Help with security cameras

[logox]

I am wanting to setup a few (2-3) security cameras outside my house with night vision and at least 1080p @30fps. After looking around there seem to be an abundance of low quality cameras, and the few good ones sound like they require a monthly paid service, like the ones made by Nest https://www.amazon.com/Nest-Cam-Outdoor-Security-Camera/dp/B01M66NWOQ/ref=zg_bs_898400_2?_encoding=UTF8&refRID=4P6CXK5R4JQDY2Y06MRE&th=1#customerReviews

My question is, what are a few good choices of outdoor, night vision, high quality security cameras that I could connect to my own storage and not have to pay for monthly service?

P.S. I do not need motion activation, they will run 24x7, and footage will only be reviewed if someone breaks in or I have a specific reason to view it. Price and complexity do not matter to me either.

*I apologize if this is in the wrong section*

 

[USAFRet]

I have a 4 camera system (capable of 8 cams).
It has its own DVR, no subscription needed, at all.

In the under $500 range for a full system, the cameras (and resolution) are less than stellar.
For instance, reading a license plate as a standard 'thing'...you can't read farther than about 18 feet.
At 20 feet, at night, I couldn't recognize a face. Size and general shape, yes. But not nearly enough for an recognition.

But if I desired, I could splash out the money for better resolution cameras. The DVR infrastructure would be the same, just a better quality camera.


Oh, and don't go WiFi. To me, that is 100% the wrong way to go for a security system.

 

[boosted1g]

As UAFRet said if you plan on using wifi instead of hardwired cabling, just dont even bother

If you have a reasonibly powerfull (i5 or better cpu) desktop that is always on then you can run blueiris software.
This is a fairly robust software for its $60 price tag. You can set it to record on motion or leave it at constant record but provide you with alert logs of moiton.

For the cameras, the best camera I have seen for your price range is hikvisions: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01DIKF4XG/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A1CWARKP010ISH

As USAFRet said these will not give you great clarity beyond 20 ft.
Once closer it will be good enough for recognition, but dont think you will pickup the license plate at night off the car 25-30 ft away

 

[logox]

I have a desktop that I use as a server with an i7 4770k watercooled with 16GB DDR3 ram and a good quality power supply. Like I said, I do not have a price range because money is not an issue... And I agree, I want to go wired.

Edit: I have a decent bit of networking/storage experience too, if that matters.

 

[boosted1g]

Since the "smart house" boom there has been many many new security camera lines introduced. The vast majority of these are low quality garbage like you have seen.
They are designed to give the non-techy users with no networking ability a "warm and fuzzy" feeling because they see the camera feed on their smartphone
These cameras generally have very little network security for the live video feed, where a major contributor to the DynDNS crash a few months ago, and are usually useless for any sort of facial recognition.

 

[USAFRet]

And for alert logs of motion? Just don't.

Far too many things trigger it.
Snow, fog, cloud shadows, bunnies, spiders, cars driving by at night, etc, etc, etc.

Spiders are CREEPY when they take up the whole 23" screen, weaving a web.

 

[boosted1g]

I have a desktop that I use as a server with an i7 4770k watercooled with 16GB DDR3 ram and a good quality power supply. Like I said, I do not have a price range because money is not an issue... And I agree, I want to go wired.

Perfect then for blue iris.
For your needs the blue iris running on yoru server and saving to local storage is perfect for you.

You can get the hikvision or a higher end camera and blue iris likely supports it.

Then get yourself a POE switch from Netgear or TP-Link.
Wouldnt be a bad idea to have the camera network on its own VLAN if your router/switches supports it.

 

[boosted1g]

And for alert logs of motion? Just don't.

Far too many things trigger it.
Snow, fog, cloud shadows, bunnies, spiders, cars driving by at night, etc, etc, etc.

Spiders are CREEPY when they take up the whole 23" screen, weaving a web.

Good (and funny) point on the spiders, I get alerts on my backyard camera from webs/spiders at night and my neighbor's 20 ft evergreen trees durring the day.
Although I personally would rather have 20 bogus alerts to go through then watching 7 hours of footage to figure out exactly at what time someone broke in.

 

[logox]

I have a desktop that I use as a server with an i7 4770k watercooled with 16GB DDR3 ram and a good quality power supply. Like I said, I do not have a price range because money is not an issue... And I agree, I want to go wired.

Perfect then for blue iris.
For your needs the blue iris running on yoru server and saving to local storage is perfect for you.

You can get the hikvision or a higher end camera and blue iris likely supports it.

Then get yourself a POE switch from Netgear or TP-Link.
Wouldnt be a bad idea to have the camera network on its own VLAN if your router/switches supports it.

I have some enterprise Cisco routers and switches (I am using them to study for Cisco certifications) that support those features... So if I get a camera like you recommended and use my server/enterprise network hardware, would I still need a DVR?

 

[boosted1g]

I have a desktop that I use as a server with an i7 4770k watercooled with 16GB DDR3 ram and a good quality power supply. Like I said, I do not have a price range because money is not an issue... And I agree, I want to go wired.

Perfect then for blue iris.
For your needs the blue iris running on yoru server and saving to local storage is perfect for you.

You can get the hikvision or a higher end camera and blue iris likely supports it.

Then get yourself a POE switch from Netgear or TP-Link.
Wouldnt be a bad idea to have the camera network on its own VLAN if your router/switches supports it.

I have some enterprise Cisco routers and switches (I am using them to study for Cisco certifications) that support those features... So if I get a camera like you recommended and use my server/enterprise network hardware, would I still need a DVR?

No you wont need a seperate DVR, blue iris software is the management for the camers and then can record locally to the server or any networked samba share.

When you setup blue iris make sure to do "direct to disc" recording. WIthout that a 4 camera system will use 70-80% of an i5 at 1080p (I know you have an i7).

 

[logox]

Thanks boosted1g and USAFRet for the help!

 

[boosted1g]

No problem.

One thing I forgot to mention is to take into account is distance and field of view you need.
The camera I linked is a 4mm camera. These are good for watching a driveway, like a 60 degree field of view, they are the "middle ground".
A 2.6mm camera will have a wider field of vision (i think aorund 95-100 degrees) at the cost of shorter range. I use these for seeing a single room or say to watch a front door entry way.
Then naturally larger focus legnth like 6mm or 8mm are the opposite where they see at greater distances but have a narrower field of view.

 

[USAFRet]

This is the IR image from 2 of my cameras, from a system similar to this:
https://www.amazon.com/Lorex-LHV10041TC4-4-Channel-Connect-Cameras/dp/B00NWM3HB2

I could tell if the pizza guy arrived. I could not tell what car he is driving.

 

[logox]

This is the IR image from 2 of my cameras, from a system similar to this:
https://www.amazon.com/Lorex-LHV10041TC4-4-Channel-Connect-Cameras/dp/B00NWM3HB2

I could tell if the pizza guy arrived. I could not tell what car he is driving.

Thanks for the info... I am planning on something like 1080p with 100+ feet of night time visibility, that way it will more than cover the areas I need.