Q for those with security cameras..

[mowin]

Researching PoE 4k systems.  However, most cameras have a -4° temp rating.  I called Lorax and Night Owl.  

Lorax told me the camera would be damaged if temps get lower than -4°. Night Owl said it's only a guide line. 

So, those with a security system, were your cams damaged if temps went below the rated temps? 

[DirtTime]

I can't speak from personal experience, but two of my neighbors installed cheap systems over the Summer. We had a few days where with the wind chill is was below -4*, I think the worst was about -20*. Their camera's are still working fine.

Edited January 29, 2020 by DirtTime

[Bionic]

Blink XT2’s zero issues.

i wouldn’t wouldn’t worry about temps.

Edited January 29, 2020 by Bionic

[ELMER J. FUDD]

We use Lorex/Flir. They've been close to 0 degrees. Still work well after 2 years or so. They want you to pay for the cloud storage, but last I checked, you can't back up all 16 or 32 cameras. We have 2 NVR's and certain cams don't record during certain timeframes to save data. The nvr holds like 5 days of footage for 16 cams each. Audio works ok, but we keep it off for legal reasons. (At work)

Phone app is decent for live viewing.

[mowin]

I found a 6 cam system on Lorex website with -22° rating. 

It's definitely more expensive, but the night range in impressive at 250'. Most cameras are 130' or under.  Of course that's under ideal conditions. 

Edited January 29, 2020 by mowin

[hueyjazz]

I run industrial buildings.   One of which is in the hood and all my buildings are ringed in and out with security cameras.  These are all in western NY where you get to see on the news our snow storms.

In CCTV days you would heat the housing but that was more a matter of condensation and heating to prevent dew point.  You didn't want to have a fogged lens and camera needed to be in housing to be protected from elements.  They weren't weatherproofed until in housing.  Cameras generally ran off of 24 VAC to power camera and heating pad.  Big and bulky

With IP systems thing got much smaller and sealed.  The housings are built into outdoor cameras and are never heated.  I've run hundreds of cameras and never attributed a failure to cold or even nasty environment.  I also run cameras at my home and cabin. 

Cabin is on mountain top.  Freaking cold area in winter.  Never a failure during a cold spell.  By the way, Night Owl isn't that good. Lorex is decent.  Don't go cheap on this stuff as you will save a lot of headaches.  Like clockwork, they will never be working when you actually needed them to.

[mowin]

5 minutes ago, hueyjazz said:

I run industrial buildings.   One of which is in the hood and all my buildings are ringed in and out with security cameras.  These are all in western NY where you get to see on the news our snow storms.

In CCTV days you would heat the housing but that was more a matter of condensation and heating to prevent dew point.  You didn't want to have a fogged lens and camera needed to be in housing to be protected from elements.  They weren't weatherproofed until in housing.  Cameras generally ran off of 24 VAC to power camera and heating pad.  Big and bulky

With IP systems thing got much smaller and sealed.  The housings are built into outdoor cameras and are never heated.  I've run hundreds of cameras and never attributed a failure to cold or even nasty environment.  I also run cameras at my home and cabin. 

Cabin is on mountain top.  Freaking cold area in winter.  Never a failure during a cold spell.  By the way, Night Owl isn't that good. Lorex is decent.  Don't go cheap on this stuff as you will save a lot of headaches.  Like clockwork, they will never be working when you actually needed them to.

Great info.  I was Leary of night owl, and believe in you get what you pay for.  Lorex seems like the best option for the money, unless I jump into the business class of systems which are way more than I can afford. 

[hueyjazz]

What is it you would like to do with this system?  Security? 

A few things to consider.  The most important part of a camera system is letting them know you have cameras.  Why, they don't even have to work.  Next, camera placement is vital.  Faces and license plates is what I desire to capture the most.  Have some cameras placed to optimize this capture.

   Doorways, driveways, gates, etc.  Any control point is a good camera location but too high and angle will kill you.  One part is getting image while the other part is length of time you can capture image.  I've had to watch time lapse recordings many times.  It sucks and is difficult.  You can only really watch one camera at a time.

I've done this many years now and I can tell you I've capture many events with beautiful video.  Why, I even had a guy climb the pole to try to steal the camera.  The entire time getting marvelous views of his face.

To date I've accomplished zero arrest or police intervention into what I have captured but to be honest I can't blame the cops.  Unless guy is know to them they won't be going door to door.  And 90% of what is done is by kids

[GreeneHunter]

15 hours ago, Bionic said:

Blink XT2’s zero issues.

i wouldn’t wouldn’t worry about temps.

