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Home security cameras - what's the "best" now?

13,881 Views | 26 Replies | Last: 4 mo ago by Naveronski
Naveronski
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12:35p, 2/25/25
AG
Update - this is an old thread, but I'd updated it now that I have a camera system installed:
https://texags.com/forums/34/topics/3529850/replies/70912594





We moved to a new home and it's time to setup a security camera system.

At our old house we had an Arlo system that I setup and managed, and it was fine, but the software updates often caused issues and the cameras are about 8 years old now, so they're due for replacement.

Looking for a system that is:
Hard wired option. While I don't mind changing batteries inside, having to manage batteries for a 5-8 camera system was a pain. Would like the external cameras hard wired/POE/etc.
Cloud accessible. We want to be able to see the videos on our phones from anywhere.
Geofencing. Arming/disarming the system or alerts based on a schedule or when we leave the home.
Resolution. Want to be able to identify a person in low light. Old system could say "yep, that's human", but was too grainy to show faces.
Wife Acceptance Factor. Probably one of the biggest hurdles, it needs to be intuitive for my wife to use it.

Don't need it "managed" by a third party security company.
Monthly fee for cloud storage is fine.
Budget hasn't been identified. Not trying to spend several thousand on cameras and infrastructure, but this doesn't have to be the lowest tier either.
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cupofjoe04
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1:00p, 2/25/25
AG
I have liked our Eufy Cameras. We got them through Cove (our security provider) at a discount. They have wired options, but I got solar/wireless. They work flawlessly. Even the on that is mounted under a tree, and gets a lot of shade, it's battery stays full mostly. I had to pull it down one time this winter after a few days of clouds (super easy) and recharge it (plugged it in overnight). The other one that is exposed to mostly sun, it never has low battery- even after a week of winter cloud cover.

I'm sure there are better cameras, but the Eufy ones have been good for us.
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danieljustin06
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1:00p, 2/25/25
AG
For what you're asking, Ubiquiti might be the best route. It's not cheap at all though. I'm using it currently for just my doorbell.
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PlanoAg98
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1:45p, 2/25/25
AG
What's wrong with Ring meeting all your requirements?

They are inexpensive and widely used to support will be good.
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FightinTAC08
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2:11p, 2/25/25
AG
All of my networking and cameras are from the Ubquiti ecosystem. They've come a long way in providing some better value ($/picture quality) and various price points for different use cases. you can buy the higher price point for your high traffic areas and lower quality cameras for secondary locations.

This is not a security system. it can do all the things you want but for arm/disarm doors and windows because its not an alarm. but it can trigger notifications/alerts, geofencing etc.

it can get expensive if you aren't careful but it i started with the networking first and added cameras later so it was a natural progression for the upgrade.

The app is wife friendly, storage is local DVR, no monthly fees, equipment looks good, functions well. I'm about 5 years into most of my setup and over that 5 years I've lost one hard drive (easy to replace) and had one of their cheaper cameras lose color saturation.

may not be the "best" out there but it does everything I want with no hassles.

My setup is as follows (all cameras powered by POE)

Dream Machine Pro (router, gateway, DVR combo - $ 379
G5 bullets x 2 - $129 each
G4 Doorbell Pro with chime- $379
G4 Bullet x 2 - $199 each
G4 Pro (4k) - $449

so its $2k more or less for full house coverage but the Dream Machine is dual purpose and hosts all my networking management as well (access points, switches etc)

Also, you can pay a retail premium and shop at Altex locations in Watauga and Carrolton if you are ever in a pinch. but best price is from Ubiquiti website.


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Corps_Ag12
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In reply to FightinTAC08 • 3:40p, 2/25/25
AG
What he said. I have this at my shop and although the upfront cost is high, it's a lot better than paying a security company to monitor it all for you.

Thinking about doing my house too and downgrading my security system to a basic monitoring so we can dump Ring.
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ktownag08
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7:24a, 2/26/25
AG
Quite happy with my Reolink set up. All cameras including the doorbell are PoE run from the NVR.

Cameras are 4k color night vision that works pretty well and collect audio too. You can communicate via any camera.

App has been solid and can access from anywhere.
Whole set up was $600.
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tu ag
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7:41a, 2/26/25
AG
I got in early with Blink (before Amazon bought them out), which means I am grandfathered into the free online storage. Not top-of-the-line cameras, but good and affordable equipment + I can upgrade anything I want over time. I currently have 6 cameras surrounding the house and a doorbell. You can geofence using the IFTTT app (free) with Blink. Though I have never tried it. I work from home and keep armed when I'm away. They have wired and wireless options. There is an option to use without a subscription (record to USB device), but functionality is somewhat limited.
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zooguy96
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In reply to tu ag • 11:40a, 2/26/25
AG
tu ag said:
I got in early with Blink (before Amazon bought them out), which means I am grandfathered into the free online storage. Not top-of-the-line cameras, but good and affordable equipment + I can upgrade anything I want over time. I currently have 6 cameras surrounding the house and a doorbell. You can geofence using the IFTTT app (free) with Blink. Though I have never tried it. I work from home and keep armed when I'm away. They have wired and wireless options. There is an option to use without a subscription (record to USB device), but functionality is somewhat limited.


