Best Surveillance & Security Cameras
The Nest Cam Outdoor is the perfect addition to any home. SECURITY HAS NEVER LOOKED SO GOOD: The Nest Cam Outdoor is here to help set your mind at ease. Nest Cam Outdoor is beautiful, weatherproof, and it plugs into power, so you never have to worry about dead batteries. Whether you're watching for the kids to get home from school, checking to see if your package has arrived, or scaring off a potential burglar, Nest Cam Outdoor is here to help! Nest Cam looks for motion and listens for loud sounds, like a boom or the crash from a window breaking.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Had a Christmas package stolen form my driveway, because of the camera we were able to identify the license plate and the thief which ultimately resulted in his arrest."
"We've had occasional situations where a camera has gone offline, but I attribute that to a flaky WiFi signal and not necessarily the camera. Regarding the Nest video recording service, we pay the monthly fee for all of our cameras. In the simplest of installations, you'd mount your camera in the desired location and then run the cord to an outdoor power outlet, securing the cord along the way with the included clips. I wanted to use this wiring so I was able to use a power over ethernet (POE) splitter and injector (bought on Amazon) to run power to the camera and then connected the splitter to the camera's power cable using a USB adapter. Because the cable is permanently attached to the camera itself (which isn't inherently a bad thing, and probably has to do with waterproofing), installations like mine which don't require the cable to span a long distance to connect to power end up with a long mess of extra cord. Aside from the physical installation, Nest makes it simple to connect and configure the camera to your home wifi. Using the app you can view your camera's live feed, view past motion events (still images if you don't subscribe to the Nest Aware service to record your video), configure settings like night vision, sound, etc., as well as turn the camera off and on (if you ever need to)."
"You will either get too many annoying alerts that aren't important or basically no alerts. You get (Some) snapshots of alerts. (This means you're probably going to get a lot of annoying alerts that don't matter to you, or you can basically not get any alerts). Since you only have picture snapshots, a lot of alerts won't even have anything in the picture because the motion detected it too late."
"The problem is that they only offer 2 cloud storage option subscriptions to store your history with their Nest Aware cloud storage offering. Here is the break-down: Currently as of 10/24/2016: 1) 10 day - $100 per year per camera with a $50 discount for each additional camera. So for me - that would be $300 / year - to store 10 days of history for 5 of my cameras. OR - They also have: 2) 30 day - $300 per year / camera with a discount 50% discount per camera ($150 per year). This is ridiculous for home consumers who want simple home security. Nest - please make a subscription option for home security for owners to choose how much storage they want or offer and entry level package to store 1 or 2 days storage at a reasonable price."
![Arlo Pro by NETGEAR Add-on Security Camera – Add-on Rechargeable Wire-Free HD Camera with Audio, Indoor/Outdoor, Night Vision (VMC4030) [Existing Arlo System required]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/516GOgbe8KL._SS600_.jpg)
Style: Add On Camera. 7 Days of Free Cloud Recordings - Arlo Pro comes with rolling 7-day cloud recordings.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I had some locations outside far from power outlets where I wanted surveillance, purchased and Arlo Pro system for this coverage. The image quality is slightly poorer, but the functionality is easier, there is free cloud recording, the app interface is cleaner, and the wireless feature means I can place these in spots the others can't go. Works out of the box, recent app update lets you scroll through video feed in time-lapse fashion. A small hiccup in that a recent app update seemed to wipe camera settings, but afterward everything else has been fine. From personal experience I will say the cost doesn't sound so bad at first, but after 3 years of paying it I'm realizing using Nest cameras has become a multiple thousand dollar system for us. No cloud option; SD card stores video locally, app on phone allows you to view feed in real time. In my experience, Samsung's zoom is crisper and its night vision is superior than Nest. Night vision is on par with Nest, but if you buy the Arlo Pro skins (sold separately), they actually reflect off the IR in the corners of the screen and wash out the image. If you use it to monitor & talk to a baby or pet, the lag is considerable and you cannot hear yourself on the other end. Fantastic audio quality, and it's true two-way so both sides can