To set up a Raspberry Pi with a USB camera, then read on.
#RASPBERRY PI IP CAMERA INSTALL#
If you’re using the official Raspberry Pi Camera Module or the Pi NoIR, then simply follow steps 1-3 in the walkthrough on the next page to install MotionEyeOS on the additional Raspberry Pi and add the video stream on your main Raspberry Pi. MotionEyeOS supports multiple security cameras which will allow you to monitor a number of areas at once. The easiest way to access additional cameras is over a wireless network, and it makes sense to have a Wi-Fi dongle for each Pi-camera you want. Luckily, you can buy a camera adaptor cable from the Pi Hut (opens in new tab). If you decide to keep costs down and use a Raspberry Pi Zero for additional security cameras but still want to use the official Raspberry Pi or Pi NoIR camera modules, bear in mind the camera port is smaller on the Zero. For the purposes of this tutorial, a Microsoft HD-3000 USB webcam (opens in new tab) was attached to a Raspberry Pi Zero to work as an additional camera and worked out of the box, with some help from a USB OTG cable.
#RASPBERRY PI IP CAMERA TRIAL#
If the area you want to monitor is poorly lit, you may want to consider using the Pi NoIR infrared camera module which does everything the standard camera module does but allows the camera to see in the dark with infrared.įor those on a shoestring, the Raspberry Pi also supports a number of USB webcams although this can be very much trial and error. It can be attached to the CSI port on your Raspberry Pi in a couple of minutes. It uses a Sony IMX219 8-megapixel sensor and therefore has no trouble recording HD videos and photos. Version 2 of the Camera module, which was released back in April 2016, is a staggering improvement on the original. The Nwazet casing is designed to work with the official Raspberry Pi Camera. On the subject of cameras, there are several options. If you are more of a hobbyist, it’s also possible to pick up fake CCTV cameras from your local bargain bin and place your Raspberry Pi inside, though naturally you’ll need to drill holes to allow entry of the power cable and find your own way to mount the Raspberry Pi camera.
If you’re handy with a drill and rawl plugs, the casing also comes with screws so it can be mounted to a wall. It has a neat magnetic connector that enables you to connect the Pi camera to the lens and snap it into place. The bundles come with a special case for a Raspberry Pi B+/2/3 made from acrylic and include a fisheye lens for a panoramic view. Note: you may recognise these as Nwazet products but they’ve been rebranded as ModMyPi. One excellent and easy setup is to use the Pi Camera Bundle from ModMyPi (opens in new tab). You should also pay careful consideration to your casing. The most sensible setup is to have a Raspberry Pi 2 or 3 as your central computer for viewing the camera feeds and storing footage and a Raspberry Pi Zero with camera for each additional area you want covered by CCTV. Rolling release is great and all and I love arch but for these sort of always on devices stability is a necessity.Once you have planned a basic layout for your security camera network, you will have an idea of the equipment you’ll need. I'm probably going to switch to OS on my odroid also to get greater stability. I love arch arm but it's updates have killed my odroid(it was down for a week or two while I waited for a fix), I'm looking to switch to raspbian for more stability on my RPi security cam.
#RASPBERRY PI IP CAMERA SOFTWARE#
All this software is available for raspbian which I plan to switch to soon. I have it setup so all recordings are saved on a samba server running on an odroid-xu4 also running arch arm alsp. I'm running arch arm on the RPi security cam and I've installed both motion and motioneye(motioneye so I get a pretty web interface) and samba. I'm probably going to have to find a better power source and I still need to encrypt my root partition incase someone someone decides to steal my RPi security cam but, ATM it's working, it's running in the pic even. Here's a link to my RPi b+ security cam running off a solar chargeable powerbank: I set up a wireless security camera using an RPi b+ and a webcam using motion and motioneye, motion and motioneye also support ip cams.