mzzxx11

Hi,

I'm thinking of installing IP/web cameras to monitor my home while I'm away.

The main features I'm interested in:
- Storing footage of, say, several days
- Would alert me by email if something suspicious is detected
- Would send footage of interest (when something suspicious detected) by email or to some photo sharing service
- Connects to a router by wifi

Of course, should be easy to install & maintain

So basically I'm looking for advice on specific hardware and setups suitable for an apartment.

There are a few threads on FT by I didn't see there the specifics I'm after.

Cheers

gfunkdave

Dropcam satisfies all your requirements.

cblaisd

ScottC recommended the Belkin Netcam to me, and I've been pleased.

And the support folks on Belkin's Twitter channel are awesome.

HDQDD

It depends a lot on whether it's indoor or outdoor.

I have a few Hikvision cameras that I've been very happy with. Also SharxSecurity makes a nice one that I've used as well (it's 4 years old and still chugging). The Sharx has an SD card on-board for saving video/stills/motion detected video. I believe Hikvision has cameras with that option as well, but I record everything to my NAS, so I wasn't looking for that.

TOMFORD

+1, I have this and love them. I have them pointed at all the doors. You'll see them / they will see you as soon as you walk in. Pair this with August smartlock and you're set. I live in a highrise, so there are not many possible methods of entry (i.e. no chimney for Santa).

ScottC

I'd switch to Dropcams in a heartbeat if they made an outdoor version. I know there are some third party outdoor cases, but surely someone at Dropcam realizes people like to look outside as well?

javabytes

Foscam has worked well for me. I have four cameras, all on wifi. They have their own SD card storage but I stream the motion-activated footage and snapshots to a computer I have running. That could in turn be synced to various cloud storage services. It also sends snapshots to my email and to my phone using MMS.

Uh Clem

+1
I did a lot of research and ended up with the Dropcam. Very easy to install and use. I'm very happy with it.

CPRich

Piling on a similar need...

Outdoor, wide-angle (270 degree mounted on the corner of my house is ideal, but close to 180 should work), motion-activated wifi camera, streaming to my always-on PC?

dagwag77

This might not be as "out of the box" elegant as the dropcam, but it may suit a power user a bit more: Pickup some foscam cameras and blueiris dvr software which can record, set up customizable motion detectors and alerts (email, sms, etc).

gfunkdave

Yeah, the motion package available on most Linux distros works well for this sort of thing, but didn't seem like what the OP was looking for.

IsleOfMan

I have a single VERY low-end FOSCAM pan-tilt clone (KaiCang Sip1602w, $30 from Amazon with Prime) that I'm testing right now. Keeping the price in mind, it's not bad at all for a 640x480 camera and works as a generic camera in IPCam Light on Android. The colors are a bit off (brown tends a bit towards purple) but it does the job. Even the IR night-vision works surprisingly well in a medium-sized bedroom (currently testing this one to keep an eye on my sons' room). I'll likely be picking up 2-3 more after I feel out a bit more of the advanced setup (mainly port forwarding for external network viewing).

Based in my experience with this cheap FOSCAM clone, I'm thinking about something like these 720p low-profile indoor/outdoor cams for a new house we're going to start building soon (new construction, no need for wireless).

CatJo

I'm just getting started with this too - bought a HikVision DS-2CD2332-I (actually an unbranded version by a US vendor) and Blue Iris software which is setup on my always-on PC (which also servers as Plex server, etc.). This works really well, the quality is great. I need to do a final-location install before getting a couple more outdoor Hik's.

nmenaker

there is a dropcam outdoor attachment coming soon! from a third party but endorsed by dropcam (google)

http://dropcases.com

that said, I've use the netgear vuecams for many years (since before netgear bought the company) the quality is fairly poor but the cams are so easy to place and connect and the alerts for motion work instantly, I got alerts for the gardeners and people dropping off mail when I was in Africa recently! I wouldn't recommend the same solution today, but a new model with a better overall pricing strategy is coming out Q1/15 with 720p video, same motion alerts, same recording, same easy placement. I'd definitely check them out if I were in the market

kyee

I install camera systems at the offices for the company I work at. I use a commercial product from Avigilon for the software. For the actual cameras I use a mixture of Avigilon and Axis cameras. These are overkill and pricey for home/residential use, but I did also install them at my house.