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Are there any applications that can turn an old smart phone into a wildlife/security camera? (lemm.ee)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

31 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Have been thinking about this for a couple years. I have old phones kicking around. Battery shot, hardware dated, but the camera(s) and mic and antennas still work. Would be cool if there were a way to set them up (powered) to stream audio/video or even take stills at intervals (or motion-activated) and then sync the content to the rest of the devices on my network.

I don't know how complex the programming for something like this would be. But I suspect it's trivial for those who do know.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

There is no reason a camera cannot be on all the time... Why couldn't it?

Sensor wear, mechanical parts (if any), heat, etc. Essentially wear and tear. Just like nothing lasts forever, using it in a way that it's not intended/tested/quality assured, may reduce its lifespan.

Basically: "is the device intended to be on and recording 24/7?"

yes: good, the device should last and perform for its purpose
no: well, let's gamble and see how long it lasts

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Sensor wear

This does not happen AFAIK. Most phones have no shutters so tge sensors receive light all the time, and the little required power does not overheat it.

mechanical parts (if any)

This is a valid point but the actuators in a phone camera's focusing mechanism are more like a speaker than a motor. They can last for ages, and many apps allow disabling autofocus when idle.

heat

This one is valid. Even basic image processing is a load on the CPU, and recording/streaming definitely is. Depends on how the camera is mounted to allow airflow.

gamble and see how long it lasts

Sure. The stakes are not very high if the phone would otherwise lay in a drawer.