Apologies for not being helpful in the realm of naming a specific camera. I do feel your frustration.
I have only one camera that might fit your needs, but I don't believe it is actively being manufactured now (TrendNET TV-IP400W). It has poor low light capabilities and does not have built-in IR illumination and it is not in a weather proof enclosure, but TrendNET does make models with those features.
People that get a camera to work seldom come here to brag about it, so most of what you see here are problems and how to solve them. If it works, then that is perceived as the way it should be, so the user just continues in a pleased-with-it-all mode and nobody else knows how good it is.
I refer to to the list of User reported cameras that do work on this forum:
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=5
and to the list of pre-configured cameras on the VDV home page at:
http://www.vitamindinc.com/cameras.html
Note the three links in the gray box at the top of the list for each of the three general types of cameras for more info about the types.
I think I would shy away from the TV cam and an adapter... that just presents two places to introduce difficulties. I know it can work, but if you are not in the mode of experimenting then it may just add to your frustration... and you don't need more at this point.
I'll go out on a limb and say the Foscam is probably the best of the 4 you listed. Some Foscams are in the pre-configured list and I remember seeing the brand name being mentioned in posts here. Even if the particular model you buy is not in the pre-configured list, it may work like another model of the same brand already in the list. (Even cross branding has worked for some people!)
I do wish I could help you more.
What IR cameras?
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DrBunsen - Posts: 38
- Joined: Fri Mar 30, 2012 11:57 am
- Location: Fate, TX
Re: What IR cameras?
Jason,
I know the pain. Last year we started getting woken up in the middle of the night by violent knocks/doorbell ringings by unknown persons. I'd go to the door and there'd be no one there. It happened twice in 4 nights, and was then followed up with about 100-200 firecrackers going off on the front porch at 1am.
The unknown threat can have a damaging effect on your psyche. After the firecrackers went off I didn't know if a brick through the window or damage to the cars was going to be next, so for 3 nights straight I stayed awake watching the house from outside (being in a darkened car turned out to be the most comfortable). During the daytime I started exploring camera/recording options, including VDV. I was able to finally get to get a good night's sleep only after I had a camera rigged up on the front porch.
But nothing happened for about a month. Fortunately, the camera captured a poor quality image of 3 teenage boys banging/ringing. It was a very good camera, but poor lighting (Axis cameras are well known to look spectacular in good lighting and bad in poor lighting), so their quick movements were smeared. But at least one of them could be fairly well identified. Enough to provide to police, since some burglaries were happening in the neighborhood as well, and any such information/evidence was welcome. Once the burglars were caught things went back to normal. We still don't know for sure that the burglars were the same as the ringers/bangers/firecrackerers, but things have been quiet for almost exactly a year.
The main thing I want to get across is this: Even though the video I captured was a grainy, smeared video, and we couldn't really tell who it was, it took much of the fear of the unknown out of our hearts. Having SOME sort of recording device in place that gave us some good information made us feel MUCH better.
Since then I've wanted to make sure that I'm much better prepared for the next disturbance, and I'm slowly piecing together what I want. I'm on a very limited budget, so it's slow going.
My advice to you is to get ANYthing that will record in the dark. Even if it just records continuously (i.e. no motion detection). Also, if you're like me, anything low in quality will frustrate you. But having something is better than nothing.
After seeing how ineffective a the Axis (non-IR) camera worked in identifying the kids on my porch, I snap-purchased a Swann 4 IR-camera DVR system, but the burglars were caught before I could install it, and the immediate need was relieved. Even so, I've had it running 24/7 with the cameras positioned inside the house, and one on the front porch, in case there's a burglary. It does OK, but I'm working toward having higher quality, and good coverage of the outside of the house, and that costs much bigger bucks. In any case, having a "OK" or even "poor" quality video is MUCH better than none at all.
In your case, I'd advise you to do like I did: get something inexpensive to hold you over until you can piece together what you really want. Sure, your immediate thought is probably to protect your cars from the next attack. But what if the next attack is a brick through a window that is nowhere near the cars? Maybe you can't prepare against that right now, but until the attacks stop (and how will you KNOW that it's REALLY ended) you should plan for more complete camera coverage for the future.
Just remember, you can't stop such attacks before they happen, but hopefully you can catch him/them via video and bring them to justice.
Also, don't tell anyone that you're putting up cameras, and don't make them obvious. If the bad guy(s) find out they'll just wear masks or hoodies (which they might do anyway).
I know the pain. Last year we started getting woken up in the middle of the night by violent knocks/doorbell ringings by unknown persons. I'd go to the door and there'd be no one there. It happened twice in 4 nights, and was then followed up with about 100-200 firecrackers going off on the front porch at 1am.
The unknown threat can have a damaging effect on your psyche. After the firecrackers went off I didn't know if a brick through the window or damage to the cars was going to be next, so for 3 nights straight I stayed awake watching the house from outside (being in a darkened car turned out to be the most comfortable). During the daytime I started exploring camera/recording options, including VDV. I was able to finally get to get a good night's sleep only after I had a camera rigged up on the front porch.
