Solar powered WiFi Exterior Camera

[Cropduster172]

Looking to hook up a wifi, solar powered camera to watch over things at our beach house.
Have Ring at our primary home and it works great and I don't mind the $100 annual Fer but I'm looking for a free option with SD card storage.
I've settled on giving this one a try: Limited-time deal: 2K Solar Powered Outdoor Security Cameras, Outdoor Camera Wireless Color Night Vision, ZUMIMALL Wireless Home Security Cameras/Spotlight & Siren/2.4GWiFi/2 Way Talk/ PIR Detection/Waterproof/Cloud/SD https://a.co/d/iUkLSh6

Anyone with experience with this one or similar?

 

[Schandyman]

I only have experience with ring & wyze they work flawlessly other than the usual hangups which is probably more wifi being the issue than the cams. I would buy a wyze with a solar kit.

Wyze Cam v4 | 2.5K HDR, Indoor/Outdoor, Wired Security Camera | Wyze

The best just got better with Wyze Cam v4. Clearer video with 2.5K QHD resolution. Color Night Vision. Enhanced clarity with wide dynamic range. Place it indoor or outdoor. 24/7 recording with MicroSD. All that and more means Wyze Cam v4 is the best "never wonder again" smart security camera...

www.wyze.com

Wyze Battery Cam Solar Panel | Works with Battery Cam Pro & Cam Outdoor v1/v2

Record for longer. Attach a solar panel to your Wyze Battery Cam Pro to extend the battery life. Designed to be weather resistant and mountable anywhere. Works with Wyze Cam Outdoor v1/v2 and Wyze Battery Cam Pro.

www.wyze.com

 

[Cropduster172]

I only have experience with ring & wyze they work flawlessly other than the usual hangups which is probably more wifi being the issue than the cams. I would buy a wyze with a solar kit.

Wyze Cam v4 | 2.5K HDR, Indoor/Outdoor, Wired Security Camera | Wyze

The best just got better with Wyze Cam v4. Clearer video with 2.5K QHD resolution. Color Night Vision. Enhanced clarity with wide dynamic range. Place it indoor or outdoor. 24/7 recording with MicroSD. All that and more means Wyze Cam v4 is the best "never wonder again" smart security camera...

www.wyze.com

Wyze Battery Cam Solar Panel | Works with Battery Cam Pro & Cam Outdoor v1/v2

Record for longer. Attach a solar panel to your Wyze Battery Cam Pro to extend the battery life. Designed to be weather resistant and mountable anywhere. Works with Wyze Cam Outdoor v1/v2 and Wyze Battery Cam Pro.

www.wyze.com

Looks solid but they make their money on the cloud service and are useless without it.

 

[Schandyman]

I have an sd card in mine, installation above my patio door. I dont have it setup with cloud. Just my doorbell is on the cloud.

 

[odie]

Farpoint Farms reviews a few on Youtube .

 

[Cropduster172]

I have an sd card in mine, installation above my patio door. I dont have it setup with cloud. Just my doorbell is on the cloud.

Does it have a free app that let's you access stored video from your device from the SD card?

 

[fsdork]

From a super quick search, it looks like Arlo cameras work on a stand-alone basis with no subscription, and solar accessories are available.

My in-laws use an Arlo Pro system and love it. With that said, they use the motion detection feature, so they're presumably paying a subscription for that.

 

[Owen Lucas]

I've read about these weird name brand cameras phoning home to China and doing who knows what to home networks. Get a name brand like the Wyze mentioned above. I think you are going to get better long term support and firmware updates with Wyze rather than "Zumimall".

 

[Cropduster172]

I've read about these weird name brand cameras phoning home to China and doing who knows what to home networks. Get a name brand like the Wyze mentioned above. I think you are going to get better long term support and firmware updates with Wyze rather than "Zumimall".

Perhaps. But I don't want to pay a subscription fee for video storage if I don't need to. It's one camera to keep an eye on a portion of our beach house. For under $60 and free returns within a month, I'll give the ZUMIMALL a shot.

 

[alarmguy]

Im a fan of this company, I have 5 cameras in 3 different models of their WiFi cameras but not their solar or battery powered so I dont know how good they are.

