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Columbo

Columbo

Columbo

Soldato
Joined
26 Mar 2007
Posts
9,073
Location
Nottinghamshire
So I'll be moving to a new house in a couple of weeks and would like some advice on the above.
Currently I've got 2 Blink Cameras and 1 Blink Doorbell + the sync module but I'm going to leave them here because frankly they have been nothing but disappointing.

- The battery life is awful on them all, I get around 25% of the advertised life max with 2x 2600mah eneloop batteries.
- The wifi coverage of the sync module is terrible, I have so many issues with dropped network I stopped counting
- The Blink app is next to useless and 'camera busy' message is the default state when trying to access live view, make changes or just answer the damn door.
- Doorbell notifications arrive minutes after its been pressed, yesterday's was 21 minutes actually
- The monthly sub is overpriced as hell vs what you get imo

So after a bit of research I'm in caught between either Ring or Eufy I think.
The appeal of Eufy is local storage, solar charging cameras and no sub but Ring seems to be pretty solid and has a lower upfront outlay and cheaper sub than Blink?

I've also looked at Tapo but the range seems pretty limited, any other I've not considered?
Thoughts would be great.
 
Reolink is often recommended here, so I'd say they were also worth a look.

Eufy also seems to get some good comments.

Ring people complain about the increase in subs pricing a lot.

In case you're not aware, there is also a big thread on CCTV here:

Spec me a CCTV System

It seems that I would need to create a business account with them first to see prices and to deal with me..? Do they only deal with trade..? No they’ve sold to some of my friends without issue but I’ve always told friends to not expect product guidance and configuration support from such...
forums.overclockers.co.uk forums.overclockers.co.uk
 
As I treat mine as a mild deterrent and something that can capture good images if the police can be bothered I have gone with Reolink video doorbell and Reolink 360 at the front and Tapo tracking cameras indoors on smart plugs that switch on when we leave.
The rear is a Tapo 360 tracking camera, with a standard Tapo camera above the rear door.
All have local storage and Wi-Fi

The doorbell quality outshines that of Ring imo, the Reolink 360 out front is half decent and the whole Tapo range for price and features are fantastic.
 
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+1 for Reolink cameras and POE; I put my system together in bits & pieces as budget allowed, but there are decent "All in one box" kits, depending on how many cameras you want.

I will recommend splurging on a decent staple gun and a big reel of solid copper core, outdoor rated Cat5E (at a minimum - Cat6 would be better). Avoid cheap, Copper Coated Aluminium (CCA). By the time I'd run cables from my study, to each top corner of my end of terrace house, I'd used over 200m.
The two cameras I upgraded and ran Cat6 to are definitely more responsive and PTZ controls are faster, compared to the two on Cat5.

Cameras are powered by my Yuanley 11 port Gigabit POE switch, which feeds into the Uniview NVR.

2x 10Tb drives gives me 24/7 continuous footage for just under 6 weeks (2 cameras record audio, the others dont.)

Each camera also has a Micro SD card inside, to quickly pull clips off the Reolink app, if I need to. Can view the cameras remotely either via the same app, or by logging in to the NVR if I need to search further than a couple of days.
 
aVdub said:
As I treat mine as a mild deterrent and something that can capture good images if the police can be bothered I have gone with Reolink video doorbell and Reolink 360 at the front and Tapo tracking cameras indoors on smart plugs that switch on when we leave.
The rear is a Tapo 360 tracking camera, with a standard Tapo camera above the rear door.
All have local storage and Wi-Fi

The doorbell quality outshines that of Ring imo, the Reolink 360 out front is half decent and the whole Tapo range for price and features are fantastic.
Click to expand...

I quite like that idea, have purchased mainly reolink PoE cameras for outside, but any indoor ones don't have a privacy lens. So being able to just switch them off automatically is a neat idea.
 
Semple said:
I quite like that idea, have purchased mainly reolink PoE cameras for outside, but any indoor ones don't have a privacy lens. So being able to just switch them off automatically is a neat idea.
Click to expand...
We have Wyze smartcams in the kids' bedrooms, aimed at their beds: allows me to check on them through the night without having to get out of my bed or disturb them. They have the same inherited bleeding disorder I have: spontaneous nosebleeds are common, so they can just sit up and call out quietly and the camera alert will wake me.
I'll have to rethink things as they get older and need more privacy - the tiny cameras are also great for monitoring when we have puppies/kittens.
 
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Reolink have now got a Home Hub, a bit like a basic DVR. It uses sd cards to record to and creates it's own wifi setup for the camera's, thus not using up IP addresses from the Internet hub within the house. Also will continue to record even if the Internet goes down.
reolink.com

Reolink Home Hub - Wireless Security Center With Encrypted Local Storage and Multi-Device Management | Reolink Official

Reolink Home Hub is a security center that supports adding up to 8 Reolink IP cameras, enables real-time live view and playback in high definition, up to 512GB×2 microSD card storage, Wi-Fi 6 & dual-band Wi-Fi network and exclusive data encryption.
reolink.com reolink.com
 
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Probably makes more sense if you want to get into the Unifi ecosystem but rate their CCTV solution or at the very least, POE cameras.
 
Just thought I'd update that I eventually went with a 3 camera + Homebase Eufy setup.
A Doorbell, S230 Solar Camera on the side and an S120 Solar Wall camera with 300 lumen light.

