Affordable Security Camera System?

3512 Views 4 Replies 3 Participants Last post by Ralph III, Mar 2, 2020

Ralph III

Discussion Starter · Feb 29, 2020 (Edited)

Hello All,
Can anyone recommend an affordable/budget Outdoor POE Security Camera System? I want to be able to access the cameras myself for free (no paid subscriptions) with live viewing ability. My budget at the moment is around $220.00.

Criteria:

1) I desire 1080p (2mp) cameras at the minimum but would prefer 3mp or 4mp.

2) I need cameras that will deliver excellent image/video quality at night. So it will need LED's and/or IR-cut. I only need 2 outdoor cameras to start with but would look to add a few more later on.

3) I desire 24/7 recording. So I will need either an NVR (recorder) or cloud service, as you recommend. I prefer an NVR with 8 ch but I could settle for 4 ch.

4) It would be great if the system were ONVIF capable? Otherwise, the manufacture App must be excellent and reliable. The reason being is most of the affordable systems get very poor App reviews. Whereas I can use other third party Apps that get good reviews but it seems those require ONVIF support? Your input here would be helpful because I do not know anything about accessing security cameras.

I really do not need a camera system that sends alerts or that has audio, even though the later would be nice. I have a separate security system already. I just need some security cameras that I can access on occasion and that can save 3 or 4 days worth of video recordings.

The systems I have been looking at are Sannce (mediocre reviews) and Reolink (good reviews but no ONVIF support). The Reolink systems seem to get very good reviews but they do not support ONVIF. Does anyone have experience with those and is that a real issue?

Thanks,
Ralph

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Rangerxlt

· #3 · Feb 29, 2020 (Edited)

I've been using a 2-camera security system with DVR for years.I installed it myself. A few months ago, I replaced one with the Speco CVC620WPT outdoor weatherproof bullet camera. It does not employ any LED's. But the night vision is pretty good since it works off any ambient light like the moon and neighborhood lighting.

I only paid $118.00 for the Speco camera.

At any distance it is blurry. But I can tell you from experience, recordings from these cameras helped me get a teenage girl charged with criminal damage. And an adult was charged with disorderly conduct. And yes, I was able to this with an inexpensive camera that was blurry at distance.

If you have blurry footage of a neighbor across the street repeatedly acting badly, the police might not be able to identify him or her. But they will figure out who is behind it. And chances are, the police will look for anything to charge that person with.

I avoid the online sellers that sell only security camera equipment. I've had quality issues with those places. Go with an established seller like Adorama or B&H.

I don't use a monthly paid service. I turn the system off and on as I need it. I paid about $170 for my Swann DVR

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Rangerxlt

· #4 · Mar 1, 2020

Let me clarify what I meant by 'distance' My Speco camera will probably show a well defined image of a person at 20 feet. It starts to degrade after that. But even then, you can still recognize a familiar person from the neighborhood.

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