Recommendations

[Lucky Dog]

Hello.
I'm hoping to get some advice for an IP Camera selection.

First, I'm a complete noob to this so please be kind.

I'd like to set up an IP camera to be used to view wildlife.
Here is what I know....
Camera will be run on POE.
Camera will be approximately 100 - 150 meters from my router.
I would like to be able to pan / tilt.
I would like a fair amount of zoom.
Camera will be out in full weather. ( I could build some sort of cover if needed)
I'd like to be able to capture video, and good quality stills.
I would like nite time viewing to be an option.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a camera that might work for me?
I've tried to do some research but honestly have suffered from analysis paralysis.
Any and all advice would be welcome, pre packaged systems would bee nice also.

Thank you.

 

[sebastiantombs]

If you have power where the camera will be installed I'd suggest a dedicated wireless link, not WiFI a dedicated encrypted link, to provide electrical isolation for the network supporting the cameras. If that's not an option you'll need to use shielded CAT5e or CAT6 cable with appropriate grounding and surge protection. Lightning, even a nearby strike, can destroy a network from the associated surges.

Here's a reasonably priced, good quality, PTZ. It can be had from Andy at EmpireTech. He's a member here, has a thread area here, an Amazon store and an Alibaba store. I've bought all of my cameras from him and he goes the extra mile.

25X PTZ

Review - Dahua SD49225XA-HNR 2MP 25x Starlight + IR PTZ AI Camera with Deep IVS & SMD Plus

Ok, so whats better than 1 review…….2 reviews……in tandem :) Read on to find out more. All, thanks to Andy (@empiretecandy ) we have a new 2MP AI camera for testing. This camera has been provided by Andy in exchange for a fair and honest review. This is a new PTZ with 4.8mm to 120mm focal...

ipcamtalk.com

 

[Old Timer]

Have you looked at any of Andy's PTZ on Amazon?

Look for Loryta or EmpireTech

EmpireTech Andy

Dahua products

ipcamtalk.com

Amazon.com

amzn.to

Here is a couple, he has a small one with just 4X zoom that works well also, just don't see it right now.

Amazon.com : EmpireTech Outdoor IP Camera 4.8mm–120mm Lens 2MP 25x Starlight Smart AI ,Support Auto-Tracking,SMD Plus,Perimeter Protection,Face Detection POE+ PTZ Camera PTZ1A225-HNR-XA Replace PTZ1A225U-IRA-N : Electronics

Amazon.com : EmpireTech Outdoor IP Camera 4.8mm–120mm Lens 2MP 25x Starlight Smart AI ,Support Auto-Tracking,SMD Plus,Perimeter Protection,Face Detection POE+ PTZ Camera PTZ1A225-HNR-XA Replace PTZ1A225U-IRA-N : Electronics

www.amazon.com

Amazon.com

 

[NightLife]

When you say night time viewing, are you referring exclusively to IR or do you want to look at full color, night and day. If the latter, what do you have in mind for aux lighting?


As a noob, what do you have in mind for the back end? NVR, BI, NAS?


If you are fairly new at it all, and need to flesh out the entirety then you've come to the right spot, and taking time and planning will pay you back 10 fold.

 

[Lucky Dog]

When you say night time viewing, are you referring exclusively to IR or do you want to look at full color, night and day. If the latter, what do you have in mind for aux lighting?

IR would be perfectly fine. There would be no back lighting available.


As a noob, what do you have in mind for the back end? NVR, BI, NAS?

As a Noob, I do not know what NVR, BI, and NAS are. Thank you


If you are fairly new at it all, and need to flesh out the entirety then you've come to the right spot, and taking time and planning will pay you back 10 fold.

 

[NightLife]

No worries, we all start with a first step, and a hundred hours of reading and research. Just poke around in the sections here, and you'll soon pick up a ton of pointers.