This is what I have. Battery life is very long. I'll be upgrading cameras, etc soon, as the current system is long in the tooth.
I know a lot about a little, and a little about a lot.
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Tailgate88
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4:48p, 2/26/25
AG
Following. I also have a 6-7 year old Arlo system that is needing updates. I know the current Arlo stuff has come a long way but wouldn't mind something better. Unfortunately several of my camera locations I can't get a wire to, so will need to stick with the wireless.

Anyone have experience with the newer Arlo stuff?
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MechAg
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5:32p, 2/26/25
AG
Have Reolink at the ranch and just got (7) of them wired at the house to replace our old ones. Been happy with them.
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mhnatt
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In reply to Tailgate88 • 7:34p, 2/26/25
Tailgate88 said:
Following. I also have a 6-7 year old Arlo system that is needing updates. I know the current Arlo stuff has come a long way but wouldn't mind something better. Unfortunately several of my camera locations I can't get a wire to, so will need to stick with the wireless.

Anyone have experience with the newer Arlo stuff?

I've ran Arlo for about 12-15 years (or whenever they first came out) across several properties. Probably gone through 100 cameras over the years and have used just about all models (cellular, interior, exterior, solar, plugged, XL battery, etc). From monitoring the home to the ranch to the deer feeders. I've done many warranty claims, and crazy mods. Even used the IFTTT and Apilio API to make them "smarter".

They've been pretty cheap and I've found it worth it to either run solar or run power to the cameras.

The newer models do not require the proprietary hub and can link directly to your WiFi.

Video quality is decent. You can augment their night vision by adding third party IR lights which illuminate the heck out of night vision. Virtually invisible to the human eye.

But the bad thing is that cameras eventually die or become crappy (whether the video on the begins to crap out or they no longer trigger). Out of 100 cameras, I'd say their lifespan is about 2-3 years before you begin to consider trashing a camera and replacing it. That stinks.

Also, if you consider Arlo, only buy during holidays when you can pickup sales for nearly 45% off.
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ValleyRatAg
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9:59p, 2/26/25
AG
Another happy Reolink user here. The picture quality is outstanding.
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clobby
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10:52p, 2/26/25
AG
Currently have Blink. Works ok when it works. The cameras that require the hub frequently go offline and need to be reset. I saw a guy online who used a smart plug to remotely restart but kind of a pain and a frequent problem with the camera per review. They do work to identify people vs motion, other than the issue with going offline, they are ok for the price.
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tunefx
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1:23a, 2/27/25
AG
Been running Eufy solar cameras for 9 months. All camera batteries have stayed above 90% charge the whole time. Running 4K and PTZ cameras. No cloud. While the battery usage has been impressive, I am really impressed with the Wi-Fi antenna efficiency.

My pre-purchase analysis led me to Eufy and Reolink as finalists. The tie breaker was thinking solar panel was more efficient on Eufy.
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TAMUallen
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3:37a, 2/27/25
AG
Eufy
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tu ag
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In reply to clobby • 8:42a, 2/27/25
AG
In the years I have had Blink, I have only had to reset equipment once.
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cryption
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7:43a, 3/5/25
My complaint about the newest arlo cameras is water intrusion. The older models (like pro 2) the battery compartment had the back swing open and the opening could be covered with one of those silicone protectors.

The new arlo design has the front slide out of the case, and that gasket isn't the greatest and even with silicon covers I find that my cameras get water in the battery compartment pretty frequently.
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Benny the Jet Rodriguez
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In reply to cryption • 12:30p, 3/5/25
AG
Do the new generation Arlo cams still store video for a week in the cloud for free or do you have to subscribe to some service?
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cryption
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In reply to Benny the Jet Rodriguez • 1:23p, 3/5/25
I had to subscribe for the cloud storage. They say it's per location in the fine print but I have it at home and the ranch and they only bill me once
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V8Aggie
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In reply to ktownag08 • 10:16p, 3/5/25
AG
ktownag08 said:
Quite happy with my Reolink set up. All cameras including the doorbell are PoE run from the NVR.

Cameras are 4k color night vision that works pretty well and collect audio too. You can communicate via any camera.

App has been solid and can access from anywhere.
Whole set up was $600.


Another plus for Reolink.
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AgGrad99
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In reply to tu ag • 10:55a, 3/6/25
AG
tu ag said:
I got in early with Blink (before Amazon bought them out), which means I am grandfathered into the free online storage. Not top-of-the-line cameras, but good and affordable equipment + I can upgrade anything I want over time. I currently have 6 cameras surrounding the house and a doorbell. You can geofence using the IFTTT app (free) with Blink. Though I have never tried it. I work from home and keep armed when I'm away. They have wired and wireless options. There is an option to use without a subscription (record to USB device), but functionality is somewhat limited.
Same. We have these at home and at work.

