Outdoor Security Cameras/DVR

Quote from mikefletcher85 : Last night someone riffled through my car, but took nothing, most likely looking for cash or small electronics (or maybe got spooked). So now its time to get a camera system. I have seen systems like these below, but am not sure if they are worth the money and if I should spend more and get a better quality. $115 for http://www.woot.com/blog/post/zmo...ir-cameras $175 for http://www.woot.com/blog/post/zmo...ir-cameras I primarily would need a camera to watch my driveway, front door and rear door wall. The front door is a tight space so I am sure most outdoor IR cameras will be just fine. The rear door wall is not that much of a concern so again I am sure most outdoor IR cameras will be fine. The major concern of mine is the driveway. I would like to mount the camera about 9-10ft up on the side of the garage (this way its not in reach). The driveway is about 25ft to the sidewalk so that would mean that I would need an outdoor night vision camera that could see about 27ft. I would like to have all the cameras go back to a central unit that does not rely on a PC. a perfect solution would be a nice rack mount unit that is no more that about 7-8in deep as I could mount it with my other network equipment and put it on the same UPS. I would also need to view it from the web/smartphone (Android and iOS). I would self install the unit and cameras, and would estimate a budget of no more than $250 (but hopefully less than $200) Any ideas? Or maybe just a brand/type/model I should look at/stay away from would also help. Thanks!

Both of those you linked off of woot have 6mm lenses -- this has to do with the angle you see in the picture the cameras record -- see here for more info. [ezcctv.com] Basically the higher the number, the smaller the picture, the smaller the number in mms the wider the picture.

So if you're wanting the camera to cover your yard or something for instance you don't want like a 10 or 12 mm camera because you'll never get the full shot. Just throwing some info out there for you. Six mm isn't bad, but I own some Swann 3.6mms and it's perfect for wide angle viewing.

You'll probably need a camera that "sees" more than 27 feet in night vision. What they claim really isn't quite what they usually see depending on the lights you have around the place in the dead of night. Also keep in mind the Woot cameras you linked do NOT come with a hard drive, so you'd have to purchase one and that will cost you about another $80ish for 1/2 TB (or 500GB), or about $120 for a 2TB HD, which is the max it says that DVR system supports. What size HD you get affects the amount of recording time you can keep on your machine before it overwrites it (along with other things like the quality of picture you choose to record, etc.). You also need to purchase a monitor if you don't already have one lying around, unless you'll do all the managing from your phone.

Anyways, I have the 8 camera version of this Swann set [amazon.com], although it's quite a bit over the price range you requested, but I thought I'd just show you what I have been happy with. It's got the 3.6 mm cameras with up to 50ft night vision.

Sorry I don't have more time to do some searching for a cheap set for you right now, but hope the lens size info is helpful to determine the right camera for what you want to record. Also don't forget to get yourself enough cable and some couplings if you need to extend the cable (usually have to order those separately).

To sum up the cameras you suggested aren't bad at all for the price -- just be sure the specs fit what you're wanting to record and the space you're needing to see.