Well… I found this Topic below just by typing “Best…”. The writers of this Discourse forum software are pretty proud of their Search function; but they refuse to write documentation as far as I am aware, so I have no idea if expressions like “and/or/not” work. It just looks for popular keywords or something?
Regardless,
I have yet to choose outdoor cameras, but I’m happy with my basic indoor Foscam and think they are an affordable option.
A pan-tilt indoor Foscam can be put inside a globe enclosure, but you risk the infrared IR LEDs reflecting on the glass and thus useless glared picture. You can avoid this by installing external IR LED floodlights and not using the built-in LEDs which are not very bright anyhow.
A fixed position “bullet camera” is a more economical choice and more reliable (no moving parts), but you have to pick a position and whether to buy wide angle or narrow. Narrow is better for detail, but you get less coverage and may need more cameras.
Outdoor PTZ cameras – well… you’ll get “what you pay for”. I think the higher price of these is only justified if you really need to scan large areas and use a DVR to continuously record, etc… This doesn’t make sense for most residential uses where you don’t have active monitoring and/or a high crime level.
Conclusion:
I recommend inexpensive weatherproof bullet (fixed position) cameras (Foscam are likely fine, but make sure to have a return policy so you can test first – Amazon is super easy for returns and Foscam own site has detailed policies). If a choice of lens angle (wide, medium, narrow), it is sometimes easiest to just test all three and see what works best. High resolution may not be needed if all you are really doing is checking for unexpected motion (and can recognize authorized people with low resolution). High resolution uses more bandwidth on your cell phone, etc. High resolution, however, makes up for the inability to Zoom. And high resolution is pretty much necessary for photos for police research… yet still no guarantees, as trespassers may be disguised (hoodies, etc.).
By choosing cheaper cameras, you can afford to buy more and cover more areas around your home. The cameras themselves could be a target for thieves – a good reason to keep the cost down as well.
Integration with current SmartThings is not a high-priority at the moment because ST does not support streaming video (but I think the motion detect option of these cameras can reliably be used as an ST alarm); still, if you port-forward the camera, there is plenty of Apps that can be used to monitor, snapshot, record, motion alarm, pan-tilt-zoom, etc… I use “IP Camera Viewer” for Android", and I have my motion detects send still pictures via email using the built-in capabilities of my Foscams.
Hope these ideas help, but looking forward to seeing the suggestions here…