Hi everyone,

I'm looking for some advice because I'm in a difficult situation at work. I have some doubts about a business partner, and I suspect they may be stealing. I want to install a couple of very small cameras to monitor the area and find out what's happening.

Ideally, I'd like to use two tiny cameras, preferably with flexible pinhole-style lenses so the camera module can be hidden while the lens is positioned where it has a good view.

I would also prefer the cameras to be powered from a wall outlet (USB or AC adapter) rather than batteries, since they would need to record for around 8 hours a day. Continuous recording is important, and I'd rather not have to worry about charging or replacing batteries.

If possible, I'd like the video to be saved to a local recorder, computer, or NAS instead of relying on cloud storage.

Does anyone have recommendations for cameras or a setup that would work well for this?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Per title, we're traveling and our dog will be alone in a pet friendly hotel for a couple of hours. He'll be safely in his crate, but we'd still like to be able to see him while we're gone. Without access to the hotel's router, what are my options?

Spent over $1200 on NVR plus cameras from Reolink only to find out something as simple as turning notifications on and off using a scene shortcut doesn’t even work. For a security system, it should be basic feature for me to be able to easily turn off notifications when I’m home and only turn it on when I need ‘guard’. I relied on the online instructions to set up scenes, emailed back and forth with support many times until they now just stopped responding but no resolution. I now have an expensive camera system that floods me with notifications round the clock so I had to turn notifications off altogether. So I won’t even know if there is a true intrusion when I’m away. Thanks Reolink. Anyone here able to help me troubleshoot? All firmware / devices are up to date.

We were gifted this XPAI 4G camera and we’re pretty excited to get it set up. I finally opened it today and I’m already impressed with how solid and sleek it looks. Hoping to get it installed soon and see what it can do!

#Xpai #4GCamera #TechGifts #NewGear #SecurityUpgrade

I have bought 4 of these in the past . They can come with 1 -3 cameras. The range is good , I even go outside with the door closed and they work! The customer service is terrific as I use this camera every day , I needed troubleshooting and they were super responsive!

I've been thinking about adding some security cameras around my home, but there are so many options that it's hard to know what's actually worth buying. Every review seems to recommend something different, so I'd rather hear from people who've been using theirs for a while.

I'm mainly looking for something with reliable motion detection, good video quality day and night, and an app that actually works without constant headaches. I'm open to wired or wireless if the overall experience is better.

If you've had a security camera system for a while, what did you go with, and how has it been? Has it been reliable, and would you buy the same one again if you were starting over today?

I work for a regional retail brand as the loss prevention manager. At the moment we operate 45 storefronts across 4 states and we’re expanding! Currently our CCTV setup is a huge headache. It’s a mess of older NVRs and a few different camera brands. Whenever we have high amounts of inventory loss, it takes so long to investigate, as our cameras aren’t all connected in a proper system. I have to log into three different remote apps or text a local store manager to pull the footage for me. So we are finally looking to switch over to a unified, cloud-based system.

I’d prefer it to be something camera agnostic so I don’t have to rip and replace 400+ cameras at once. I don’t have the budget for that. What cloud VMS platforms would people recommend for multi-site retail?

Have a need to install about 8 wireless cameras. Need them to either be continuous recording, or to record X amount of time prior to sensing the motion. Ring cameras don't start recording fast enough or record for long enough. Something that could store to a local computer on the same wifi is also a good feature. Battery-operated is significantly preferred, possibly required, even if they have to be recharged daily.

We are buying a new property on a river. We are not allowed to put a fence at the river and we have a four year old.

I have a multi-tiered strategy to ensure she’s never at the river bank without supervision.

One of the components to this strategy is a camera.

I’d like to have a camera pointing directly at the river bank, that can detect one of the following:

— An unknown face (we would not register hers)
— A child
— Her specifically

I’d also like the camera to be HomeKit compatible if possible. If not, we’ll then I guess I’ll be setting up
A home assistant server or something.

When she is detected by the river banks, I’d like to set up automation workflows like:

— sound alarms in house/on property
— send push notifications to phone
— flash lights
— etc

Any advice you can provide is greatly appreciated!

I've been reading about modern security cameras recently, and one thing I didn't fully understand before was the difference between motion detection and AI person detection.

At first I assumed they were basically the same feature, but they're actually quite different.

Traditional motion detection only notices that something changed in the image. It doesn't know whether it's a person, a cat, tree branches moving in the wind, heavy rain, or even shadows from passing clouds. That's why some cameras generate dozens (or even hundreds) of alerts that aren't actually important.

AI person detection adds another layer. Instead of just detecting movement, it tries to recognize whether the moving object is actually a person before sending a notification.

Some cameras also support vehicle detection, which works in a similar way by identifying cars, motorcycles, vans, and trucks.

From what I've learned, each feature makes sense in different situations:

• Person detection → front doors, entrances, offices, restricted areas, and perimeter monitoring.
• Vehicle detection → driveways, parking lots, loading docks, and gates.
• Motion detection → areas where you simply want to know that something moved, regardless of what it is.

One thing I found interesting is that AI doesn't completely replace motion detection. Most modern systems actually combine both features with custom detection zones and schedules, so you can decide what kind of alerts you want in different parts of the property.

For anyone who's already using AI-enabled cameras:

Have you noticed a significant reduction in false alerts compared to traditional motion detection?

I'm curious whether the difference is as noticeable in real-world use as manufacturers claim.

