This security system doesn’t have to break your bank account
I did plenty of research before purchasing this security system. There were comments about the reliability of the hardware and app. I also discovered listings about tweaking the zones and sensitivity in order to reduce false positives due to motion detection. My research didn’t reveal anything about the excellent field of view for these IP4M cameras.
The picture below shows the angle of my camera setup.
That camera angle produces the excellent view shown below.
Are we impressed yet? I certainly am. Notice how much of the front porch is covered even though the camera seems to be aimed out into the yard.
Take another look at the picture of the camera mounting. Do you see an external power connection? Certainly not, that is because the Amcrest camera system is POE based (Power Over Ethernet). The camera itself has a power connector which is not needed when using a POE-capable unit. While we are discussing hardware, what are the settings of my system? It came with a 2 Terabyte hard drive which should store at least a month of 4 megapixel motion-triggered recordings.
Customized recording settings
The software has many options for tweaking the zones and sensitivity. For outside cameras, as shown here, this can be a touchy subject. Think about it, what is one outside entity that is completely beyond your control? If “sun” is your answer, we are exactly on the same thought process. You don’t see the tree that produces the shadows that continually move throughout the day, or the wind that blows the leaves and produces motion noticed by the camera.
The road itself is visible, but not the vehicles which produce shadows when riding by. Setting up zones with custom sensitivity and threshold enables control of “false positive” movement but that also reduces the capability to recognize actual movement in those areas.
My opinion is that it is more important to allow the recording to continue through a majority of the day while accurately catching the desired movements in covered areas. One occasion where it is truly applicable to apply zones and sensitivity would be inside usage. If your camera is pointed at a door to pick up on motion outside of the window, it can be set to ignore motion below the window (maybe an inside dog) while setting the sensitivity and threshold to pick up only on solid, continual movement (with a setting to ignore leaf movement outside of the window).
Your Circumstances
Is there a specific setting that can cover certain individual circumstances? Definitely not. Each application requires experimentation with sensitivity and threshold to ensure that the camera picks up on desired motion while ignoring motion considered of no concern. I, personally, spent hours making minor adjustments to both of these settings and finally decided to back up on the settings in order to properly pick up motion in my yard.
With the Amcrest app, you have the ability to play back recordings with motion only in selected areas. This is truly beneficial when looking for only specific activity. In my case, we have hawks that sit outside on the fence and a quite brave bunny who taunts them. I am waiting to catch that on video to post it on YouTube. That is a video with viral potential!
What is your preferred security camera application? What type of camera will you require with which specifications? Cameras come with 720p resolution up to 4 or 5 megapixels. You could choose to install cameras which connect through BNC cable and require power outlets installed for each one. The decision and cost is completely up to you.
