Outdoor Wireless Cameras

D

Davo36

n3wb
Nov 21, 2021
6
4
NZ
Hi guys, noob here. However I have read the cliff notes and a few other threads.

I want to film animals outside my house. So about 50m to 100m from my router extender, in a wooded area.

Background: I'm in New Zealand. We have no native animals. But we have rats, mice, possums, mustelids and many other introduced animal pests which we are getting rid of. That's right, remove every last one from our country. As part of this, I am investigating various pest animal removal technologies around my house, which is in a wooded area. We call it 'bush' :).

I have used trail cameras extensively, but they have some limitations: Have to go into the bush and retrieve SD cards; Batteries always running out; They only last 2-3 years and then die. So, I thought my own dedicated system might be better.

This is what I need:

1) Waterproof wireless cams.
2) Almost all filming will be done at night (this is when things like rats come out). So I need good low light (basically zero light) cameras that can record quite small animals moving about.
3) Short focal length? Often I want to be able to point a camera at something about 2m to 3m away. But I also want to see stuff further away if possible.
4) Long battery life.

I'm happy to spend a bit to get a really good quality system. It seems like I'll need a separate PC, BI software etc. This is fine.

Any advice on which cameras would be best, and other tips re the whole system would be much appreciated.
 
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I don't want to disillusion you, but you are looking for a unicorn.

The WiFi cameras on the market, both battery or external power, are not very high quality cameras. By "not high quality" I mean that their sensor size and resolution are not good. High resolution 2MP, 4MP and beyond, require larger and larger sensors. To save power they rely on small sensors. Small sensor simply can't gather enough light to provide a good picture. Adding addition infrared light can help, but the power demand becomes unmanageable. For that matter a larger sensor camera demands more power as well. That, basically, eliminates battery powered cameras.

Relying on an infrared motion detector to turn on the camera is also another power demand, assuming the camera isn't powered constantly. Vide cameras need time to boot up which can take a few to as many as 30 seconds depending on the complexity of the camera.

You could use a solar powered charging system but they get expensive as well. With each camera you add you'll need more batteries in the system and more solar panels to charge the batteries. That's not to say it hasn't been done but it's usually done for just one camera. You'd also need an RF link of some kind or another, to get the video back to the house. Again, more power, more batteries and more solar panels. A typical 4MP camera with good night vision consumes about 7 watts at night and 3 or 4 during the day. Based on a "worst case", using the 7 watt number, the camera would need 168 watts of battery per day. To allow for cloudy days that number should be doubled, at least, so rounding that up means 400 watts of battery and solar panels to support the camera itself.

Honestly, I'd consider a slit trench for a direct burial ethernet cable or two. They would need proper grounding to protect from lightning surges, but overall it would be far less expensive and allow for whatever camera you might need.
 
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Surely it's not that hard.

I borrowed a guy's Arlo system 3 or 4 years ago (so it was an older system) and it worked pretty well actually.

So I was assuming if that worked, that I'd be able to put together a customized system that would be even better.

A slit trench is not really an option. I need to be able to shift the cameras around, and also, I'd have to go under a concrete drive.
 
Davo36 said:
Surely it's not that hard.
Click to expand...

If there were wireless, battery cameras that truly worked, at a reasonable price, why on earth would I have six switches, feeding ethernet to my dozen cameras? I wouldn't!

Reality is, that if you are happy with the Arlo, then so be it. Folks on here are not, and we use much higher resolution cameras, with much better low light sensitivity, and good IR. Like everything in life, there are trade offs. I have not seen a battery wifi camera recommended on here.
 
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If you're happy with Arlo, go for it. The folks here, including me, do use much higher quality cameras with real capabilities. Arlo is not very high up on the ladder of quality cameras, at least to most of us.
 
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sebastiantombs said:
If you're happy with Arlo, go for it. The folks here, including me, do use much higher quality cameras with real capabilities. Arlo is not very high up on the ladder of quality cameras, at least to most of us.
Click to expand...
Oh I know. I don't want to just go with something like an Arlo because they have to connect to a base station so are limited in distance. Or they can connect to WiFi but then you have all their subscription costs I think. But also I was thinking I could put together something better.

The other thought I had re your comments regarding power and whatnot is that if trail cameras powered by 8xAA batteries can do this, why can't a WiFi connected camera with a battery attached to it?
 
TVille said:
If there were wireless, battery cameras that truly worked, at a reasonable price, why on earth would I have six switches, feeding ethernet to my dozen cameras? I wouldn't!

Reality is, that if you are happy with the Arlo, then so be it. Folks on here are not, and we use much higher resolution cameras, with much better low light sensitivity, and good IR. Like everything in life, there are trade offs. I have not seen a battery wifi camera recommended on here.
Click to expand...
Haha, well OK, maybe I just have no idea of what is feasible.

I was thinking I could get something like a trail camera or a Wyze Outdoor camera, but just much better i.e. better resolution, better low light sensitivity - as you mention.

No battery WiFi cameras recommended on here? Wow. So to get better performance than the bog standard systems like Arlo, they all have to be wired?
 
