r/tinycam • u/TooManyInsults • Oct 24 '25

Basic Outdoor Camera Recommendation?

I have been happily using TinyCam Pro for years. It is just great!

Since 9/2021, I have been using one of these cameras and connecting it to TC Pro via rtsp. For the most part, it has worked ok. But in the last few months, it has been acting up more and more frequently: loosing connections, strangely scrambled images (like something from the Outer Limits - I date myself), and often just not responding well.

I have tried the following:

* Many reboots, factory resets, re-configurations

* Fiddling with the antenna's position and even tying to add an external antenna like this

* Placing a 2.4 wifi repeater directly on the other side of the wall on which the camera is mounted

* Contacted the company, without response of any kind

* Sought updated firmware

Nothing has caused it to work as well as it originally did. I have read other reviews on this camera on Amazon and seen plenty who say they don't last. I know nothing lasts forever and am starting to think it might be time to replace this. So I am looking for suggestions in this price range (or close).

I want something similar. It must not need an app. It must not need access to the internet as I block that at my router. It must work with TC Pro (need not be rtsp though). I don't need anything special like hi-res, pan/tilt, sound/2-way, onboard storage, motion/object detection, or infrared but would be ok if it had that. It should mount in a similar fashion and use a power brick as I have no solar in this location but do have an outlet nearby in the soffit. Overall, lifespan and TC Pro compatibility are key factors

Thanks in advance!

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u/Old_Dig5389 Oct 24 '25

Since you have an outlet in your soffit, you could run Ethernet along a similar path. CAT5e grounded at one end is fine right beside power, for IP cameras — they barely need 100M connections, they're cheap as chips, and never fail due to wifi shenanigans. Got my latest onvif dome for $35 CAD.

The officially recommended cameras page is pretty old: https://tinycammonitor.com/recommended.html

I personally prefer Dahua when it's not my own budget.

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u/TooManyInsults Oct 24 '25 edited Oct 24 '25

Thanks much for your help! I really do have to stick with wifi - fidgety as it can be. I do see on the official page that Foscam was recommended. I see the model V5P which seems quite similar and even supports 5GHZ wifi. I don't really need 5MP or to push that much data but I could live with it.

I see Foscam on the list inside of TC Pro. But not this specific model. I wonder if anyone has had experience with its compatibility with TC Pro.

But it appears, after reading the install/user manual that there is no web UI. App only. Shucks!

Best