Inexpensive cameras

[paneubert]

Thanks for all the info! I’ve been looking at the website and just have a question. Do all the individual cameras have to be plugged in to an electrical outlet?

I have not seen a version that uses solar or batteries, probably since these are all technically indoor cameras. But if you know the voltage is is asking for, you could hook it up to solar or a battery. I would assume the camera is taking something between 5-12 volts.

 

[Sue Gremlin]

Thanks for all the info! I’ve been looking at the website and just have a question. Do all the individual cameras have to be plugged in to an electrical outlet?

Yes, they all need a power supply.

 

[Sue Gremlin]

I have not seen a version that uses solar or batteries, probably since these are all technically indoor cameras. But if you know the voltage is is asking for, you could hook it up to solar or a battery. I would assume the camera is taking something between 5-12 volts.

We are planning to do this with one of ours.

 

[HenOnAJuneBug]

Thanks for all the info! I’ve been looking at the website and just have a question. Do all the individual cameras have to be plugged in to an electrical outlet?

They probably are powered with a power supply adapter that plugs into an AC outlet. The DC voltage output will be marked on the adapter. If 12VDC, solar and a battery would work; if less voltage something else would have to be done.

 

[HenOnAJuneBug]

So data would have to reside or travel on the 'cloud', correct?

I think it's optional. Has local storage

"Supports 8GB, 16GB and 32GB microSD cards in FAT32 format"

 

[Sue Gremlin]

I think it's optional. Has local storage

"Supports 8GB, 16GB and 32GB microSD cards in FAT32 format"

Yes, you can configure it to write to a card.

 

[paneubert]

Yes, you can configure it to write to a card.

The disclaimer for this being that writing to a card and not having it store video on the cloud almost certainly means you could not view the camera "live" on your phone (or see motion triggered video clips) since it is not transmitting any data to the cloud. I assume..... I guess it could live stream for you on command but not store the video for you. If I am right, it would turn this into essentially a game cam/trail camera that you have to go get the memory card from in order to pull the videos onto your home computer.

Still better priced that many game cam/trail cameras....

 

[HeyHo]

My two cents. I have the Amazon Blink outdoor cameras in my run and coop and they are so great I just ordered a couple more for my front porch and garage door. They operate on batteries (which can go for quite a long time), monitor temperature, can send you alerts and have motion detection. Mine are the weatherproof model, but they are under cover, so I don't know how they would hold up in the direct elements. This system works on the house wifi, but I can access through the app anywhere (at work, traveling, during a storm to see if the thunder woke them up). The motion detection clips are stored to the cloud but I can view live stream without it going to the cloud. I think. I'm a computer moron (printers HATE me) but I figured out how to download the app and set this up.

Here are my girls right now! I take a screen shot every night to see how they roost. And it is always different. I want one of my kids to do a science project on it !



I've included the link below, but I didn't pay anywhere near as much as they are now -- must have gotten them on some Prime deal.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XZWHBJ4/?tag=backy-20

 

[cmom]

I use game cameras. I can't view the pictures on a smart phone of computer. Every morning I trek around and collect the cards from the cameras and put newly formatted cards in the cameras. Most every night I get a predator on at least one of my cameras, usually a fox or coyote and other critters from time to time. Most cameras take good daytime pictures. Nighttime pictures is another story. If your camera is detecting a smaller area most cameras are ok but for more distance some are not as good. My husband wants to get me some wifi cameras but i'm happy with my game cameras and don't mind the walk to collect the cards in the mornings or turn the cameras on in the evenings'
Here are a couple of distance pictures with two different cameras that were in the same spot. The top picture is 2 coyotes and the bottom picture a fox.

 

[WVduckchick]

Following, so I can check these out when I have more time for research! Thanks for all the info so far!!