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Garage is currently being rebuilt and I'm thinking of sticking a little wi-fi camera in the corner of it just in case. In an ideal world I'd just leave it there and it would sit there uploading to the web periodically (the router's always on and I'll be able to mains-power the camera), or maybe it'd be motion-triggered. Just enough to make a potential insurance claim a breeze and provide some evidence for Plod.
Anyone set up anything similar for a low-ish cost? Any recommendations of gear?
I looked into a while back, the trouble is the affordable (couple of hundred quid) cameras have crappy picture quality and even the decent ones aren't great in night-vision mode. Add to that hoodies and caps and I figured it probably wouldn't do much good even if it captured intruders on cam. Just saved my money in the end and will leave it to insurance. Only other benefit I could see was to have it SMS you when motion was detected and send you a few frames (so you could check if false alarm or something going on) and maybe allow you to stop something in progress (rather than as evidence after the crime has been committed).
Honestly.. do youself a favour and pop down to maplins. For a couple of hundred quid you can buy a half decent 4 camera system.
Also ... if it's streaming off to somewhere else. How about a picture that is going to get them to look in the direction, to grab a full face shot!
They'll be after the bike, but opportunist, so may well check the garage to see what else is high-value and easy to shift quick. So a Page3 pinup picture to grab their attention next to the camera might be sufficient to get a face shot.
I have an old Foxconn WiFi Camera. It's pretty good, but doesn't upload video to the web. You can get it to upload a photo to an FTP server & email you when motion is detected... The motion detection is absolutely rubbish though, I think it works about twice a month, obviously I use the garden/garage more than that! Any more sensitive and it emails me all the time, sun goes in, then comes out I get an email. Big gust of wind, I get an email. Someone walks down the path, I get nothing! WTF.
Also quality is quite poor, 5m or less would be best.
As above I would go for a Maplin kit.