speak and hear each other at the same time (like a cell phone). Samsung Smartcam can also double as a baby monitor by playing lullaby music and a few other songs. I used to have a Nest cam in my detached garage but I had to bring it back in the house as it was dropping signal multiple times per day. But it has worked every time I've called on it, connects fast, doesn't drop video for me, and is currently located farther from my router than my Nest cams. And in this winter's 30 degree weather, my Arlo Pro cameras had no problems recording clips while my outdoor Nest cam fell offline several times. Recording sometimes takes too long to start (i.e. 2-3 seconds after motion first detected), which means I get a lot of clips where I see the tail end of something moving across the screen. I have the cameras perpendicular to the area they are monitoring so objects go across the screen, if you use them head-on the motion sensing is poor. For me, the positives easily outweigh the negatives: Ease of use, everything working out of the box, and the wireless capability is a combination of features the other systems don't have. If you're still on the fence, the one thing I'd circle back to are Nest cam's long term costs for cloud storage. UPDATE: Less than a month into ownership, some of the shine has come off the Netgear Arlo Pro. None of these issues started until after a week or two after deployment, the cameras worked well out of the box but began to show warts soon after. The biggest disappoint has been Netgear tech support, they never did help me and left my trouble ticket with the answer that a new app will be coming out soon and that should resolve things. When the cameras record video clips, I get large green stripes blocking the field of view. During the Spring and Summer we had no green blotches and the cameras properly reported power levels. If the cameras make it through the winter without doing the green blotch thing and I can pull up the feed on command, I'll raise the rating again. I do like the system, the app and cameras, but the niggling issues (and the fact it still doesn't pick up everything) have kept it from being a five star product."
"I bought this system because I wanted to hang cameras outside of my house so that I can see what's going on when I'm not home and so my wife can feel safer. I have 4 cameras all together, and 3 of them are attached to trees outside, the 4th is outside, but attached to the house. The camera sends you an alert, almost immediately (which I love) when it detects motion. I was looking at the camera image in real time and when I saw one of my cats in the backyard I was able to tell her where he was and she was able to retrieve him. That being said, I have lots of trees near my house, and even with pruning branches, I still get so many alerts when it's windy that I tend to turn off the cameras until it gets less windy. Also, I had to work on placement of the cameras so that I don't get an alert every time a car drove by my house. For me to get on a ladder, unscrew the camera from the mount on the tree, bring it in to charge via USB, then go back out and get on my ladder and try to re-aim the cameras is a pain the butt. The camera is supposed to be an HD camera, but the image during the day is really pixelated, especially if it's windy. The cameras internal IR light is puny, but I have security lights outside to light up my yard, so I don't rely on the cameras own IR light. I would recommend this if you want a general idea of what's happening around your house, just don't expect crisp, sharp images (but really, how often do you see security cameras footage on the news that's clear? I think most security cameras aren't that sharp anyway. ). In fact, I felt the difference was great enough that I've returned my previous system of 5 arlo pro cameras (thank you Amazon for your amazing customer service) and bought 5 arlo pro 2 cameras. I did call netgear and ask if they had some kind of exchange program for owners of the arlo pro who want the arlo pro 2, where I could send my old cameras in, pay the difference, and get new cameras..."
"Mounted a few outside, and that's when I started to notice how poor the quality was. I understand the benefits of having a wire free system (renting a place where you cant drill or run wires, or having the ability to move the camera when ever you want). I would have kept it if it didn't cost so much or if it had a slightly higher bit rate which would result in a lot more detail."
This is what an outdoor security camera should be. At 720p, each camera requires 200 to 500 Kbps of upload bandwidth while streaming video.At 1080p, each camera requires 450 to 1200 Kbps of upload bandwidth while streaming video.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Had a Christmas package stolen form my driveway, because of the camera we were able to identify the license plate and the thief which ultimately resulted in his arrest."
