I bought one of these HF cameras based on the price and returned it
right away. The picture quality is bad. I would expect the minimum
camera you would find acceptable to retail for over $75. If you can see
specifications, look at the night range then treat that as a maximum
that you can see something move. The camera should plug directly into a
RCA type video input jack on a TV. If you only care about night vision,
you might also get better quality with a black and white camera.
If you are a Costco member, they have a number of real systems with
cameras and a DVR. See http://www.costco.com/ and select electronics >
security & monitoring. These systems do motion triggered recordings, so
you can set them to record only when something is happening. Note that
depending on sensitivity settings and how you aim the camera, tree
branches blowing in the wind are also "motion". Most of the DVRs are
networkable, so you can monitor them via home computer or the internet
if enabled.
You can also find a good online assortment at newegg.com. Another person
mentioned a baby monitor. I have one and used it for a while to try and
record the trash truck running into my tree branches. It worked well
during the day when not looking towards the sun, but was only good for
about 5 feet at night. They are also typically not weather resistant.
I've recorded on my computer with my old ATI All in Wonder TV/video card
(8500DV). It has a regular composite video in which is what the cameras
use, and does time lapse or motion triggered recording. There are also
many video capture cards you can get for your PC.
Whatever you get, I also recommend doing a simple test of the camera
roughly in position before you put in a lot of effort mounting it to
make sure it meets your expectations. Since the lower price cameras
don't zoom, you also wnat to make sure you can see the desired field of
view.
Brian
Elton E. (Tony) Clark wrote:
> *I had the old model from Sam's which was not color and not weatherproof and
> cost $40.*
> **
> *Look what $40 will buy now from Harbor Freight:*
> **
> http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=95914
> **
> **
> **
> *Tony in Texas*
> **
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