In these financially troubled times you can never be sure when a banker will go from filching money from your bank account to coming to your house and nicking your actual stuff. So why not prevent more banker-related woes by fitting a home security camera? The EyeSpy247PTZ is a very capable example.
Using a wired or wireless network to send images from your home back to you, wherever you are in the world, it's a smashing system for keeping an eye out for burglars, and handing video evidence to the police if someone does get in and take your stuff.
What makes the snappily named PTZ so excellent is its nifty features. Firstly, it's mounted on a motorised head, which means you can watch more than one fixed location. It also means the camera can 'patrol' for you, rotating its head to take in far more than a fixed model. It also features an infrared motion sensor, which enables the camera to detect movement and start recording.
Like most of these products, there's the option to upload stills and video to the servers of the manufacturer. Happily, you can also use your own FTP server to transfer videos automatically. This is excellent, because it means that if an intruder realises he's been captured, the video of his ugly, feckless moosh will already be happily residing in the cloud, awaiting police inspection.
Recordings can be triggered by a user-controlled event, such as someone triggering the infrared, or simply a fixed time. You can also hard-wire an optional sensor into the camera, and although this is probably beyond most home users, it might appeal to small businesses.
The EyeSpy247PTZ isn't the cheapest security camera we've seen. It is, however, one of the most flexible. We love the FTP uploads, and the software that comes with it is pretty good. We got a kick out of watching our home from afar, and we like that you can control the camera and even turn on its built-in LED lights from hundreds of miles away. If you've got a pet, this is endless fun as your bemused little chum tries to work out what's going on.
If you're keen to secure your home and annoy your animals, the EyeSpy247PTZ is available now for £190.