CCTV recommendations

Liquidfox · 12 May 2013 at 01:03

We've had a load of car vandalism over the past year or so, usually resulting in my sisters car being keyed, tyres mysteriously going flat and nails being found in front of tyres. I've just got in tonight and had a look at the passenger door as someone knocked it on something while I was out, only to find that it's been keyed. It's only ever been parked on the drive or at work this week so I'm sure it's happened while at home.

I'm looking for something that has decent night quality as that's when it'll be happening. Ideally it needs some form of built in storage as I can't leave my PC turned on overnight. It'll be right next to my router and I could always get a nas box if there are any good cameras that support network storage.

No real budget in mind, but not wanting to spend an absolute fortune, something that could show me a face is enough, I honestly don't think that they'll be wearing a hood or anything, i think it's someone in the street with a problem as parking can be tight at times. It may also be due to the fact I have a noisy exhaust, but it wouldn't explain why they go after my sister or the neighbours.

Gibbo3771 · 12 May 2013 at 01:06

Idiots going to be idiots.

Quick google and took the first page, I am sure you will find something within a reasonable budget:

EDIT: Removed link

My mum had this problem a while back, she bought a security camera from some store in town.

We found out who it was, I gave him a quick visit.

Liquidfox · 12 May 2013 at 01:13

Thanks for the link but I'm looking for some recommendations if possible, don't want to spend money only to find out the image quality is so bad I wouldn't be able to tell if they were even human lol.

Also, another point I'll be putting this camera in my window and ideally don't want to have to buy a full dvr system if i don't have to.

v0n · 12 May 2013 at 01:23

Technically we can't link to any products because OCUK does sell CCTV equipment so the "no competitor" rule applies.

Don't go for anything analogue. There is just no point. Quality is poor. Waste of money. IP cameras only. External ones with good quality night vision will cost some serious money. In case of tight budget - if you have windows overlooking the area get couple of good 720p webcams and mount them on the inside of the windows. If you know anything about linux get one of the cheap slim dual core atom boxes with external drive and install zoneminder as a motion detector/capture server.

Liquidfox · 12 May 2013 at 01:28

I've got a window right above and also in front of the area I want to cover, so a wired camera is fine for upstairs but a wireless one would be needed for downstairs. I'm not really Linux minded, but I can work my way round the likes of Ubuntu if that's any use?
Do OcUK sell anything that would be of use or am I going to ha e to look elsewhere? Would the Linux box be the equivalent of the DVR in this case?

CyberPunk_1000 · 20 May 2013 at 16:11

I'd recommend checking a dedicated CCTV forum for the best advise in this case. A quick search on Google will point you to a popular one.

Personal experience in this field was that Zone minder was pretty good but the quality of the IP camera's I had was not. Commercial expensive devices like Axis work a treat but will cost you an arm and a leg as will anything in the megapixel range.

I've resolved to using AVtech or Qviz (Dahua) DVR's with 700 TVL cameras which have delivered good results. I wouldn't bother with wireless as so far any experience with it has been rubbish. The detail level on this setup is good enough to read a number plate at a few meters so it's something to factor in.

A friend of mine was suffering similar problems with his car being keyed on a regular basis. A cheap VHS recorder on long play with a reasonable quality camera soon caught the blighter and the police dealt with the rest.

Hope that helps.

GeX · 20 May 2013 at 16:19

Liquidfox said:
I've got a window right above and also in front of the area I want to cover, so a wired camera is fine for upstairs but a wireless one would be needed for downstairs. I'm not really Linux minded, but I can work my way round the likes of Ubuntu if that's any use?
Do OcUK sell anything that would be of use or am I going to ha e to look elsewhere? Would the Linux box be the equivalent of the DVR in this case?

If you're going to put an IR camera behind glass you're going to have a bad time. The window will reflect a lot of the IR that the camera puts out for night vision back at the sensor - and blind it.

bitslice · 20 May 2013 at 16:59

v0n said:
Don't go for anything analogue. There is just no point. Quality is poor. Waste of money. IP cameras only.

Every CCTV camera sensor is analogue (CCD or CMOS), all IP cameras do is add a web interface.
Quality is down to the design, not whether it has a MAC address

However, you get what you pay for and decent IP cameras are quite expensive (but inherently simpler to record from).

As above, windows will reflect the IR, but they will also distort the image. No way will you get a decent face image at night (in fact you can barely make out the shape of cars at night).

Practically, you will need to be around 3-5m away to see a face at night and be using some form of supplemental lighting (either visible or IR), so find a location outside and right next to the driveway.

craptakular · 20 May 2013 at 17:35

Gibbo3771 said:
Idiots going to be idiots.

Quick google and took the first page, I am sure you will find something within a reasonable budget:

EDIT: Removed link

My mum had this problem a while back, she bought a security camera from some store in town.

We found out who it was, I gave him a quick visit.

What did you do? Boxing stance?

Heliospherez · 20 May 2013 at 20:04

I have a Swann OutBackCam.

It does exactly what I wanted and the quality / resolution both during the day and at night is perfect for my needs. You may want something else - but if it's just for evidence - it's great.

All you need is a decent set of AA batteries and a big memory card (I think it comes with 4GB - but mine has 16GB) and it will start recording on movement and last 2-3 weeks videoing anything that moves day or night - there are a number of options for recording on board - and you can even take still photo captures if that's what you need.

Have a look at some of the videos on youtube - as the quality is rather good considering the resolution is quite low - best of all it is rather cheap, but is built of robust / waterproof plastic (one of the reasons you see it on more and more nature/wildlife programs).

The only drawback is the IR leds on board are slightly noticeable when it starts recording in night mode - if the guy was to look directly at it, he would see them - but they have to be to record something 10m away - and the fact that if it's spotted - the guy may rip it off and take the evidence with him, but if you mount it high enough - theres no way he will see it or get at it. As said above - Forget about if behind glass as it doesn't trigger and the IR doesnt work.... it's easier to mount it on a tree or a drainpipe - or like I did - dangle it on a cord out a window at the right angle. It will video what you need.

Scougar · 20 May 2013 at 20:27

So in my mind he's looking for a decent covert camera or a decent camera that can be partially concealed.

If it was me I'd be wanting to find out who it was/is (and from more than one recording, to ensure it's the same person).