its just if your spending 2-300 on a single camera, when for $30 you can get a off brand one which does the same thing.
you can replace the camera 10 times before you match what you spent on the single one.

And places like ebay and Ali have a returns policy, if it doesnt work or match what they said, they will return your money and then go after the trader to recover costs
Iv used it plenty of times for things I have brought online.

 

[mat200]

That I strongly agree with, spend more now to save later on

Its just if your spending 2-300 on a single camera, when for $30 you can get a off brand one which does the same thing.
you can replace the camera 10 times before you match what you spent on the single one.

And places like ebay and Ali have a returns policy, if it doesnt work or match what they said, they will return your money and then go after the trader to recover costs
Iv used it plenty of times for things I have brought online.

HI Pomtom,

1) You can find plenty of decent IP PoE camera models for less than $200-300.

Newer more affordable international Dahua OEM models are coming out even as we chat about this.

Keep an eye on what Andy @EMPIRETECANDY stocks in his store and the reviews members are sharing here ( @looney2ns has a recent review he is posting right now )

IPCamTalk WiKi | IP Cam Talk

2) Why go through the hopes of a return when the vendor will tell you that you ordered a legit described product? Why even try to buy from vendors who are lying? Seriously, why even spend the time and effort? Not worth it.

3) A wise IT person once told me never to buy something which I am the first to buy it or one of the few to buy it.

 

[pomtom44]

I just had a look on@EMPIRETECANDY 's website. (Home)
Are the prices correct.
Google is telling me that the conversion rate is 75 to 1. meaning most of the products are less than $20 for me (in NZ)

 

[pomtom44]

Although having a look at his aliexpress page, prices are back up to the usual 2-400 $NZ ?

 

[Swinub]

Hello,

You were able to flash a Yi camera to do continuous recording?

Can you explain? I have a small indoor one that only records motion and saves to microSD.

Sent from my Mi A1 using Tapatalk

 

[looney2ns]

Although having a look at his aliexpress page, prices are back up to the usual 2-400 $NZ ?

Aliexpress.com : Buy 2017 Top selling cameras 2MP IR Eyeball Network Camera IPC HDW4231EM AS free DHL shipping from Reliable network camera suppliers on Empire Technology Co., Ltd

 

[pomtom44]

Hello,

You were able to flash a Yi camera to do continuous recording?
Can you explain? I have a small indoor one that only records motion and saves to microSD.
Sent from my Mi A1 using Tapatalk

I was able to flash only the 720p indoor camera to send a rstp stream to my BI server.
details can be found here
fritz-smh/yi-hack

 

[pomtom44]

Aliexpress.com : Buy 2017 Top selling cameras 2MP IR Eyeball Network Camera IPC HDW4231EM AS free DHL shipping from Reliable network camera suppliers on Empire Technology Co., Ltd

Thats still $180 (nz), going back to my point of the $30 camera I posted is 6 times cheaper, but I dont think its 6 times less quality.

 

[fenderman]

Thats still $180 (nz), going back to my point of the $30 camera I posted is 6 times cheaper, but I dont think its 6 times less quality.

you are correct, its not 6 times less quality, its about 100 times less. But you are going to be stupid and cheap and buy junk. Do it already, then come back bitching and moaning when its crap. You dont want advice or opinions, you want validation to be cheap. You wont get it here.

 

[mat200]

Thats still $180 (nz), going back to my point of the $30 camera I posted is 6 times cheaper, but I dont think its 6 times less quality.

Hi pomtom

Comparing the $25 USD camera to the $120 USD camera - 4.8x difference not 6x

If you look there are other Dahua OEM IP cameras available for less.

Example IPC-HFW1320S 3MP for $71 USD
Aliexpress.com : Buy IPC HFW1320S 3MP Network IR Bullet Camera Waterproof IP camera IPC HFW1320S,HFW1320S,free shipping from Reliable ip camera suppliers on Empire Technology Co., Ltd

 

[Swinub]

Hi pomtom

How much does your time matter?
Are you willing to throw money away?

Strongly recommend getting cameras which others here have had good experiences with. Also buy from recommended vendors as many vendors on Ebay, Ali, Amazon are deceptive in their ads and claims.

Who are the recommended vendors?

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

 

[mat200]

Who are the recommended vendors?

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

Hi Swinub,

Please see the vendors section here for ipct recommended vendors.
IP Cam Talk

 

[randytsuch]

The Dahua starlights, which are the most recommended cams here, do a great job capturing images at night (low light) where you can get enough resolution to get facial recognition. Bad things tend to happen at night.
Try that with your cheap cam.
And if you can't tell who the bad guy is, how much is your cam worth?

 

[Swinub]

The Dahua starlights, which are the most recommended cams here, do a great job capturing images at night (low light) where you can get enough resolution to get facial recognition. Bad things tend to happen at night.
Try that with your cheap cam.
And if you can't tell who the bad guy is, how much is your cam worth?

Would it be better to install some kind of outdoor lights to give better view to the camera?

Maybe motion activated?

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

 

[chewie]

Hello pomtom44
I got a few of these of these cameras and they work very good so far, they have different names like Longse, BeSafe, and orders but is the same camera. part number LBH30S200.
Check it out.
Regards.
chewie

 

[looney2ns]

Hello pomtom44
I got a few of these of these cameras and they work very good so far, they have different names like Longse, BeSafe, and orders but is the same camera. part number LBH30S200.
Check it out.
Regards.
chewie

Avoid Longse, BeSafe and any version of it.

 

[chewie]

Hello pomtom44
There is a thread in this forum about this camera -
Q's Cheap Camera Shootout
Check it out.
Regards.
CHEWIE

 

[Q™]

There is too much insistence on buying from ANDY on this forum . I am also looking forward to purchase some cheap IP cam for less important places. Any recommended vendors ? The normal pricing $150-$200 on recommended models is too much.

Then buy JUNK and experience JUNK results