Need advice on what to get

[spinsheet]

I'm looking for an outdoor rated camera that I can view remotely with a web browser. I would like pan, tilt, and zoom capability. I bought a very cheap camera a couple of years ago that tied into the router but can only be viewed by a computer from within the network or by remoting into a computer on the network but this is not ideal. I'm a bit ignorant when it comes to surveillance cameras and am having a bit or trouble figuring out what cams might meet my needs. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[fenderman]

Welcome to the forum. Your budget for a good outdoor megapixel ptz should be around 600. What are you looking to spend. What are you going to use the camera for? Why do you need ptz?
With respect to your old camera, if you can view it within your network you will be able to view it outside your network, its a port forwarding issue.

 

[spinsheet]

The camera will be overlooking a large yard with heavy equipment and I need to be able to pan to view the entire yard. I'm sure you're correct regarding the port forwarding. I currently do not have a static IP address, would that be required to view a camera over the internet? If so, I can certainly get one. I plan on spending between $400 - $600 on a camera.

 

[fenderman]

You do not need a static ip address. All you need is a dynamic dns service, like dyndns or no-ip...they are very cheap and/or free.
As far as a ptz in your range consider this one http://wrightwoodsurveillance.com/in...roducts_id=384 its a bit above your price range but its performance is exceptional. Also avilable here fore less but with no real warranty (make sure you select ntsc) http://www.aliexpress.com/item/2Mp-F...942878235.html Dont fall for the cheap cameras buy foscam, siricam, wanscam etc, they are nothing but trouble.
If you dont need a zoom function and just want to be able to view the entire area, you may consider 2-3 fixed cameras that will give you 24/7 coverage of everything vs limited coverage of a ptz. The hikvision 2032 bullet is available for 90 dollars on aliexpress so you would be spending half as much as the ptz.

 

[icerabbit]

Seconding fenderman and the multiple bullet approach. Unless you will man the camera and zoom in / out as needed, to look where you need to look, the camera will be aimed at the wrong spot and you will miss something. You can mix and match a couple wide cameras for overview and a couple with a bit more tele to get some better depth coverage. You also have to consider that if the single camera fails, you are out of luck. No coverage. And, what happens at night? Overviewing the equipment? But, it all starts really, with how large a yard we're talking about? Because maybe you need to cover a mining operation that's the size of a small town.