Anyone recommend any home security cameras?

[DandelionMan77]

Looking to get CCTV installed in new property I've recently moved into. Looking to spend around £200, trying to get one that has the best quality/performance for the price.

Amazon reviews are misleading as certain brands have multiple different CCTV cameras for sale and the reviews on Amazon are all jumbled up and mixed and some aren't related to the specific product I might be looking at, but rather another product that is sold by the same brand if that makes sense (typical Amazon).

Any advice would be appreciated, prefer something that supports H265 but not essential.

TIA

edit: not sure if this topic may be better suited to the help section, please move if so.

 

[EMS]

I'm just going to get a small one with audio, that way I can hide it easily.....they come with 1080p quality, night and movement activated....that's what I would look for

 

[DandelionMan77]

I'm just going to get a small one with audio, that way I can hide it easily.....they come with 1080p quality, night and movement activated....that's what I would look for

Yeah looking for something similar ideally don't want to drill too many holes as it's council property and I'm not experienced using power tools. I would opt for wireless but honestly don't really see the point if I'm going to need to route the power cables for each camera anyway, there's cameras available that advertise like 180 days runtime on a battery but they often limit storage or have the storage inside the camera on an SD card (very insecure because a thief would just rob the evidence, or they offer expensive cloud storage).

There's some type of existant feed coming from the loft inside a wooden pipeline in a few rooms (best I can explain it, pipelines probably the wrong term), don't know what is inside could be some sort of pipes or what not. But thinking of using them feeds that already exist to avoid drilling and just feed the cables through whatever they are.

 

[DandelionMan77]

Not sure if I'm allowed to post Amazon links here but the product I'm currently looking at is

ANNKE 8 Channel Outdoor Security CCTV Camera System with Smart Human & Vehicle Detection, 5MP Lite H.265+ DVR with 1TB Hard Drive and 4x 1080P Home Security Cameras, Email & APP Alert with Images-E200

On Amazon has mostly good reviews.

 

[EMS]

You don't need 180 days.......if you check it every couple of days, or get it with wifi and check it on the android or iphone. Then just take it off the stand and plug it via usb....done. If its motion activated depending on where the camera is, you probably won't use a lot of space anyway. If you happen to be at a wild animals crossroads then yeah you're going to need a lot of storage

 

[DandelionMan77]

You don't need 180 days.......if you check it every couple of days, or get it with wifi and check it on the android or iphone. Then just take it off the stand and plug it via usb....done. If its motion activated depending on where the camera is, you probably won't use a lot of space anyway. If you happen to be at a wild animals crossroads then yeah you're going to need a lot of storage

I'm a bit unsure what you mean, I'm referring to the battery life lasting that long. And on the cctv in question you can't check it every few days if a thief decides to take the device or SD card. The device I'm on about doesn't have a DVR every bit of recording gos on the SD card inside the camera which is a bit dumb imo, you can watch it on your phone but that might not have the ability to store the recordings but idk.

Only work around would be a cloud subscription which is why I'm probably going to opt for the one I mentioned above.

 

[EMS]

you can get USB rechargable cameras with WIFI and sd card. I would think you could get a bigger sd card depending on the cameras tech. If it goes to your phone you should be able to record it surely? The thing is if its motion activated and sends an alert direct to your phone, you would see whomever it was on the camera. If the camera is small enough, they won't see it anyway. I was thinking of cutting a small hole in the shed or I just attach one just underneath the bedroom window. Although, you said you're not very good with power tools, Its only 3 holes, one for cable to come in and the others to hold the camera in place. The droidess did one herself.

If you don't get any alerts you know no one has been there and if necessary then pull the sd card out and check on a device

 

[DandelionMan77]

With USB rechargeable cameras wouldn't you have a small amount of downtime when it needs charging?, Ideally I want to minimize any downtime. The sheds a good shout tbh. Although no experience with power tools I'm sure I can drill 3 holes without destroying the property (hopefully). I know hidden cameras are adventagious to some degree but sometimes having a visible camera can act as a deterrent to intruders and they might do one if they see it. Ahh well if all else fails my backup is a baseball bat

I'm now looking at my options, can't put a price on safety, there's one for £274 that can record up to 1440p and has reduced wiring, think it's one Ethernet for all 4 cameras if that's correct looking at the description.

