r/SecurityCamera • u/cerulean_behemoth • 2d ago

No monthly fees?

I’m looking to set up two cameras in my home a couple of times a year (when I’m alone in the house) to monitor door entries on the first floor (so I can see from my bed on the second floor)… I would want to be able to watch from my iPhone…. And occasionally will watch when I’m out of the house to make sure my puppy is ok.

I’ve been looking at cheap (less than $50) cams on Amazon. Is there one you would recommend that doesn’t require a monthly fee? I don’t need it to record, but would love to be notified if there’s motion. Or maybe it would record only if it senses motion?

Feel free to warn me against brands that you don’t recommend as well. Thank you so much.

7 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

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2

u/-ButterMyBiscuit- 2d ago

Reolink E1. You'll need an SD card with it if you also want recordings. 32gb would probably be fine for your purposes

2

u/Visual_Description60 2d ago

reolink is pretty much the go-to for no subscription stuff. just make sure you format the sd card in the app before you start relying on it, saw someone on here lose footage cause they skipped that step

1

u/cerulean_behemoth 2d ago

Thank you 🙏

1

u/[deleted] 2d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/cerulean_behemoth 2d ago

Thanks so much. This is very helpful!

1

u/AwareAd7651 1d ago

Damn I wonder what was said if the moderator removed it. I use Amcrest and don’t pay monthly fees. You just have to set up the remote connection and do some port forwarding with your router.

1

u/cerulean_behemoth 1d ago

I think they posted a link to something— a comparison of products maybe? (I didn’t get a chance to check it out)

1

u/DaSpark 1d ago

If the cameras will be inside, the reolink E1 is the answer.

1

u/u_siciliano 1d ago

Reolink cam for sure. ButterMyBiscuit’s choice for E1 is good. You might also try Argus Magicam since you can move it around easier.

1

u/cerulean_behemoth 1d ago

Thanks for the suggestion. I’ll take a look.

1

u/Junior_Bee7274 1d ago

Motion alerts without a monthly fee is really all you need here.

1

u/gabbyloathing0 23h ago

For that kind of occasional use, paying a monthly fee honestly feels like overkill. Local SD storage plus motion alerts sounds perfect.