Cross post at IP-

Have a building where a tenant is damaging doorstrikes and management wants a temp camera to use to catch him.

The camera will NOT have any network. I can power the camera locally. However the main issue is the employees need to be able to EASILY play back the footage on their pc.

If tried a few before but the process to view the videos was too involved for the employees.

Ideally would be something with a microsd they can use for storage.

Anyone have experience with something like that?

Most security IP cameras have a local SD record option, although the footage may need to be converted to a “normal” format.

If you want to do it on a shoestring budget, one of those cheap $25 Yi “1080p” USB-powered cams on Amazon can take a 32gb micro SD and will do local motion-based recording without a cloud account. The client can then take the SD or even the whole camera back to their Wifi network and use the app to view and record the footage. They can’t exactly be “securely” installed though if tampering is a concern.

A game camera may be a good option. Motion activated, no network required, and most make for pretty easy viewing.

I think those game cameras might be my best bet.

I bring this up all the time, and most of the non-hunters will be shocked at how good game cameras are...They also have protective housings that you can purchase so they don't get stolen or damaged. (Many people hunt public land, you'd be surprised what people will do when nobody is looking).


Remember, these things take pics and video of deer in the middle of the night..There aren't any streetlights in the woods.

Lastly, many of the better ones have the ability to send video and images directly to your mobile phone for $15 per month, and because they're for hunting you can turn that service off whenever you'd like.

Here are 3 brands that I'd recommend.

Bushnell.  (Good quality, stand by their product. most of my personal cams are Bushnell)
[Link: bushnell.com]

SpyPoint. (Popular work great, inexpensive).
[Link: spypoint.com]

Reconyx (In my opinion, best camera on the planet, built like a tank, but expensive).
[Link: reconyx.com]