I'll have to do more research and decide what I want, when it comes to things like this and buying different gadgets I am VERY picky. I go through tonnes of reviews when buying anything like monitors, PC parts etc. My aim is always to get best value for money, if that happens to be the budget option then so be it, I find mid price range often performs close enough to high price range in vast majority of cases.

 

[EMS]

I'm pretty picky when it comes to security, just as I am with my pc security.......My deterrent...the droid dog, I don't think anyone would be stupid enough to attempt something so silly, plus I suffer insomnia so I'm up most of the night. Best value for money is always the aim of the game. I hope you find what you're looking for. £274 is too expensive for my pocket, being on disability and all that.

Don't forget...thieves only come out at certain times. Full moon because it lights up everything and you don't need a torch, when its peeing down with rain because who the hell else would go out at that time, night time but remember they are usually fast asleep by about 4am, that's why the police raid at silly o'clock because they know they will be in and asleep. Not many work in broad daylight unless really desperate for the money....usually that time is shop lifting time lol

 

[DandelionMan77]

£274 is too expensive for my liking too, it's definitely more of a deterrent and might opt for something cheaper. But unless you pay something like £500 plus you probably won't get a crystal clear 1440p or 4k image anyway. Some 1080p CCTV isn't that clear so doesn't really come in handy if you're trying to identify someone. I don't have insomnia or anything like that but I stay up ridiculously late a lot for no apparent reason most the time.

I've never had my house broken in, in my life (touch wood) but I'm always paranoid as I don't want any of my shit going missing because I'd really see my arse. Just stuff that's sentimental to me I suppose, don't even use half of it. Got over 40 odd Xbox 360's, 7 ps2's, 4 Xbox originals, 3 or 4 Sega saturns. Mind you they probably wouldn't be interested in all that, they'd have a job shifting it all, I'd get home before they took it all lol.

Edit: ended up purchasing a rather costly one, 1440p recording. Brand is reolink, it's used but "like new" last one in stock in Amazon for that specific one, cost £274

Hopefully it does the job, with 2.5x the pixel density of 1080p (think it's that much) it should help identify number plates and people a lot easier. Not happy about paying that much because I can't really afford it, but hey ho it's the bad purchase decisions I tend to make fairly often lol.

 

[EMS]

You'll have to grab a pic so we can see how clear it is I'm going to have to wait until the new year as I got my money early and that needs to factored into the financial despair that this government has caused most of us. Just like they have ignored the British homeless with preference going to people illegally entering our country and getting 4* hotels to wreck....hotels have had to cancel all their dinner reservations and staff dismissed right before christmas because SERCO have forced the hotels to do it, on behalf of the British government, so security will have to be tightened. I've pretty much always had a dog, they don't argue with you, the love you unconditionally, loyal, no so trustworthy with some things and a great deterrent. For the cost of food each week, it solves multiple issues....loneliness, security and they are part of the family and treated like children lol

 

[DandelionMan77]

You'll have to grab a pic so we can see how clear it is I'm going to have to wait until the new year as I got my money early and that needs to factored into the financial despair that this government has caused most of us. Just like they have ignored the British homeless with preference going to people illegally entering our country and getting 4* hotels to wreck....hotels have had to cancel all their dinner reservations and staff dismissed right before christmas because SERCO have forced the hotels to do it, on behalf of the British government, so security will have to be tightened. I've pretty much always had a dog, they don't argue with you, the love you unconditionally, loyal, no so trustworthy with some things and a great deterrent. For the cost of food each week, it solves multiple issues....loneliness, security and they are part of the family and treated like children lol

Don't think I'd ever get a dog tbh, a lot of hard work and commitment, having to go out for regular exercise depending on what breed you get. I've got my hands full with my little one and got another one on the way next month lol, nevermind a pet.

I wouldn't trust myself to look after a goldfish lol