"We've had occasional situations where a camera has gone offline, but I attribute that to a flaky WiFi signal and not necessarily the camera. Regarding the Nest video recording service, we pay the monthly fee for all of our cameras. In the simplest of installations, you'd mount your camera in the desired location and then run the cord to an outdoor power outlet, securing the cord along the way with the included clips. I wanted to use this wiring so I was able to use a power over ethernet (POE) splitter and injector (bought on Amazon) to run power to the camera and then connected the splitter to the camera's power cable using a USB adapter. Because the cable is permanently attached to the camera itself (which isn't inherently a bad thing, and probably has to do with waterproofing), installations like mine which don't require the cable to span a long distance to connect to power end up with a long mess of extra cord. Aside from the physical installation, Nest makes it simple to connect and configure the camera to your home wifi. Using the app you can view your camera's live feed, view past motion events (still images if you don't subscribe to the Nest Aware service to record your video), configure settings like night vision, sound, etc., as well as turn the camera off and on (if you ever need to)."
"You will either get too many annoying alerts that aren't important or basically no alerts. You get (Some) snapshots of alerts. (This means you're probably going to get a lot of annoying alerts that don't matter to you, or you can basically not get any alerts). Since you only have picture snapshots, a lot of alerts won't even have anything in the picture because the motion detected it too late."
"The problem is that they only offer 2 cloud storage option subscriptions to store your history with their Nest Aware cloud storage offering. Here is the break-down: Currently as of 10/24/2016: 1) 10 day - $100 per year per camera with a $50 discount for each additional camera. So for me - that would be $300 / year - to store 10 days of history for 5 of my cameras. OR - They also have: 2) 30 day - $300 per year / camera with a discount 50% discount per camera ($150 per year). This is ridiculous for home consumers who want simple home security. Nest - please make a subscription option for home security for owners to choose how much storage they want or offer and entry level package to store 1 or 2 days storage at a reasonable price."
Best Bullet Surveillance Cameras
An affordable security solution for your home and business.This wireless home security camera kit can meet all your needs to check on your home, kids, pets or business anywhere anytime.It is very easy to setup via Zink.You can remote access using smartphone, iPad or PC. * Easy and Quick Wireless Setup. New Zink wireless setup technology allows you to setup your camera easily in seconds. You can expand and customize quickly and easily with extra cameras, to make a whole solution for your home and business. With the plan, you can review, save, and share footage at any time, and reduce false alerts with cloud intelligence. Always Stay Connected - Seamlessly stream video remotely via the mobile Zmodo app for iOS and Android or via Internet browser on user.zmodo.com anywhere anytime. You can share the device to your family and your friends on the app to enjoy the happy moments in your house.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I installed mine on the corners of my house and used a 1/2" drill bit to run the wire through the soffit into the attic."
"The ones I previously bought had long shafts so you could mount the camera on a vertical surface and point the camera straight out."
"I have 8 of these cameras around my property now."
"I have only been able to hook up 2 of the four cameras so far, but I am using them in a small business and they are very easy to use."
"The app that you have to use is junk. (The 5 camera stills probably would have been fine if the motion detection actually worked) (More on that later). I don't know if it's the fault of the camera or the app, but the motion detection is so bad that out of the 50 to 100 cars that pass by my house every day, it has caught 1 car in the last 2 days. It didn't even catch my wife's car or mine when we went to work, came home, or left to go shopping."
"Be advised, unless you pay a monthly subscription fee for Zmodo's "cloud service" these do NOT record."
"I purchased a nvr as well but haven't installed it yet....if these cameras are compatible with the nvr I purchased I will be a very satisfied customer and keep this review at 5 stars. Update: so after purchasing a couple Hi tech nvrs I found out that these cameras are only compatible with their own brand of nvrs."
