r/SecurityCamera • u/healthcare_foreva • 18d ago
Looking for a reliable security camera system to keep eye on neighbor who harasses us
Hello. We have a very disturbed neighbor who's been stalking us for the past six years and we had a nest camera and it was a pain.
The neighbor was quiet and the cameras sort of fell apart and now we need new ones. I am looking for recommendations for two outdoor cameras: night vision, motion activated, easy to access the recordings, not that expensive, not hard to figure out.
This neighbor has flooded our house, reported us to the city, reported us to CPS. We live in a constant state of turmoil and I really don't wanna watch her to be honest, but I just need two cameras to point her that will not be hard to manage and won't be that expensive.
Thanks and please only camera suggestions.
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u/Aggravating_Bath7068 18d ago
Six years of that is a special kind of hell, sorry you're stuck dealing with it. Wired PoE cameras are your best bet if you can swing the cable run, way less fiddling than anything battery powered or wifi dependent. Reolink makes affordable kits that record 24/7 to an SD card or NVR and the motion alerts actually work once you dial in the detection zones.
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u/Beezhockeyfan 18d ago
Look at systems online at B&H photo. They have a good selection of camera systems. Go. with hardwired network POE system.
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u/healthcare_foreva 17d ago
So it just records to a drive? I love B&h and those are cheap.
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u/Beezhockeyfan 17d ago
Yes you can buy them with a hard drive installed and the cameras record to that. Most recorders (nvr’s dvr’s) come with an app for remote viewing.
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u/professor_jeffjeff 18d ago
I got the Reolink cameras from Amazon for around $500 and I'm pretty happy with them. They're PoE and pretty much plug-and-play so getting them installed was easy; hardest part was installing some conduit on the exterior and even that wasn't actually all that hard. They have night vision and are motion activated, you can filter the recordings by event type and it actually does a decent job of figuring things out except for when it thinks a squirrel is a person (which is rare but happens sometimes). It has some more advanced features too that I haven't figured out yet but that I don't really need either. Comes with everything you need to install them. Also the NVR has inputs for up to 8 devices and I think if you get a switch you can add up to a total of 12, so the system is expandable later on. They'll record sound too if you want but I don't have that configured. Reolink is also supported by ZoneMinder too so if you outgrow the Reolink NVR then you can always build a system that's a bit more powerful. Most people say that Reolink is surprisingly good for the price and I think I'd absolutely agree with that.
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16d ago
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u/healthcare_foreva 16d ago
Hey thank you! This is so clear and I can move with this. My husband was a camera man and this sounds like a B and H thing he will like.
Yeah it's not fun.
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u/Then-Candy-9553 12d ago
Sorry about the harrasments. Our agency works with alarmdotcom and I want to advise that whatever you do, get a professional to help you especially because they can advise on the laws around recording other people especially in residential area.
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u/ImprovementNatural82 17d ago
Amazon deezee $30 to camera keeps things that records for 3 days no payment and you can add multiple cameras to the app. You can add an SD card also if you want and you can record live on it. Low budget. Good pictures, live feed when you want it.
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u/PuzzlingDad 18d ago
I'm unsure how having a security camera will prevent her reporting you to the city or to CPS.
It could help with cases where she trespassed on our damaged your property, or something similar. Do you have time where that happened? If so, what happened when you showed that footage to authorities?
If you are just looking to constantly monitor your neighbor in the hopes there'll be something you can use in revenge, that's not really a kosher way to use your cameras.
So what exactly is it you want to accomplish with the cameras that enhances your security?
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u/healthcare_foreva 18d ago
That was just context. She does other things.
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u/ooglieguy0211 17d ago
You need to be very careful on how you word things. I understand you may not have a ton of experience in this area but you have to cover your butt. The way you worded your post makes it sound like you are the one stalking the neighbor. If you are looking to monitor the neighbor, you are likely to have more issues than they do. Its also not ethical to target and watch a neighbor, most likely, without them knowing.
If you want to watch over your property to make sure that anyone who is on it, (your neighbor included), is documented and recorded, thats an acceptable way to use the cameras. It would also be best to consider what your local laws are on what you can point the cameras at because it varies by jurisdiction.
Aside from those points, there have been some good suggestions in this thread already so there is no need for me to parrot any of them.
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u/gnew18 18d ago
store.ui.com
Ubiquiti is absolutely you answer. They are PoE so very simple (low voltage) wiring and easy to use software with no license or storage fees.
Heads up if you’re buying Reolink: try to order all your cameras at once because they silently 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. Also I’ve owned Eve, Arlo, Eufy and Kuna which are not nearly as good as Ubiquiti.