I've had them up for 4-5 years now, at least, and have only changed the batteries one or two times.

They have worked flawlessly.
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mhnatt
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In reply to cryption • 8:21a, 3/7/25
cryption said:
My complaint about the newest arlo cameras is water intrusion. The older models (like pro 2) the battery compartment had the back swing open and the opening could be covered with one of those silicone protectors.

The new arlo design has the front slide out of the case, and that gasket isn't the greatest and even with silicon covers I find that my cameras get water in the battery compartment pretty frequently.


Ditto. Then the contact points where external power or solar connects, become corroded and soon your camera will be battery only.
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Tailgate88
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In reply to AgGrad99 • 8:29a, 3/7/25
AG
AgGrad99 said:
tu ag said:
I got in early with Blink (before Amazon bought them out), which means I am grandfathered into the free online storage. Not top-of-the-line cameras, but good and affordable equipment + I can upgrade anything I want over time. I currently have 6 cameras surrounding the house and a doorbell. You can geofence using the IFTTT app (free) with Blink. Though I have never tried it. I work from home and keep armed when I'm away. They have wired and wireless options. There is an option to use without a subscription (record to USB device), but functionality is somewhat limited.
Same. We have these at home and at work.

I've had them up for 4-5 years now, at least, and have only changed the batteries one or two times.

They have worked flawlessly.
Wow - that sounds almost too good to be true. Do you need a base station with them? Sync to the cloud? What is the ongoing monthly cost if any? Not having to recharge and change the batteries all the time would be awesome.
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cryption
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In reply to mhnatt • 8:36a, 3/7/25
That's happened to mine as well. I'm due to replace cameras and I like the Arlo ecosystem - but I'm just unsure about hardware design now
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AgGrad99
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In reply to Tailgate88 • 9:08a, 3/7/25
AG
We only have ours active at night, so that's helping extend the battery life...but it certainly lasts a long time. They have options for a little solar power pad as well, to keep them charged, but I don't use those.

The cameras I bought on Amazon had a mount/swivel base that came with it.

I guess I'm grandfathered in as well, because mine doesn't have a fee. It saves videos to the app, stored on their cloud. It keeps it there for a certain amount of days before deleting, if you don't save it first.
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Naveronski
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In reply to FightinTAC08 • 11:29a, 9/26/25
AG
FightinTAC08 said:
All of my networking and cameras are from the Ubquiti ecosystem. They've come a long way in providing some better value ($/picture quality) and various price points for different use cases. you can buy the higher price point for your high traffic areas and lower quality cameras for secondary locations.

This is not a security system. it can do all the things you want but for arm/disarm doors and windows because its not an alarm. but it can trigger notifications/alerts, geofencing etc.

it can get expensive if you aren't careful but it i started with the networking first and added cameras later so it was a natural progression for the upgrade.

The app is wife friendly, storage is local DVR, no monthly fees, equipment looks good, functions well. I'm about 5 years into most of my setup and over that 5 years I've lost one hard drive (easy to replace) and had one of their cheaper cameras lose color saturation.

may not be the "best" out there but it does everything I want with no hassles.

My setup is as follows (all cameras powered by POE)

Dream Machine Pro (router, gateway, DVR combo - $ 379
G5 bullets x 2 - $129 each
G4 Doorbell Pro with chime- $379
G4 Bullet x 2 - $199 each
G4 Pro (4k) - $449

so its $2k more or less for full house coverage but the Dream Machine is dual purpose and hosts all my networking management as well (access points, switches etc)

Also, you can pay a retail premium and shop at Altex locations in Watauga and Carrolton if you are ever in a pinch. but best price is from Ubiquiti website.



Following up with this after a few months of research, procrastination, and finally installation.

First, you're definitely right about the cost! It is definitely an expensive solution but gives me control and scalability that I didn't find else where, plus enterprise level quality components and software.

I have:

Dream Machine Special Edition (UDM-SE)
24-Port Blank Keystone Patch Panel
WD Purple Pro HDD 12TB (says it's giving me around 60 days constant recording retention)

G6 PTZ - 1
G6 PTZ In-Ceiling Mount
G6 Entry (releases Q4 2025)
G6 Turret - 3
G6 Bullet - 1
G5 Turret Ultra - 2

The UDM-SE functions as the main router and firewall for the house now and has PoE+ to run the PTZ and more powerful cameras/entry going forward. My Netgear Orbi 970 and satellite are both behind the UDM-SE and are effectively just WiFi7 access points now, but their mesh coverage is great.

I really like the Unifi software so far; its easy to use and navigate. The Network application gives me a ton more data than the Orbi system, which is neat to see but I haven't done much with it yet.

More thoughts to come, but figured I'd update now that I've had it for a minute.
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