I have 3 trail cams on my house and I was thinking about getting a Blink system but am clueless about setting it up . I have WIFI setup off my cable internet - currently unsecured - so that's a start I suppose !

[Five Seasons]

i have an older amcrest 720p system. it's wired and i have no idea the specs but never had an issue in 3 years. 

[mowin]

26 minutes ago, hueyjazz said:

What is it you would like to do with this system?  Security? 

A few things to consider.  The most important part of a camera system is letting them know you have cameras.  Why, they don't even have to work.  Next, camera placement is vital.  Faces and license plates is what I desire to capture the most.  Have some cameras placed to optimize this capture.

   Doorways, driveways, gates, etc.  Any control point is a good camera location but too high and angle will kill you.  One part is getting image while the other part is length of time you can capture image.  I've had to watch time lapse recordings many times.  It sucks and is difficult.  You can only really watch one camera at a time.

I've done this many years now and I can tell you I've capture many events with beautiful video.  Why, I even had a guy climb the pole to try to steal the camera.  The entire time getting marvelous views of his face.

To date I've accomplished zero arrest or police intervention into what I have captured but to be honest I can't blame the cops.  Unless guy is know to them they won't be going door to door.  And 90% of what is done is by kids

This system will be at my house. My shop is 80' from the house. I've got deer cams out, but they rarely catch a plate# as vehicles are traveling to fast. I've moved them several times and tested in my own vehicle. Just not dependable.

I've already thought about camera placement.  One of the systems I'm looking into has adjustable zoom cams I can adjust to the area I want covered. A 4 cam system will be enough, but a 6 cam system would give me a couple different angles. 

[Bionic]

39 minutes ago, GreeneHunter said:

I have 3 trail cams on my house and I was thinking about getting a Blink system but am clueless about setting it up . I have WIFI setup off my cable internet - currently unsecured - so that's a start I suppose !

These are absolutely entry level, but I like them more, and more as time goes on.  They always work, and always alert me of motion day/night.  However, I have mostly woods, so my actual lawn is not large.  I have trees on 2 sides within 30-35’ from the house, the other 2 maybe 50’.  I have a cam monitoring driveway, where i can actually read plates off.  A second 15’ up aiming at the house, and one watching backyard.  These work well for my scenario, keep in mind the max distances from the indoor receiver box. I also have Amcrest PTZ cameras indoors that look outside, where i can move the cams around with my phone.  That also alert me, etc.  The indoor cams, can only work during the daylight due to the infrared glaring back at itself off the window.  I have to turn the infrared off, and if for some reason something is outside the motion spotlight at my driveway lights up, and I can see whats going on at that point with the indoor camera.  The outdoor cams are also for piece of mind that a tree hasn’t fell on the house, etc while at work during windy days.  

i would secure that internet system, the Blink cams are VERY easy to get going.  If you registered yourself on this forum you will do just fine! 
-Download Blink app on phone, register yourself on the app(like you did here on forum), put 2 lithium batteries in each cam, then “add” each cam to the app by adding its serial number/or “scanning” it in by a barcode,   Enter your home wifi password, pretty much it. Directions are well written.

Sorry Mowin, hope you don’t mind the side chat I had.

Edited January 29, 2020 by Bionic

[mowin]

17 minutes ago, Bionic said:

These are absolutely entry level, but I like them more, and more as time goes on.  They always work, and always alert me of motion day/night.  However, I have mostly woods, so my actual lawn is not large.  I have trees on 2 sides within 30-35’ from the house, the other 2 maybe 50’.  I have a cam monitoring driveway, where i can actually read plates off.  A second 15’ up aiming at the house, and one watching backyard.  These work well for my scenario, keep in mind the max distances from the indoor receiver box. I also have Amcrest PTZ cameras indoors that look outside, where i can move the cams around with my phone.  That also alert me, etc.  The indoor cams, can only work during the daylight due to the infrared glaring back at itself off the window.  I have to turn the infrared off, and if for some reason something is outside the motion spotlight at my driveway lights up, and I can see whats going on at that point with the indoor camera.  The outdoor cams are also for piece of mind that a tree hasn’t fell on the house, etc while at work during windy days.  

i would secure that internet system, the Blink cams are VERY easy to get going.  If you registered yourself on this forum you will do just fine! 
-Download Blink app on phone, register yourself on the app(like you did here on forum), put 2 lithium batteries in each cam, then “add” each cam to the app by adding its serial number/or “scanning” it in by a barcode,   Enter your home wifi password, pretty much it. Directions are well written.

Sorry Mowin, hope you don’t mind the side chat I had.

No prob.  Great info.