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I am trying to find out if it can be done cheaply (say, under 250). There are plenty of cameras that will do the job, but the question is whether I can get a relatively cheap, trustworthy camera to first use to check out the software and then use in this position. If I can't, I will buy an expensive one only if I feel that this is a significant loophole. My intent for the main camera is a solid, industrial-strength one like the Axis P1427-LE. Double the price of the cheapest effective one and a LOT more than double the capability.

I could post a picture, but it isn't needed. The side of my house is 10 metres long and 5 metres high, and there is a fence 2 metres high 1 metre away from it, with a side gate at the street end. I can mount a camera anywhere on my wall, but it has to be high up, not least because we regularly carry ladders etc. along that passage. The lighting is indirect from streetlights, so I should need an IR camera (sorry, I should have said), and PoE would be a lot simpler. To get it both high and at a decent angle, I need the distance It's easy to do if I buy either a high resolution camera or a zoomable one, but most are pricey. This would be the braces of a belt and braces approach, because anyone getting to that side gate has to be visible from the front of the house, so I was hoping to get away with a much cheaper camera. Now, there ARE cheapish high-resolution IR cameras around, but I have no idea of their quality. It's not a big deal if I can't, because the main camera should pick up approaches to that gate, but I have been in IT too long to trust anything electronic - yes, my home desktop has ECC and I back up nightly to a separate disk from my active file system

I have a passage beside my house about 1 metre wide, where a camera would be 8 metres from the side gate, which implies that I need at most a 10 degree angle. But do any such cameras exist? The point is that I need only low precision, which should imply cheap (if I can find such a thing!) and low bandwidth. But damned if I can find such a thing.

I am sure that this is a FAQ, but I can't get the search function to work (no hits on 'Linux'?) and it doesn't seem to have come up recently. I am interested in some home security cameras, and want to store the data on a Linux system, and view it retrospectively. That is ALL I need or want. I have experience in managing computers and networks, and can provide plenty of 'oomph'. The problem is that all the blurb is in terms of running proprietary applications or browsers, using fancy facilities, and is usually Microsoft-based. I would really rather not do more hacking than I need to, though I can if I have to If I do this, I would probably go up-market (Axis or similar), but I have no objections to spending pocket money on a disposable device (Swann or similar) to experiment with. But I don't want to waste a lot of time. I should appreciate any pointers to useful Web sites, hints of which cameras are relatively easy to use like that, and so on. Thanks for any hints.