Paranoia definitely pays when it comes to recording.

Been seeing a lot of posts lately about only recording on motion. Generally this is either to save disk space or make recording to the somewhat feasible. See Some things to keep in mind if you are thinking of cloud recording your cams. Problem is it comes down to one thing. Do you REALLY think you have all possible scenarios covered? In a conversation I just had, a guy was using several sensors, per camera, to try to catch motion while at the same time filter motion triggered by him. While this might make sense for an alarm to keep triggers to the minimum, there is no practical reason to limit recording this way. Recorded video is generally the thing you go to after the alarm failed to protect you. Or to find out the mess you are looking at in the yard happened that the alarm was not even looking for. Bottom line though the ONLY way you will know for sure everything works like you think is after the fact when you notice something has happened and you go look for video. Kind of like raccoon / mouse proofing that way. If you are only recording on triggers then there might be no video to find. Recording 24/7 there will be video even if everything but the cam and the recorder fails to work as planned.

This brings up a point though. How can you mark the video / trigger alerts based on other sensors? This article covers that question pretty well for Blue Iris. Basically it comes down to this.
Set your alerts to be retriggerable by  checking "Also re-triggers"

Then call the trigger via a URL get in the form of
http://IP_ADDRESS_OF_BI_SERVER:PORT/admin?camera=camera_short_name&trigger&user=XXXXX&pw=XXXXXX

For instance to try from a browser assuming:
Your Blue Iris server is on IP address 10.10.2.46 on port 8076 and you wanted to trigger IPcam62 Note that is that is the short name on your properties screen.

And your login is admin/P@$$w0rd
You would call http://10.10.2.46:8076/admin?camera=IPcam62&trigger&user=admin&pw=P@$$w0rd

You should see a response like
signal=green
profile=-1
lock=0
camera=IPcam62-Garage N
If you see camera=NULL you have mistyped the camera name.

To trigger from Homeseer you would create an event like

To go the other way (trigger Homeseer form Blue Iris) see this post in my automation blog.

Other home automation systems are similar.

It is just that simple to get every motion event marked on your video to make finding the right footage easy. If you find the motion sensor is working well enough, you can even turn off Blue Iris' motion detection the save a good bit on CPU load though I prefer to leave it on just tuned to the insensitive side.

Reolink RLC-411WS

Reolink 5MP HD 2.4/5Ghz Dual Band Wi-Fi Wireless Security IP Camera, Autofocus Bullet with 16GB Micro SD Card (RLC-411WS)

High points

• Resolution is 2560*1440 (Full 2K from a 5 MP sensor)
• 4X Optical Zoom, 2.8-12mm that yields a viewing angle: 100° in wide angle mode to 36° zoomed in. Note it does not reset to widest angle when rebooted like many do.
• Night Vision rated up to 100ft with 36pcs LED
• WiFi: 802.11a/b/g/n with both 2.4 and 5 Ghz radios
• Built-in 16GB Micro SD Card for storage
• Auto focus not fixed focus
• Does not require a plug in to view from a browser
• Android app finds camera

Mixed

• Audio seems a bit tough to get at.
• Auto focus can be a bit slow.

Downside 

The mount and the antennae interfere with each other if angled to the side.


Almost twice the length of the  Amcrest IP3M-943W and a bit wider and a bit more expensive but you get a 4 X motorized zoom, a 5 Ghz WiFi radio, auto focus and audio for the bit extra.

Reliability

From what others have posted this is generally a solid camera but as I posted 2 months in mine started completely losing its config every time it rebooted. This meant I had to use it as wide angle camera with no password. Not good but not a total deal breaker on a secured network. I just put a fixed telephoto with it for the combined very wide angle and gate views. I was even thinking I'd get another to replace the 2 cams near the creek but 6 months in and the zoom and focus motors are stopping working on a regular basis. This might not be a major issue except when they go out the camera also goes out of focus leaving me with rather worthless view.

This has gotten be at least a daily occurrence now. I went in and told it to reboot daily. (Oddly it seems to remember this is enabled and frequency but time seems to change to a diff one after reboot.) That seemed to help for a day or 2. Currently to fix I have to reboot the camera, log back in and kick the zoom a couple times to get the autofocus working again. This is of course making the camera almost worthless. So I'm divided on getting another one. This might be heat related as well given it is in full sun and it hit 100 degrees outside a while ago. I noticed the dome version of this is $20 cheaper plus there are some refurbs available for $25 below that so I ordered one to try.

Blue Iris Setup

Is pretty much straight forward but I have not found a way to get the audio stream yet.

The compare tests

All 3 camera were mounted next to each other on the same post with the IR flood so IR coverage is not a factor in image quality. Top to bottom Escam QD900 (Gate39) with a 16 mm lens installed, the Reolink RLC-411WS (IPcam61) and a Foscam FI9804 (IPcam44)

First off contrast with the sun out and the Reolink

 and Escam the look about the same when viewed at same size.

Similar with the night shots
The Reolink in wide angle mode

Though it has a wider view and more contrast than the Foscam

 The Reolink fully zoomed is still wider

 the Escam with the a 16 mm lens. The Escam looks a bit better for objects at the gate but closer in the Reolink is much better.

 If you zoom in it really comes home that the Escam wins on distance

The Reolink in zoomed actually does not look quite as well as the one from

The wide angle view depending on what you are looking for. This might be partly an auto focus issue. Given the foreground in the full shots is so clear it maybe focused wrong.

Funny the swing set is more visible in the wide angle shot but the wood grain is better in the zoomed shot. Note that corner of the building is 372 feet from the cameras and has its own security light on it.

Here are the shots for testing recognition at just over 100 feet. At first glance it might look like the Escam wins given its tighter angle making the subject larger in the pics

but if you zoom in to make them the same size the Reolink is much clearer on the face though about a draw on the plate. The last one is pulled from the wide angle shot from the Reolink which is almost as useless as a shot from the 720p Foscam.

Here are the shots for testing recognition at close to 200 feet with similar relative results.

Zoomed in they look like this for the Reolink zoomed, the Escam and the Reolink zoomed out.

Unfortunately reading plates at the gate is iffy at best with either cam BUT I'm thinking it will replace both the Escam and the Foscam in this instance.  To read plates at the gate looks like it will take either a higher resolution and or a higher magnification lens. Thinking maybe next trying USG Business Grade 4MP H.265 IP Bullet Security Camera : Telephoto MOTORIZED 5-50mm Auto-Focus Lens, Power Over Ethernet, 72x IR LEDs, 32GB microSD Card, Weatherproof, ONVIF 2.4