Best Dome Surveillance Cameras
Amcrest cameras also record to an internal MicroSD card (not included), upload to an FTP as well as record to any Amcrest (or ONVIF compliant) Network Video Recorder (NVR) (not included). Amcrest ProHD 1080P (2.1MP) WiFi Security IP Camera IP2M-841B (Black): Sony Image Sensor & Ambarella Chipset / Quick Setup / Super-Wide 90° FOV / Remote Web Access from Smartphone or Tablet / Storage to MicroSD, NVR, or Amcrest Cloud / Pan and Tilt + Intelligent Digital Zoom / Night Vision Up to 32ft / Two-Way Talk / Smart Motion Alerts. Remarkable Field of View with Super Wide 90 degree Viewing Angle, Remote Pan/Tilt, Intelligent Digital Zoom, and IR LED Night Vision Up to 32 feet. Stay in Touch with Two Way Talk, Intelligent Motion Alerts, Email Alerts/Snapshots as well as Mobile and Web Apps (Safari, Firefox, IE Supported - Chrome Supported on Amcrest Cloud).
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The IP camera needs to have HD video with good night vision view so we can monitor the room 24 hours. Connect the IP camera to router through Ethernet port (I highly recommend do NOT do first-time setup using the wireless way). Download and install "Amcrest Pro View" app and setup the camera through in app instructions ( Connect smartphone to same device as wired connection, scan QR code for serial number, and establish connection to camera). The IP camera can also be setup through PC if you're familiar with finding IP address of device. For me, I found the easiest way is to check router for connected device and see which one is the newly pop-up right after connecting the IP camera to network. Pan/Tilt/Zoom is supported on this camera and it helps to check the area without physically moving the camera. Amcrest cloud offers up to 4 hour recording free for 1 IP camera."
"I plugged these into my router, powered them up, then set them up with the Internet Explorer since it has the Active X plugins. My only complaint, if any, is the fact that these can move too quickly when running software to control them. I am running these with Blue Iris 3.6. It doesn't have an Amcrest profile (I believe the new 4.x version does though), so it was a bit of guess work to get them working, but eventually I found the following setting to work quite well: Under video/network IP camera configuration I set Make/model to: RTSP H.264/MJPG/MPEG4. The built in WiFi is fine, especially given that there is no external antenna, but I have these outside and where they are placed, WiFi was flaky/non existent. After a bad firmware update on both, they would cut in and out every few minutes."
"I've purchased 3 surveillance cameras with the intent of monitoring my girlfriends retail art supply business. The store owner is somewhat computer savvy, but not overly so and had no problems with the operation and adjustment of this camera's parameters. The cheaper ones just won't do it and you'll barely even be able to decipher the ill-written instructions, much less speak with someone you'll be able to understand IF you can contact anyone in the first place."
Best Hidden Cameras
No worries any more for your families, pets, office or stores' security! The resolution of this stores, office and home surveillance camera is high enough and run at fast enough frame rates to enable this advanced camera features like pan, tilt, and zoom or image stabilization. With the core technology "Smart Eyes", this HD IP camera provides a clear night vision through infrared red light! The 32FT night vision range helps protecting your home from theft, burglaries, and vandalism. Latest TENVIS camera technology and top-quality standard for video mark this wireless IP camera as an ideal and distinctive solution for many occasions!
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I had ordered two of a different brand about a week ago and they were a pain to set up- one never would set up right- and the feed would go in and out and worked about 10% of the time- at best. I set both of these up in straight up 7 mins total, in two different rooms, of course, the feed, picture quality, panning and scanning is FLAWLESS!!!"
"Which I found out my dog can hear and then proceeds to bark furiously at (which is no fault of the camera, see attached screenshot."
"the IP camera has a motion detection sensor that triggers alerts and pushes email notification."
"We purchased this camera to use as a baby monitor, more to watch the older kids play in the playroom well I am cooking."
"Another great plus for us is that while that baby is quiet, we do not hear any static coming from the camera's audio. The camera produces a great picture at night with the infrared lights, better than any dedicated baby monitor I have ever used."
"Are I scanned the bottom of the camera that I needed to everything else was smooth to set up."
