Battery door cameras

[cheezemonkhai]

Looking at things such as ring, Arlo etc and after recommendations.

 

Ring seems low resolution at 1080p and wondered if the 2k or 4K cameras from arlo or anyone else give a better picture whilst still being reliable?

 

 

[skomaz]

MIL has a toucan for watching the foxes in the back garden and I've been surprised at how good the picture was.  Might be worth a look

[cheezemonkhai]

I couldn’t see any above 1080p, in fact only nest and arlo have any sensors above 1080p and even then they’re not all true 2k/4k.

[Mort]

I ended up planning to get the Ubiquiti doorbell camera when they're back in stock, but also found that most doorbell cameras are 1080p-ish (and usually a weird aspect ratio to make the wide angle work).

 

I think they're seen more as a convenience cam, and you're expected to have a separate security camera for the recognition/identification levels? I'd imagine a 4k wifi camera would be quite taxing on batteries – but that said, most of the wired ones are also around FHD so could just be a price thing?

 

I've had a decent experience with Reolink cameras in the past, they've just released a 2k doorbell cam https://reolink.com/gb/product/reolink-video-doorbell/ but it's not battery powered? Depends how deal-breaking that is to you?

[cheezemonkhai]

Currently investigating:

 

 - Arlo Ultra/Ultra2 (4k recording if you pay for the subscription every month)

 - Nest camera systems which have a 4k sensor and save a 1080p image from this. (Apparantly gives better movement pictures)

- The Ring spotlight camera (which is only 1080, gives good outline images, but lacks facial detail)

 

 

As you say, it's not really for capturing high levels of detail, but when you look at a PoE wired NVR system to get 8MP (4k) with a couple of cameras and a decent NVR then you start paying big money.

 

I would imagine that as you say it's going to be something in the short term and save up for the decent cameras when chip availability improves.

Even the most expensive of the above options, with 5 years of subscription would be less than half the price of a wired system.

 

 

[ApertureS]

Ive had a version 2 ring door bell for about 4 years now. Its now £35 a year on top of the cost. And the quality is terrible now, camera is clearly damaged, coating on the bell is peeling off, just general quality of it is very very low i would say. Got a ubiquiti 4k camera now so dont need the door bell camera and the ubiquiti quality is amazing. 

[cheezemonkhai]

FYI, it isn't the doorbell we are after, but the cameras you can place around which have movement detection.

The idea is to put one up front to do both duties.

 

How is the night vision on the ubiquiti?

 

Out of interest do you require a suitable Ubiquity NVR?

If so this is probably something I'd look into when upgrading the wifi system to a WPA3/AX based system as you can then do a few central bits in a single go.

Edited 21 June, 2022 by cheezemonkhai

[ApertureS]

21 minutes ago, cheezemonkhai said:

FYI, it isn't the doorbell we are after, but the cameras you can place around which have movement detection.

The idea is to put one up front to do both duties.

 

How is the night vision on the ubiquiti?

 

Out of interest do you require a suitable Ubiquity NVR?

If so this is probably something I'd look into when upgrading the wifi system to a WPA3/AX based system as you can then do a few central bits in a single go.

I went for the G4 pro, works perfectly in the night too, only issue is spiders must be attracted to the IR lights and build their webs across the lens. Good phone app with good functionality. 

They arent the cheapest of cameras thats for sure but they do a brilliant job.

[cheezemonkhai]

I saw the G4 Pro and yes it looks interesting, certainly could see a use for a small number of those covering the outdoor areas from a higher level.

It's definately something to look into when I next upgrade the wifi system.

 

I was looking previously but the ubiquity were not yet 802.11ax compliant and since I have an old AC system there was no point.

The wifi upgrade was likely between a draytek and an ubiquiti system, so I'll keep an eye out an when they both support everything I want I'll probably combine the two systems

 

Do the Ubiquiti support any AI type features, such as facial recognition, ANPR or identification of person/vehicle/animal etc?

[B33fy]

I use the eufy camera systems for site security. No subscription, 2K, night vision good. Floodlight option if needed. Long battery life on the cameras. I use three 2 pro cameras (battery) and two floodlight cam pro (mains) setups. 

[Mort]

3 hours ago, cheezemonkhai said:

Do the Ubiquiti support any AI type features, such as facial recognition, ANPR or identification of person/vehicle/animal etc?

 

Most of the G4 Unifi Protect cameras offer basic AI features (ID for person/vehicle/animal/package, but not facial recognition for individuals or ANPR). They have a couple of 'AI' branded cameras in Early Access currently that are meant to improve on this (not sure on the details), but aside from a couple of the more indoor based cameras they are all PoE/wired and all of them require a UniFi controller (NVR/UDM Router) to run the UniFi Protect security software so you'd have to buy into the whole system.

Edited 21 June, 2022 by Mort

[cheezemonkhai]

If I've adding ubiquity wifi access points, then I'll be buying a controller, so would buy one with the NVR in it and the rest.

Hence if I'm going to do it I'd do it with the wifi system as I'd be changing all those parts anyway...

