Help picking a security camera system
 

I'm looking at picking up a security camera system for down at the shop. Over the years we've had problems with thieves and just this past Friday we had another one.

Some fuckface crackhead broke into the utility body on one of the trucks and stole about $1500 worth of tools. They took the rebar cutter, skillsaw, some power cords and an assortment of hand tools. The also destroyed the latches in the process.

Such a pain in the ass. Like the job isn't hard enough without someone coming and stealing our shit. I'd love to catch the fucker in the act. I'd knock all the teeth out of their mouth before I would call the cops.

Now that I have the miata inside the shop along with a bunch of stuff that I'm selling for people, I need to get something. I'd like to have at least 2 cameras outside, 1 inside the shop area and 1 inside the office. I cant decide if pan/tilt is worth the extra cash, but I definitely want a system that's 3g friendly.

These are the ones I've been looking at:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWAX:IT

http://cgi.ebay.com/ZMODO-8-CH-CCTV-...item2a1036203a

Anyone here have any experience with what brands to look at or stay away from? Also what specifications on the camera/dvr that matter?

Samnavy had a thread a while back in the "Insert BS here" section that had some surveillance camera content, you might want to check that out.

My plan is a wireless setup. Each camera has it's own IP address and connects to your LAN via wifi. With the program running on your computer, you can set them up to record full-time, vary frame-rate, motion-detect, etc. Get an old laptop and a 500gb external drive... run the laptop, drive, and router off a decent sized UPS that you've stashed somewhere out of site/reach.

You can log on to your cameras via the internet and change all the settings, etc... remotely.

You still have to run power wires to them, but no signal wires.

For the money, I'd go with a place with some rep. Parts-express has a good selection and you can't beat their customer service. If you can manage a wired setup, just buy whatever suits your needs off this page... don't forget wires:
http://www.parts-express.com/wizards...AT&srchCat=391

For wireless, the PE website is a little slim. I had decided to buy directly from the FOSCAM website when the time comes. These seem to be somewhat of a benchmark in the industry based on my research.
http://foscam.us/

This was the model I was looking at... longest range nightvision.
http://foscam.us/outdoor-cameras/fos...ip-camera.html

I should also mention I'm trying to keep the setup as simple as possible and under $400-$500 tops.

Sam, thanks for the link to FOSCAM. I like their units but I have a feeling I cant afford a 4 camera system from them. I'm looking around on PE to see what kind of wired setups they offer.

I've been reading reviews on the Zmodo systems I linked and it seems they have issues all around. The price is great, but I guess you get what you pay for.

The night vision on my Lorex system is for the most part, garbage. 4 of my cameras are 'higher end' when it came to the system but overall at night they are pretty shitty. Day is perfect.
At night you can expect fail at facial recognition on another more 10 feet.

Using motion at night is kind of lame as well. My system starts recording in the evening and ends in the am, i dont depend on the motion triggers. During the day i run motion detection.

I also utilize 2 battery backups on the system and cams.

I am now in the market for a new system and will likely go 16 ch. Majority of them outside, one for the inside of the garage and perhaps a couple for the hallways, i currently run an 8 channel system.

The main systems I have seen around here (Canada) have been Q-see and Lorex. A friend of mine runs the Lorex Cams on a computer system that monitors & records. He also games and uses the machine for daily work. Drivers and Windows 7 have been a major issue for him to the point hes started building a standalone pc just for the camera card. I suppose in a home invasion they will jack his pc as its easy to sell and then the cams would have been worthless but building a cheap pc with multiple 1-2 TB drives is easy enough. 1 hd runs the os and stores old videos while the other runs constant recording. I guess you could build a sick raid setup as well.

The other security cam talk thread here on MT

Vashthestampede. The only issue is that with cameras they can be hit / knocked / ripped down if they are too close to ground level. And anyone wanting to get in will have scoped your place and will come back with a ladder if need be. That is the reality of my own system, the only thing I have done is overlapped views to a certain degree so that if you knock out camera a, camera b is all up on that. And once camera a goes off line I get an instant email from the system.
Once the bad people smash your cameras they are going to get in your shop, steal the tools and strip the cars and look for electronics in the office or wherever (comps are easy to sell). So taking usability into consideration, where do you put your PC with the video setup? You can always connect to it via lan to ensure it is working, but also remember you may want battery back up. Also consider that the guys breaking into your shop may have been there in the past or at least have scoped it out.

If it were me, i would have at least an 8 cam system. If you have 1 access way, at least 3 cameras focusing on that; 1 dead center ontop of the door, one to the left hidden and one to the right causing a crossover affect in monitoring. Camera above the door will likely die during the break in but at least the other 2 exterior cams will catch a figure doing it and perhaps if lucky a car (good luck on getting a plate). Next would be interior and I would use at least 1-2 cameras capturing people exciting the building or office rooms. In a rush to get out of there they may get complacent and show their face. That leaves about 3 cameras free to be used. Perhaps 1-2 high ground cameras capturing an overview of all the bay work space and perhaps another outside capturing the parking lot / street. 1 left over... perhaps mount it to the rear of the biggest tool box you have so when the bad people come to check out the tools you catch them opening it.

