Smart outdoor security cameras in SA?

xrapidx said:
I ordered one of the Aliexpress ones posted previously, will report back when I've installed it.

Will also consider the Reolink - I need 10 camera's in total after working it out - joy of a funny shaped house.
Click to expand...

I feel your pain, try as I may there's no way around it,my house is weirdly shaped and I need another 3 cams to cover blind spots.

I used this tool to help optimize placement and number of cameras,just input your address and camera specs and place them to work out coverage,direction and clarity.For your driveway for example you'd wanna be able to read number plates.

calculator.ipvm.com

IPVM Designer / Calculator

Using Google Maps, layout and design cameras, choosing from 10,000+ models, delivering FoV and image quality previews plus export to PDF, Powerpoint and more
calculator.ipvm.com calculator.ipvm.com
 
Daruk said:
Any idea what lenses those cameras have? I ended up replacing all the lenses on my current kit with 2.x mm to get the wider angle. They came with 3.6 IIRC.
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3.6mm is still pretty damn wide to be honest. Your swap would have been to a 2.8mm lens, giving you roughly 114degrees Horizontal Field of View...
 
carstensdj said:
3.6mm is still pretty damn wide to be honest. Your swap would have been to a 2.8mm lens, giving you roughly 114degrees Horizontal Field of View...
Click to expand...

Yes they come with 3,6mm giving you a 80 deg viewing angle,wider than that would result in loss of quality to identify faces and number plates so not recommended.
 
Ok so Reolink 5MP bullet sample pics:

Front night with street light to the right on:738685

Front night with street light off:
738687

Front day:
738689

Side night:
738691

Side day with shadows:738693

Side day :

738695
 
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As you can see the dynamic range is quite decent and you can clearly see details in both the darker sections and bright sections rendered in the same frame.Many cams get that wrong unfortunately.
 
falcon786 said:
As you can see the dynamic range is quite decent and you can clearly see details in both the darker sections and bright sections rendered in the same frame.Many cams get that wrong unfortunately.
Click to expand...
In those pics you supplied... Is that the Mainstream and if so, what video settings are you using in terms of Resolution, Frame Rate, Bit Rate etc?

Also, If it were me, I'd look if there's a "Gain" setting on the camera and turn it down. Too much gain is what often gives your night time image that slight haze that you can see. You can also play around with the Shutter Speed, forcing the shutter to stay open for longer when the IR is switched on. Quite a few brands actually have a schedule setting that you can set for shutter and what not so that it changes between day and night viewing, automatically.
 
carstensdj said:
In those pics you supplied... Is that the Mainstream and if so, what video settings are you using in terms of Resolution, Frame Rate, Bit Rate etc?

Also, If it were me, I'd look if there's a "Gain" setting on the camera and turn it down. Too much gain is what often gives your night time image that slight haze that you can see. You can also play around with the Shutter Speed, forcing the shutter to stay open for longer when the IR is switched on. Quite a few brands actually have a schedule setting that you can set for shutter and what not so that it changes between day and night viewing, automatically.
Click to expand...

I'm using the apps standard 5MP settings(30fps,6144kbps),some of the frames are off live stream others of a recording like the daytime pictures for example are from recorded footage.

I have tinkered with gain,shutter speed,dynamic range settings etc and the trade off with lower gain is lower clarity/visibility in dark spots,also the haze is only directly under the light spot and doesn't interfere with what I need to see in anyway.So I prefer it this way as image quality for image quality sake is not what I'm after since this isn't meant for photographic value or accuracy,it has a job to do and I'd rather it do that better by sacrificing outright accuracy.

My main aim for night vision was accurate motion alerts and those work better in colour mode(helps with identifying perps too) with IR lights off(minimal to no false alerts from insects).Grayscale does look better though in the darker areas but I found a sweet spot as long as the municipality can come fix the street lights! :D
 
falcon786 said:
I'm using the apps standard 5MP settings(30fps,6144kbps),some of the frames are off live stream others of a recording like the daytime pictures for example are from recorded footage.

I have tinkered with gain,shutter speed,dynamic range settings etc and the trade off with lower gain is lower clarity/visibility in dark spots,also the haze is only directly under the light spot and doesn't interfere with what I need to see in anyway.So I prefer it this way as image quality for image quality sake is not what I'm after since this isn't meant for photographic value or accuracy,it has a job to do and I'd rather it do that better by sacrificing outright accuracy.

My main aim for night vision was accurate motion alerts and those work better in colour mode(helps with identifying perps too) with IR lights off(minimal to no false alerts from insects).Grayscale does look better though in the darker areas but I found a sweet spot as long as the municipality can come fix the street lights! :D
Click to expand...
If you're happy, then all good bud! ;)
What did you pay for those cams out of interest? Sorry if that's been answered in the thread already...

