Reddit reviews Foscam FI8905W Outdoor Wireless/Wired IP Camera with 4mm Lens (50 Viewing Angle) 100ft Nightvision - Silver

I picked up a wifi enabled one from Amazon for $99, they're not all that expensive.

Edit: This is the one I have.

You can pick up a cheap network cam for about $200. A pi and webcam with enclosures and shipping would cost you about the same. The advantage is that network cam is specialize and has nifty mounts. The pi-cam is completely customizable. I comes down to what you want.

EDIT: I seem to have set off a crap storm here. Here were I get the cost:

• Pi + Shipping = $42
  
• Power Supply + Shipping = $13
  
• Compatible Memory Card + Shipping = $15
  
• High Res Webcam + Shipping $52
  
• Camera Case + Shipping - $22
  
• Wires and accessories - $10
  
  Total Price: $154 for hardware that can only do about 6 frames / second at full resolution. The advantage of the PI is that you can customize it anyway you want. The disadvantage is it's very under powered. I have heard that Beagle Bone Black's can get up to 25 fps with a similar setup (under best conditions).
  
  I was thinking of an IP camera like this one, or maybe a step up.
  
  
  

I've built something similar using point-to-point Wifi gear. It kinda sucks having to align to line up two antennae but you get much better range.

I am using Ubiquiti Networks (http://www.ubnt.com/) equipment used in
long haul Wireless ISPs. This equipment is inexpensive and uses
standard technology: Power-Over-Ethernet (POE), Wifi, so it's easy to tweak.

I'm using a 9 amp-hour battery and current draw is ~0.6 amps so that
comes out 10 hours or so. It would be trivial to tack on a Solar panel
or bigger battery. The charge controller takes POE as an input so it's
easy to recharge the battery.

Here are a couple pics:

Shows the camera side of the setup:
http://imgur.com/PvjuFRJ

Shows two .30 cal shots my tripod took and kept standing. :-)
http://imgur.com/aa37kzt

The price tag for my setup came out to $438, here is the parts list:

2 x AmazonBasics 60-Inch Lightweight Tripod with Bag
http://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-60-Inch-Lightweight-Tripod-Bag/dp/B005KP473Q/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1403996810&sr=8-3&keywords=tripod
$48

POE/Solar Dual Input 12V Battery Charge Control (TP-SCPOE-1224)
http://www.ispsupplies.com/brands/Charge-Controllers/Tycon-Power-TP-SCPOE-1224.html
$52

12V 9AH AGM SLA Battery (TPBAT12-9)
http://www.ispsupplies.com/brands/Batteries/Tycon-Power-TPBAT12-9.html
$26

Power extender over ethernet for Foscam (WS-POE-5v-10w)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DAMKQWW/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1
$12

Foscam FI8905W Outdoor Wireless/Wired IP Camera
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003YUEF0E/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1
$92

Ubiquiti NanoStation M2
http://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-NSM2-US-NanoStation-M2/dp/B004EFH6L8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1403997019&sr=8-1&keywords=nsm2
$86

24V 1A 24W Wall Plug Passive POE Inserter (TP-POE-24-WP)
http://www.ispsupplies.com/brands/POE-Sources/Tycon-Power-TP-POE-24-WP.html
$12

3 x 10FT 24AWG Cat6A 500MHz STP Ethernet Bare Copper Network Cable -
Blue
http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=102&cp_id=10232&cs_id=1023216&p_id=5902&seq=1&format=2
$15

MTM Ammo Can (Forest Green)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003ISKM9K/ref=oh_details_o00_s01_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
$16

DC Inline Watt Meter and Power Analyzer, Powerpole Ends
http://www.powerwerx.com/digital-meters/dc-inline-watt-meter-power-analyzer-powerpoles.html
$60

Revo 5" Hand Grip for HDSLRs and Video Cameras (Black) - Used for mast to strap Wifi antenna to
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/930248-REG/revo_vb_120b_5_hand_grip_for.html
$14

1" Schedule 40 PVC Pipe
Hardware Store
$5

you dumb: Foscam FI8905W Outdoor Wireless/Wired IP Camera with 4mm Lens (50 Viewing Angle) 100ft Nightvision - Silver

If you get a Foscam IP camera it can email you on motion detection. So if your phone/tablet is set to make a sound when it receives an email that would work.


Here is a video showing how to set that up

First off, the toughswitch doesn't support 802.3af, while most cameras want this. So you might want to look at a netgear or HP switch instead for PoE. You could add an instant 802.3af adapter for the nanostation to keep things clean.

Secondly, for your camera I suggest these:

http://www.amazon.com/Foscam-FI8905W-Outdoor-Wireless-Network/dp/B003YUEF0E/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1375237278&sr=8-8&keywords=foscam

Which also need a splitter to break out the power feed: http://www.amazon.com/Foscam-Splitter-Adapter-802-3af-compliant/dp/B00CDT7KPO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1375237643&sr=8-1&keywords=foscam+802.3af

I much prefer vivotek, but they are out of your price range by a factor of 2x.

This is not a outdoor rated camera, for outdoor use; you could use this: http://www.amazon.com/Foscam-FI8905W-Outdoor-Wireless-Nightvision/dp/B003YUEF0E/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1416090891&sr=1-1&keywords=outdoor+wifi+camera&pebp=1416090906535

My installer partner uses a Foscam FI8905W, its about $100 at Amazon. He has been using it as a security cam for his Vera system (He is developing a Vera Package as a pro installer so he tests everything before he installs it) for over two months now and he loves it.

I have heard from one of my customers that the Blue Iris software is excellent as a third party app, for Vera and Foscam cameras, but my installer did not use anything outside Vera that I know of.