What do you think about having cameras INSIDE your home?

I

ipmania

Getting the hang of it
Apr 10, 2022
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65
Canada
More noob questions! Since I'm going to go through the exercise of setting up a network of cameras and likely a Blue Iris computer, it occurred to me that I could also put cameras inside my home.

The thought of capturing what went on during a burglary was going through my mind. Perhaps even...a home invasion attempt? (Shivers...)

The rest of my family was decidedly lukewarm on this idea. They weren't super keen even when I suggested limiting the coverage to just the foyer area just inside the front door. The family is all adults.

Am wondering what others think of this concept.
 
I have quite a few. None where I don't want them (e.g., bedrooms, bathrooms, etc.). I don't really rely on them much but good to have sometimes. My network and cams are well secured so not really concerned about anyone other than me accessing them. Not much to see anyway. Mostly some old guy or the cat walking by. If I were someone else who might be targeted in some way I'd probably be more wary.
 
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+1^^.
I have one in the sunroom and one in the living room.....purpose is mainly to see what the mutts are up to when we're not there. :cool:
 
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I was very opposed to this after seeing "Paranormal Activity". I didn't want to know what happened in my house when I wasn't there...

However, my alarm went off one day for the service door on the garage. I had a camera in the garage and could see the door was closed and knew I had been having issues with the sensor falling off. Because the door was closed and I knew I was having issues, I waved off on the alarm.

I already had two in my basement covering the window wells but after what happened above I decided it a good idea to have a camera in the main section of my first floor that covers the sliding door, the entry from the garage, and the hallway to the upstairs. I figured if someone was in the house it would be good to be able to see them running around. I then added one to the upstairs loft area for second floor coverage. I just recently put one in my office which is near the front of the house.

I do have one in my daughter's play room and bedroom that I use as monitors, but they will likely be coming out soon since she is getting older. These are nice because I can check in on her if I go outside with the neighbors after she has gone to bed or I can pull up her group on the downstairs TV if the neighbor kids come over and are playing upstairs.


The only, ongoing, issues I have had with the interior cameras is getting good settings for Day/Night and color or B/W. I seem to struggle, and the camera sometimes can't make up its mind, because of the inconsistent amount of light coming into the house during the day depending on weather conditions and whatnot.
 
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I have 8 cameras inside. Each door to the outside is covered by an inside camera. The kitchen,living room ,den, art room are all covered by cameras. No cameras in bedrooms or bathrooms.
 
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Ri22o said:
I was very opposed to this after seeing "Paranormal Activity". I didn't want to know what happened in my house when I wasn't there...

However, my alarm went off one day for the service door on the garage. I had a camera in the garage and could see the door was closed and knew I had been having issues with the sensor falling off. Because the door was closed and I knew I was having issues, I waved off on the alarm.

I already had two in my basement covering the window wells but after what happened above I decided it a good idea to have a camera in the main section of my first floor that covers the sliding door, the entry from the garage, and the hallway to the upstairs. I figured if someone was in the house it would be good to be able to see them running around. I then added one to the upstairs loft area for second floor coverage. I just recently put one in my office which is near the front of the house.

I do have one in my daughter's play room and bedroom that I use as monitors, but they will likely be coming out soon since she is getting older. These are nice because I can check in on her if I go outside with the neighbors after she has gone to bed or I can pull up her group on the downstairs TV if the neighbor kids come over and are playing upstairs.


The only, ongoing, issues I have had with the interior cameras is getting good settings for Day/Night and color or B/W. I seem to struggle, and the camera sometimes can't make up its mind, because of the inconsistent amount of light coming into the house during the day depending on weather conditions and whatnot.
Click to expand...

I like your use of a camera in the garage. Even if the family vetoes cameras being inside the house, I don't think they would be opposed to one in the garage. Especially since I believe some garage openers can be hacked.
 
I started out with two little blink outdoor cameras. While they are useless at that, I know what I will use them for soon. I just place them at the two chokepoints of the house and priorize the app for 24h phone alarm. As no one should enter the house in my absence (vacation, weekend trips), any IR detection in those spots would have me call my neighbor or the police (no animals in the house, blinds are down). And any intruder who searches for valuables will have to pass these points. At least that way, they get a job they can do.
 
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I've got internal cameras facing entryways and one PIR cam monitoring my stairwell - I have audio recording disabled on all interior cameras at the BI level but recorded at the SD card incase I need it
 
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I'm looking to add a couple of cameras internally but will only want them for when there's no one in (primarily for when we're on holiday). My intention is to add a couple of additional smart plugs to my home automation and power the cameras from those. Automation will turn on those outlets and power the cameras only when the alarm is 'away' set and so at that point they'll connect up to my system and be available for remote viewing.
 
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This is answer that is going to be different for every person/situation. There are no right or wrong answers here.

I actually started out my camera odyssey with a single inside camera that was placed in our "playroom" when the kids were young. It was terrible quality (an Axis camera, but this is about 15 years ago). I eventually replaced it with a Dahua interior camera. When the kids got older, I moved the camera to our "sunroom" which has a lot of large glass doors/windows. It's the only true interior camera that we use and to be honest I only use it because I already owned it. I would not have purchased a camera specifically for that location. I do have garage cameras and a camera under the house monitoring a sump pump, but those don't count IMHO. In my situation, family dynamics, and physical location, I do not see the need for additional interior cameras. That doesn't mean it is wrong for others to have interior cameras.
 
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John Williamson said:
I'm looking to add a couple of cameras internally but will only want them for when there's no one in (primarily for when we're on holiday). My intention is to add a couple of additional smart plugs to my home automation and power the cameras from those. Automation will turn on those outlets and power the cameras only when the alarm is 'away' set and so at that point they'll connect up to my system and be available for remote viewing.
Click to expand...
I’m planning for similar use case, but having the cameras on their own PoE switch, which could be powered via smart plug or just an extension chord with power button. Physically blocking the cameras from being viewed is more comfortable for the privacy inside the house (without power it’s practically sure that nobody can see you through the cameras).
 
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Personal preference. Ours is, no inside cameras. Every access point into every building is covered from the outside. While most people wouldn't be interested in watching a 60+ year old couple walking around naked, doesn't mean it has to be recorded. Besides, the greatest danger inside our home is a stray bullet from the irresponsible neighbors shooting day and night. None of our cameras are capable of catching and identifying a flying bullet.
 
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