Suggest me a cheap outdoor cam + NVR

[KaroriSteve]

Hi there, I've been looking at some options but have hit a bit of a wall deciding what to get here. I want to get a wall mountable outdoor PoE camera to mount on the outside of my garage to monitor the driveway. We are getting the garage rewired for power and since I'm digging up some concrete for that I figured it would be a good time to run extra conduit and some CAT6 out there. I already have an 8-port POE switch that I can hang the camera off. I'ld prefer something that has at least half decent night vision IR if possible, but I am a relatively cheap bastard and don't want to spend a ton of money on this.

I was considering the Reolink RLC-411 and a Dahua equivalent that I noticed on Ali Express the other night, but open to other options. I dont think I'll really need something that is capable of PTZ (although maybe zoom would be nice, not sure), the main point I want it for is to record stuff that happens in case my stuff gets stolen.

Speaking of recording, I guess I'll need an NVR. I don't really want to have a dedicated PC running recording all the time, but I found that the Dahua and Reolink NVRs seem really expensive! There are plenty of cheap ass looking crapola NVRs on Ali Express like this one BESDER Mini NVR Full HD 4 Channel 8 Channel Security CCTV NVR 1080P 4CH 8CH ONVIF 2.0 For IP Camera System 1080P With Radiator-in Surveillance Video Recorder from Security & Protection on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group that seem to be able to do the job...Are they any good? I have a spare 2Tb drive I can chuck in one to save a few bucks also. It woudl be nice to have a 4-channel one with extra capacity in case I want to install one or two more cameras around in the future.... Thanks in advance!

 

[SouthernYankee]

Weclome to the forum.

Read the cliff notes in the wiki at the top of the page in the blue bar.

On AliExpress only buy by from Andy at empiretech . He also has a Amazon store for some of the cameras.

Reolink is over hyped junk.

 

[looney2ns]

You want to know who did it, not just what happened. Buying cheap, usually doesn't end well at all.
AVOID Reolink.
It only cost's a few $$ more to purchase an 8ch NVR or even a 16ch NVR over a 4ch.
This is a good basic NVR that is available in 4ch or more: Review-Dahua NVR4104-HS-P-4ks Network Recorder.
Good cams:
Review-Dahua IPC-HDW2231RP-ZS Starlight Camera-Varifocal
or
Review-Dahua Starlight IPC-HDW5231R-ZE 800 meter capable ePOE

Available here from our friend Andy: Empire Technology Co., Ltd - Small Orders Online Store, Hot Selling and more on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group
He ships all over the world via DHL.
Be sure to use Solid Copper Cable, not copper clad aluminum.

 

[KaroriSteve]

Thanks guys, there's plenty of info in the cliff notes. Appreciate it. (Actually..information overload to be honest)
The two cameras suggested, the IPC-HDW2231RP-ZS and the IPC-HDW5231R-ZE, both appear to be eyeball cameras. Are these able to be mounted on a wall (weatherboard) rather than a soffit? My garage does not have eaves/soffits and I have an ideal location to mount it on the wall. I'm guessing I need a different model like a bullet camera? Or one of these? Aliexpress.com : Buy Waterproof Wall Mount Bracket PFB203W from Reliable bracket wall mount suppliers on Empire Technology Co., Ltd

 

[looney2ns]

Thanks guys, there's plenty of info in the cliff notes. Appreciate it. (Actually..information overload to be honest)
The two cameras suggested, the IPC-HDW2231RP-ZS and the IPC-HDW5231R-ZE, both appear to be eyeball cameras. Are these able to be mounted on a wall (weatherboard) rather than a soffit? My garage does not have eaves/soffits and I have an ideal location to mount it on the wall. I'm guessing I need a different model like a bullet camera? Or one of these? Aliexpress.com : Buy Waterproof Wall Mount Bracket PFB203W from Reliable bracket wall mount suppliers on Empire Technology Co., Ltd

It can be orientated any direction you need it. The bracket does give you a place to put the connection out of the weather, if you don't want to shove it back into the wall.

 

[KaroriSteve]

Ahh, awesome! Well I am cool with shoving it back into the wall - in fact it's only a weatherboard externally, internally there is no drywall so it's super easy to shove the cables back into the wall and let them hang. I'm considering getting one of those cheap-ish Dahuas as they'll do the job and as long as they have pretty good low light capabilities I'm set. I'm not sure I need an NVR and am tempted to start out with an SD card in the camera. Problem with that is I guess if the theif steals the camera. If you want to review the footage on the SD card, can you do so from the camera's web UI or do you have to get up with a ladder and remove the SD card? Sorry for all the useless questions... IP security cams are a new thing for me!

 

[looney2ns]

Ahh, awesome! Well I am cool with shoving it back into the wall - in fact it's only a weatherboard externally, internally there is no drywall so it's super easy to shove the cables back into the wall and let them hang. I'm considering getting one of those cheap-ish Dahuas as they'll do the job and as long as they have pretty good low light capabilities I'm set. I'm not sure I need an NVR and am tempted to start out with an SD card in the camera. Problem with that is I guess if the theif steals the camera. If you want to review the footage on the SD card, can you do so from the camera's web UI or do you have to get up with a ladder and remove the SD card? Sorry for all the useless questions... IP security cams are a new thing for me!

You can review the footage on the SD card from your computer. No ladders required.