1 x Security Camera w/Cloud Storage

[IL Cattivo]

Hi All,

Our house has a shared drive with 2 other properties and is set back and a little, secluded from the rest of the close. Just this morning we woke up to find fly-tippers had dumped a load of building material in this shared area and thus now, we, the 3 properties that share this access have agreed to get 1 x security camera installed to provide us all with visibility (either via a browser or app) and alerts of any presence in the area.

So, I'm reaching out to the knowledgeable folk on here as to what might be the best solution to recommend for this scenario. Here are the requirements.

• Given I work in IT and have a Ubiquiti Unifi Wifi Network in my house, thus I have agreed it's best I accommodate the equipment/hardware.
• I have spare ports on my 8 port PoE switch, but also have VERY strong private WiFi Access Point capabilities where we have agreed the camera will be placed.
• The Camera itself must be 1080p HD quality at a minimum, night vision with a wide-angled lens.
• The Camera must be able to upload its 24/7 footage to the cloud and be flexible on when it overwrites/retains its historical data - i.e 7/14/21 days history
• Access to historical and real-time footage must be accessible via either a web browser or mobile app by all 3 of the property owners. (User account set up etc)

Looking to keep the hardware portion of the solution at a minimum, i.e preferably just a camera unit, with maybe some software that controls it. Obviously, with the cloud storage part, I would expect there to be a monthly fee/subscription for that.

Budget no bigger than £300 for the upfront cost.

Many thanks all.

 

[IL Cattivo]

Ok, so doing some of my own research, has anyone got one of these?

Spotlight Cam Mount

Appears to be the closest thing I have found that covers most if not all of my requirements?

Looking for user feedback on one of these as they're in the sale currently with RING and the price is very good.

 

[JonJ]

I have Arlo cameras that work well. I have three around my property plus some in our second property. Only need charging once every three or four months. And then it’s an hour or so with a battery pack and a long wire so I don’t have to move them. I assume you can share access to the App for multiple people (my wife and I both share one account and she is shared in the App) which has cloud storage options and decent detection. I have some Arlo Ultra which are 4K and also Arlo Essential which are 1080p. All have a spotlight and colour night vision.

If the WiFi drops, they are useless, but I have a decent network with UPS and 4G backup.

I know it’s not as good as a wired solution but no need for external power, fits my needs well and has been super reliable for over a year indoor and out. Not had any cloud outages or issues and I also used IFTT to call my cell if they detect human motion and also to trigger some Hue lights when armed at night. Have done testing and the spot light is also bright. Like most cameras 1080p is hard to get faces but you can get number plates.

Not affiliated with them in any way, just works well for me so I added more over time as they just work. I’m sure others here may have better options that could be hard wired for greater reliability. I imagine the Ring option you highlight will do the job well too.

 

[IL Cattivo]

Thanks @JonJ

Went for the Ring Spotlight Wired Cam in the end and it's up and running as we speak. Does absolutely everything I & the neighbours need it to. Very good PQ and has loads of different modes and functions like zones & motion sensitivity etc, while also providing powerfully bright LED lights which illuminate when human movement is detected of a night.

Was quite surprised by the quality of the cam build to be honest. Fairly weighty and the WiFi signal from my garage wall (elevated) is very good. Helps that I do actually have UniFI Access Points, one being an outside one just round the corner in the garden.

Both myself and the neighbours are very happy as next door can also see both the Live Video and historical video's, including receiving motion alerts, via their mobile app too as a 'shared user'.

Wonderful piece of kit and like yourself can see me adding to the security network with various doorbells and internal cams too. (Especially in the kitchen to keep an eye on the thieving kids)

 

[JonJ]

Glad to hear it's all working. I think the ease of use of these things are great and it's easy to build on kit. I'm also thinking of an Arlo doorbell as that really gives you great front door coverage and is a bit less 'in your face' that a camera.

Lets just hope they add a Taser to these things at some point so you can get the fly-tippers if they ever come back ....

 

[IL Cattivo]

Glad to hear it's all working. I think the ease of use of these things are great and it's easy to build on kit. I'm also thinking of an Arlo doorbell as that really gives you great front door coverage and is a bit less 'in your face' that a camera.

Lets just hope they add a Taser to these things at some point so you can get the fly-tippers if they ever come back ....

I'd get a patent application on the go for that if I was you Jon..