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I'm wanting to set up a security camera to keep an eye on the driveway/front door.
Looking for stuff that's relatively simple and ideally doesn't need online subscription based service. There seems to be a mass to choose from, so what should I look for?
So far I think a Eufy set up might be the best as it comes with a home hub storeage thing.
What have you all set up with little faff and bother? Is it easier to get a professional in?
Meraki. Very expensive, very good. Needs PoE and a yearly licence though.
Anything simple to setup will likely have cloud storage so will need a subscription. Kit with a DVR that keeps your footage locally will be more complicated to install but less likely to have a subscription.
We have eufy cameras and they are fantastic can’t recommend enough. Installed after last break in and hopefully add an additional deterrent and record of what goes on
Eufy here also, they are good but need a constant power source - the internal battery doesn't last long (our location does have a lot of activity). The Eufy solar panel was useless despite being in direct sunlight.
They only record when there's movement and IIRC a maximum of 2minutes. You can go online/live and watch them at any point.
I used the eufy cam outdoor c22's (now e210). They are permanently usb powered and record 24/7 to microsd with activity snippets recorded as a separate short video. Decent app allows remote live view, access to activity videos and also ability to playback 24/7 recordings.
2k version also on offer
These are the microsd cards I used
Annke 4k POE cameras feeding to a hard drive - works well for us. Mobile app is great also. No subscription, not stored online.
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<p style="text-align: left;">Thanks for those suggestions.</p>
I can rig one up with power easily by replacing a PIR light with a camera.
Another alternative is a camera on the living room window sill that looks out of the bay window at the door and driveway.
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3 years on Eufy Pro 2 cams and a 2k doorbell/ cam. I stll get 3-4 months out the battery on my cams. Only thing i find is their app eats mobile batt if you try and use geofencing - so I don't and all good.
Another alternative is a camera on the living room window sill that looks out of the bay window at the door and driveway.
You won't be able to use the night time IR illumination on the camera if you do this - the glare reflects off the glass and washes the image out. Much better to mount externally if you want night time illumination from the camera.
I like my Reolink cameras and doorbell. They do wifi/battery/etc ones but I just have PoE ones - one cable for reliable network and power, then we have a PoE switch, router and other gubbins under the stairs.
No need to subscribe to anything, they have a MicroSD slot for some local storage (so you can go in the app and see recent events), I have mine also send an image/video to FTP server running on my NAS but you can do "proper" recording with something like Synology Surveillance Station or Blue Iris, or even one of Reolink's own NVRs.
Main draw was the person/vehicle detection, we live by a road so anything with simple motion detection gets triggered all the time. I mask the pavement in the software and now I get alerted as soon as someone steps on our driveway.