Hey there!

[thomagr]

Hi All - Submitting this post as a way to introduce myself (as intended by the topic, I guess). My current setup Eufy WiFi Cameras (indoor/outdoor) which I guess I paid less than $49 each. They all stream directly to SS on Synology Surveillance. I see two annoyances with this:
1. WiFi is vulnerable
2. Synology Surveillance takes a miserable amount of time to load streams on my mobile device (15+ secs).

I am wanting to convert everything to be wired to its own NVR. I was set on Reolink as it’s often praised on Reddit home security subs, but reading on ipct, it appears they are amongst the worst, especially at night.

What’s something in a similar budget? I am quite tech-savvy with lots of DIY experience, that being said, I do not want to have to fiddle with BI or anything of the likes.

 

[wittaj]

Welcome!

I guess the first question is are you satisfied with the nighttime quality of Eufy?

If so, then you don't know what you don't know LOL or maybe that quality is sufficient for your needs. Maybe you only want to observe and look around, but ID won't happen. And that is most on those reddit subs.

Without knowing what your goals of the camera is, this thread is used as the go to for the new person here outlining the commonly recommended cameras (along with Amazon links) based on distance to IDENTIFY that represent the overall best value/best bang for the buck in terms of price and performance day and night. It might be a 2MP camera in some instances. Many here feel 4MP is the current sweet spot for these cameras.

The Importance of Focal Length over MP in camera selection

And coupled with that thread is this great thread which will show why all of the same 2.8 or 3.6mm cameras is the wrong choice (these are the common focal lengths consumer brands sell):

i-want-2-8mm-cameras-everywhere-to-see-everything-this-is-why-you-need-specific-fovs-with-purposeful-focal-lengths.70053/

We would encourage you to look at those threads in detail.

It will probably raise more questions than answers LOL.

 

[thomagr]

Thank you for your response.

I am moderately satisfied with the nighttime quality of Eufy, I can see what’s going on but I don’t think I could identify someone, unless I know them.

I guess I am not sure whether recognizing/identifying someone matters to me. Last activity in my street involved 3 dudes in balaclava, so no FL/MP would have helped with identifying or recognizing those people.

With that in mind, my main goal would probably be to know that some suspicious activities in ongoing around my house and what activity (theft, break-in, just roaming) and be able to be alerted and react accordingly.

I did read the link on “focal length” from the Cliff notes; very informative. In essence, don’t get caught in MP or night color marketing…

Welcome!

I guess the first question is are you satisfied with the nighttime quality of Eufy?

If so, then you don't know what you don't know LOL or maybe that quality is sufficient for your needs. Maybe you only want to observe and look around, but ID won't happen. And that is most on those reddit subs.

Without knowing what your goals of the camera is, this thread is used as the go to for the new person here outlining the commonly recommended cameras (along with Amazon links) based on distance to IDENTIFY that represent the overall best value/best bang for the buck in terms of price and performance day and night. It might be a 2MP camera in some instances. Many here feel 4MP is the current sweet spot for these cameras.

The Importance of Focal Length over MP in camera selection

And coupled with that thread is this great thread which will show why all of the same 2.8 or 3.6mm cameras is the wrong choice (these are the common focal lengths consumer brands sell):

i-want-2-8mm-cameras-everywhere-to-see-everything-this-is-why-you-need-specific-fovs-with-purposeful-focal-lengths.70053/

We would encourage you to look at those threads in detail.

It will probably raise more questions than answers LOL.

 

[wittaj]

We all say that recognizing/identifying isn't important, until it is LOL.

Even if they wore masks, facial features like eye shape and other body characteristics can be used by police to confirm Identity.

The sad thing is, the $100-$200ish cameras we recommend versus an Arlo $200ish cam or a Ring $200ish cam are no comparison in video quality. We are not exactly proposing Top Shelf cameras that costs 5-6 times other cameras - we are recommending cameras comparable in price to consumer favorites Ring and Arlo. Sure you can buy cheaper cameras, but they tend to suffer with nighttime quality.

For most of us, the perps are out at night and that is when we want good video.

Just keep in mind that NONE of the better grade systems are true plug-n-play either. At a minimum you need to manually set shutter speeds if you want to ID perps.

