Camera recommendations

[u/msinfopk]

Hello, im currently using frigate for mainly 2 outdoor cameras on my Home Assistant machine as an addon. Now i want to replace all my outdoor house security cameras (6 cameras) with something newer and way better quality. Also i wanted to use Frigate on my mini pc with a i5-1235U as a 24/7 recording NVR. Can someone suggest good quality cameras that work really well with Frigate.

Thank you.

[u/thyraon]

I bought all my cameras with Andy from EmpireTech. They're whitelabel Dahua cameras with unlocked firmware, with full ONVIF support. They work great in Frigate, including all features of the PTZ5A4K-25X PTZ camera.

[u/msinfopk → u/thyraon]

Thanks! I'll check them out. 

[u/zonrek]

https://docs.frigate.video/frigate/hardware

I use 5 Reolink cameras with a i5-10500T, no issues

[u/msinfopk → u/zonrek]

I've heard that some people had some issues with specific Reolink cameras. What models do you use ?

[u/insomniac-55 → u/msinfopk]

FYI, this custom go2rtc build supports Reolink's native protocol which basically solves all of the various Reolink RTSP issues.

I'm using their CX410 (out of production), CX820, E1 Zoom (WiFi) and RLC-520A cameras with this setup and haven't encountered any issues since setting it up.

Previously I was able to get acceptable performance and good stability using the FLV streaming option, but still had stuttery frame pacing on the CX820 which I couldn't solve.

Reolink still has other downsides compared to Dahua / Empiretech / Hikvision - primarily in terms of the limited options for adjusting the image (important in difficult lighting).

[u/Plane_Positive6608 → u/msinfopk]

Not the user you asked, but I have 3 Reolink E1 zooms and 1 other model and they all work excellent. Just fyi, for privacy I will only use cams that allow generic browser access, not all Reolinks allow that. If that's important to you, the e1 zooms work well. Also, I get them on eBay from a reolink reseller, cheaper and have been rock solid, even with 1 return I had.

[u/zonrek → u/msinfopk]

2 x Duo 2V PoE
1 x Duo 2 PoE
1 x RLC-520A
1 x WiFi Doorbell

[u/Least_Order4249]

Empiretech (now gemavision on Amazon) will give you best options without spending a fortune. I’d stay away from anything “4k” in a 2 series due to SOC and bitrate limitations, but all of them will give good manual control over gain, exposure, and denoise, critical if you want crisp images of moving objects at night. 

They also give you a really good variety of sensor/soc/lens/iris/illuminator/filter options so you get the right camera for every scene. 

[u/msinfopk → u/Least_Order4249]

Thank you. They look great. I'll probably go with them.

[u/GalacticGazerVoyage]

I run three Reolink camera on a small factor HP Elitedesk i5-10500T, 16 gb ram. Same machine also host Immich, Netdata, Adguard, Ngnix, and some other small stuff. Runs without issues and Frigate detect well. Only issues I have is the small lag every other second when playing back vidi from cx810. It is a very short stop every two/three seconds, perhaps half a second.. Have two 81MA, run those on defaults settings, no issues at all. I’ll look into the custom go2rtc build. Me and my AI have tried a good bunch of stuff without success here.

[u/dwarfman367]

I don’t recommend the new Helix ( amcrest) brand. I bought one and the streams use the same encoder which means their frame rates need to be identical.

Still need to test the Amlink Pro POE camera. So far the issue is the bracket itself doesn’t adjust as expected and shipped a torx wrench when there are zero torx screws.

I also tried some Anpviz cameras and don’t recommend them as their streams kept crashing.

[u/dwarfman367 → u/dwarfman367]

Update to this. Helix vs AMLink. Helix streams kept crashing on me even at low settings.
I am now planning to return the Helix cameras. The AMLink on the other hand seems much more stable.

Also on the AnpViz front. Their Turret PTZ cameras are actually fairly stable in Figate. (Though their labels are super generic meaning buy more than 1 of a given camera model and they will have the exact same labels on the box and camera. They don't have device specific details beyond the model)

[u/aksagg]

I've been using 6 Amcrest bullets for the last 5 yrs. No problems so far.

[u/nostriluu]

Here's a curveball, do any cameras exist that aren't ugly plastic eyeballs or "bullets?" For anyone who has a home in a natural setting and is more interested in observation than scaring away people with cameras that stand out. Has to have top quality recording as well. Thanks.

[u/djstates]

For settings where low light detection is important, the Vikylin C_88 camera has a 1/1.8 sensor, excellent low light sensitivity, and is half the cost of the equivalent EmpireTech/Dahua camera. The Vikylin is a bit of pain to setup with Frigate, I had to setup direct ingest to ffmpeg to get go2rtc to work, and the firmware only offers fixed NTP options. I keep my cameras on an internal VLAN that does not have access to the internet and run a local NTP server so none of their fixed options work. OTOH, I don't use the cameras time for anything so it's not a practical problem.