"Update: 1/4/18 purchased a 2nd Tenvis camera because the 1st one was so dependable and because they my great improvements in the. software where you can see videos taken on line without having to remove and view the SD card."
Best Simulated Surveillance Cameras
Apply it to the shop, supermarket, hotel, parking lot, library, office, plant, community, storage and so on to prevent crimes. Features: The inexpensive solution for security theft problems with high resemblance to real cameras and activation light. Mix dummy and real cameras to increase your security at a fraction of the cost of real cameras. Package Includes: 4 x Wali Bullet Simulation Camera (Silver), 12 x Screw, 4 x Steel Bracket, 4 X Warning Security Alert Sticker Decal, 18 Month Protection, 2 pcs AA batteries operated (NOT included).
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"These dummy security cameras really look real because there are real security cameras that are made and look exactly like them…. However, what we did was to hide our real cameras and expose the fake ones."
"These are by far the most real looking security cameras I've ever purchased."
"While they're made of plastic, you can't really tell unless you're up close and really look at them or touching them which generally won't be the case. I received this product at a discounted price in exchange for my honest and unbiased review."
"Sturdy and look very much like the real thing from a distance."
"i added some in with my real cameras....and they look almost identical."
"They Look as real,as real can look.An intruder will surely not assume otherwise.An effective deterrent to help keep your home safer,for far less money,than the cost of a video recorder.Combined with a real full blood German Shepherd,you can't go wrong.when a friend of mine came by to visit,he was absolutely convinced they were indeed very real.I just didn't tell him they were not.Serves their purpose.As for strangers,there's no doubt about the Big Dog."
"They are easy to install ( Just 3 screws) and the look real."
"These look real."
Best Hunting & Trail Cameras
Specification *Image Sensor: 5.0 mega pixels, 1/4” CMOS sensor. *Screen: 6.1cm(2.4’’); 240(RGB)*320 DOT; 262K color. *Photo Resolution: 12M/8M/5M/3M/1M. *Video Resolution: 1920 x1080(30fps);1280 x 720(30fps); 848 x 480 (30fps); 640 x 480(30fps). *Lens: f=3.1mm; F/NO=2.6; FOV=73°; Auto IR filter. *Effectiveness: Daytime: 1m-infintive; Night time: 3m-20m. *Storage Formats: Photo: JPEG; Video:AVI. *Recording Medium: Support SD/SDHC memory cards up to 32GB (not included). *Water Resistant Level: IP protection class 66. *Triggering Distance: up to 20m. *Triggering Time: approx. 【IP66 WATERPROOF&Compact& Sturdy】With IP66 waterproof(dust-proof, drop-proof and rain-proof), this compact and sturdy hunting camera is housed in a weatherproof plastic case that stands up to the elements for dependable longevity throughout the season, able to work in tough environments like desert or tropical rain forest. 【Multiple Functions】This camera features time stamp including Moon Phase/Pressure/Temperature, Timer, Realtime Replay, Hybrid Mode, Interval Recording, bringing this camera to multiple applications beyond your expectation.Besides, Apeman service team provides professional 24-hour after-sales services on Amazon to promote you a hassle-free purchase experience.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Just pop in batteries (8 AA-not included) which will last roughly 6 months depending on usage. After that you just make a few adjustments using the setup screen like time, date, format your SD card, choose if you want to take photos/videos or both, how long to record, and how long to wait between recordings. I have it positioned on a tree in my backyard that focuses on my back door and also where we get a lot of animals wandering around. Here in PA we get bears, turkey, deer, fox, neighborhood dogs, and countless other critters. The 8MB pixel resolution, night vision, built in mic, and crisp video make this a great buy for the price."
"We live in a quiet urban neighborhood but have had someone mess with our cars a couple times in recent months. We loved that it was based on a motion sensor, so we wouldn't have to deal with hours of footage that showed nothing...and that it has night vision, since that is when our issue has occurred."
"The only reason it is not a 5 is that the user setup instructions were a bit confusing, with very small type and hard to read figures."
"I bought this trail cam along with another apeman trail cam."
