[PLUG-TALK] Outdoor video cameras?

[Galen Seitz]

On 9/22/20 4:46 PM, John Jason Jordan wrote:
> On Tue, 22 Sep 2020 12:55:33 -0700
> Galen Seitz <galens at seitzassoc.com> dijo:
> 
>> Chuck Hast has a lot of experience with IP cameras, and he uses
>> ZoneMinder for recording.  I'm not sure if he is subscribed to the
>> talk list.  If he doesn't respond here, ask on the main list.
>>
>> I asked a similar question back in July.  I had different constraints,
>> but it might be worth reviewing what people said.
>> <http://lists.pdxlinux.org/pipermail/plug/2020-July/095573.html>
> 
> I read the discussion in your link, but it didn't really address what I
> need. Basically, security cameras seem to be mostly battery operated and
> wifi enabled, plus typically an SD card and/or cloud connection.

I'm not sure where you are seeing battery powered cameras.  That would 
be pretty unusual, as cameras draw a fair amount of power, particularly 
if they have IR LEDs for nighttime illumination.  AFAICT, most IP 
security cameras either use an AC adapter, or they use PoE (Power over 
Ethernet).  WiFi is less common than wired ethernet, but it is 
available.  Look for names like Amcrest, Foscam, Ubiquiti, Reolink, etc.


> Mine will be located about 4 meters above the ground, so retrieving an
> SD card will be a pain. Ditto for replacing/recharging batteries. If it
> uploads to the cloud, that does not appeal to me. For a security
> camera, uploading my videos to the cloud doesn't sound secure at all.
> And some will connect to your phone, but my phone doesn't really have
> that capability.

Obviously that would be a PITA, so few, if any people do that.  If 
someone is only saving video to an SD card, the save is probably being 
triggered my motion, otherwise the SD card would quickly fill up and/or 
wear out.


> What I really want is a wifi enabled camera that my computer can connect
> to *and continuously save the video to my hard drive.* Then I can view
> it at my leisure. None of the cameras I have found online offer
> anything like that, although I did find wifi cameras that connect to a
> computer. But I don't know how I can get the connection to save the
> video to the computer's hard drive. I don't want to have to climb up on
> a ladder every day to retrieve an SD card.

That's what ZoneMinder is for.  I'd drop Chuck an email and see if he 
can help you.  I expect he would save you a lot of time by helping you 
narrow down your options.


galen
-- 
Galen Seitz
galens at seitzassoc.com