UKH

Thinking of installing CCTV - thinking wireless, would need 3 cameras, easy to install, monitor / alarm on phone - not sure about monthly back up charge (guess its needed in case a break in does happen though) - any recommendations / ones to avoid?

I want the system to be as user friendly as possible, and want the installation (by me) to be as easy as possible 

I just got 2 of those ring stick up cams,had no probs with them easy to install,i pay the montlhy charge or else there useless without it realy.I place mine under the lower gutter so theyre protected from rain, if  rain goes on them you cant see jack shit.

I have an Arlo system. (You've just missed black Friday, when they were half price. ) Dead easy to install. Thereis cloud backup, but you need to subscribe. You can do local storage, but anyone who gets into your house, may just nick the disks. I found the image recognition and classification good, though it sometimes classifies random movement as a person. I would add that whatever system you go with, unless its mains powered, you'll need to keep it charged. So if you stick one at roof height, you'll be up a ladder each month to charge the battery.  I have solar panels for each camera, but they are a bit underpowered. On grey days, and when they are in shadow, the battery still drains, all be it slower.

Understand their limitations and what you want to protect. A camera might deter a chancer, who then moves on to another house. Any determined scroat will wear a baseball cap / hood (cameras are usually above head height), gloves and a mask of some sort. They also know there is no real time alerting to the police. They have enough time to rob your stuff and know a pic of a guy in black with a face covering wont stand up in court. Some cameras have sirens and will also allow you to talk via the camera to the person. Some will alert you on sound, such as breaking glass or if they detect movement (handy for a shed etc). If you're going to the expense of setting up a system, then go for the best image quality you can afford. You'll also need to tune the alerts, or every passing cat will trigger a SMS.

A concealed camera at head height, or ground level looking up, has got to be a good idea.

I have a camera in a normal position above the front door which if doesn’t act as a deterrent then they’re met with another at face height (well, sat on top of the boiler 8ft back from the door) as soon as they enter the house which is also set to turn the light on when motion is detected in there so an added little sensory shock for them! 

If thats still not enough then there’s a chunky lurcher and massive Dutch shepherd waiting 😁

It’s the Eufy cameras and Wiz lightbulb all connected via the Apple HomeKit setup. Cameras are battery powered so easy to install, require charging for a couple of hours once every 3 or so months. 

Ive got a ring camera on a gable end which has a useful security floodlight covering a slightly dark area which comes on when movement is detected. That and a dorbell. £80 PA subscription too I seem to recall.

As above. We have three Ring cameras and a doorbell. You need the subscription to make it useful. Two of them are solar/ battery and in this country you need two batteries in each camera. The third is mains power. It has latterly decided that it should be monochrome pink, although it still works. You also need WiFi in each camera’s location

Your cameras will only act as a deterrent so make them as prominent as possible. We use Ring (2 door bell and 4 floodlight cameras) with half a dozen PIR floodlights so it’s not possible to approach the house without triggering one. Very easy to set up. After a break in we were told by the police that light rather than cameras was the best deterrent.

Heard good things about the blink ones, especially about ease of setup and not requiring a subscription and batteries lasting ages. From minimal interactions with them, they do seem like they'd tick your boxes.

We went with Eufy, mainly because it works without a subscription.  Possibly not quite as slick as the Google or Amazon systems, but really no big deal.

I think I've got a referral code for them, if you decide to go that way.

+1 for Blink, takes about 30 seconds to link it to the app, battery life is in years, and seem fairly good at picking up wifi. Also if you have an Amazon "video" Alexa, you can ask Alexa to show you the "front door" or whatever.