"The video quality was not as good as my previous camera."
"Great little camera for the price."
"Got my husband one of these so he could see the wildlife in our backyard."
"Best feature for me is being able to see the photos without having to take the SC card back to a computer."
Best Surveillance Accessories
Reliable Wi-Fi connectivity to access your camera with YI Home App on mobile device, and YI Home App on PC at anytime, anywhere. YI Home App allows you to customize your settings according to your preferences: defined activity regions, camera sharing, customize alert schedules, and more.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"If you read other reviews that complain of 6 second clips, I assure you, all you need to do is click on "view full clip". I am uploading a video that shows a stranger looking in my mailbox in the middle of the night. So long as the night vision is turned off."
"Collects data, passwords, browsing history, time spent on websites unrelated to the company, etc... it states that they collect information ,including browsing history, passwords, etc..., and stores the info on the servers."
"It states that YI server can record you and your family in your home for up to 6 seconds at a time and can share the videos too."
"Got these cameras a few weeks ago, two of them..Really liked these cameras, worked very well and would have given them 5 stars.. until the latest firmware update. Update 9/1/2016 They have still not released any new firmware since the broken 201604071151 firmware to resolve the quality issue, they seem have have dropped any development or support of this camera and only are supporting their newer YI Home camera 2 and the new pan tilt."
"Would be an excellent camera if it were customizable (it's not)."
"Not sure why AMAZON allows such products to be sold in US since it directly violates basic privacy of its customers, but these details are not initially disclosed when we bought these cameras."
"Deal breaker for me."
""By using the App, you authorize the collection of information about you, your use of the App, the device on which the App is installed, any cameras you have connected to the App, and the use, transmission, processing, and storing of information as described in XiaoYi’s Privacy Policy (located at http://www.weareyi.com).""
Best Security & Surveillance Installation Services
Camera SPEC. Two-way audio - The camera has a built-in mic so that you can talk and listen through the Zmodo app anywhere and anytime, making it feel like you never left home. Receive motion alerts - This WiFi camera will send push notification alerts to your smartphone when motion is detected so you will know what’s happening immediately. Always stay connected to your home by remote monitoring through the mobile Zmodo app for iOS and Android or via Internet browser on user.zmodo.com.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I initially purchased a 3-pack, and after testing them for a couple weeks, I decided to get another set. It took me about 10 minutes to set up the first 3 that I got, not counting the time I spent positioning and mounting the cameras. One last bit of advice I would offer, is that you might want to consider purchasing an aftermarket power cord. The cords that come with it are fine, but I bought a set of 3 10ft USB to micro USB cables in order to have more flexibility about where the cameras were placed in relation to the power source, and conceal the cord more effectively."
"My only complaint is zmodo say you’ll get free 24 hour recording playback if you don’t have the cloud based recording playback but there is no 24 hours recording playback."
"Stunning HD image, easiest app of the 3 I have tried, and a very compact nice looking camera."
"They do what they say, you can monitor them via the Zmodo App on your phone or PC, but the quality is not good at all. First let me say that I have worked in IT for almost 15 years and I always setup my own home networks, cable equipment, etc. This involves connecting to an AdHoc wifi network the camera creates when in Setup mode. After a lot of research and some fairly obscure forum finds, I saw a recommendation for another Zmodo camera model from a user who was using an iPhone 6 and having similar problems. The next issue; Image Quality. Now I finally have my two cameras setup sort of caddy-corner to cover a large room. Now, if I hadn't gone back and read the support docs, I would probably have never guessed that meant "Low Definition." Unfortunately, it seems that LD is the default option (to save on mobile data) and you have to toggle HD every time you access the cameras. From my research, that seems to be impossible without some serious reverse engineering (there is a project out there a guy is working on to grab images from these cameras outside the Zmodo world). Then, there's a security concern... Out of the box, these devices were running an older version of the firmware. With that version, once I got them on my network I discovered they had several ports open by default: 23 (Telnet). 80 (Web Interface). 8000 (Video Interface). 9000 (Mobile Video). The troubling thing is that in all my digging through the web, I could not locate any solid info on what the default telnet admin password could be. I DID find that some Zmodo cameras have a telnet account for root that is passwordless!! But, and this is a HUGE But, the default seems to always be Low Definition, including the alert images that are captured. For that reason, these will most likely be delegated to the box of toys that won't get used for any serious security setup. In the attached photos, you will see a screenshot I took from the phone while viewing in LD and HD mode. Lastly you will see the example "video" I captured form my phone while reviewing a motion even in the Zmodo app."
