​WiFi Cameras

By BD Bondy

I hesitate to call this an article about security cameras because we use our cameras more to watch the wildlife around our house. We have a camera devoted to what’s under our porch, for instance. Generally, we have a couple of cats under there, but often there are raccoons too. Sometimes a squirrel, mouse, bird, and once, a dog. 
 
The camera is also useful in letting us know who came over and dropped off some electronics. In front of the house we’ve seen dogs, a coyote, a baby bear, cats, raccoons. Behind the house we’ve watched bobcat, and an owl in the apricot tree. 
 
Same stuff at my mom’s house, capturing videos of javalina, bobcat, and other animals. If you have any interest in setting up a camera, then you should know that it’s pretty easy. We set up a camera a month back for the hummingbird that build a nest on an extension cord under the roof of our porch. I was able to use the cheaper indoor Blink brand camera as it’s protected. 
 
Our brand of camera overall is Blink. They come in multi packs if you want, indoor and outdoor, and plugin and battery. We have a couple that have security lights too. Choose which one you want for where, there’s a lot of flexibility. We have several that are outdoor, and they are a bit pricier. Usually you need a subscription to store the videos, but not always. 
 
For security purposes, you would want the cloud storage of videos, otherwise, the local storage could be taken along with other contents of your house. If security isn’t really the purpose, then a camera that does local storage on a flash drive would be fine. 
 
I have 2 articles to read about some ‘top choices’ of cameras by reputable magazines. 
https://www.cnet.com/home/security/best-home-security-camera/
https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-wireless-outdoor-home-security-camera/