[Mort]

With the new house I went with the a Dream Machine SE, a couple of WiFi6 Lite access points and one of their 24port PoE switches to do the same. Still need to run the ethernet for the cameras once I've tidied up the outside of the house, but if you're willing to buy into the whole ecosystem then I'd definitely say it's worth looking at over Nest/Ring etc.

 

I decided I wouldn't need the dedicated NVR just for a few cameras and a doorbell, but there's space in the rack for their 1U NVR if I want to expand in the future. Overall, I liked the idea of all-local storage and no per-camera licenses, so ultimately found the UniFi stuff fit best for what I wanted (plus there's a very good homebridge plugin that supports the Protect cameras/doorbell over HKSV, as Homekit is our smarthome backbone).

Definitely not the cheapest option though, unfortunately.

[cheezemonkhai]

Buy cheap buy twice….

[cheezemonkhai]

@Mort

 

From my understanding the fream machine SE has 8 PoE ports and a 10GbE uplink.

Assuming you don't need PoE to every port, was there any reason to add a 24 port PoE switch as I have an existing dumb 1GbE switch with an SFP+ port.

[Mort]

I mostly just did it to futureproof. I only needed 5 PoE ports (2x APs and 3x cams), but now we’ve moved I’m running 11 cables to wall outlets around the house as well as the NAS and server bits in the rack, I needed to get a switch to go with it and as I was being lazy I just got a Ubiquiti one when I ordered the SE.

 

I only went with the PoE version in case I add any extra cameras/APs or devices in the future, probably could have saved a bit by getting the regular one, but this way I don’t need to worry about swapping it out and tidying up the cable spaghetti if I go nuts and put a couple of indoor cameras in the ceiling to watch the cats and add an AP to cover the garden or something.

 

I think I’m justifying it more to myself than you at this point. TL;DR - more money than sense.

[cheezemonkhai]

No worries, I put in patch panels when I did a couple of houses 😂👍

 

Are you fttp/fttc? If so what do you use for the POPoE/A or does the dream machine take the feed straight from the modem etc?

Edited 29 June, 2022 by cheezemonkhai

[Mort]

Currently I'm on 3G internet with Three, topping out at 40ish up and 10 down 😭
(getting around 4,100 ping on the PS5 when the Mrs is watching Bridgerton upstairs 😭 😭 😭 )

We've just moved to a new house and CityFibre are building a whole fttp network in the city and our area is 'almost' live. So rather than being tied into a 12 month contact with someone else I'm waiting until August/September for that to go live. In the old house we had Virgin, so just used ethernet from the modem to the WAN port. I'm hoping that when we get CityFibre we may be able to direct connect, from what I can get from researching the CityFibre network uses VLANs so you need to tag the WAN with a VLAN ID if you're using your own router, so I'm wondering if I can get the fibre connection straight into the SE (which would be a godsend for installation) and just give them the MAC address. But will need to talk to the installer when the service is available to see if I need to try and fit a modem in the rack or not.

[cheezemonkhai]

we have FTTP and I was debating if we needed a router in the way or if I could send the PON straight up…

 

Be nice if that would just work… but I imagine some credentials checks might not be in the ubiquity box. 

Edited 29 June, 2022 by cheezemonkhai

[cheezemonkhai]

Arlo was on a very good price, so that, a charger, solar panels and an extra large battery plus mounts cost far less than I’d seen just the cameras elsewhere.

 

Playing with the trials for now and an SD card too, so come the end of the trials I can decide what to do. Obviously the cheap buy is offset by a subscription, which I imagine is what they’re counting on.

 

As a medium term solution the Arlo is impressive, but we shall see what it’s like 6 months down the line.

 

Pretty certain I will look to put proper wired cameras and an NVR, probably with a WiFi upgrade and some extra cabling in the not too distant future.

 

 

 

 

 

[VWD]

Just spotted this one, but something else to consider. A month or so ago, NHW was full of reports of a new craze. Ripping "Ring" doorbell cameras from the outside of houses. Gangs of rampant yoofs found this a new craze.

[Aspman]

Ring is a data thief. Owned by amazon it transmits everything back there and they keep it.  Numerous security issues as well - 2 second google - https://thehackernews.com/2022/08/new-amazon-ring-vulnerability-could.html

[Lady Elanore]

How long do batteries last in these cameras? I assume 4k will last a shorter time than 1080P 

[Mort]

11 hours ago, Lady Elanore said:

How long do batteries last in these cameras? I assume 4k will last a shorter time than 1080P 

Not sure on the doorbells, but we have a Reolink Argus that we used as a baby monitor and it'll happily sit for 2-3 weeks on PIR mode recording movement. But watch it live for extended periods and you can kill it off in a couple days. I think the WiFi probably taxes the batteries more than the actual recording does.

 

After setting up all the new cameras with PoE I'd definitely never go back to a battery/wifi camera unless it's in a really stupid place. Wired is just so much more reliable and consistent, it outweighs the hassle of the cabling no end (especially PoE where you don't have to worry about plug sockets or mains wiring). I'll be running ethernet to the door when we redo the porch, for the doorbell, 100%.

[Lady Elanore]

I hate RJ45s. Occasionally we have to make them up at work (cat 5,6,7 etc) and my eyes are too old to be able to see the conductor colours reliably