Security Camera's

Wyze is cheap, and can do 24/7 if you add a microsd card to each camera. They sell an indoor window mount, so the only thing you need to do is plug it in. Easy setup, but likely sub-optimal positioning. For outside, they sell a lamp socket adapter, so just keep the porch light switch on (add these for either toggle or decora to prevent accidentally turning the light off), and from there they have many camera options, including a pan-and-scan option. I see now that they have a bulb camera. Solar and battery powered options too, and doorbell. You will need a subscription for 24/7 recording to local microSD and other features; $99 billed yearly for 99 cameras, or per camera, etc. They do have a limited desktop webview, but it isn't great. Their AI features (like pet/package/face recognition will lag behind Google Nest and Amazon Ring).

I have one pure Wyze setup and another with an 8-ch Reolink NVR and Ring doorbells. The NVR is simply better, but we did have to run the cat5e.

The Amazon(Blink/Ring) or Google (Nest) owned security system all look easy plug-n-play type stuff, but you are also giving them unfettered access to your system and probably have no way to get around paying a subscription.

Wyze is an independent company and it looks like they have a no subscription option, but you get limited features w/o a sub. Since they are a smaller company, they probably get the better camera tech from China into their products faster than Amazon or Google, as well.

Unifi/Ubiquiti also have cameras that plug and play into their own systems. Don't know much about them, but I would trust them more than other big named brands.

If you want to have the latest technology for the money you are paying, more control over the system's security, and not be in a single company's ecosystem, then it takes more time and research to get exactly what you want. Due to the CCP police state, China leads the world in camera tech. So, if you want to isolate the camera system from the internet, the cheapest option is a Chinese DVR from the same company that make the Cameras (Dahue, Hikvision, etc.).

If you want to be able to check it remotely, through the internet, then the most control, security, and ease of use is going to come from a software called Blue Iris. It is a US based software with a bunch of security minded people (users) watching it for security flaws. From what I read, you set up all the cameras on their own LAN or V-LAN (network) then have Blue Iris running on a dedicated server machine with firewall rules that allow it, and only it, to connect to the cameras. Thus walling off any way for the Chinese cameras to phone home (Google/Amazon/Wyze are all using Chinese internals too, afaik).

Since they are continually working on Blue Iris, it is a bit of a different setup to buy it, than most of us are used to. You pay $75 and are entitled to the current version and any version released in the following year from purchase. They offer discounted subscription to people that want/need every new feature, but it sounds like many people just set up their system with that single purchase and let it roll without paying anything more.

This is best place I have found to research "professional" level cameras. Plus they have a bunch of info about setting up Blue Iris and various other helpful things:

Here is a direct link to Blue Iris:

I have a home server running frigate in a docker container in truenas scale.

I have a variety of dahua IP cameras all around my house and block either via cables run through the roof from a poe switch, or for remote ones I have wifi APs in station mode connecting back to my house security wifi, with Poe switches hanging off them to run cameras.

In the frigate server I'm using an Intel GPU to do object detection using OpenVino where it monitors the feeds and detects objects, people, vehicles etc.

It's connected to home assistant and in theory could send me SMS, emails or whatever when I have a delivery or the dog escapes or whatever but I haven't bothered setting that up yet.

Could do all of this a lot easier using Unifi but for me it's as much of a hobby as getting a decent end result so I built it from bits and pieces for fun. Dahua cameras are the best though, their recent model bullet cameras are shit hot and not too expensive.
I use all mikrotik for my networking because I'm a masochist.

Unifi / Ubiquiti - they have a huge range of prices as well. It wont be as cheap as a amazon kit, but it will be a lot better.

Unifi is honestly mere steps below the highest end stuff on all their mainline product lines - Network, Wifi, Security Cameras... they are imo the best for door access.

If you do not need / afford Axis (full axis that is) - then Unifi Protect is the best next option and is quite cheaper and gives you about 95% what axis can. Axis zipsteam protocol (have to use their NVR etc.) and 360* fisheye are much better...but that is about it imo

I don't know much about the newest cameras, but the following YouTuber (that was in my history from years ago) does mostly camera stuff, from the looks of it. He has a decent sized channel, for being so niche (500k).

I was looking for a video I saw years ago that showed Hikvison VS Dahua auto turrets tracking cars and drivers with AI, at an apartment complex, but cant seem to find it. It was kinda amazing and the tech has only gotten better. They were something like $300+ cameras though.

Edit: After watching this video I just read a bit about Reolink VS Dahua, as I thought I had read previously that Reolink is a rebranded Dahua to skirt import issues in the west. According to THIS security company out of Melbourne, they have some key build differences and if your cameras aren't going to be protected by a house, such as under eave mount, then you might want to go with professional grade.

This is a good example of the more expensive pan and zoom using AI, while also being solar:

Here is a channel I've used for a couple different network things, but he does a wide selection of electronics now days. He also uses Blue Iris, so people can see what it looks like. The following video shows the big dogs in the industry, side by side for his set up. He also does a quick run down of some of the technical side of the cameras at the start and why it can be hard to compare and contrast them.

Finally, license plate capture at night is rather difficult and seems to take a camera set up specifically for it (most(?) cameras have the ability for separate setting for day/night).

While the camera is set up for general use at night they let in a TON of light, so when headlights are pointed in the general direction of the camera, it washes out the picture before it can read the plate. If the camera has a built in light or the home/busness owner has secondary flood/IR lights at a particular angle or too bright, it will also flood out the camera on the reflection from the plate.

Small aside that doesn't need it's own post: to capture faces well, at least one camera should be at eye level or lower. This is generally where doorbell cameras do exceedingly well.

Here is a video of a dude from IPcamTalk showing how he was able to set up a camera to pick up plates at night from 85ft away and it's about the best I have ever seen. Wont miss anything watching muted as sound is just music overlay. Time stamped to when he starts showing plates, in motion at 2min mark, can then rewind and read the descriptions:

Why is there an apostrophe in “cameras”