I’m looking at dusting off my motion setup. It was an old setup to monitor what my pets are doing in the house with a webcam.
However, I need cameras outside to monitor my gardens and the webcams are not really usefull for that (for one, the’re not waterproof and USB cams)
I try to look for stand alone cameras, but can’t find a good test of them. (probably user error) Any tips on good, safe, cameras for outside? (pref poe, wifi when it can’t be avoided, not battery powered)
Thanks in advance


i am not sure what “stand alone” means but unifi protect is self hosted. amcrest can tie i to home assisstant
The only reason why I hesitate to recommend Ubiquiti cameras is even their cheapest offerings are kind of expensive.
And although you can run isolated from the Internet, managing updates is a bit painful. (Ask me how I know)
As a CCTV enthusiast, I do not generally recommend ubiquiti cameras unless the person wants to wholly live in the unifi ecosystem.
They’re very pricey for what you get, even though they are pretty good. They’re most often not even near the best in class despite their price, though (looking at you, doorbell camera)
They also don’t play nice with open/self hosted NVRs. It’s getting better due to consistent demand, but the reality is that they’re at their best when you use unifi protect, on unifi devices. So IMO it’s all or nothing, and since there’s a lot better value in other brands, I choose not to use them anymore.
They’re pretty user friendly, though
With “stand alone” is meant a camara you can use without suplier software (at home or in the cloud).
I just want a camera that I can use with motion. (unify has local software, but still you need their software as far as I know)
amcrest. i got it working with home assisstant
I think they mean a cam that doesn’t need to be plugged in through usb to work, like an ip camera.
They gave POE cameras that will just work with an Ethernet cable (although they gave weird POE requirements). Their USB powered ones are wifi connected.
Source: I’ve had them for years and am happy with the setup.