IP Camera Learning blog

HOWTO: Transfer images from your Sony IP camera by email when motion is detected

June 12th, 2008 by Greg Innes

A useful security feature found in every Sony IP camera is the ability to have live snapshot images sent to your email address when the camera detections motion.

This is ideal for monitoring your business or property and provides you evidence from potential intruders which remains safe and in your possession even if the camera is discovered.

This guide will explain in step-by-step fashion the process of configuring the camera to send an email when it detects movement.

We have based this guide on the Sony SNC-P5 but this should be relevant to most IP cameras in the Sony range.

HOWTO:

We will assume that your camera is configured and you can access it from the local network.

Step 1 – Configure email settings

Log into the camera and click the ‘Setting’ button to enter the camera’s settings. Ensure you have selected ‘advanced mode’ by clicking the ‘advanced mode’ button at the top right hand side of the page. You should then be presented with the setup menu similar to the one shown below:

To add your email details to the camera, click on the ‘e-Mail (SMTP)’ button in the left hand menu. This will show the following screen:

To add your email details to the camera, check the box marked ‘On’. Further options will open below allowing you to input the data:

SMTP server name: Enter your SMTP server address (up to 64 chars) or the IP address of your SMTP server.

Authentication: Select ‘Off’ if no authentication is required. Select ‘On’ if authentication is necessary and choose from either ‘SMTP Authentication’ or ‘POP before SMTP authetication’.

Recipient e-Mail address: Enter the address where you wish the email to be sent (up to 64 chars). You can send the email to up to 3 different addresses simultaneously.

Administrator e-Mail address: Enter an adminstrator email address (up to 64 chars). This address is used for reply mail and sending system messages from the SMTP server.

Subject: Type in a suitable subject line for your email. Note that the letters ‘MD’ (which stand for motion detection) will be added to the subject line. Other alarm triggers such as external sensors will be given their own using letters for easy identification of email.

Message: Enter a suitable message from the cameara (up to 384 chars).

Step 2 – Set the camera to email an image when it detects motion

Now that your email settings are stored in the camera you will next have to set the action in the camera which will send the images whenever motion is detected.

Staying in the same page as before click the ‘Alarm Sending’ tab at the top of the page.

You will see a page similar to this:

Check the box marked ‘On’ to open the alarm sending options. The options will open below as shown in the screen:

File attachment: ‘On’ if you want an image file attached to the email, ‘Off’ if you only want the camera to send a text-based email notification.

Image filename: Base filename for the image file (max 10 alphanumeric chars including ‘-’ hyphen and ‘_’ underscore)

Suffix: Select a suffix to add to the filename. None, date/time stamp or a number.

Alarm: Select ‘Motion detection’ to have the camera email when it detects motion. Sensor input options are for external sensor devices.

Effective period: Select always or limit your event to a timed schedule.

Finish

And that’s all there is to it. Check your inbox for your images coming in and adjust image settings and motion detection sensitivity to your requirements.