NVR = Network Video Recorder
BI = Blue Iris
NAS = Network Attached Storage

Pump those into google, and anything else BUT use this hack to bring up results from this site (if that suits you .. it really reduces the noise when searching)

Ex: ip camera, "blue iris" site:ipcamtalk.com

By typing the orange words into google, because you've directed it to this site, you will only receive results from here. Whenever you hear a term that's unfamiliar, or have a short question to pose google, use that format for it and your efforts will remain pretty focused. I know this can all be a bit daunting.

 

[Lucky Dog]

No worries, we all start with a first step, and a hundred hours of reading and research. Just poke around in the sections here, and you'll soon pick up a ton of pointers.
Did a little googling and have some answers for you.
NVR = Network Video Recorder No
BI = Blue IrisNo, that looks way more advanced tan I think I need.
NAS = Network Attached Storage No

I think What I'm looking for is a camera that can be panned around, has good resolution and IR for night. IR does not have to be great, but "d like to see what is going on.
Typical usage: Sitting around on Saturday, Open up an app on my phone / tablet, or a program on my laptop, scan the area to see what kind of ducks or other critters are hanging out by the pond. Zoom in on the critter because zoom is cool.
Maybe capture a good resolution still to post up on Face Book so I can feed my ego with some likes.

Wake up Sunday and repeat.

It will be 100% for occasional wildlife viewing. Hope I'm making some kind of sense.

Thanks for the help.


Pump those into google, and anything else BUT use this hack to bring up results from this site (if that suits you .. it really reduces the noise when searching)

Ex: ip camera, "blue iris" site:ipcamtalk.com

By typing the orange words into google, because you've directed it to this site, you will only receive results from here. Whenever you hear a term that's unfamiliar, or have a short question to pose google, use that format for it and your efforts will remain pretty focused. I know this can all be a bit daunting.

 

[NightLife]

While you're waiting for input on cameras, cable, glands, boxes, and so on what about a photo or two of your pond, possible mounting points (trees, poles etc). A lot of this may boil down to your site plan, and where the critters are, how big an area they move around in, where they gather, natural lighting, direction of sunrise/set and so on. Plus everyone loves photos .. especially of a nice country pond/wetland.

That may pare away some of the analysis paralysis and point you towards a few specific cameras which will shine for your intended purpose.

If I'm hearing you right, it sounds as though you don't care much about having reams of recordings from all this, yes? It sounds more like an in the moment, grab the phone, log into an app and sip a Belgian White Cap while oogling wildlife. Know that at least, cameras will take pretty large and hardy SD cards and perform what is terms 'edge recording' on that card so even though you may not have the whole back end shebang that most have you'll still be able to enjoy the fruits of the cameras AI which will trigger on motion etc and make recordings of those events. Using only the SD card will naturally present limitations due to it's cannibalizing earlier recordings as it runs out of space, but you'll stil get to enjoy looking back a while in time which you will find quite pleasing I think. Knowing this in advance, and accepting that you may never pursue any true surveillance recording hardware I would encourage you to buy the largest, more industrial strength SD card you can, when the time comes to purchase a camera.

 

[Lucky Dog]

While you're waiting for input on cameras, cable, glands, boxes, and so on what about a photo or two of your pond, possible mounting points (trees, poles etc). A lot of this may boil down to your site plan, and where the critters are, how big an area they move around in, where they gather, natural lighting, direction of sunrise/set and so on. Plus everyone loves photos .. especially of a nice country pond/wetland.

Thanks, your sescription of how I wold like to use the camera is spot on. Here is an overview of the area I'm interested in looking at.


I have a 4x6 corner fence post I thought I'd mount the camera to. Although I'm not opposed to sinking in a new post in a more central location if needed.

This is a pic of some ducks, I'd like to be able to capture images like this.



Here are some examples of video's I've gotten with my trail camera. I'd like to capture the same type of thing with an IP video camera.

 

[Lucky Dog]

What inspired me to look into IP video cameras is a small IP camera set up that is made for putting in bird houses. It used POE, and worked pretty well. This year I have upgraded to a wireless version, so I have all the cable available to use on something else.
Here is a video taken with the bird box camera last spring.