The search for the perfect camera system

[nfbr]

This search is not going well, and likely never will.
But I’ll document my failures to save others time / money.

I want cameras on my Cat for
Security recording
Unusual event recording
Engine room viewing
Anchor chain hauling
Rock / Coral spotting
Night navigation

They need to be
-Wifi to my Nav tablet as I’m not pulling ethernet wires,, -12v I have close to most locations.
-have continuous recording,
-see at night by starlight without any illumination, including IR,
- Some to have PTZ
- Most be IP rated
- Not need the Internet
- be cheap.

Being a cat, securing my sugar scoops is important. Movement sensors have all been a failure, and we have tried many.
Person image recognition seems to be an answer

[nfbr]

Fail 1 - Knockoff 4K Starlight Hikvision on mast under radar.
Too high to see anything useful
Too low angle to see through water
Leaked after 12mths
Terrible app, no firmware updates
Needed inbuilt spotlights to see well at night
Wired. No wifi. PoE (passive)

[rslifkin]

If you want continuous recording, you're going to need some kind of wiring to the cameras most likely. At least for power even if the data feed is wireless. Most battery powered setups won't provide continuous recording as they'd chew through batteries too quickly.

[nfbr]

Partial Fail 2 - Blink Battery Cams

Bought these in a hurry to watch the boat whilst we were away. No time to run wires.

The batteries do last a long time, and the wifi is nice
The movement detection doesnt work well
They only record for 10 seconds to save battery
Resolution and quality is poor
Night vision is terrible

Indoors maybe. Not outdoors.

[nfbr]

Fail 3 - EZVIZ - several of their best models.

All need Internet to use the app. Its how they locate the camera. Offshore, forget it.
Some models do have a local backdoor with very limited features, if you know the codes that are written on the back of each installed camera.

The person detection works great day or night
The wifi is good
Quality is ok.
The indoor PTZ for the engine rooms are PT only, no Z, and the tilt angle is limited
The mast PTZ is PT only. And its night vision is poor
The fixed CX have good wifi and night vision

All have local record to SD with H265 (nice)

No standard formats. You must use their app to view cams and recording.

No alarm outputs or dry contacts.

12v, PoE(pasv) or USB power depending on model.

The needing internet is a deal breaker
Pity as the people recognition is outstanding

[nfbr]

Sortof works 4

GoPro for watching anchor chain.

Hauling up the anchor in a blow needs assitance from the engines, but our bow blows off badly, so the skipper needs good directions or an image of the chain.
On advice from a friend, looking forward under the nets gives good perspective and contrast of the chain to manage the motors to stay over it.

The gopro does work for this, with wireless
A little fiddly to turn on, get going, but it works
Dont drop the gopro

[nfbr]

Next try. Reolink for the engine rooms
Indoor PTZ

Results TBA

[nfbr]

Partial success - Analog cams and mini 2 channel DVR

Copied from another cruiser.
Mini fixed ball cams and a 2 channel vehicle / taxi DVR. 12v and micro SD
IR illumination.
Its wired, and clicks at night when it sees motion
Does seem to work for 3 years now
I have to remove the card to watch it and configuring it needs an unusual mini hdmi cable and PC Monitor.

It works reliably, in a limited fashion for basic recording.

[David Mathis]

A few years ago we bought monitor and two cameras designed for an RV. One camera is set for port side docking and the other is on the transom for Med docking (stern in). Without the system, docking was challenging due not being able to see the dock from the helm. It isn't a security system that records, it's only for docking and works well for that application. It's a hard wire system so no batteries to change. It proved to be the perfect system with no improvements needed. Docking, especially in a wind or cross current, is busy enough without trying to manipulate a pan and tilt camera. If it needed replacement, I would buy the same system.

[blackc2004]

Have you tried https://ui.com/us/en/camera-security

Not sure how they would hold up in a salt water environment. But we use them in our production and dish rooms where they get exposed to hot/steam water daily and they stand up pretty good.

[nfbr]

Originally Posted by blackc2004

Have you tried https://ui.com/us/en/camera-security

Not sure how they would hold up in a salt water environment. But we use them in our production and dish rooms where they get exposed to hot/steam water daily and they stand up pretty good.

Used them professionally. PoE only, so hauling cat 6.
Different market