Your camera choice depends on your budget and setup preference. For wired, Reolink offers good quality at a decent price, though night vision could be better. If you don’t want to spend time customizing, Reolink is a good choice.
Whatever you get, make sure to test it regularly. You don’t want a feature turned off by accident and miss an important alert.
LaurenWalker said:
Go wired if you can and consider floodlights as a deterrent. What happened with the police taking so long to arrive?
They arrived 35-40 minutes later, didn’t even file a report, just drove around. When I called to follow up, the response was dismissive.
LaurenWalker said:
@Brooklyn
That’s terrible… sounds like it could be a common issue in your area.
Wouldn’t be surprised. It’s a small town, and they tend to send multiple cars for simple stops rather than focusing on real issues.
I keep my cameras inside, facing out. They’re visible, so I think they act as a deterrent. I use Wyze but am switching to Tapo due to some video issues with Wyze.
I wanted a camera system that could react in real-time, so I went DIY. I set up smart lights, POE cameras, a Blueiris NVR, and more. With Home Assistant, it detects people and can trigger alarms or lights.
Stick with wired cameras like Reolink. WiFi cameras can be jammed by thieves.
Blink is cheaper, Vivint is pricier but offers a lot of features if you can budget for it.
I used Nest for a while, but switched to Reolink POE with a huge storage drive. Now I have 90 days of footage in 4K and peace of mind.
Wireless cameras are toys in comparison to wired systems. We usually install Reolink for clients; it has great features and is reliable.
We went with Night Owl wired cameras, and they’ve been great. No subscription fees, and the quality is solid. Only drawback is that the app can be a bit glitchy for live view.
Go for a hardwired system like Unifi.
Without a subscription, many cameras lose their functionality.
Josie said:
Without a subscription, many cameras lose their functionality.
Using a local NVR with UniFi or Reolink cameras works without a subscription.
Josie said:
Without a subscription, many cameras lose their functionality.
Using a local NVR with UniFi or Reolink cameras works without a subscription.
I have a Blink cam, and it’s pretty limited without a subscription. You can’t record live footage or get specific alerts without it.