I'm thinking about getting security cameras for my house. I'm mainly thinking i want to see who is driving into my driveway (i want to be able to read license plates) and who is at my front door. I work from home but my office is at the far back corner of the house and i don't know when people are there, sometimes even when they knock.  Anything in particular I should be looking for? I see deals all the time but I assume the cheapest solution is not the best solution. 

I'm not sure what the best on the market is, but we have a Ring doorbell, and Ring security cam (with solar panel) in our back yard. It looks like they've since updated their camera line, as ours is black and everything on their site is now white. We have no real complaints with them. We do pay $6/mo ($3 per device) to have the video stored in the cloud so we can actually watch it after the fact. Otherwise you only get live viewing, which isn't helpful in the case of theft or destruction of property. 

I set up Nest in my home and outside .... Easy and works good ,,,

posted by Belly35

I set up Nest in my home and outside .... Easy and works good ,,,

 What is the monthly fees on this?  Can i see who is ringing my doorbell live from my cell phone? 

posted by superman

 What is the monthly fees on this?  Can i see who is ringing my doorbell live from my cell phone? 

Hmm, I would like to know the same thing.

posted by justincredible

I'm not sure what the best on the market is, but we have a Ring doorbell, and Ring security cam (with solar panel) in our back yard. It looks like they've since updated their camera line, as ours is black and everything on their site is now white. We have no real complaints with them. We do pay $6/mo ($3 per device) to have the video stored in the cloud so we can actually watch it after the fact. Otherwise you only get live viewing, which isn't helpful in the case of theft or destruction of property. 

Just think, if you would have had it a few years ago, you'd possibly still own the same porch furniture.  

posted by salto

Just think, if you would have had it a few years ago, you'd possibly still own the same porch furniture.  

Indeed.

Anyone ever try to do something like this with an old cellphone?  I thought there are apps that would do it - theoretically the cameras are pretty good, decent amount of onboard storage, and then you just need to mount and plug into a power source.

posted by gut

Anyone ever try to do something like this with an old cellphone?  I thought there are apps that would do it - theoretically the cameras are pretty good, decent amount of onboard storage, and then you just need to mount and plug into a power source.

I would be concerned about a cell phone being used outside in the weather. 

posted by gut

Anyone ever try to do something like this with an old cellphone?  I thought there are apps that would do it - theoretically the cameras are pretty good, decent amount of onboard storage, and then you just need to mount and plug into a power source.

Seems like a lot more work than necessary when there are specialized devices that will end up doing a much better job.

posted by superman

 What is the monthly fees on this?  Can i see who is ringing my doorbell live from my cell phone? 

Not sure what the cloud fee is .... Wife handles this

all camera and images come to my cell phone in real time. I can turn on or off any camera and speak from my cell phone to the camera .. The inside camera picks up sound and movement ...and night images