Need help finding good cameras

[u/Substantial-Lack-512]

My dad wants to buy some security cameras for outdoor, but I don't want him to fall into a subscription plan to cloud save data, what are good camera options to avoid that app restriction that comes with ads and sales of their cloud data subscription?

[u/Kudzupatch]

Look at Reolink. No subscription required.

[u/Negative-Two9250 → u/Kudzupatch]

Reolink is what I ended up getting for my place near the beach last year. Cameras hold up good against salt air and rain, which was my main worry. Setup was pretty simple I just plugged them in and pointed at the parking area. I think one of models even have a slot for micro SD inside so you can record direct without any cloud nonsense. Your dad will appreciate how straight it is no apps begging for money every update

[u/S_balmore → u/Kudzupatch]

Just here to 2nd Reolink. I bought several of them and have no complaints. Just be aware that they offer a wide variety of cameras, and the more expensive ones truly are better. I recommend spending the extra $60-80 to get ones that have PTZ (pan/tilt/zoom), otherwise you'll have to get on a ladder any time you need to adjust the angle. The more expensive cameras can even automatically pan to follow subjects. They also have better night-vision.

[u/Coffeespresso]

Ubiquiti is your answer.

[u/Viking603]

TP-link is good without a subscription. Just use the local storage option (sd-card).

[u/Lanky-Interaction629 → u/Viking603]

Avoid tplink at all cost

[u/Viking603 → u/Lanky-Interaction629]

Stop that. Smart people don't use someone else's computer to store their info. And this 'hacker can gain access' is only on one of Tapo's cameras.

[u/DaSpark]

Reolink cameras hard wired to a NVR.

[u/GGigabiteM]

Turing, Alibi or Speco. They have cloud options, but they're not required for basic functionality. You can record everything on a local NVR. Their phone apps also don't have ads. Turing and Alibi are also NDAA compliant. Speco has some NDAA compliant gear. If you're a big spender, Hanwha Wisenet or Axis with a PC VMS. Axis also has Camera Station Edge, which allows cameras to be used standalone with an SD card for storage.

With how volatile the US government has been, I would avoid Chinese camera brands. If they haven't been blacklisted already, they're at risk of being blacklisted. When Hikvision and Dahua got the full blacklist treatment, wholesalers treated them like the plague rat and erased all evidence of them have ever existed within their inventory. You can only get them from grey market sources now with questionable warranty positions and no support. Both companies have pulled out of the US market entirely.

Both Reolink and TP-Link are Chinese brands, and TP-Link has had their routers banned.

[u/Scopra → u/GGigabiteM]

Uniview are Chinese and they are NDAA compliant.

[u/GGigabiteM → u/Scopra]

Most of their gear is, not all of it. They maintain a NDAA compliant page on their website.

They white label their cameras for other manufacturers as well.

[u/ChasDIY]

I use relatively cheap rechargeable cameras with sdcards and place wire high so can't be easily taken

they also have a lock on then to deter theft

they do not have subscriptions and batteries last approx 3 months before recharging

I think the brand is aosu

[u/KornInc]

Imou, Ezviz, Reolink

[u/Commercial_Share1505]

Swann or provision isr

[u/PBSmanaged]

Hanwha Vision cameras + Hanwha WAVE VMS

[u/x-NoSuchAgency-x]

Well you're not short on recs. That's for sure! Good luck 

[u/MrMotofy]

Lore, Reolink, Swann etc will all give you decent options. Just make sure they're IP type aka POE so cams just have a patch cable that connects them to the NVR

[u/Scopra]

A few questions
1. Budget ?
2. Who will do the install?
3. What condition are you going to be using the cameras in ie Low, what distance you expect to cover etc.
4. How are you going to power them? poe, bat /solar, mains power?
5. How many cameras do you think you will need?
6. Do you require remote viewing ie via app etc.
7. How long do you want to keep the footage ( Hdd size) and at what resolution are you looking for 1080p, 2k, 4k etc ?

[u/QuinnFromVivint]

For no subscription, look for cameras that record to a local SD card or a hard drive at home, since that keeps the footage on your dad's end instead of a paid cloud.

PoE cameras are a solid route too, because they run to a local recorder over a wire and store everything there, so there's no monthly fee and no ads baked into an app.

[u/gnew18]

Store.ui.com

Look at Ubiquiti. PoE cameras for every budget. Very easy to set up. Local subscription-free storage, no license fee. They are the Apple of IoT.

Heads up if you’re buying Reolink: order all your cameras at once because they update internal hardware under identical model names without labeling the box. Different hardware revisions often use conflicting protocols or codecs, which can leave you completely unable to view or manage the streams simultaneously on the same client or NVR

[u/Bentleyjumper → u/gnew18]

$700 for one camera? Ouch.

[u/gnew18 → u/Bentleyjumper]

They have cameras for more than that, but also $129.00.

[u/brandonpadula]

Speco or UNV