We have a very long driveway, and I’m thinking it’s time to get a security camera. What do you suggest/not suggest?
Can be powered or battery operated or solar powered and I want as high resolution as possible. If someone’s going to break into our house, I want to actually have a picture of the person that you can use for evidence, not some grainy shadow figure.
We went with ADT since we were in a pinch. I was on my way to Malaysia for a month last year and wifey did not like how vulnerable our fully detached home is here. Our home is a rancher with plenty of glass entry doors means fairly easy to break in if no alarm system. She works off site as opposed to me, so made sense to get something while I was gone.
ADT is a tad expensive and yeah, post install service is meh at best but since we plan to only be here for maybe another year, we said fine, we pay the monthly service for now.
What I like about the service is that we have motion sensor cameras at every corner of the house, hitting all directions to and from house. We get phone notifications (pics) of all movements that enter our range or footprint lets call it. When we sleep, we set it on for added protection and sense of security.
I would agree and not recommend cheapy Costco systems that may not have extremely high resolution cameras. Sure, if on a budget any alarm system with cameras is better than nothing I suppose. Having the motion sensors everywhere is key too, so that anything or anyone coming onto your designated property would either start recording or tell you that there is movement activity on your property at which point you can respond.
I use blink on several properties. Inexpensive. No service needed. Battery operated. No wiring needed, just internet access.
4 cameras for $119… hard to beat the price. You would not believe how many videos we have of bears, coyotes and other critters.
But how is the resolution of the cameras? We want to be able to see the scar or pimple on the perp’s face!!!
The problem is most peeps wear masks and hoods. Thanks to Fauci it’s considered normal behavior.
True. At this point I’m concerned about a couple of things:
There have also been reports of people ringing doorbells pretending to be UPS and then robbing homes. So knowing multiple people are coming up our driveway would alert me to a security issue. (There’s no peephole on my door, so I don’t really have a good way to see who’s there without a Ring doorbell or something else)
Get a dog. Put in a peep hole. Get a gun. And get Blink. We love it . My wife is obsessed with it . Loves to watch our farm cat compete with skunks foxes and raccoons. Cameras may have deterrent affect… might scare away perps that are worried about being caught.
I turn my camera in every time my farm neighbor threatens me. He isn’t camera shy … even when I tell him I’m filming. Now I just call his wife . I think maybe she is the only one he listens to.
Yes, get a Ring or equivalent door jam type of camera that is right by hopefully also by your mail slot or where packages are dropped off. My camera offers free 30 days recording to the cloud I believe . You can set your phone to ring when someone comes up within range of that door camera.
Then, an alarm system with motion sensors and decent cameras would be the final touch to making you feel at least safe.
Ring or Nest should do most of what you are asking for. Some experience with Nest battery power, I have one in my front yard where I have to charge every month, but the same one in the backyard, I have to charge every 3 months. Busy area can drain your battery. I bought a power adapter to my front yard and plug it in to solve the problem. Also depending on where you want to put the camera, you need to make sure they can still connect to your wifi to upload these videos.
I’m thinking of putting it along the driveway (flag lot) where it can see the mailbox on street and part of the driveway, so I agree that I need to be careful of wifi connectivity. We have an Eero in the corner of the house closest to the driveway so I’m hoping it’ll be ok.
sfdragonboy (et al): I think alarms and motion sensors are over and above what I’m looking for. I just want to see who’s coming up the driveway and whether someone left a package there (though I can glance out my door up top and see that). But is it Amazon or a neighbor or someone else who wouldn’t normally bother making the trek up to my front door (it’s very rare that we get solicitors, and trick or treaters are far and few between. We’ve taken to giving out Ghiradelli chocolate squares and Lindt balls to reward the few that do.)
And if I have to park in front of Nasty neighbor again, I want a camera on my car (or any other unfortunate person’s car) to make sure I have proof if she damages it. I mean like, go for it - it’s a 16 year old minivan - do you think I care? But I want her insurance to pay not mine.
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Has it been a Tesla X…
Naaaah. Just a plain old Honda Odyssey. It was a great minivan though, but my husband doesn’t want to keep fixing it up so we bought a new one.
The problem is that the criminal element is venturing into the nicer suburb communities to do their evil deeds. And, the last thing I think you would want is the feeling of being violated in your very own home. I prefer to at least give the criminal something to think about before just waltzing onto a property.
I would go with a basic system with enough signs that warn intruders to not proceed any further onto your property or they will be recorded or that police will be dispatched.
Just like the trusty old steering wheel lock. Sure, given time a criminal can break it. However, seeing it and knowing that he can just move along to a unprotected car makes that steering wheel lock worth 10x or more its cost.
Don’t most cameras operate as motion sensors anyways? Sounds like I should just buy more than one. Maybe 3 to put at various points.
I am assuming there may be cameras that are cameras only wo any motion sensor function. Obviously get whatever you want in that location. You may want only motion sensor detectors in a section of your yard for example where the cameras might not hit or reach.
4 for $119 Blink cameras should be enough. All motion sensor activated. Blink is awesome bargain priced. Won’t stop crime but it may help with prosecution. Mainly for piece of mind. Insurance for a very low price.
Limited-time deal: REOLINK 4K PTZ Security Camera System, 360 Degree View PoE Camera with 16X Optical Zoom for Outdoor Surveillance, Auto Tracks Human/Vehicle/Pet, Two-Way Talk, 260ft IR Night Vision, RLC-823A 16X
16x optical zoom is probably what you need if you have a long driveway.
I have a non-recommendation. Do not get Wyze. It is cheap for a reason.
Thanks for the warning.
We just saw a bear on my blink camera at my farm. Lots of bears in Tahoe. Now they are down at 1200’ elevation… not good… They can destroy a vineyard.
Bears At Heavenly…