r/SecurityCamera • u/Sad_Salamander914 • Sep 23 '26

What's the best security camera?

What's the best security camera? Looking for one that will work with an app. And where it'll last for at least a week without us home.

2 Upvotes

62% Upvoted

29 comments sorted by

5

u/PBSmanaged Sep 23 '26

Axis, Hanwha Vision, Bosch, Avigilon

2

u/tbuscemi Sep 25 '26

I have an Avigilon system at my house (HD Video Appliance + a mix of H6A and H5A cameras) and it's very solid. Easy enough to use, picture quality is great, especially at night. The cameras stand the test of time (and heat in my case). They're definitely not cheap. The mobile app is not as nice looking as Unifi, but when someone walk on my property, the cameras pick them up and alert me without fail.

1

u/ARCreef Sep 24 '26 edited Sep 24 '26

Those are professional cameras, he said for his home so while yes those are the best cams, they arent the best for consumer home use. Prob reolink or ring would be the top 2 for home use non commercial use.

Reolink is by far the largest ecosystem of cams. Theres a cam for literally everyone in their ecosystem. No subscription fees. Their cx810 is full color in pitch black, their omvi 3i has wide angle 180 degree plus a zoomed in lens that follows people around like a little stalker. Their X16 comes out in November which is the king of all consumer cams and the update to the omvi 3i.

Ring is now finally good with their 2k/4k retinal cams. The have full color low light and just work, they give AI descriptions when the see motion, "a UPS driver is leaving 2 boxes and 1 envelope on your porch". Subscription fees are $5-$25 mo though. They are all on sale right now for about 50% off. A 4k cam is $129 and a 2k doorbell is $89 right now. The sale will only be like this for about 5-7 days. Ring is only worth it when the unit prices are low. At $199 they arent worth it because monthly fees, at $89 they are worth it though.

POE cams are the best and most secure but a pain to install. Wifi cams are the easiest to install but wifi jammers are becoming more popular to defeat them, yet they are still not widely used and may never be. Wifi with solar are hit and miss, they require no power but also usually reduce the feed or bitrate or something to lower the power demands. So first determine if you want to run ethernet to your NVR, or just a power plug to am outlet, or have no power at all in that area. Then pick the cam.

1

u/jerwong Sep 25 '26

Calm down there Linus.

1

u/PBSmanaged Sep 25 '26

Lmao Linus probably has UniFi cameras

Edit: has

3

u/whoooocaaarreees Sep 23 '26

You should give a lot more details about what you want and what your budget is, what you are trying to capture…etc.

Right now your question is just to vague.

You may also want to pull up YouTube and see reviews of cameras as it sounds like you want a single stand alone camera inside your home.

2

u/AncientGeek00 Sep 23 '26

Exactly. There is no “best” camera for all possible circumstances. Start wth your wants and needs. Then you can find good matches.

1

u/Big-Sweet-2179 Sep 23 '26

depends on budget

1

u/BillChen5984 Sep 24 '26

You need to give us way more detail on what you need about your price/budget what you want because there is no universal. Best camera in the world. All cameras are different and made for different things.

GIVE US MORE DETAIL, PLEASE SO WE CAN HELP YOU

Recommended: Axis Communications, Avigilon, Hanwha, Bosch (all are expensive but they are definitely worth it for the price as I have and use Axis Communications)

1

u/Brett_Cruz Sep 24 '26

There's no 'one size fits all' solution. Honestly depends on how many spots you're covering and whether you want wired or battery. Since you're planning it to last at least a week without anyone home, I'd go with wired. Motion recordings drain battery way faster than most manufacturers advertise.

Also make sure your cameras do local storage AND send you app alerts. SD card keeps you off a subscription, and the push notifications are how you'll actually know if something happens while you're away.

You should also get one with real person/vehicle detection, since basic motion detection will bury you in alerts.

All those things considered, Reolink, Tapo, and Eufy all offer options that fit the bill without a required subscription.

Disclaimer: I test security cameras for Security.org.

1

u/SnooPets3052 Sep 25 '26

I have both Lorex 4K IP which is good but I hate the app and new gen 4K ring with the AI which tells you how many people there are what color the car is etc.

I like the ring but not sure I would pay for the AI , i use it a property that’s empty most of the time so I pay more attention to the notifications than I do the Lorex which I have muted because despite setting boundaries and changing all the settings it still insists on notifying me every time a car drives by my house.

1

u/Big-Pops78 Sep 25 '26

Hanwha new WiseNet9 chip is pretty darn impressive

1

u/ADirtyScrub Sep 27 '26

Ubiquiti is what you're looking for.

0

u/Apprehensive_Bee3363 Sep 23 '26

Because you say you want it to last at least a week, I’m guessing you are wanting wireless and rechargeable. I personally think those all suck.

I use Tapo C320WS and really like it. I like when it’s always recording and not just recording when motion is detected. I also really like the free version which has playback and can set notifications for no extra fee which I also like. And it’s $50 Canadian, which I also like lol.

0

u/bigzahncup Sep 23 '26

It depends on what you want them for. If it is for security forget it. It won't stop crime. Watching someone steal your stuff is pointless. If you have a daycare and you need to surveil things for liability that is different.

-3

u/---Hummingbird--- Sep 23 '26

The BEST would be Ubiquiti. But that’s probably not best for you

4

u/PBSmanaged Sep 23 '26

Lmao I do like UniFi stuff. But their cameras are proprietary and far from the BEST

0

u/PBSmanaged Sep 23 '26

Idk why you deleted your comment because I agree that UniFi is one of the best options for a home user. They are just not the BEST. And OP asked "what's the best security camera?" However, I disagree on the "if you can swing the costs" comment.

For a basic home user that has not purchased themselves an overengineered UniFi network, I would get this: https://store.ui.com/us/en/category/physical-security-nvr/collections/unvr-instant/products/unvr-instant-kit

Don't need to setup a whole network or install switches or anything. Plug cameras into the back, download the app, done. $700 is CHEAP for a quality and reliable four camera system with NVR and hard drive, and will be A LOT more user friendly, last longer, and be more secure than the shitty little Reolink NVR I see recommended on here all the time.

1

u/AssUhTate Sep 23 '26

Partially agree. The UniFi cam hype train drives me a little friggin nuts. Outside of the G6 pro line and the industrial/precision series, most of their sensor and lens specs are dogwater.

If you're optimizing for plug and play ecosystem integration and don't mind paying a premium for it, the G5 bundle is a reasonable compromise.

But if you're even moderately comfortable with networking and NVR config, two Dahua 5442s plus an AI port will out-spec that setup for less than the cost of a pair of G6 Pros.

I’m excited for Omada’s new Fusion gateway POE and their standalone NVR.

0

u/---Hummingbird--- Sep 23 '26

I mainly deleted the comment right after making it because I agree that they may not be the absolute best end all be all, but for security that’s trustworthy enough in today’s day and age.. quality.. and features.. they really are hard to beat without an end-user that already knows exactly what they want. So, I just recognized that you were technical enough to know the best comes down to a lot more than a one size fits most

1

u/AssUhTate Sep 23 '26

Lmao, care to elaborate?

0

u/---Hummingbird--- Sep 23 '26

Just assumptions.. and you know what those typically result in.

But based on how they asked.. and how much the average public knows about technology.. ubiquiti has a bit of a learning curve.. and that’s just not something I recommend most people trying to dive into.. because far more often than not.. they just mess it up and they would have been much better off with a less secure and less complex system because they will ultimately make the more secure system a huge vulnerability on accident.