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drnkn_stylz · Apr 14, 2008 , 04:46 PM

Does anyone here have security cameras they use at home?

I would like to invest into a couple wireless security cameras to use at home. I have been looking online and there is a lot to choose from. I don't know which brands are good or bad, or how much I should have to spend.

Any help is appreciated.

Gankdawg · Apr 17, 2008 , 06:53 PM

I'm curious too.

ghporter · Apr 17, 2008 , 07:03 PM

I'm going to leave this one here because there are a number of ways these cameras are "wireless", and only a few are actually "wireless networked" cameras. And I'm curious about people's experiences with the different kinds too.

Big Mac · Apr 17, 2008 , 11:44 PM

SecuritySpy

Axis Communications - AXIS 207 Network Camera

drnkn_stylz · Apr 23, 2008 , 01:29 AM

I have seen some which are 2.4gHz wireless cameras, and they suck. Anything will interfere with them. I tested some and 30 feet was sketching out a bit. As a joke me and a friend screwed a D-Link range extender antenna to the camera base station, and it made it worse LOL.

ghporter · Apr 23, 2008 , 07:10 AM

Those non-WiFi 2.4GHz cameras are problematic at best. Some of them are supposedly decent, but most are so prone to interference (and to interfere with other systems) that they aren't terribly useful. But most of the available, non-licensed spectrum is either right around a bunch of heavily used frequencies, or very expensive to build hardware for. May as well go with an IP camera and be done with it if you're using one that is built in the 2.4GHz range.

StarCross · Apr 26, 2008 , 02:03 PM

I had set up a D-Link DCS-G900 and and Airlink AIC250W for a small business (I swear that these two share the same hardware internals). They work pretty well for over a year or so, and have enabled port-forwarding so that the owners could view images over the Internet. Both are 802.11g compliant, and unlike other network surveillance cameras they can be viewed on a Java-compatible browser (Mac OS X, Linux, etc.).

I also used a pair of D-Link DCS-900W. Their performance is hit-and-miss. One works over the ethernet (not sure of the wireless part), and the other hasn't been working proper. They are 802.11b compliant, and also work with Java-compatible browsers.

I try to avoid network cameras that require Active-X only, Internet Explorer 6, and Windows just to view images. Also, I am interested in a suite of a cameras and a DVR box (whether it be stand-alone or a PC) to replace the ones for the small-business I mentioned.

Cold Warrior · Apr 26, 2008 , 02:06 PM

I had a Sony model webcam (ethernet only) in 2006 that worked great. It had HTML-based configuration (no special software needed) like the Linksys routers do, and played well on my LAN. I tried to find the model, but couldn't.

reader50 · Apr 26, 2008 , 04:40 PM

"Wireless Security Camera" sounds like a glitch. Unless there is serious encryption, anything wireless can be considered open to anyone interested. Meaning anyone can watch wherever such a camera is set up. Might be best not to place them inside the house.

But even outdoors isn't such a great idea. A camera on the front walk will let people see when you leave, and how long you are typically gone.

If this really is for security use, I'd suggest wired connections only. You could choose to put a camera or two on the internet at various times if you wished. But at least you'd have control of that choice.