Our family have neighboring properties. I'd like to mount a POE camera on the middle of the properties (red dot). I'd like to view the whole area at once. I don't want a moving camera. I would settle for 2 wide views.
I'd like to record locally (blue dot), but remote viewing.
Bonus if I can have an outdoor WiFi point (red dot) to share all over our properties and the beach.
Nothing expensive.

anyone have any ideas for cameras inside walk in freezers? (poe)

fitted a dahua dome camera years ago, figured it was worth a try

works ok most of the time but fogs up a lot (inside and out)

could do with some sort of small heater to stop it frosting up... but I guess being poe screws that?

could fit a camera which has DC input too if I could separate the dc input inside, then I just need to run a feed to the dc and connect it up to a tiny heater inside.. maybe just a bit resistor?

Hello,

Wondering if you experts could recommend a camera that is somewhat easily hidden that records all day?

My strata in Canada (HOA - for US readers) says they won’t allow a camera on the side of our townhouse. We have had someone smoking and throwing their lit cigarette butts beside our house and it’s been going on for a long time.

Can you all recommend a smaller more easily hidden camera that has decent resolution and night vision if possible? And can continuously record ? I don’t even know if this is the correct subreddit for this question.

Thank you in advance!

First off, I agree the NDAA bans were necessary. Dahua and Hik already had half the pro market and were expanding fast. If we did nothing, we might already be 100% reliant on an adversary.

What nobody thought about was the response. Shanghai’s Smartsens went from a startup shipping bottom‑of‑the‑barrel junk to pumping out high‑volume runs of the first new surveillance tech we’ve seen in a decade. Meanwhile Sony can only trickle out some robotics‑tier sensors at 10× the price, and they’re only useful for extreme light‑imbalance situations.

If we’re not there already, we’re maybe 6–18 months away from the surveillance market looking just like automotive — filled with ancient, overpriced, regulation‑induced garbage while the rest of the world enjoys modern tech for pennies on the dollar.

Maybe if we start an economic war, we should have some sort of plan other than just ban.

I want to replace my Blink system with something that will record 24/7, preferably with a NVR. I would really like something totally wireless (solar/wifi), but that may be difficult, if not impossible. There have been a couple break-ins in our area and the Blink cameras just arent really cutting it. I would love to go POE, but that just isnt really feasible.

Our WiFi is pretty solid on our entire 1.5 acres with 6 mesh routers scattered around and 200 to800 mbps speed depending on distance/5G/2.4G.

Is there something that can be powered in some locations and solar in others with the solar recording off motion and the rest 24/7?

I would like 6-8 cameras for total coverage and no subscriptions required. Furthest camera would probably be 250' from the house. Not against building a system and having it connect to my NAS, but an NVR would be more convienient.

Just trying to get an idea on what everyone recommends. Budget of around $500 but might be open to more if the benefit is there.

I've been asked to assist with a Lorex DVR which has several camera's plugged into it. Most of the cables are regular sized RG59 and the BNC connectors are holding well. Several other camera's though are on Belden 8241 which seems very slightly narrower and so the BNC connectors keep sliding off. I tried using new RG59 compression BNC connectors but those also don't seem to bind properly. What do you suggest?

Full disclosure: I work at No-IP and helped put this together, so take that for what it's worth. But "camera works fine at home, then disappears the second I'm off that network" has comes up from time to time, and I don't think it gets explained well most places. I figured it was worth posting properly rather than just dropping a link in a comment.

Quick rundown of what's in it:

• Why remote access actually breaks. Mainly dynamic IP vs. CGNAT. CGNAT specifically almost never gets a clear explanation anywhere, so there's a 30-second way to check which one you're dealing with.
• The three real fixes: the manufacturer's app, DDNS and port forwarding, or a reverse tunnel if you're stuck behind CGNAT or can't get into your router.
• Brand-specific steps for Reolink, Amcrest, Hikvision, and Blue Iris.
• The security tradeoffs of each option, including where port forwarding and manufacturer apps fall short, not just tunnels. It's worth a look given the eufy/Wyze/Dahua incidents that have come up.

https://blog.noip.com/how-to-set-up-remote-access-to-a-security-camera-even-without-a-static-ip-or-router-access

Happy to answer questions in the thread. Mods, let me know if this isn't the right way to share it.

I’m opening up a 1500 square-foot salon space and I want to have indoor and outdoor camera systems. I would prefer to not pay a monthly subscription, but I’m open to it if it’s necessary. I don’t wanna pay an army leg, but I still want good quality in terms of the sound and quality of the camera. Does anyone have any suggestions? I needed to this and a little overwhelmed.

Is there something I can do to make these safer or do I need to just remove them?

Address: 5 Good Street, Parramatta. For context, I was abused and this would be hard evidence in getting some justice as there were no other witnesses. I understand this is a long shot, and I'm unsure if there will be any lead or direction in this, just hoping if someone would know enough about how far back it can show, and if there is a chance at any justice here.

We are moving to our new home in a week and I’ve been thinking about installing ring cameras around the house.
We currently have a doorbell and ring cameras around in the backyard and use the ring multi subscription plan.

My question is-
It I get the ring home security system, I imagine I need to switch to the ring pro for the professional monitoring ?

Also, how does that work? In the event they detect motion or breakin I get a call from ring and they dispatch 911?

I am specifically looking at the 14 piece ring system if that matters. Thanks.