In you can tolerate Amazon (who own Blink), then Blink cameras can work well 

3 cameras and base unit £96.99

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/8449649 

Although the cameras are already for outdoor use and come with a mount, I recommend the optional/additional camera weatherproof brackets/cover, 3 pack for £20.99

 https://amzn.eu/d/6aMXkJM

There should be enough free storage so probably you don't need to subscribe or pay beyond purchase cost. I have 3 cameras  and I don't subscribe. Like a lot of these devices, you need the non rechargeable lithium AA ones (not ordinary Duracell AA) and battery life is dependent on the settings you use and traffic. You can adjust where in the picture to exclude motion, so hanging basket moving in corner of shot or people walking past in street needn't mean constantly triggering it.

Echoing suggestion before, that cameras should be really obvious (unless you want one of them to be hidden for some reason) as deterrent is their greatest value 

In case they are of interest the Blink 2, 3, or 4 camera systems are currently on offer at a very good price!   

Can you review footage remotely with Eufy cameras?

Im looking for a non-subscription option that basically if my alarm goes off I can dial into and review the last few minutes. 

Have seen pictures of the local likely lads recently caught on our neighbours CCTV happily raiding the whole streets gardens ( made off with a couple of pretty pricey bikes ) they seemed very relaxed indeed about being caught on camera.
Hoodies up, scarf over mouth staring straight at the cameras….

And just because you are paranoid does not mean they are not after you?

Yeah I think we all concluded that pretty quickly in the thread about him

Yes.  You have a little white box (which they call a HomeBase) which contains a hard drive and the siren. That connects to your WiFi, and also to the cameras/doorbell/sensors.  And you can access this remotely with your phone.

We've had Eufy cameras for quite sometime. Can't speak highly enough of them and no monthly charge 

Thanks have been looking at them but couldnt find a single reference to being abot to view historic footage remotely. 

Sorry, I will correct myself. We do not pay a monthly charge. There is the option to do so at £2 a month or so for up to 30 days prior. The cameras are exceptional both day and night and one of them you are able to change the orientation via the app

I don't have CCTV on my Eufy system but I do have the video doorbell.  I can certainly access recordings of events when it's been triggered via my phone.  I've just watched myself opening the door back in October, and that works remotely.

If it's monochrome pink (possibly with odd shades of green) in daytime only, it sounds like the infrared filter for night viewing is stuck.

Plenty of tutorials for various RPi security camera solutions...

I picked up a Pi3 in a charity shop for £8 on Saturday. Then managed to break the 16GB uSD card whilst putting it ot the case it came with. Stupid, stupid, stupid...

This is the sort of thing that makes you consider embedding electrically-triggered shotgun cartridges into the window frames...

With an 'explosive device' warning sign, of course...

That's what I've done. A pi zero W and https://elinux.org/RPi-Cam-Web-Interface is ideal. But seeing how any suggestions of not using windows are met, you'll be firmly told it's not "easy to install" by the standards of this forum.

As others have very rightly said ... the Camera's a deterrent - not a cure.  You want it as prominent as possible so that anyone that comes onto your property see's it and thinks "this guy clearly has put at least some thought into security ... fair chance there are other security features on this house ... probably going to be less hassle if I try a different place somewhere elsewhere" i.e. its about making your house look like the least attractive option.  Anyone dead set on burgling your specific property is going to do it no matter what camera's stick up around the place.  

FYI .. best deterrent is a dog.  That being said .. they've repeatedly found that a well placed "beware of the dog" sign is equally as effective as actually owning a real dog. 

Re: Camera

I've got a Netatmo Camera + flood light combo [1].    Not the cheapest but no ongoing monthly charges.  Good app.  Needs 240v mains.  Powerful light.  Pretty much runs silently.  Would replace it if it broke with another one the same.  Netatmo sell a bunch of other smart home products that you can manage out of the same app .. but I've never used any of them.

Let us know what you decide to choose.

[1] https://amzn.eu/d/aDdHCus

We've got 4 wireless Arlo cameras. They work well and we use the subscription service too. They need charging about every couple of months.

Previously had D-Link wireless ones and they were terrible.

Thanks all - a few people had mentioned the Arlo cameras to me, seem to get reasonable reviews - typical I missed out on the sale

Understand their limitations, thanks to all for taking the time to respond