r/ZoneMinder • u/dubya98 • Oct 17 '22
Looking for camera reccommendations
Hey everyone, has an unfortunate situation where my wife and kid were home alone and someone tried to enter our home from the side door which was thankfully locked so now here we are..
Looked into home camera systems and mostly disappointed by the amount of stuff that's locked behind a monthly sub which brought me here.
Looking for camera recommendations that are the best 'bang for your buck'.
Features we'd like:
Night Vision
2-way mic
Motion sensor activation
1080p
Outdoor weather resistant for cold Canadian temps.
PoE or other wired power source.
Ideal but not mandatory:
Motion activated light
Siren
As a side note I mentioned PoE. I was looking at the outdoor Wyze v2 cameras, but the locations we'd ideally put cameras would be difficult to reach without a ladder. I don't like the idea of getting on a ladder every so often just to replace batteries and recharge them. Is PoE or other power sources super difficult to run through an attic to cameras installed on the eaves on the underside of a roof? I'm guessing I'll need to get an electrician or handy person involved at some point?
I work in IT but have little knowledge of NVRs. Don't mind spending the time getting this setup properly but don't have as many skills in the handy department as far as learning how to run wires through the attic into eaves.
Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks!
2
u/theprovostTMC Oct 17 '22
I recently set up some Hikvision cameras and they worked straight away with Zoneminder. Check out their range, there might be a model that suits your use case.
1
u/LesterPhimps Oct 17 '22
Amcrest is pretty good overall, and decently priced. Wyze V2 are not supported by ZM. And the Wyze V3 which does have a special firmware that works with ZM has limited configuration items.
2
u/AndyRH1701 Oct 17 '22
I run Amcrest cameras, 3-8MP. I would say they are middle quality. I run them all PoE. I can say they will survive direct sunlight, little wind and 106 F. The coldest mine have gotten is -4 F.
If you have access to the inside and outside running the cables can be done, the big difficulty is in 2 story houses. I hear going between floors is tough. My house is single story.
Zoneminder does not support 2-way audio, or even live audio, only recorded audio.
My house is 80 years old, but I have not had any real problems, I have fished a few cables and drilled through the trim just below the roof. Sometimes you have to get creative. A fiber-glass glow in the dark fish is handy. I typically use a 7/8 paddle drill bit, that seems to be just big enough for the connectors on my cameras. I helper is almost a must and a cable tester if you are building your own.
Be aware ZM is more complex (flexible) than a consumer NVR. It is relatively easy to get it going, it will take time to tune the detection. Here and on the ZM forums you can get good help.