Wanted: Good quality POE security cameras for RTSP feed to monitoring PC

[Psi]

What brand/model of outdoor POE security cameras are good value for money atm?

I don't need a huge amount of on-camera features as i will be routing the video stream to a PC to do the motion detect/recording etc..  (Probably PC running iSpy or similar).

- POE required
- Needs to provide a h264/265 RTSP output stream (or similar common standard).
- 2k or 4k would be nice but 1080p is totally ok if the optics are high quality. (no crappy plastic lenses)
- Motorized PTZ would be nice but not really required, but manual zoom would be good. (i'm expecting PTZ adds alot of extra cost, but if its cheap or included with good camera then it would be nice to have)
- On camera uSD not really needed.
- IR/Night vision would a nice to have.
- Price range per camera, maybe USD$300 max. Ideally under $250
- 2ndhand might be ok, but new preferred.

I'm in New Zealand
Any recommendations.

[5U4GB]

If you want good-quality name-brand ones you can get Amcrest cameras off Amazon US, these are Dahuas but with Amcrest branding.  For a PTZ in your budget, look at the IP4M-S2112EW-AI, it has a plastic rather than metal case like the much, much higher-priced ones in the range have, but apart from that it seems to be the same, and the lighter weight makes it much easier to mount - wrestling a metal-cased Dahua PTZ up the side of a building to install it isn't much fun.

Some other notes:

• Avoid Aliexpress cheapies and their Amazon dropshipped equivalents, you'll spend more time and money than you saved by not going with a name brand trying to figure out all the corners that have been cut and how to work around them.  Name brands like Dahua and Hikvision will have detailed, credible specs, not just some made-up numbers like the cheapies.
• Read the details of anything advertised as PTZ very carefully.  Many PTZ cameras are really only PT once you read the specs, or the Z is "digital zoom" and not actual zoom.
• Dry-run the install several times before you climb up a ladder to do it, and have a second person to assist.  Even then, expect to take it down again at least once, possibly twice to redo some bit you missed initially.

[Psi]

Thanks,

These will be mounted under the eves of a single story house, so not really a mounting height issue.

Probably should be Dome cameras.
I don't want to put anything that looks super fancy on the house as it makes people wonder what's in there that's worth that much protection.
There's a point where a deterrent turns into an attractant

[5U4GB]

In that case just get some sub-$100 ones, in most cases like covering your front door or driveway a fixed-focus dome camera is fine and will cost much less than any PTZ.  The Dahuas and Hikvisions have pretty substantial metal cases and polycarbonate domes that aren't easily damaged.

When you mount them, consider getting a junction box to put all the camera cabling in and join up the ethernet from inside the house rather than having to stuff it up into the soffit and try and connect things up there, the Dahuas come in a few standard sizes that you can get matching junction boxes for, either from Dahua or a bunch of OEMs.

Oh, and have a look at Frigate with a Coral TPU for thing-detection if you're not going to use the on-camera capabilities.

[Jackster]

+1 for Hikvisions. I have used them for over 10 years and no problems.
Their colour at night cameras are amazing!

Reolink is doing quite well as well in terms of quality and price.
They also have a nice video doorbell with RTSP but the API is not finished yet so you are forced to use their app.

BTW, BlueIris is the best PC based software for CCTV.

[mianos]

I have the Reolink RLC-811A, ticks all those boxes, POE (mine runs on the local UPS services battery with an injector), optical zoom and focus, 4K at least, made of metal.
Standard H246, standard onvif stream that can be used to feed OpenCV and a jetson (as mine does).
Works with VLC, standard linux tools, like motion.
Works with frigate and coral (I have a coral but use it with my own stack).
It has storage (never used it).
It has lights, both white and infra red.
It has motion detection built in that you can access with the onvif interface and some hackery XML.

Also has a good app if you want to access your stream from remote and share it with the chinese government (I use mine locally only).

Edit, the onvif is supported by ispy.  (There are two streams, works fine)

[bateau020]

In the price range mentioned, Dahua and Hikvision are solid brands.
Axis is a lot better, but also a lot more expensive.
You might also look at Brickcom and Vivotek, less known, but "good enough". Just don't take their entry level cams and write settings to the cameras too often (i.e.: multiple times per day over the years), I found their flash store to burn out over time.