Davo36 said:
Hi guys, noob here. However I have read the cliff notes and a few other threads.

I want to film animals outside my house. So about 50m to 100m from my router extender, in a wooded area.

Background: I'm in New Zealand. We have no native animals. But we have rats, mice, possums, mustelids and many other introduced animal pests which we are getting rid of. That's right, remove every last one from our country. As part of this, I am investigating various pest animal removal technologies around my house, which is in a wooded area. We call it 'bush' :).

I have used trail cameras extensively, but they have some limitations: Have to go into the bush and retrieve SD cards; Batteries always running out; They only last 2-3 years and then die. So, I thought my own dedicated system might be better.

This is what I need:

1) Waterproof wireless cams.
2) Almost all filming will be done at night (this is when things like rats come out). So I need good low light (basically zero light) cameras that can record quite small animals moving about.
3) Short focal length? Often I want to be able to point a camera at something about 2m to 3m away. But I also want to see stuff further away if possible.
4) Long battery life.

I'm happy to spend a bit to get a really good quality system. It seems like I'll need a separate PC, BI software etc. This is fine.

Any advice on which cameras would be best, and other tips re the whole system would be much appreciated.
Click to expand...

I haven't seen where you mention the budget to finance this goal?? If this is just a play thing you can purchase any of the hundreds of Aliexpress / Amazon specials that provide wireless / solar capability. All of the one's I've seen first hand from colleague's or friends have been poor in quality that span video, sound, run time, and WiFi.

These devices range from $45 ~ 255.XX and none of them have lasted more than a few months / one year.

If the budget is realistic a modest and reliable system can be designed and built below $1K. That price can fluctuate based on the brand and quality of hardware you choose and if new vs used. Below are some basic information to give you an idea of what you need to get a basic system up.

  • Camera
  • PtP Bridge
  • Solar Panel(s)
  • Charge Controller
  • POE Switch
  • IP Rated Enclosures
  • 24 VDC batteries
  • Wire / Fuses
 
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WiFi needs power which is why WiFi battery cameras will fail. Constantly transmitting takes power, no way to avoid that. Quality video, good resolution and good low light performance, takes power. I didn't mention a dedicated wireless bridge, deliberately, because that takes even more power. A single camera system with a dedicated RF link would need, at a bare minimum, 700 watt hours of batteries and at least 700 watts of solar panels to charge them. That's the big reason why there are no "prepackaged" systems like this available other than for major construction site use as an example. The costs are quite high.

A decent 4P camera only costs around $175USD, a dedicated wireless bridge is another $175USD. Solar panels and batteries are expensive at those power levels. Throw in a proper solar charger to manage the batteries, probably in the $200-500USD range, and you can see the problems involved. As I said, finding a unicorn.

You could get wire under the driveway relatively easily by the way. It can be done hydraulically using a garden hose if the soil isn't rocky or it can be done by physically driving a conduit under the concrete using a sledge hammer. Yes, it's some work but it can be done without cutting up the concrete.
 
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For the benefit of others who may be considering doing the same thing. One of the major things people fail to realize is every battery powered WiFi camera records based on motion. It does not provide continuous recording and 99% of the time that money shot will be missed.

As such hardware that is capable of running 24.7.365 is expansive when compared to a Arlo / Blink / Ring etc.

The biggest advancements in the entire solar powered space has come from extremely dense and powerful LifePO battery cells. They offer anywhere from 1000 ~ 5000 cycles and have no problems discharging to 100%. They are light, small, and can be orientated in almost any position. Having said this they require proper charging, balancing, and depending upon battery chemistry do not operate well in high temperatures.

Also depending upon form factor these cells must be strapped and secured to insure they do not expand.

The easiest thing to do for anyone who is keen to learn basic solar charging is to purchase a cheap system. Playing with a small solar panel, battery, and load from light bulb / fan. You'll quickly learn basic wiring, electrical, ohms law, fusing, run time, environmental, temperature, etc.

The first time you take a standard flooded car battery (SLA) and cycle it to 100% DOD more than ten times. You'll quickly learn a few things about charging time, recovery, cycle life, etc.
 
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Without knowing if this is all your property / land or if you have any concerns about the equipment being stolen it might be possible to start out with a "test rig". This is a popular suggestion on here for those starting out to test camera locations. It can be moved accordingly.

This could be attached to a 100m cat5/6 externally rated cable. POE would provide power and data to blue iris PC / poe switch or nvr with poe. Use a waterproof enclosure for the connections at the camera

Use a cable protector on the driveway or suspend overhead for that bit.

I'd call this a kind of permanent temporary solution since you want it moveable. Instead of a fixed camera looking In one direction you could also use a ptz and adjust from the house. Could save you a journey.

And if the cables running over the ground remember about it when you get the lawnmower out lol

See links and good luck

www.kingfisherdirect.co.uk

Cable Covers and Cable Protectors | Kingfisher Direct

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Test bench

I just built this test bench for tonight.
ipcamtalk.com ipcamtalk.com
 
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