Home Camera System for Fathers Day

[Basballny2]

Looking to get my dad a camera system for the house for Father's Day. He's been talking about getting them for a while, anyone have a brand they recommend? Probably need 4 cameras.

[Rubbermittens]

Before The "experts" Chime in, I am assuming that for a fathers day gift your not looking to spend $3,500 on a system (which is about what a basic system will cost if you do it right) With that said, Costco has a box system made by samsung That is very good for the money, it will set you back around $700.00 it is a 16 camera system, The value is in the DVR unit which is very good (the Cameras Do NOT suck either)

[MSA77]

Be careful when looking at these. Technology has made many available, and some are better than other, of course, Watch out for ones that send all of the recordings to "the cloud" and require subscriptions. Not all of these are bad, but if the inside of your house is going to an off premises server, you want it encrypted. Some have motion sensors, and some have LED lights. Some don't need lights, because they will get sharp video just with ambient lighting. Having an LED light pop on might be a good deterrent in itself. I have researched these and some had horror stories of neighbors with similar systems watching you! No system is perfect. The advertise on TV the doorbell that comes through your phone, acts like an intercom, and the person ringing the bell is getting recorded, and doesn't even know if you are home. These are definitely one of these things were you can spend as much as you want. I know someone that installs them, but I wouldn't even recommend them. Not because they are dishonest, they are actually as honest as the "driven snow" but there is way too much variety, and what's hot today, is outdated tomorrow. Read reviews of the various systems on the web. I always start with Amazon. I don't know if you are a do-it-yourselfer, but you can find the pros and cons of the various systems, and always find someone to install it, if that's not your thing. I would definitely check "home security" companies for Nassau and Suffolk, just to talk, and see what systems they recommend. If they cant be bothered, I wouldn't go near them. Plus you can check reviews of the systems they use. Definitely check the Better Business Bureau Online too. I have some stuff I did myself, but I was about to order a "DropCam" system (I think that was it, if not, that is close enough to find it) and it seemed pretty easy to self install, but then I found out that you are stuck with their cloud service. There ma be many benefits to that, I don't know enough, but I would (unless convinced otherwise) want something that records to a hard drive in my possession. Then again, sophisticated thief's could then grab the data storage and take it to go!

[Basballny2]

Thanks for the replies guys. Starting off with outside cameras only. Would only need 4 cameras, 5 at the most. Just something that can do its job and provide a sense of security. Just another layer. The 500-700 range is where I was looking and will definitely check out those Samsung cameras.

[Long Island Gunner]

Microcenter had one that you had to buy the hard drive separate. It has most features. It is sitting in a box under my kitchen table because I have been too lazy to put it together. Comes with 4 IR cameras, has room for 4 more.