Cheap surveillance cameras

steelepulse · September 9, 2015

Thinking about getting a cheap surveillance camera for the Mrs shop. There are a lot of them out there, but the Chinese sites don't really explain very well how they work. One I am looking at seems to be in line with what I need. What I don't quite understand is does this need to be connected to an actual windows computer via wifi, or seeing as how there is an app for phones for real time monitoring, can you just add this to the wifi network and away you go? Anyone here have something like this and have set one up?

http://www.geekbuying.com/item/Wanscam-Indoor-M-JPEG-Series-Two-way-Audio-Security-Wireless-IP-Surveillance-Camera-with-Motion-Detection-and-Night-Vision-313858.html

thaimite · September 9, 2015

I bought something that looks very similar from Amorn.

Just plug and play although you may want to connect it to your router with a short patch lead first so as you can change passwords and other settings.

With no otjer configuration it can be viewed and controlled world wide.

steelepulse · September 9, 2015

Thanks thaimite. Not quite following on the short patch lead, so if you could explain that I would greatly appreciate it, thanks.

thaimite · September 9, 2015

Thanks thaimite. Not quite following on the short patch lead, so if you could explain that I would greatly appreciate it, thanks.

When you receive the camera it comes with default user names and passwords for both operator and administrator,

The operator can view the camera and the administrator can set up functions such as alarms etc.

Obviously if you want to restrict who can view and control your camera you should chenge these names and passwords. For security reasons you can not do this over the Wi-Fi connection (somebody sitting outside your house could change them if they guessed your password!!) so you will have to plug the camera in to your router with a short network cable (patch lead) and run the supplied windows software to set it up. Once done you no longer need the patch lead or the windows software unless you want to make further changes. My Cameras also came with Android software (maybe Apple too but I forget).

I am not sure if the camera I have is the same as yours . Mine coast about 3,500 Baht, and I am very pleased with its performance and features. I have 2 of them installed for about 18 months with no problems. One otehr word of warning, after viewing your camera with your phone make sure to stop the software on the phone or your phone battery will soon be flat. Guess how I know

Whilst in your house with your phone connected to your Wi-Fi you just scan for, and find your cameras Once identified they will work over the Internet from anywhere.

slipperylobster · September 9, 2015

You can google "Dropcam"..as it is probably the cheapest. Initially, you need a computer with windows and a usb port, along with wifi, to initialize the online service. It then remains high up, in the corner of a room. It picks up both sound and video...which is nice. (Picks up even whispers..in the same room). This device cost about 100 usd. After setup..no hookup to a computer is required.

We had one in my elderly mom's house, and it saved her life. In order to view/hear the cam, you have to log into a website with a password. It is on 24 hours. There is a small monthly fee if you want to record. This way, you can log on, and see what happened in the past..not just at present. I would check and see if your phone can sign into a browser, and view the cam. I suppose if you had the right browser and flash was installed..that you could.

Otherwise, just get a cheap laptop with a webcam (long usb wire). There are free camera surveillance programs (such as tincam and a few others) which snap a periodic photo and can email it to your phone..or call you when movement is on.

I think the dropcam is more useful

Edited September 9, 2015 by slipperylobster

steelepulse · September 10, 2015

Thanks thaimite. slipperylobster, dropcam is $199 and now called nest. IIRC, they were bought out about 2 years ago and did the name change as well as the price increase.

IMHO · September 10, 2015

It all depends on what type of functionality you actually want...

The type of camera you've linked to is your typical wifi camera, albeit one with very, very poor resolution. These days, 1080P/2MP (1920 x 1080 pixels) cameras are so cheap that you shouldn't even consider anything less.

There are basically 3 types of camera:

1. IP cameras that can be monitored remotely over the internet, and can email/FTP videos when triggered into an alarm state.

2. IP cameras that can be monitored remotely over the internet, and also support ONVIF so you can record footage to an NVR (Network Video Recorder) with an appropriate hard drive.

