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IP Camera with FTP upload option

Donquick

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Hi,

I bought a cheap ip camera a few years ago - it was one of those small white round robots that sits on a table with two antennas on the back. The camera was cheap quality but had good features - motion detect, good picture quality, fully movable, etc. and the app was very capable. Most useful for me was the ftp feature which allowed images captured on motion detect to be stored remotely. It also had an email function which just sent a warning email but not the image. [I assume it is generally accepted that the idea of storing video and images on an SD card is a joke for security use as the camera would go walking at the same time as the rest of your possessions. Similarly an email that just tells you to wake up and check the camera, almost as pointless IMO].

A year later I bought two more cameras which looked more or less identical to the first one, I mean literally from the same mould but just a different name stamped on the front. They came with everything the same as before but a different app which did not allow for an ftp upload. The replacement to this feature was a paid-for subscription based video storage service. Although I didn't get really into it, my initial research and some trials lead me to believe that I couldn't use the app from the first camera on the second pair of cameras. I also tried a few more apps of the same type without success - I assume that the camera firmware was matched to one single app somehow.

I now see that most cameras on e.g. ebay either admit that the only off site capture option is the paid one, or stay silent on the subject of ftp.

Does anybody know where i can get cheapish cameras that have an ftp image transfer function or can you help me to buy cameras and then change the firmware to use an app with the ftp feature. I am happy to pay a little more than the really cheap cameras on ebay, but I don't particularly want to start paying hundreds.

Thanks in advance for guidance.
 
Anyone? please! I think I need what everybody else needs, nothing that unusual. In summary - is there an internal camera that allows images to be sent off-site to overcome the elephant in the room i.e. a camera with an sd card that will be stolen along with your camera when you are robbed.
 
Hi @Donquick

Most professional IP cameras offer an FTP option that will allow you to send camera images (most often snapshots and/or short event clips) to a remote server/NAS device.

If it is for indoor use we would recommend something like the DS-2CD2455FWD-IW 5MP Cube Camera
 
Thanks Dan,

That's good to know. Yes, I did assume that those models covered my needs but the point was that I thought I could get set up without spending too many £00's. [I am picking up that there might be some affiliation to Hikvision here, since a large proportion of the posts mention that name. Anyway, that's all cool and none of my business].

For anybody else who stumbles across this post I can now answer my own question and hopefully help others who don't have the budget for the Hikvision stuff. I have just bought a small setup (wi-fi only, but the brand do PoE and LAN stuff too) using a few of the following:

Reolink E1 Zoom which offer FTP snapshot & video capability at ~£50 depending on any current offers. (NB the E1 pro and E1 do not allow FTP but they do have ethernet port. You can't get one with ftp and ethernet for some reason). If you want external(s) to compliment the system then the RLC-410W is your man @ £45 (I went for the RLC-510WA @ £59 as I liked the look of some of the extra features).

First impressions are v good! The build quality is impressive compared with the cheap cheap ones I had before - notably the external camera feels heavy and solid like really quite professional equipment. From the tech angle I'm also very happy - many features on the software; easy to set up ftp for external snapshot and video capture (you can specify how long you want the camera to carry on recording after a motion trigger); phone app and pc software intuitive and comprehensive. 3 internal and one external ~£200 delivered next day from UK supplier.

[If you like the idea of using a paid-for off-site streaming/storage facility, this isn't for you. Reolink say that they don't yet have support for this in the UK, only US and some others. If that is your thing then there are many options on e.g. eBay for cheap internal cameras with offsite subscriptions for a few pounds per month].

Cheers,

Don
 
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Hi @Donquick

Glad you have found a solution that meets your requirements & budget. I'm sure your feedback on the Reolink products will also be useful to others.

If you do run into any problems with the solution over the coming weeks/months then please also feedback on that as most solutions look and operate great in the begining, but only through long term use do you discover how good the solution actually is.
 
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