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Not much experience in this area since I have never bought one before.

Looking for about 4 right now, and up to a total of 10 in the future. (2 more inside and 4 more outside)

The first 4 will be for indoor use, budget about $100 cnd each. Right now due to time constraints I will probably just run them on their own (save to SD card) In the future, either wirelessly tie them into the network and save to the NAS (synology DS712+) or wired via POE and/or to their own dedicated recorder.

Requirements
-at least 480p
-SD or mem card back up (don't currently have time to wire them up or set them up wirelessly.
-wired & wireless capable
EDIT - umm able to stop recording if nothing is happening and start recording when motion is detected.

Nice options to have
-PoE
-pan, zoom, etc. (maybe 1 or 2 cameras, don't really need it for all of them)
-720p
-night-vision
-option of own stand-alone pvr that I can tie into the network later (this would have to support 8 camera's preferably)
- I have never seen it before, but battery operated or back up would be nice (say a 9v battery or something)
-multiple mounting options?
-edit2 - 90 degree viewing angle
-edit 3 - mic (recording only)

Looked around, seen lots of reviews, and wow they are all over the map for pretty much all of them. I have really been viewing some of the foscams lately as the prices seem decent and have most things I'm looking for.

Any suggestions, or recommendations?

Thanks

I think PTZ, night, and outdoor at the same time are going to be a hard thing to come by at $100.

What makes a camera outdoor is usually not only a weather-resistant housing, but a heating element to keep it from fogging and from condensation that might hurt the camera life. Also, real (read: non-digital, which is more electronic jiggery-pokery) PTZ means motors to swivel the camera, which add a fair amount of cost.

Indeed.

Just looking for 4 indoor cameras now, PTZ not really required. Outdoor ones not required now either.

Looking at something like this.

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.as ... 7BB2KH9940
http://www.amazon.ca/Foscam-FI9821WBV2- ... =ip+camera

etc etc

Whatever you buy, find reviews on the low-light capability if it's important.

A lot of that home stuff is less than amazing. Cheesy image sensors, and poor sensitivity. Of course, the problem is that almost anything people install in nonresidential buildings (e.g., Axis, Vivotek, Panasonic) is expensive, at least brand new.

I'd make sure anything you choose can do H.264 encoding within the camera hardware itself. That means wherever you store the video requires less processing power. 10FPS is fast enough for any security uses. Don't go for an M-JPEG solution (or even MPEG-4, which is newer), which takes much more disk space. I'd want Power over Ethernet as well.

While slightly above your target price, I'd do some research on the ACTi D11. ACTi has a lot of products similar to Axis, but is newer and has tried to undercut other vendors on price. Unlike Panasonic stuff in the same price range, PoE is offered, and the unit is pretty full-featured. You even get 720p, which may be a nice thing for some day in the future (though whatever software you use, you could set to 640x480 to save space). It looks like you also get access to a free version of their software to support up to 16 cameras.

http://www.acti.com/products/spec/D11

http://www.forum.use-ip.co.uk/threads/a ... eview.411/

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/9 ... _Cube.html

I have the HooToo indoor one which seems to be pretty reliable but now I'm looking for phone software that will allow me to hear and speak through the device.

Anyone have any favorites? (android or iPhone -- I have both)

Not so much a direct answer to your inquiry, but I run a trio of Foscam 8910s, connected to an instance of Zoneminder running in a VM for recording and motion trigger purposes.

--SS

LoneWolf15 wrote:

I'd make sure anything you choose can do H.264 encoding within the camera hardware itself. That means wherever you store the video requires less processing power. 10FPS is fast enough for any security uses. Don't go for an M-JPEG solution (or even MPEG-4, which is newer), which takes much more disk space.

Ummm, MPEG 4 cameras are h.264. You contradict yourself.