What is the cheapest video camera around?

October 13, 2013 4:21 PM

I'm looking for the most bare-bones video cameras that money can buy. I've been searching among security cameras, but what are some other possible searches? Imagine a security camera without the LED lights. As in, I would prefer an analog as opposed to USB output, but cost is more important than anything. The current cheapest security cameras I can find are $28 or so. Do any exist that are perhaps less than $20?

Also, is there any way to record from many of these cameras at once using my computer, instead of a DVR? Or if I do have to use a DVR, are there any that are extremely minimal? A cheap example is this, but even this has wifi and smartphone capabilities: http://www.amazon.com/Zmodo-ZMD-DC-SBN6-Surveillance-Smartphone-Monitoring/dp/B008OE62B0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1381695844&sr=8-1&keywords=16+channel+dvr

posted by neil pierce to Technology (1 answer total)

Best answer: A couple years ago i lived in a fucking shithole of an apartment, and people kept trying to kick my door in. I did this search because not only did i not have much money, but i wanted a camera so cheap that if it was malicious destroyed i wouldn't care.

You want stuff like this and this. There are tons of cheap ones out there in the $8-20 range.

Unfortunately i can't find the eBay shop the ones i was looking at were from, but that was basically all they sold. $8-30 little security cameras.

But yea, just try a search like this and step through the pages.

Personally i'd also look up old used tape DVRs, and then buy one of those super cheap usb>component video adapters and record from the VCR-based DVR if i ever needed to. I never looked in to running more than one camera, and i feel like getting some sort of PC interface for a bunch of cameras would quickly become a tiresome expensive thing(and likely far and away the most expensive part of the whole setup).

Have you looked on craigslist for whole systems yet? Costco has sold pre-boxed 4-6 camera systems for years, and they seem to pop up used fairly often. Especially the earlier digital or old analog ones...
posted by emptythought at 5:08 PM on October 13, 2013