No subscription fee, you can subscribe if you want and its pricey, but no reason too at least for me, the SD card in the camera is accessed by the app and you can do a million different things with recordings, alerts, snap shots, download video, photos, fast forward, rewind.
It will record in a loop, once the SD card starts filling, it will record over the oldest first. I couldn't even guess a time frame because I never needed to go so far back in time, I assume the loop would be around 2 weeks time, it really depends on how you have the camera set up, with the SD card you set it up to record when the camera detects motion. SO the loop would depend on how much recording you are doing and the size of the SD card you buy for it. I hate talking about loop time frame, you will never run out of room.

I can say, EZVIZ is a HIKVision company, which is the worlds largest video surveillance manufacturer. The app works great ect ect, camera firmware updates seem to add features over the years too. HikVision monitors commercial buildings around the world, the parent company is the real deal.
Their products are above the "toy" level common with a lot of the consumer cameras.

This is a screen shot from the app on my phone, we live in a really safe area, I do this stuff for fun, ( read my BITOG screen name) I caught this criminal on my front lawn with the older model EZVIZ C3WN. Its an ok camera, not battery though, If you can figure a power source I highly recommend their newer model (I have one of those too) which is the C3W Pro. It has an awesome detection control to only decide humans, that camera didnt pick this criminal up, I in the settings I could have had that active too. It will also record night vision in color, they also have one more camera with a dual lens that does this even better, I installed 3 of those cameras at my sons home.

EZVIZ Weatherproof Solar Charging Panel

Connect your EZVIZ battery-powered camera to our Weatherproof Solar Panel to capture the sun’s free, clean energy

www.ezviz.com

 

[dishdude]

Im a fan of this company, I have 5 cameras in 3 different models of their WiFi cameras but not their solar or battery powered so I dont know how good they are.

No subscription fee, you can subscribe if you want and its pricey, but no reason too at least for me, the SD card in the camera is accessed by the app and you can do a million different things with recordings, alerts, snap shots, download video, photos, fast forward, rewind.
It will record in a loop, once the SD card starts filling, it will record over the oldest first. I couldn't even guess a time frame because I never needed to go so far back in time, I assume the loop would be around 2 weeks time, it really depends on how you have the camera set up, with the SD card you set it up to record when the camera detects motion. SO the loop would depend on how much recording you are doing and the size of the SD card you buy for it. I hate talking about loop time frame, you will never run out of room.

I can say, EZVIZ is a HIKVision company, which is the worlds largest video surveillance manufacturer. The app works great ect ect, camera firmware updates seem to add features over the years too. HikVision monitors commercial buildings around the world, the parent company is the real deal.
Their products are above the "toy" level common with a lot of the consumer cameras.

This is a screen shot from the app on my phone, we live in a really safe area, I do this stuff for fun, ( read my BITOG screen name) I caught this criminal on my front lawn with the older model EZVIZ C3WN. Its an ok camera, not battery though, If you can figure a power source I highly recommend their newer model (I have one of those too) which is the C3W Pro. It has an awesome detection control to only decide humans, that camera didnt pick this criminal up, I in the settings I could have had that active too. It will also record night vision in color, they also have one more camera with a dual lens that does this even better, I installed 3 of those cameras at my sons home.

EZVIZ Weatherproof Solar Charging Panel

Connect your EZVIZ battery-powered camera to our Weatherproof Solar Panel to capture the sun’s free, clean energy

www.ezviz.com

Are you able to access the SD card recordings when you're not home?

 

[Cropduster172]

Are you able to access the SD card recordings when you're not home?

Exactly what I'm looking for and the one I ordered claims yes. I have a spare 32 gig SD card which is more than enough for my use. Camera is out for delivery today.

 

[alarmguy]

Are you able to access the SD card recordings when you're not home?

Absolutely!
The app works anyplace your phone has a data connection.
We also have one of their interior cameras and are able to check up on our dog whenever we travel as we have a babysitter come in the house and walk him a few times a day as well as feed him.
The app itself is fantastic and well refined.

 

[Highboy]

Does it have a free app that let's you access stored video from your device from the SD card?

Yes.

 

[willbur]

Im a fan of this company, I have 5 cameras in 3 different models of their WiFi cameras but not their solar or battery powered so I dont know how good they are.

