Outdoor cheapish camera recommendations please?

[Rookie23]

Hi, I am running the latest version of Blue Iris and Code Project AI and everything is working well (POE, VLAN’s, Firewalls, VPN etc), I have Reolink Duo2’s, 811A’s, Doorbell and a Wi-Fi E1 Zoom for indoor while away. We live in a very low light area (minimal street or house lights nearby). I am looking for 2 camera recommendations please. Reolink have been good to me so far (18 months) but their nighttime and low light views are not the best, but it was a cost effective way to get started and fine tune. If other information needed please ask.

Recommendation 1: (sides of house), pdf attached
• Almost no light, narrow long strip, currently running IR so regular web removal (park next door)
• Blue Iris has allowed me to position the Reolink 811a physical camera sideways which has helped a lot for AI over distance in daylight and nighttime
• Desired camera: suit long narrow view, no light on all the time, turret and bullet options will work in different locations, less web cleaning (not sure if that means no IR), good low light performance and cheaper end of price spectrum, POE, approx. 15m distance required for nighttime images and recording with no artificial light present

Recommendation 2: (front/rear of house)
• Almost no light, 180 deg, currently running IR & auto led light so regular web removal but less than park side cam
• Blue Iris has worked well with Duo2 for wide area but it doesn’t get to the street which is about 8m away
• I have included a night shot from doorbell cam which is pretty good IMHO and is almost directly underneath the Duo2 camera
• Desired camera: 180deg, no light on all the time, turret camera, less web cleaning (not sure if that means no IR), good low light performance and cheaper end of price spectrum, can perform well to about 15m which is to the other side of the street, POE, pdf attached

 

[bkazaa23]

Whats your budget?

 

[Rookie23]

Whats your budget?

My current cameras RRPs are approximately AUD $150-200 each so around there but its important to get something that can do the job.

 

[mat200]

My current cameras RRPs are approximately AUD $150-200 each so around there but its important to get something that can do the job.

Due to low light issues .. look for camera models with 4mp and 1/1.8" sensors .. probably need to source from China or Hong Kong.. in the usa many of us go to andy for supply .. even has an Amazon store in the usa

 

[justthefacts]

I have a Reolink CX410 which does very well at night !

 

[mat200]

I have a Reolink CX410 which does very well at night !

The Reolink CX410 with a 4MP 1/1.8" does better than the Reolink 8MP cameras .. still it's not as good as most of the Hikvision or Dahua OEM 4MP 1/1.8" sensor models members have reviewed ..

 

[justthefacts]

The Reolink CX410 with a 4MP 1/1.8" does better than the Reolink 8MP cameras .. still it's not as good as most of the Hikvision or Dahua OEM 4MP 1/1.8" sensor models members have reviewed ..

The OP wanted cheapish and low light !So that is why I suggested the CX410 !

 

[mat200]

The OP wanted cheapish and low light !So that is why I suggested the CX410 !

Yes .. and it is good to see Reolink produce more variations of models for customers ..

OP also noted: Almost no light, 180 deg

So the Reolink CX410 does not fit the FOV ..

basically OP has a bit of thinking to do balancing requirements he has with what is available for the budget he has.

He will need to compromise someplace here.

Hopefully he will respond back with what he ended up getting and give us some feedback

 

[justthefacts]

The almost no light was why I recommend it ! I just installed 4 of these on my neighbors property last week ! The camera turns night into day ! It works better without Blue Iris ! Using the Reolink PC client you can adjust the exposure !

 

[wittaj]

The OP has Reolink and acknowledges they are not the best.

While the CX410 is on the proper MP/sensor ratio (4MP on a 1/1.8" sensor) with a large f1.0 aperture, at $95 it would be a steal if it worked like other full color cameras.

Sadly, it appears to suffer from the same issues of reolink, which is poor night quality and ghosting, etc. And look how washed out the camera on the right is when the lights kick on.




Is missing a leg normal?

Are these captures that could IDENTIFY a person? Looks like the person is close enough that a Dahua could provide IDENTIFY quality.

But it benefits from the light turning on with motion. Wonder if the camera gets momentarily blinded.




If that is the quality the OP needs, then go for it, but it appears he wants better performance.

 

[Rookie23]

Thanks guys, I am happy to consider all options, original budget and upping my budget a bit so this is all great info as I understand there is a trade off

 

[Rookie23]

Hi guys, thanks for your help, I ended up going with the Empire Tech 180 deg camera, its a beast, I am very impressed what it can do at night time with no onboard lights enabled.
Its early days but I would estimate its 50% better coverage at night than what I had in place previously, daytime its about the same.
The build and mount are very well constructed so it looks a lot better also.
Its such a large space that we are trying to cover that I thought its worth paying the $ premium.

I went with a Empiretech dome camera down the side of the house and relocated an Reolink 811A to a new location. I am not convinced its doing any better than what we had in place originally.
I suspect we could have gotten away with the Reolink CX410 in this position but I haven't done to much testing with the Empire Tech dome camera as yet.