IP Security Cameras for home use

December 1, 2005 8:14 AM

Home Security Camera Filter: I'm looking for a wireless camera that can transmit over my existing 802.11g network. Ideally, it would have motion detection and the ability to record to the web rather than just my hard-drive. Where to look? What to Buy? Personal Experiences?

Also bonus points for ones that can be mounted outside and most importantly, don't cost an arm and a leg. Ideally would like to keep the budget under $400. Have looked at a couple of cameras such as the DLINK and the Linksys. However, both only seem to offer recording to a PC hard-drive. This would be fine if anyone knows of a way to automatically sync the file on the harddrive to the web, that way if my PC gets nicked, I can still access the footage. Actually if there was a simple program that could do this, then I'm guessing this would be the cheapest option.

Btw, this question was inspired by an old BBC Story

posted by Mave_80 to technology (15 comments total)

Btw, I did see this old Ask Mefi question, but it seemed more geared towards business use, with a somewhat heftier pricetag...
posted by Mave_80 at 8:17 AM on December 1, 2005

Axis makes networkable cameras.
posted by odinsdream at 8:21 AM on December 1, 2005

Also - don't worry about the backup sync being part of the camera software. You can always schedule backups with something like rsync even if the camera doesn't provide such functionality.
posted by odinsdream at 8:25 AM on December 1, 2005

Odinsdream: Thanks for the tips. Can you think of any other Windows (XP) based syncing programs that are a little more polished that would achieve the same thing as rsync?
posted by Mave_80 at 8:35 AM on December 1, 2005

It only supports USB cameras now, but we are testing a alpha of what you want. We are looking for user feedback, popular cameras that we don't support, etc. Should have support for wireless cameras in a week or so. Check out

http://www.secimg.com
posted by tomwhittaker at 9:04 AM on December 1, 2005

By polished, do you mean something that has a pretty gui?

I'd say give rsync another look - it's been around for years, it'll run on a bunch of different platforms, it's *powerful* and *free* and it *works well*.
posted by cactus at 9:19 AM on December 1, 2005

Does anyone have any idea what a high quality outdoor Axis camera would cost?
posted by NekulturnY at 9:38 AM on December 1, 2005

I'm confident that if you search, you'll find a GUI for rsync. There are several available for many other platforms.
posted by odinsdream at 10:13 AM on December 1, 2005

odinsdream is right! Nasbackup is a windows program with a GUI that uses rsync, and is open-source to boot!
posted by cactus at 10:37 AM on December 1, 2005

Just found nashbackup - thanks for the tip. Now any ideas about specific cameras themselves? Specifically, wireless network compatible and outdoor (since now the write to web is no longer an issue)?
posted by Mave_80 at 11:24 AM on December 1, 2005

I've actually been planning to ask this question as well. My idea is to try and sell a package like this to local daycares, and then use the sync-to-web feature to allow parents to check up on their children during the day from any location.

*bookmarks thread*
posted by thanotopsis at 11:34 AM on December 1, 2005

Panasonic has a nice high resolution outdoor camera that seems to meet your requirements. However, it's only 802.11b. It's also $500+, if I remember right.
posted by Good Brain at 11:55 AM on December 1, 2005

I've dealt with the least expensive indoor camera in Axis' line. Did not stand up very well to extended office use (people knocking into it, cleaning people unplugging it so they could vacuum, etc.--we didn't have the option of putting it in an out-of-the-way place). It had onboard Linux, but you could only manage it through a built-in web interface, not a command line, so if the onboard web server or network daemon quit answering, you were screwed. Their midrange products seem to be better and more stable (I've worked with a very nice Axis video server in that range, but not a camera.)
posted by gimonca at 4:11 PM on December 1, 2005

FWIW, that Axis camera could be scheduled to FTP pics to a remote server.
posted by gimonca at 4:12 PM on December 1, 2005

i have a toshiba camera. its pricy, but has a whole lot of features. my only complaint is that it seems to drop off the network occasionally.

when it detects motion, it sends me an email. it also ftps a bunch of still pictures around the event to my server, which then timestamps the pictures and uploads them to my webhost.

its only 11b but i'm running my 11g network in mixed mode and it seems to be fine, most of the time.

if you have a mac, there is a package called evocam that can turn pretty much any webcam into a sophisticated security camera.
posted by joeblough at 11:35 PM on December 1, 2005