PS: Lower gain definitely shouldn't lower your night time quality, a lower gain setting if anything should provide less noise on the feed at night. I've done quite a lot of ANPR/LPR setups and one of the biggest challenges we have is 1) That the night time image being clear enough 2) Adjusting Shutter and WDR to work with oncoming headlights and ofcourse 3) Not adjusting the shutter/imaging so much so that you can't pickup a moving car as you obviously need a clear image of the plate itself for the database to read and cross check.
 
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carstensdj said:
If you're happy, then all good bud! ;)
What did you pay for those cams out of interest? Sorry if that's been answered in the thread already...

PS: Lower gain definitely shouldn't lower your night time quality, a lower gain setting if anything should provide less noise on the feed at night. I've done quite a lot of ANPR/LPR setups and one of the biggest challenges we have is 1) That the night time image being clear enough 2) Adjusting Shutter and WDR to work with oncoming headlights and ofcourse 3) Not adjusting the shutter/imaging so much so that you can't pickup a moving car as you obviously need a clear image of the plate itself for the database to read and cross check.
Click to expand...

Can get them off Amazon $49 currently,but they come on special during black friday for 25-30 percent off.

Yes there is definitely less noise with less gain,but currently the noise is quite low anyway except for one area in my back yard that is not lit up properly.

I guess for your type of setups the needs would differ from home use,my cams for example don't pickup passing by cars at all as I've set them up to avoid alerts for that,however a car or person entering my driveway(or yard for that matter) would trigger an alert on my phone(I don't need or have a door bell since installing these!) and the number plate is readable at night because of placement.
 
Been using HiKVision for several years. Have recorded several guys jumping the gates. Had a guy who stole washing off the line and handed it to a woman outside

Took the images to the local SAPS. They pretended to be interested. Half-way through making a statement, the cop got up and left. I sat there for a further 45 mins in vain. They never followed it up. That was in Dec 2018.

The facial recognition did not help one bit

The insurance company were also not interested.
 
So I've only purchased all my reolinks from Amazon as Reolink website didn't offer shipping to SA before,they have 15% off for today and now offer free shipping to SA meaning a 5MP cam will cost you R690.00.

Anybody wanna test it out for us?Flash sale for today only.
reolink.com

Flash Sale 2026 | Deals on Security Cameras & Systems - Reolink

Shop exclusive offers on top battery powered security cameras, PoE or WiFi IP cams and security camera systems with best prices! Time-Limited, Act Now!
reolink.com reolink.com
 
How are they gonna ship though? Because if its potato SAPO I would rather give my money to Amazon and let them deal with all the courier and customs nonsense.
 
calypso said:
How are they gonna ship though? Because if its potato SAPO I would rather give my money to Amazon and let them deal with all the courier and customs nonsense.
Click to expand...

I have no idea,maybe message them and ask?

I'm assuming it's not a postal service since they state on their site that they cannot ship to PO addresses.
support.reolink.com

Can Reolink Ship Porducts to PO/APO Box Address

None of the local warehouses and international shipping service working with Reolink accepts PO/APO box address, therefore, please make sure that your address is available for shipping.
support.reolink.com support.reolink.com
 
falcon786 said:
I have no idea,maybe message them and ask?

I'm assuming it's not a postal service since they state on their site that they cannot ship to PO addresses.
support.reolink.com

Can Reolink Ship Porducts to PO/APO Box Address

None of the local warehouses and international shipping service working with Reolink accepts PO/APO box address, therefore, please make sure that your address is available for shipping.
support.reolink.com support.reolink.com
Click to expand...
No , it means they can't ship to your P.O Box... has to be physical address. Nothing to do with them using/not using a postal service
 
falcon786 said:
I feel your pain, try as I may there's no way around it,my house is weirdly shaped and I need another 3 cams to cover blind spots.

I used this tool to help optimize placement and number of cameras,just input your address and camera specs and place them to work out coverage,direction and clarity.For your driveway for example you'd wanna be able to read number plates.

calculator.ipvm.com

IPVM Designer / Calculator

Using Google Maps, layout and design cameras, choosing from 10,000+ models, delivering FoV and image quality previews plus export to PDF, Powerpoint and more
calculator.ipvm.com calculator.ipvm.com
Click to expand...
Its a pay service $19
 
falcon786 said:
It's free if you place up to 3 camera's at a time if I remember correctly,I've used it for 2 projects and haven't paid a cent to date.
Click to expand...
One camera at a time only?

I need minimum 6 cameras.
 
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