No subscription fee, you can subscribe if you want and its pricey, but no reason too at least for me, the SD card in the camera is accessed by the app and you can do a million different things with recordings, alerts, snap shots, download video, photos, fast forward, rewind.
It will record in a loop, once the SD card starts filling, it will record over the oldest first. I couldn't even guess a time frame because I never needed to go so far back in time, I assume the loop would be around 2 weeks time, it really depends on how you have the camera set up, with the SD card you set it up to record when the camera detects motion. SO the loop would depend on how much recording you are doing and the size of the SD card you buy for it. I hate talking about loop time frame, you will never run out of room.

I can say, EZVIZ is a HIKVision company, which is the worlds largest video surveillance manufacturer. The app works great ect ect, camera firmware updates seem to add features over the years too. HikVision monitors commercial buildings around the world, the parent company is the real deal.
Their products are above the "toy" level common with a lot of the consumer cameras.

This is a screen shot from the app on my phone, we live in a really safe area, I do this stuff for fun, ( read my BITOG screen name) I caught this criminal on my front lawn with the older model EZVIZ C3WN. Its an ok camera, not battery though, If you can figure a power source I highly recommend their newer model (I have one of those too) which is the C3W Pro. It has an awesome detection control to only decide humans, that camera didnt pick this criminal up, I in the settings I could have had that active too. It will also record night vision in color, they also have one more camera with a dual lens that does this even better, I installed 3 of those cameras at my sons home.

EZVIZ Weatherproof Solar Charging Panel

Connect your EZVIZ battery-powered camera to our Weatherproof Solar Panel to capture the sun’s free, clean energy

www.ezviz.com

View attachment 104766

Is that a deer in the pic?

 

[Touring5]

Absolutely!
The app works anyplace your phone has a data connection.
We also have one of their interior cameras and are able to check up on our dog whenever we travel as we have a babysitter come in the house and walk him a few times a day as well as feed him.
The app itself is fantastic and well refined.

Do you have any recommendations (quality & features) regarding PoE cameras or systems?

 

[alarmguy]

Do you have any recommendations (quality & features) regarding PoE cameras or systems?

No, I cant honestly say what is better, my experience with them is limited to the last couple years where we did a lot of commercial in those years as well as residential before I left the industry.
Before that time most everything was residential wifi which was another company I was with for many years.

As far as the PoE our local company office here in this state, we only used Honeywell for hardwired systems and their associated NVRs, unless it was work on another existing system. This was a local office choice.
The company itself also used a lot of HikVision in other states and localities for the hardwire stuff. But were transitioning away from HikVision because the US government was now banning them from government buildings on the concerns of Chinese spying. But its good stuff and as a business or such, non government I would have no concern.

Summary *LOL* - I dont feel qualified enough to make a judgement between the two above companies regarding hardwire. Honeywell is always, always a safe bet but it by no means can I say its the best is my feeling.

 

[alarmguy]

Is that a deer in the pic?

Yeah, its a big one for sure, maybe can pass for a giant wild boar too?
I could have done better with that photo. For BITOG all I did was a screen shot from my phone, but the camera app itself, you can take a snapshot of the video and save it, as you can also save the entire video. I could have then zoomed in on it and MAYBE would have had more resolution.
As you can see, this camera is set up for the vehicles and its the slightly older model as I typed in the post.

 

[alarmguy]

Is that a deer in the pic?

He or she was back again last night at 3:49 AM.
I cropped this one to make is easier to see it, its literally 2 feet from our back windows caught on one of the yard cameras.
As posted this is a fun thing for me rather then a crime thing for me. I like to know what lurks around my yard. Sure it would come in handy for a break in but that doesnt exist in our area. (gulp)

 

[Skippy722]

Do you have any recommendations (quality & features) regarding PoE cameras or systems?

FWIW, I have a Lorex NVR system I bought on the recommendation of my coworker. Mine record in 4k@15fps, only have 2 cameras up but on the 2Tb hard drive it came with that stores about 2.5 weeks of video but I did change it from h.264 to h.265. I can also view the video from anywhere I have cell service, or you can disconnect it and plug it into a standard HDMI port on a monitor or TV for viewing.