I know nothing about cameras, and I’m looking for a camera that would allow me to observe a stone marten that spends a lot of time in my attic.
I need night vision. Ideally, I’d love to be able to see it in real-time on a stream, trigger recording with a motion sensor as well as manually (if necessary).
I think a cable-powered camera would be better, especially if it’s able to stream, tho I’m not sure there’s a power socket in the attic. Plus, the attic is a bit annoying to access, so I prefer not to climb in it too often, but if batteries last long enough, that could work.
There are many options but for around $25 you can get a Wyze v4 that should fit those needs very well. Worst case it is a good starter cam and if you want higher resolution etc you can look at GoPro or other more expensive options.
If you have ambient light in the attic (or can set up a small light) then you’ll even have “color night vision”. Otherwise it will be black and white using the built in infrared lights.
Has built in motion triggers (though without subscription, you’re limited to 1 trigger every 5 mins). You can also put an SD card in it and set it to “continuous” so even if you miss a motion trigger, you’ll have all the video.
Obviously has real time video, and you can trigger manual recording to your phone/device.
If you can’t get power up there, the Battery Cam Pro is the Wyze option, but I’d recommend finding a way to hard wire a cam like the v4, you can go up to about 20 to 25 feet using a long USB cable if there isn’t an AC outlet up there (or AC extension cord etc).
Only concern would be heat, while the cams have a pretty decent heat rating, attics can get quite hot. If yours does, I would go the route of having the USB power supply somewhere out of the attic and running a long USB cable to the cam. While the heat may still affect the cam (over about 120 degrees F or so) at least the more sensitive power supply is protected. But then, those power supplies are cheap and easy to replace too.
Although I am a fan of furry critters I don’t want any of them living or “spending time” in my attic. It cost me about $1,800 a year to trim the trees behind my house so the raccoon gang can’t get on the roof or in the attic. Instead of a camera you should put a HAVAHEART Live trap in your attic and catch the furry critter. then relocate it.
Just to add to what @dave27 mentioned, I like the Cam v4, and it’s currently listing for ~$36 in the Wyze Shop but frequently goes on sale for ~$25. I also like Cam OG, which has a lower resolution and doesn’t have all of Cam v4’s features, but it generally costs less and also goes on sale from time to time. Both allow local recording to microSD, and both have spotlights which could be useful in an attic if you don’t think they’d spook the critter too much. Both also have pixel-based motion detection that you can use without a subscription, which should probably be sufficient in an attic where you wouldn’t normally expect to see much motion. If you want something like “Pet” detection, then you can always add that later by subscribing to an optional plan.
With regard to lighting, both of these have “Color Night Vision” which allows you to stream and record color imagery with adequate ambient light, and in my experience that requirement can be pretty low. I’ve been using Cam Pan v3s in a location where each is several feet away from a standard night light (using 4W-equivalent LED bulbs) and that provides enough to keep the Cams from cycling into typical greyscale (IR-illuminated) night vision. That might be another consideration. If you want to do that, you could even remotely control your night light(s) with a smart plug for scheduled or on-demand lighting that might not be as startling as a Cam’s spotlight.
If you want a recommendation for longer USB cables, then I’ve had good results with these 10′ cables, and that same vendor also has 20′ cables, but I haven’t personally used the latter. Wyze Cams typically come with 6′ cables, and both Cam v4 and Cam OG use USB-A to micro-B cables.
I don’t and I prefer not to annoy the animal anyway
I’ll have a look at these subscriptions, even if I don’t like subscription systems, especially if the camera I buy has all the hardware and software to do the job.
Good remark. I’ve never checked the temps in the attic. I believe it’s hot in summer, which would explain why the stone marten seems to go on vacation during this season, before returning in autumn
I rent the apartment and I don’t care much about something living above me and potential damage. My landlord knows about the stone marten and proposed to have someone remove it, but I declined.
I kinda like to hear it. I hear it run, scratch, etc. I admit that hearing it scream loudly is sometimes annoying, especially if it wakes me up at night or while I’m watching a horror movie.
I run my cams with no subscription and just SD cards recording continuously. Has not been an issue. The 5 minute interval is only how frequently it will “tag” motion, save a still frame of it, and send you a notification. Everything is still recorded to the SD card even within that 5 minutes. If you have it set to “motion only” recording, the timeline will even show you very clearly where there are recordings, even if it doesn’t tag them with “motion”.
The v4 uses a pretty standard 1/4”x20 mounting screw, so most tripods will support it. You’ll need to mount it right side up or upside down though. The cam supports 180 degree image rotation but not 90 (unless you don’t mind seeing it sideways all the time).
I think the OG is the only one that doesn’t use the standard screw type, but there are adapters available.
There have been several class action suits against auto makers that used soy covered wiring. It happened to my neighbors, cost several hundreds of dollars.
One got to my truck but luckily just chewed an EGR vent tube. Took 5 hours to find the check engine light source, and about $2 to fix it.
Between my snap traps and the owls we keep the numbers down pretty well, but every now and then one causes problems.
My garage gets the occasional mouse but they generally don’t do much harm, though one decided to chew up my blue paper towels to make a nest (those things are expensive).
Knock on wood, nothing seems to be able to get into my attic or really inside my house at all, have never had any problems.
The rats around here are way too smart for cheese or peanut butter. Grapes off my vines worked for a while but I think word got out. They can’t seem to resist a chunk of warm McDonald’s cheeseburger though.
California Rats like Almonds. Every spring I get one rat that comes in the garage. I take a dry almond, drill a smal hole in it and attach it to the tang on the trap, then take a screw and scrape another almond that leaves small almond bits all over the trap. Sometimes it takes a while because rats are smart but I always get it just like in your photo.