3. Cameras the record to an SD card in the device itself, thus pretty much standalone.

#1 isn't really suitable for your application, where you want full-time recording abilities - not just video when movement is detected.

#2 requires you to spend money on an NVR and hard drive, and potentially also backup power for these, so costs more overall. But if you want to run several cameras, it's starts becoming more cost effective.

#3 is the cheapest way to record video for a single camera, but lacks the remote monitoring abilities. A 500 Baht dashcam can do this job

Note that some models in types #1 and #2 will also have an SD card for local recording too.

Dean1953 · September 10, 2015

I have a house in Chiang Mai but live in the U.S. We have a friend of my Thai wife living at the house but she is gone from 10 AM to 10 PM most days. I was over in late May for 3 weeks and while there had internet service started, for at least a year. I also left the caretaker an IPad, so she can take pictures of the house and land and send them to my IPad in the U.S. I would like a 3 camera set up, with one for the driveway/gate area, one for the downstairs and one for the upstairs. I could send the cameras from the U.S. If need be, but I do need someone or a company to set it up. Any suggestions of individuals or businesses in the Chiang Mai area that could handle this would be appreciated.

BKKdreaming · September 10, 2015

there are also some cameras that use a sim card and are motion activated,

so you can put them away from a WiFi signal and they will record an image and send it to the clowd or to your phone....

canopus1969 · September 10, 2015

You can google "Dropcam"..as it is probably the cheapest. Initially, you need a computer with windows and a usb port, along with wifi, to initialize the online service. It then remains high up, in the corner of a room. It picks up both sound and video...which is nice. (Picks up even whispers..in the same room). This device cost about 100 usd. After setup..no hookup to a computer is required.

We had one in my elderly mom's house, and it saved her life. In order to view/hear the cam, you have to log into a website with a password. It is on 24 hours. There is a small monthly fee if you want to record. This way, you can log on, and see what happened in the past..not just at present. I would check and see if your phone can sign into a browser, and view the cam. I suppose if you had the right browser and flash was installed..that you could.

Otherwise, just get a cheap laptop with a webcam (long usb wire). There are free camera surveillance programs (such as tincam and a few others) which snap a periodic photo and can email it to your phone..or call you when movement is on.

I think the dropcam is more useful

Dropcam about double that - USD200 ?

thaimite · September 10, 2015

The camera I bought from Amorn has no USB just a wired and wireless LAN It also has an SD card for recording. Audio preset positions, alarm input and output connections. Brilliant value 3,500 baht approx

Edited September 10, 2015 by thaimite

ravip · September 10, 2015

And here you find a wide choice including kits with a DVR system >>> http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.Xcctv.TRS0&_nkw=cctv&_sacat=0

Some vendors give you a free DynDNS account too.

Edit

This is pricey but good quality >>> http://www.swann.com/au/

(Sometimes you get super low offers for kits in Aussie)

Edited September 10, 2015 by ravip

thaimite · September 10, 2015

Yje one I have does not need a DDNS such as DynDNS it goes through their own servers.

You can get free DDN from http://www.noip.com/ if you need one

steelepulse · September 11, 2015

I ended up ordering a cheap Xiaomi camera which is just a test run for something better. It has a lot of great feedback from over 100 buyers and it utilizes an app from xiaomi that uses a separate user and login detail than the public wifi, so will play around with it and then figure out what I really need, but for now it's a 1000 baht test mule. http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Brand-Xiaomi-camera-Mi-IP-camera-wifi-wireless-XiaoYi-HD-720P-micro-mini-camera-Yi-CCTV/32301397446.html

NOC · September 11, 2015

One option... http://www.instructables.com/id/Raspberry-Pi-as-low-cost-HD-surveillance-camera/#step0

better details here...http://www.codeproject.com/Articles/665518/Raspberry-Pi-as-low-cost-HD-surveillance-camera

Edited September 11, 2015 by NOC

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