Outdoor Network Camera

[goobernoodles]

Anyone have a recommendation for an outdoor network camera? It needs to be accessible from the internet, wireless and color. This is for monitoring progress of a construction site.

 

[Kaido]

Cam: http://foscam.us/products/foscam-fi8905w-outdoor-wireless-ip-camera-23.html

Buy here, $106: http://www.amazon.com/Foscam-FI8905W...dp/B003YUEF0E/

Software: http://foscam.us/blog/foscamipcameras/third-party-software-which-works-with-the-foscam-fi8908w/

Sample app screenshot: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2395/5769265349_d4614f7567_b.jpg

iPhone app: http://babymonitorhd.com/BabyMonitor/BabyMonitorFoscam.html or http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/foscam-surveillance/id373509500?mt=8

There's viewer software for PC, Mac, iPhone, Android, Blackberry, etc. They have both wired and wireless connections. There is some software onboard that lets you view up to 9 cameras via a browser, so if you want to have multiple units you can do that pretty easily.

 

[Kaido]

Also if you want the pan/tilt/zoom (PTZ) model, there's some dome enclosures for $75 on eBay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/7-Outdoor-Dome-...d=8873167977002035257&clk_rvr_id=246221069352

They have heater/cooler modules and external IR modules (for nightvision) too. So about $100 for a factory-external fixed-position Foscam or around $200 for an externally-modded PTZ Foscam to be able to control where you're pointing the camera.

Foscams aren't the highest-quality-picture cameras ever (15fps VGA/30fps QVGA), but they're relatively cheap for network-capable cameras with PTZ or Outdoor enclosures and have a fair amount of support for various devices and computers, which makes them nice to work with.

 

[bobdole369]

Look into Axis. I can't specifically find you one that meets all your demands, but Axis is a well respected, network security camera company.

 

[mammador]

most VSS cameras these days are IP addressable, but I would recommend Axis (as has been said) or Arecont.

I would also look into a camera with a high IP rating (not Internet Protocol, but how much it can withstand knocks and even vandalism). For a construction site, this is important (or any outdoor area).

 

[Kaido]

Axis & Arecont cameras are pretty great, but most of them start at $500. So OP, be aware of the price differences between a webcam-type of camera like a Foscam or a Y-Cam, and a more professional type of camera like an Axis or an Arecont. If you have the fundage, you can get some pretty wild cameras:

1080p HD cam w/ zoom: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJJSrBM4yhs

8-megapixel Panoramic cam: http://gsf.com.my/images/AV8180-Sample-02.jpg

How are you planning on connecting the camera to the Internet? That's another biggie - power & data connections. If you have a hardline or wifi access, then you're in business. Otherwise, there are some companies that make 3G web-accessible cams (over the cellular network), and you can also use something like an iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch (with 3G Peel case) to do live video feeds (which can get expensive after awhile) or timelapse still shots. There's an article from a couple years back about a guy who made a solar-powered webcam setup for a fieldcam using a 3G modem:

http://geekinafield.blogspot.com/2009/01/fieldcam.html

Lots of options available depending on your needs & budget

 

[Kaido]

Oh yeah, and there's also more construction-oriented systems you can get for remote monitoring. EarthCam is one of them, and they even have a product line specifically for construction sites: (with optional 4G & solar systems)

http://www.earthcam.net/products/constructioncamseries.php

But that's getting into a slightly higher price bracket I've read that their Lite version starts at around $2k, so I'd imagine that the HD version goes for quite a bit more. Synder's of Hanover did a solar project last month and I saw that their webcam was an EarthCam model: (for consumer viewing off their website)

http://www.snydersmediacenter.com/#webcam.cfm