That all being said. I am certainly not versed on which the best system is out there. I purchased mine + extra cameras from Tiger Direct.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...3&d=1304346266

The last time these folks paid you a visit, the tab they left was $1500. Next time, who knows. Why do you want to cheap out? It's not like you are doing it for fun, you're doing it to protect your business.

A cam system may lower your insurance as well, it did ours.

Its not that I'm trying to cheap out, I just don't need the "best" system out there. You'd think the concrete company bank account would be buying the cameras, but its coming out of my pocket.

If anything I'd like to get a system that can be added to as time goes on. This way I don't have to shell out $1000+ right away if instead I cant get a few cameras up and running, then add accordingly.

Rick, thanks for the awesome info. I'm gonna check out tigerdirect now and see what they have.

I had no idea about the insurance either. That's a def plus for me if I can lower the insurance here.

In any case, it's would almost certainly be a tax write-off.

Absolutely a write-off. Do you have a monitored alarm system yet? (also a write-off and will definitely lower insurance premiums) If you do, a camera setup would only protect anything additionally outside of the security system (i.e. outside, which it sounds like you have trouble with).

You may want to measure the outside/inside space you want survellance to determine the number of cameras needed. Sounds like you want a system that will support at least 8 channels. Since most of your break-ins happen at night you will need cameras with decent low-light settings and higher resolutions. You might be able to get cheaper cameras if you install motion detection floodlights, that way when they walk up they will get blinded and you should get a clear picture of their face with most cameras.

If you don't have one already I recommend an AR-15, if nothing else for at least the shock factor when you show up at their doorstep.

Well, we are in the new house and finally got to adding the CCTV system, well, some of it anyways.

We opted for the 16 camera Q-See (QT426) System with 8 stock day / night cameras, added 1 dome and 2 high res 80 foot night vision super elite cams.

This system differs from the last as it doesn't have the built in monitor. The QT426 has a S video out and a VGA out. I am currently using the VGA out to the acer that you see in pictures. I will likely splice the S video out as many times as possible and fish the cable to my bedroom, recroom and perhaps the guest bedroom. You can log into the system via the net when it is hooked up, it currently isnt.

The stock cameras are fairly cheap with regards to their output quality. Very grainy looking.

The small dome camera is near a light source so it isn't that bad, but without that light source I am almost certain it would be worse than the stock cameras that came with the Q-See system.

The 2 high res cameras are really nice quality, however they are zoomed which is kind of annoying. The high res are already mounted a fair height away from the cars and they are zoomed all up on them. But the quality is nice. They were also $200 each.

The system is equipped to handle 16 cameras total. I have mounted 7, 6 are running and I will finish the others this coming weekend covering the back yard.

I did add a camera in the garage, it certainly does the job once the garage light comes on, but this stock camera in darkness is again, lacking. You could make out a persons stature, size etc, but you would be hard pressed getting a great shot of them unlike the high res cameras. However the high res cameras would not work in the garage as they are far too zoomed in.

This sytem was far cheaper than the Lorex system I have been running. The Lorex was around $2500 where as this one was around $1500 + extra cameras.

For installing the system I needed to go through cinderblock as both floors of my house are cinder. Required a bit ($50), a 65 foot Fish, an un willing assistant to assist and piss me off and a hammer to smash the wall :)

I will likely upgrade some of the stockers as the months go on and goto the higher end zoomed in models.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...8&d=1309803766

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...9&d=1309803766

Well, this time we got hit for $50k worth of aluminum forms! :vash:

We just happened to notice that our form piles looked off and when we really started to look, we noticed a few dozen of them missing.

I called the police and had them come down and make a report, then came inside the shop and ordered a 8 camera system. Things have turned around down here and now that I'm the CFO, the company IS paying for the fucking things. lol

I'll be installing the cameras on Tuesday when they come and I'm going to have an electrician come down and wire up some motion lights to help.

We've been so busy working that we didnt notice anything was missing until it was too late. I've been wanting cameras for years now but this time its crucial. We have so much work lined up that losing this amount of equipment is going to hurt us until we get it replaced.

Rotten motherfuckers coming here and stealing our tools and equipment. If I could catch them myself, I swear I'd beat them to death with my bare hands.

Is a building alarm system possible? I work in a small machine shop and we have a building security system. If it's breached they'll call the police in 30 seconds, also my boss. Every door, entrance, has a trigger, as well as 4 motion alarms. If you have 50k worth of stuff, a video system will help, but won't catch anyone in the act. Having a small alarm system seems to be a thing to have.