But nothing happened for about a month. Fortunately, the camera captured a poor quality image of 3 teenage boys banging/ringing. It was a very good camera, but poor lighting (Axis cameras are well known to look spectacular in good lighting and bad in poor lighting), so their quick movements were smeared. But at least one of them could be fairly well identified. Enough to provide to police, since some burglaries were happening in the neighborhood as well, and any such information/evidence was welcome. Once the burglars were caught things went back to normal. We still don't know for sure that the burglars were the same as the ringers/bangers/firecrackerers, but things have been quiet for almost exactly a year.
The main thing I want to get across is this: Even though the video I captured was a grainy, smeared video, and we couldn't really tell who it was, it took much of the fear of the unknown out of our hearts. Having SOME sort of recording device in place that gave us some good information made us feel MUCH better.
Since then I've wanted to make sure that I'm much better prepared for the next disturbance, and I'm slowly piecing together what I want. I'm on a very limited budget, so it's slow going.
My advice to you is to get ANYthing that will record in the dark. Even if it just records continuously (i.e. no motion detection). Also, if you're like me, anything low in quality will frustrate you. But having something is better than nothing.
After seeing how ineffective a the Axis (non-IR) camera worked in identifying the kids on my porch, I snap-purchased a Swann 4 IR-camera DVR system, but the burglars were caught before I could install it, and the immediate need was relieved. Even so, I've had it running 24/7 with the cameras positioned inside the house, and one on the front porch, in case there's a burglary. It does OK, but I'm working toward having higher quality, and good coverage of the outside of the house, and that costs much bigger bucks. In any case, having a "OK" or even "poor" quality video is MUCH better than none at all.
In your case, I'd advise you to do like I did: get something inexpensive to hold you over until you can piece together what you really want. Sure, your immediate thought is probably to protect your cars from the next attack. But what if the next attack is a brick through a window that is nowhere near the cars? Maybe you can't prepare against that right now, but until the attacks stop (and how will you KNOW that it's REALLY ended) you should plan for more complete camera coverage for the future.
Just remember, you can't stop such attacks before they happen, but hopefully you can catch him/them via video and bring them to justice.
Also, don't tell anyone that you're putting up cameras, and don't make them obvious. If the bad guy(s) find out they'll just wear masks or hoodies (which they might do anyway).
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DrBunsen - Posts: 38
- Joined: Fri Mar 30, 2012 11:57 am
- Location: Fate, TX
Re: What IR cameras?
Forgot to add information about wireless cameras.
I purchased 3 different ones: A dLink (probably 8 years ago or so), a Axis 207MW, and a Foscam FI8918W. The dLink shouldn't even count since it wasn't even all that good back in the day, and when I looked at the quality again a few weeks ago I decided to trash it. I would think that quality should be much better now. At the time I was more disappointed in the built-in motion detection than I was in the picture quality such that it was only usable with 3rd party software that provided motion detection.
The Axis cam, a 207MW, has fantastic picture quality in fair to good light, but in low light conditions it's rather poor. I also had problems with the built-in motion detection. It's MUCH better than the dLink was, but far from perfect. It was the cheapest of the Axis line that had at least 1megapixal resolution, but it was still close to $300. In order to make it less noticeable on the front porch I painted the white surfaces black.
The Foscam gives surprisingly good image quality in both high and low-light conditions, although at 640x480 resolution. However, 3 to 5 times a month it sort of locks up and needs to be power-cycled. It responds to pings, but that's about it. That makes it unacceptable for my uses. Maybe I just got a bum unit.
From the reviews on Amazon, where I purchased it, you can't get warranty support from Foscam unless you purchase directly from them. I guess I should try anyway... I'd really like to like the Foscam, but the feeling I get from users that review the products is that the company isn't customer friendly, or supportive of their warranties.
I purchased 3 different ones: A dLink (probably 8 years ago or so), a Axis 207MW, and a Foscam FI8918W. The dLink shouldn't even count since it wasn't even all that good back in the day, and when I looked at the quality again a few weeks ago I decided to trash it. I would think that quality should be much better now. At the time I was more disappointed in the built-in motion detection than I was in the picture quality such that it was only usable with 3rd party software that provided motion detection.
The Axis cam, a 207MW, has fantastic picture quality in fair to good light, but in low light conditions it's rather poor. I also had problems with the built-in motion detection. It's MUCH better than the dLink was, but far from perfect. It was the cheapest of the Axis line that had at least 1megapixal resolution, but it was still close to $300. In order to make it less noticeable on the front porch I painted the white surfaces black.
The Foscam gives surprisingly good image quality in both high and low-light conditions, although at 640x480 resolution. However, 3 to 5 times a month it sort of locks up and needs to be power-cycled. It responds to pings, but that's about it. That makes it unacceptable for my uses. Maybe I just got a bum unit.
From the reviews on Amazon, where I purchased it, you can't get warranty support from Foscam unless you purchase directly from them. I guess I should try anyway... I'd really like to like the Foscam, but the feeling I get from users that review the products is that the company isn't customer friendly, or supportive of their warranties.