Need an outdoor WEBCAM??

[squale]

Well I live in the Northest and we obviously get some pretty crappy weather up here. Right now it's in the teens so you always have that frost issue, etc. What I am looking to do is mount a webcam outside, so I need something wireless, and I want something that can pan and tilt as well. I was thinking about mounting this camera on my roof so that I can monitor my yard and surroundings remotely through the internet while I am at work. Does anybody know of a camera that works outdoors even in rain, snow, bitter cold temps, etc. that would fit this purpose?

And how about mounts? does anybody know of good mounts for this type of configuration?

[stabber]

i wouldnt use wireless. Every one I've tried has been teh suck.
Get a decent wired one (expect to pay $130-$250). They sell 4 port pci video cards on ebay. Pick one of those up. You can then connect 4 cameras and watch them all remotely. Thats the only one I know that works. And it works WELL

[squale]

what type of inputs are on these video cards? does any video card have an RCA input?

[stabber]

ps: stay away from x10

[squale]

lol that's the ones I was actually looking at, in specific the X10 Nigh****ch wireless cameras and I wanted to mount these outside around my house..

have you used any of the x10 cameras? if so, how is their wireless? does it go 100ft? is it fast and clear? are the quality of the cameras good?

give me as much detail as you can so I can be more informed on what to buy..
thanks

[PCGUY112887]

Humm, I have always heard things about X-10 (most of the time) and a farmer called in to The Screen Savers (tech show) and Pat refered him to the X-10 site.

I know that D-Link makes some good cameras, but I think they are made more for indoor use. But you could make a houseing for them ;)

[stabber]

yes i have like 5 x10s. The wireless ones SUCK. Do not buy them. The range is terrible and picture is worst.

The nightcams were so so. The lux on them is terrible though and you need a SERIOUS amount of light in order to see anything at night. (a standard porch light doesnt do the job). Find a camera with a very low lux rating and you will be fine. The nightcam x10s were half decent in the daytime, but there are much better cameras out there.

gotchanow.com makes decent software, but some good software comes bundled.

These are the type of camers you need to invest in
http://www.goodcctv.com/bulletcamera.html
I cannot speak for the reputability of that site. It is just an example. It uses BNC connectors. You need to buy a card (ebay has them ) that accepts BNC connections. I bought one of those cards not knowing its BNC and not standard video input.

This is the guy I bought my card from. He is reputable and you can trust him. The card is $.99 but he ships from japan. So total is usually $30. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2988250988&category=3204

You can ask him specific questions. His cards come with awesome software. I havent even got mine running yet because I do not have a camera with bnc connections. I think you can buy adaptors at radio shack though. Ask the guy. Good luck.

[stabber]

by the way, on that site i linked you to with the cameras....... even those cheap little mini ones show an awesome picture (if lux is low enough). My friend uses them in his bike shop to watch the employees. The quality is amazing. Doesnt matter what or where you buy it. LUX IS THE KEY

[squale]

so you are saying even the near zero lux rating of the x10 nightcams still are crappy cams? they don't do well in the daytime or the nighttime?

how is the quality of these cameras you game me the link to compared to the Logitech cameras? I know the new Logitech sphere just came out, that looks pretty nice.

any other cameras you would recommend, like D-link, etc?

[stabber]

Webcams suck for anything other than webcam chat. The x10s are terrible for security and nighttime watching. If you don't believe me, go buy some :). Their lux rating looks low, but it ISNT. I think they have .05 or something like that which ISNT LOW

Now some of the more expensive dlinks are decent with sufficient light, but I wouldnt use them for outside home monitoring. They're ok for internal though

Check out the lux on this bad boy, this is what you need (again, I have no clue if the dealer selling this is reputable) http://www.scx.com/store/prodinfo.asp?number=pc182xp. For outdoor/nightime use, get something with .0003 lux
For indoor, a HIGH QUALITY (not x10) .05 lux camera will do provided you have enough light

[stabber]

by the way, some wired cameras come with really long wire (60ft) for mounting outside. If you get a BNC camera, you can extend the range with coax cable available at radioshack. Again, wireless sucks

[stabber]

EDIT again lol.
I see you just want to watch weather with your camera. I never read your original post entirely. The X10 wireless *may* be ok for that. If you used high quality stuff, you wouldnt be able to get the tilt and pan feature without spending A LOT OF MONEY. Get the x10 then, but don't use it for security. Cant see sh*t. The reason I posted this , is because you wanted tilt and pan etc. X10 can give you all that for a cheap price.
If you're on budget go this way. Only use it for watching birds and snow though. Don't try to catch robbers :D