You can also buy, build and add on things shopping at Security Equipment, Surveillance Systems - Newegg.com

I put together a little 4 channel setup for my mom a while back. It only recorded when there was motion, and it was to a VHS tape (old school). Now you can get a 1tb HD for around $100 and save data all day.

^^^^

Security system on the building isn't going to help so much cause the majority of our equipment (forms, trucks, trailers, etc) sit outside.

$50k worth of forms is how much they took!

Cameras will be here tomorrow and I have a buddy of mine coming down Tuesday to help me put them up. I'll make sure I update the thread with pictures and an initial review of the system.

Check out Ellipsesecurity.com
You can pick up a refurbished samsung system which gives you awesome cameras and DVR, but saves you a bit of cash. Outstanding customer service as well.

I personally have a 16 channel Unitek DVR with 8 assorted cameras hooked up around the outside of my house. I recently got it online so I can look at it on my phone.

true story.

:vash2::vash2::vash2::vash2::vash2:

I wouldn't be surprised to hear that Vash beat someone to death for offering him a lite beer, so I take that threat somewhat seriously.

:vash2:

lol

I'm really not all that bad guys, I just have a tendency to swing at things. :vash2:

So the cameras came! I have all day tomorrow set aside to hook em up.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1362442679

Fingers crossed that they help us.

price breakdown on system pls

The kit was $650, but I've been watching it for awhile and got it when it dropped to $500. Amazon, of course.

4 of the 8 cameras are up and I'm 50/50 on the system. The quality isn't all that impressive like I had hoped, but I'm thinking that changing some settings up might help.

This port forwarding bullshit is driving me fucking CRAZY!!!! :vash:

All I want is to be able to view the cameras from my phone and home computer, but it doesnt look like I'll get that far today.

With your luck, you'll find out that you're being victimized by a gang of steel-core doors.

Well, all the cameras are up. Just have 1 more to hook up but I needed to order another 100' wire from Amazon.

My current, overall rating of them is a 7 out of 10. That number will increase once I get the motion option to email me and when I can watch them from home.

Daytime quality is good, but not great. Night vision works, but you need lighting to aid them, otherwise you cant see shit.

Installation was pretty straight forward, but almost necessary to have 2 people. The DVR setup wasn't bad either, but I can tell that the port forwarding is going to fuck me.

In the morning I review the night with a sigh of relief that nobody was here. Definitely a great feeling. Then its fun to watch the guys sneak around the building to BS and show my brother. lol

Next I want job site IP cameras!!

Here's some pics of the setup.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1362667058

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1362667058

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1362667058

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1362667058

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1362667058

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1362667058

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1362667058

I thought you guys did big, manly sort of work.

What the hell is this silly thing?

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1362673723

lol

That silly little thing is one of our on site rebar cutter/benders. It can cut and bend grade 60 rebar up to #6 (0.750in.). One of our most used pieces of equipment.

Most foundation guys only form and pour concrete, while having steel guys come in and do all the rebar fabrication/installation. We supply, fabricate and install the rebar on our jobs, right on site.

Attachment 185614

Well, now you've have mediocre video of your shop getting ripped off. Doubt the cops will be able to do anything more to apprehend the thieves.

Sorry I'm so pessimistic about it, I just don't see this really helping things. For your companies sake, hope I'm wrong.

I had some white trash methhead try to break into my house, he checked all the doors and wndows and upon noticing one of my cameras he jumped up and ripped the wire out of the back of it. He didnt notice all the other cameras that got his face from countless angles.
Afterward he went and stole some stuff from my neighbors cars and broke into another neighbors back porch where he was confronted by a shotgun, which was his signal to leave.
The next day I showed it to the police, they recognized him as a local thug and arrested him that day and he went to prison. This was a couple years ago, iirc he was released recently.

My system is pretty old now, but it was top notch when it was new. Most of the cameras are 600-700 TV Lines, long range IR, and the DVR is full D1.

The motion email alert is what I'm banking on. If I can get these things set up to email me when they go off, I can check the video from home and call the police while its happening.

At the very least, I can have more to go off of than I have right now, which is nothing.

You know, that's absolutely a good point. Maybe with some luck the motion lights will run the bastards off before they pillage anymore of your doubloons..

Vash if you need any help with setting up the port forwarding and such so you can view the cameras from your house shoot me a pm and I can try to help you out.

Awesome!

I'll definitely take you up on that offer. Sometime early next week I'll get in touch with you.

The guys think I'm sitting in here looking at them all the time, so every 5 minutes they look up at them and give me the finger. lol

I think the CCTV cameras are cheap and easy to install and also they have facility to get the alerts on your mobile by using gsm technology.You can monitor your security devices with this systems and also can hire security staff for monitoring your devices while you are out of home.