Too many choices, I can't decide

[woozie]

Hi Guys,
I want to get a camera for our office.
It will need to have good quality camera and preferably a fast fps, I would like to be able to use and app on my phone to view the stream and recording on a sd card. It would be good if I got alerts via the app, sms or email if motion is detected.
I don't mind Wifi but probably prefer ethernet as it provides power.

I'm happy to spend up to $400 to $500US.

Can someone recommend something? There are too many choices and I am not familiar with many of the brands, I just want to make sure I get the best quality one with the features I require.

 

[fenderman]

Welcome to the forum..How large is the area you want to monitor? look at the hikvision 2532s and hikvision 2732s both have sd card slots..the 2732 is varifocal so you can manually adjust it at setup..the 2532 is fixed focus...the 2532 has less powerful ir but is smaller and less noticeable..both can be had for under 200 and are excellent cameras.

 

[bp2008]

The 2532 is a good camera. However I encourage you to consider the Hikvision DS-2CD2432F-I, as it may be better depending on your situation. In addition to the SD card slot and microphone, it has a PIR (Passive Infrared) sensor which the other cameras do not have. This rather rare feature provides an alternative form of motion detection that is less likely to trigger false alarms due to changes in lighting. For example if the room you want to monitor is significantly lit by sunlight, then traditional motion detection may be triggered all the time on windy/cloudy days where the brightness of the light is often changing. A PIR sensor would be much better in this situation.

 

[fenderman]

BP2008, makes a good point..the 2432is an excellent camera, and of you dont need vandal resistantance it is better than the other two i mentioned because of the pir sensor....