Need advise on which system to choose

[ssaibal 0]

Hi,

 

I am a total newbie in this and would appreciate any advise with my requirement.

 

I want to install a surveillance camera to watch my doorway (my wife will feel comfortable with the idea that a camera is watching the door though we live in a very nice neighborhood). And I want to put a 2nd one to watch my koi fish and pond. I don't want to run any wires around and the only wire I am ok with is going to be the power adaptor. And since I have a mimo Linksys router, going for wireless thru 802.11 b/g is easy for me. However, if the 2.4GHz wireless converted thru a receiver to a web-video server/capture card is the solution, then I would go for that as well.

 

I would like to have day & night capability, audio input, good resolution, motion sensor, weatherproof type.

 

I played around with Panasonic BL-C30A...I like the interface and the ease of installation with my router, but it doesn't have audio and is not outdoor usable type.

[VST_Man 1]

you'll need to spend a bit more money to get a quality pic, low light, wireless, audio, ect. Middle of the road is the Toshiba...........just add a mic and it works very well. Only issue I've had with it is the low light sucks as you either get a great low light pic with blurry pics or a lousy low light with no pic................under lit conditions..works pretty good. If you can add motion lighting, this might work.

[ssaibal 0]

you'll need to spend a bit more money to get a quality pic, low light, wireless, audio, ect. Middle of the road is the Toshiba...........just add a mic and it works very well. Only issue I've had with it is the low light sucks as you either get a great low light pic with blurry pics or a lousy low light with no pic................under lit conditions..works pretty good. If you can add motion lighting, this might work.

 

Thanks for your comments. You indicate that the Toshiba camera needs an additional mic which means that it has the capability, but no built-in mic. You also mentioned that I could add a motion lighting. What's that and where can I get one? Will that be controlled by the camera based on motion trigger or it is like a driveway light triggered by motion? How reliable is the Toshiba camera and software to access it over the web? I read some unreliability comments about it though I must say that sometimes such comments come from users who are not quite familiar with networking and routers. Thanks for your comments in advance.

[VST_Man 1]

for a 500 dollar IP PTZ camera it's not bad. The axis 213 is much nicer but the price is also above 1500 with a outdoor enclouser.

 

motion......yes, and yes.........triggered by a AC powered motion device attached to the current lighting.........something sets it off and lights come on....camera catches the action.

 

reliability of Toshiba software? I use Video Insight IP software...........work well.

[brandontrjn 0]

Find an outdoor camera with 0 LUX capability. If you have any ambient light--street lights etc...-- this should provide a clear enough picture for you to use. In your doorway you will want a camera with 0 LUX capability and IR emitters. I doubt you will need much more than a standard resolution video as the subject will be relatively close.

 

Make sure your cameras will be close enough to your wireless router to provide an adequite signal. You don't want them more than 20 feet away I would suspect even though cameras say "300 foot wireless range" this is only in optimal conditions and in line-of-sight. Otherwise you'll find yourself buying Wireless Access Points to put near the cameras.

[Lolo Wolf 0]

Check out the panasonic BB-HCM371A Ive used them, reliable, Ive had good luck with panasonic cctv gear, only downsides no WPA security just (WEP) digital zoom, mid line low light operation not for critical high security applications for that I would move yourself into dedicated IR gear but from what you posted and your network understanding should be a snap on install. This line of panasonic gear is aimed at the home/retail market. The cam works well in cold and hot weather and they give you a decent package.....free web view (software key embedded with the camera) and a interesting thermal sensor, client wasnt really interested in that. The pan/tilt is limited you can assign differnt shooting positions. and 2way audio (half duplex) decent setup for a home install, clean picture, set him up with a WRT54G, HGA7T antenna upgrade and DD-WRT firmware did better than 90ft through two floors timberframe/log house no los. I wont knock Toshiba, their IK-WB15A is a pretty neat cam for the money. The pani's will cost your more.

[schwazche 0]

You might want to look at the www trackercam com website. I have two PTZ cameras (regular Canon ZR camcorders) on their USB mounts and really like the video quality. Of course these mandate a PC with firewire (for video and optical zoom control) and USB for the PanTilt control. It's a different way to do things, but can be viewed and controlled from any web browser, even on my cellphone. Just my $.02

 

Schwazche