MarkV

Short story : Mobotix seems to make my life easier due to being an outdoor camera but are a bit more expensive. Are there alternatives I should consider? IQinvision ? Long story : Background : I'm a noob with some tech savvy. I'm in a neighborhood experiencing random break-ins and while I do have an alarm system, I'd like to know a little more about what's going on around outside the house. I'm considering adding some cameras in a do-it-myself fashion. I'm in an OLD house (brick/stone everywhere, even some interior walls) and am trying to limit the amount of new electrical work as well as wiring that I need to do. I have about 12 TB of RAID and another 8 TB of jbod disk on servers dedicated to serving media over IP which I can use as part of a storage solution. These cameras would be unmonitored and I would primarily be reviewing logs. I have CAT5E run (frequently multiple runs) or accessible throughout most of the house or at least nearby most of the points close to where cameras would be installed, so IP cameras with POE seems like an obvious approach. The issue is using these devices outside as most of them require a separate housing with 24VAC which means a power source and additional wiring. From a marketing perspective (since I have zero personal experience with the camera), I liked the Arecont/Ganz 3130M, but the housing requirements have me looking at the Mobotix M12D-Sec-DNight and/or possibly their domes with an outdoor housing. Any suggestions as to why one would lean towards one or the other ? Also, I have two spots that could simplify wiring using the Arecont 8180 and 8360. I would have to use outdoor housings and run wire for 24VAC, but these two cameras seem like they could really make life easier. Any comments on quality/reliability ? How bad is .2lux performance in city neighborhoods with some light (EDIT - forgot I had a lightmeter - time to test tonight!)? Any alternatives I should consider ?