They've been installed for about a week and all seems good so far and I haven't seen the solar cams drop below about 95% battery.
App is much better and faster than the blink system I had previously and accessing remotely is really quick.
 
Columbo said:
Just thought I'd update that I eventually went with a 3 camera + Homebase Eufy setup.
A Doorbell, S230 Solar Camera on the side and an S120 Solar Wall camera with 300 lumen light.

They've been installed for about a week and all seems good so far and I haven't seen the solar cams drop below about 95% battery.
App is much better and faster than the blink system I had previously and accessing remotely is really quick.
Click to expand...
this is good to know. im looking at getting a 2 camera system (1 doorbell + 1 camera) and eufy keeps coming up in my searches as having everything i want.

the ring stuff does too, just weighing up the cost really as the ring has the £8 a month charge
 
Since you're talking about Reolink in here I have 3x cameras and a doorbell.
I've just replaced my front camera for an 180 degrees one.
This is the one I should have always had.

BressRg.jpeg
 
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SexyGreyFox said:
Since you're talking about Reolink in here I have 3x cameras and a doorbell.
I've just replaced my front camera for an 180 degrees one.
This is the one I should have always had.

hmdnDsO.jpeg
Click to expand...
I clicked on the image - almost fell off my chair. Christ, that's a decent resolution.

Is that the 16MP Duo 3?
 
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I'd avoid the Eufy stuff if I'm totally honest. The cameras themselves are brilliant - high quality and robust, but it's the software/app which let's down Eufy. They seem obsessed with bringing all sorts of weird and wonderful new features/products to the market but seemingly have no interest in making what they already have work well.

The cameras will frequently fail to load when you want to watch them back meaning you have to refresh a few times before it works, the geofencing is absolutely useless (it worked great until around 2022 when they changed something) and the event detection can be very hit and miss in what it captures for unknown reasons (for instance, today and yesterday people have been out on the driveway at least 10 different occasions and the camera caught none of it, other times it catches everything EDIT: on thinking about it, the camera image seems hazy so the camera may need a clean which could help? I'll try and report back).

Some of the good points about Eufy are - no subscriptions, the small solar charger I got keeps the front camera at 100% even over winter meaning I can make event record length much longer to capture more without running the battery down, the camera I have without solar lasts for 3-4 months without needing a charge, over the last 4 years+ , between me and my dad we have had 6 Eufy cameras and only 1 has needed replacing which Eufy have done without issue, the Eufy Homebase can be remote from your router (just set it up with the ethernet cable, then once this is done, select the option which allows the Homebase to communicate with the router wirelessly and you can put the Homebase wherever you like as long as it has power and is within WiFi range of your router!), the sound capture is amazing (I can hear people's conversations clearly from across the street!) and finally the image quality and build quality is great.

All I wish for is Eufy to stop making new crap products and start focussing on seriously improving the quality and reliability of their app.
 
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I had wireless Reolink cams in my old house, whilst they did the job I wasn't too happy with them.

Now I have moved, I went for a wired Reolink bundle (4x POE cameras and NVR) and their doorbell.

Took some time to tweak their sensitivity, but happy with them so far.
 
Gaygle said:
I'd avoid the Eufy stuff if I'm totally honest. The cameras themselves are brilliant - high quality and robust, but it's the software/app which let's down Eufy. They seem obsessed with bringing all sorts of weird and wonderful new features/products to the market but seemingly have no interest in making what they already have work well.

The cameras will frequently fail to load when you want to watch them back meaning you have to refresh a few times before it works, the geofencing is absolutely useless (it worked great until around 2022 when they changed something) and the event detection can be very hit and miss in what it captures for unknown reasons (for instance, today and yesterday people have been out on the driveway at least 10 different occasions and the camera caught none of it, other times it catches everything EDIT: on thinking about it, the camera image seems hazy so the camera may need a clean which could help? I'll try and report back).

Some of the good points about Eufy are - no subscriptions, the small solar charger I got keeps the front camera at 100% even over winter meaning I can make event record length much longer to capture more without running the battery down, the camera I have without solar lasts for 3-4 months without needing a charge, over the last 4 years+ , between me and my dad we have had 6 Eufy cameras and only 1 has needed replacing which Eufy have done without issue, the Eufy Homebase can be remote from your router (just set it up with the ethernet cable, then once this is done, select the option which allows the Homebase to communicate with the router wirelessly and you can put the Homebase wherever you like as long as it has power and is within WiFi range of your router!), the sound capture is amazing (I can hear people's conversations clearly from across the street!) and finally the image quality and build quality is great.

All I wish for is Eufy to stop making new crap products and start focussing on seriously improving the quality and reliability of their app.
Click to expand...

Probably worth me updating this.
I've still got the same setup as above and have to say I've extremely happy with the both S230 and S120, I've not had a single issue where the cameras dont load and quality on the 2K footage is great.

You are correct on the motion detection, the S230 is mental sensitive and even though is turned down and I've setup the geofencing its still catches everything from a wasp upwards.
Battery on the solar cameras has been impecable, not seen below 70% charge on either of yet, however the doorbell is not the same. Have to charge it every couple of months and while the responsivness and quality is excellent I will be looking to get a solar module for it.

I dont like the app, mainly the GUI and navigation of it. Its not as simple or user friendly as it should be but it works for me and I dont have any performance problems with it.
All in all perfectky happy so far minus the doorbell battery life.
 
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