If you want true plug-n-play simplicity, then just continue to go with one of the consumer brands - Ring, Arlo, Reolink, Nest, Blink, etc. They are true plug-n-play because those cameras all run on default/auto settings with very little, to no ability to change camera parameters. Just recognize nighttime motion quality will be poor. Well Reolink does allow you to set parameters, but the firmware will override any user setting that would make the image darker (which is what happens with faster shutters to capture freeze frame quality).

Simply download their app and scan the camera QR code and you are up and running, with a better app experience also.

But their plug-n-play simplicity comes at a cost of nighttime performance and ability to customize stuff, but obviously many do not seem to care about that as those systems are popular and those consumer grade systems are a perfect fit for those that want simplicity and not having to learn how to use an NVR or other type of VMS system.

 

[thomagr]

It’s not so much the price that bothers me, it’s the complexity of installation/management. I’m tech savvy, but I don’t want to spend immense amount of time configuring and fine-tuning. When I reed that EmpireTech NVRs needs IE of some sort of IE plugin… massive drawback to me as I’m only on Apple and don’t feel like having to get an additional machine just for this purpose.

I guess it comes down to a balance between performance and complexity of use. What I like about my current set up is that it requires not major configuration. Just added my wifi cams to Synology via RSTP and all works relatively well. No need for an additional machine, no need for very fine-grained setup. Now admittedly, I do have a lot of false positive and the DSCam experience on iPhone could definitely be improved.

We all say that recognizing/identifying isn't important, until it is LOL.

Even if they wore masks, facial features like eye shape and other body characteristics can be used by police to confirm Identity.

The sad thing is, the $100-$200ish cameras we recommend versus an Arlo $200ish cam or a Ring $200ish cam are no comparison in video quality. We are not exactly proposing Top Shelf cameras that costs 5-6 times other cameras - we are recommending cameras comparable in price to consumer favorites Ring and Arlo. Sure you can buy cheaper cameras, but they tend to suffer with nighttime quality.

For most of us, the perps are out at night and that is when we want good video.

Just keep in mind that NONE of the better grade systems are true plug-n-play either. At a minimum you need to manually set shutter speeds if you want to ID perps.

If you want true plug-n-play simplicity, then just continue to go with one of the consumer brands - Ring, Arlo, Reolink, Nest, Blink, etc. They are true plug-n-play because those cameras all run on default/auto settings with very little, to no ability to change camera parameters. Just recognize nighttime motion quality will be poor. Well Reolink does allow you to set parameters, but the firmware will override any user setting that would make the image darker (which is what happens with faster shutters to capture freeze frame quality).

Simply download their app and scan the camera QR code and you are up and running, with a better app experience also.

But their plug-n-play simplicity comes at a cost of nighttime performance and ability to customize stuff, but obviously many do not seem to care about that as those systems are popular and those consumer grade systems are a perfect fit for those that want simplicity and not having to learn how to use an NVR or other type of VMS system.

 

[mat200]

It’s not so much the price that bothers me, it’s the complexity of installation/management. I’m tech savvy, but I don’t want to spend immense amount of time configuring and fine-tuning. When I reed that EmpireTech NVRs needs IE of some sort of IE plugin… massive drawback to me as I’m only on Apple and don’t feel like having to get an additional machine just for this purpose.

I guess it comes down to a balance between performance and complexity of use. What I like about my current set up is that it requires not major configuration. Just added my wifi cams to Synology via RSTP and all works relatively well. No need for an additional machine, no need for very fine-grained setup. Now admittedly, I do have a lot of false positive and the DSCam experience on iPhone could definitely be improved.

Hi @thomagr

I would just get one good varifocal 4MP 1/1.8" camera and play around with it and add it to the most critical view you need.

Once you start to play around with FOV and various placement options, it gives you the knowledge and experience to get fixed FOV cameras for other positions and replace the more critical areas.

I would just go with doing this one step at a time, not a complete replacement if your current setup does not yet need it.

 

[thomagr]

Hi @thomagr

I would just get one good varifocal 4MP 1/1.8" camera and play around with it and add it to the most critical view you need.

Once you start to play around with FOV and various placement options, it gives you the knowledge and experience to get fixed FOV cameras for other positions and replace the more critical areas.

I would just go with doing this one step at a time, not a complete replacement if your current setup does not yet need it.

So you suggest starting with just one camera, no NVR and see how it looks likes before buying more?