Are wifi trailcams generally compatible with Security Spy?

nealk
nealk
edited December 2020 in General
I have been on a quest to see if I could get eyes on my bird feeder but it seems basic security cams don't cut it because they have wide-angle lenses and you have to have the camera right up against the feeder to begin to be able to indentfiy anything. So looking at these.... can they be integrated with Security Spy? Or is there a better option out there? Outdoor wifi security cameras with zoom start at like $130 and it's not quite worth that to me for an experiment. https://www.amazon.com/s?k=wifi+trail+cam&gclid=Cj0KCQiA2uH-BRCCARIsAEeef3lCNw0ONrNewowwVwbQ8wKBKavlkRD30gnaXnfozf9fC0i90Z_V194aAkYCEALw_wcB&hvadid=178107669033&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9021713&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=15096842050260047793&hvtargid=kwd-55797697058&hydadcr=9655_9895492&tag=googhydr-20&ref=pd_sl_3c56hcx90y_e

Comments

  • Ben
    Ben
    I don't think that trail cameras will work with SecuritySpy, even if they are network-enabled. They are designed to record to their local SD cards and/or link up to their own apps.

    What you need is an IP camera with a good zoom feature. Dahua and Hikvision both have some bullet cameras with zoom features, which should do the job if the camera isn't too far away. For higher-powered zoom features you would have to go for a proper PTZ outdoor camera, which can get quite expensive (again Dahua and Hikvision have many, as does Vivotek). On the cheaper end of these is the Amcrest IP2M-853EW, so that may be worth a look.
  • nealk
    nealk
    Thanks for the response. I've been looking hard at outdoor cameras with optical zoom but they're all much more than I want to pay just to be able to watch the bird feeder.... plus once I go the more expensive route I don't want to risk the camera mounted to a pole in the middle of the yard, so will need to be mounted under my garage eve >15 feet away.... so I get back into (expensive) experiment mode not knowing if the zoom will be enough to get a clear image from that distance....
  • Ben
    Ben
    The Dahua IPC-HFW4431R-Z has 4x optical zoom and is $90. However at this moderate level of zoom, the camera would need to be relatively close to the bird feeder to get a good view (maybe 3 meters max). Do you think this could work?

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