"I've had these for a while and the one time I needed it the most it failed me wow it's quite astonishing.The notification i recieved was after they had ransacked my house n manage 2 get a 43 in vizio wireless t.v..."
Best Complete Surveillance Systems
Arlo Pro is a 100% wire-free indoor/outdoor security camera with rechargeable batteries and audio and can be added to any Arlo base station system. Weather-resistant - Arlo Pro cameras are Weather-resistant so you can place them anywhere-indoors and out.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I had some locations outside far from power outlets where I wanted surveillance, purchased and Arlo Pro system for this coverage. The image quality is slightly poorer, but the functionality is easier, there is free cloud recording, the app interface is cleaner, and the wireless feature means I can place these in spots the others can't go. Works out of the box, recent app update lets you scroll through video feed in time-lapse fashion. A small hiccup in that a recent app update seemed to wipe camera settings, but afterward everything else has been fine. From personal experience I will say the cost doesn't sound so bad at first, but after 3 years of paying it I'm realizing using Nest cameras has become a multiple thousand dollar system for us. No cloud option; SD card stores video locally, app on phone allows you to view feed in real time. In my experience, Samsung's zoom is crisper and its night vision is superior than Nest. Night vision is on par with Nest, but if you buy the Arlo Pro skins (sold separately), they actually reflect off the IR in the corners of the screen and wash out the image. If you use it to monitor & talk to a baby or pet, the lag is considerable and you cannot hear yourself on the other end. Fantastic audio quality, and it's true two-way so both sides can speak and hear each other at the same time (like a cell phone). Samsung Smartcam can also double as a baby monitor by playing lullaby music and a few other songs. I used to have a Nest cam in my detached garage but I had to bring it back in the house as it was dropping signal multiple times per day. But it has worked every time I've called on it, connects fast, doesn't drop video for me, and is currently located farther from my router than my Nest cams. And in this winter's 30 degree weather, my Arlo Pro cameras had no problems recording clips while my outdoor Nest cam fell offline several times. Recording sometimes takes too long to start (i.e. 2-3 seconds after motion first detected), which means I get a lot of clips where I see the tail end of something moving across the screen. I have the cameras perpendicular to the area they are monitoring so objects go across the screen, if you use them head-on the motion sensing is poor. For me, the positives easily outweigh the negatives: Ease of use, everything working out of the box, and the wireless capability is a combination of features the other systems don't have. If you're still on the fence, the one thing I'd circle back to are Nest cam's long term costs for cloud storage. UPDATE: Less than a month into ownership, some of the shine has come off the Netgear Arlo Pro. None of these issues started until after a week or two after deployment, the cameras worked well out of the box but began to show warts soon after. The biggest disappoint has been Netgear tech support, they never did help me and left my trouble ticket with the answer that a new app will be coming out soon and that should resolve things. When the cameras record video clips, I get large green stripes blocking the field of view. During the Spring and Summer we had no green blotches and the cameras properly reported power levels. If the cameras make it through the winter without doing the green blotch thing and I can pull up the feed on command, I'll raise the rating again. I do like the system, the app and cameras, but the niggling issues (and the fact it still doesn't pick up everything) have kept it from being a five star product."
"I bought this system because I wanted to hang cameras outside of my house so that I can see what's going on when I'm not home and so my wife can feel safer. I have 4 cameras all together, and 3 of them are attached to trees outside, the 4th is outside, but attached to the house. The camera sends you an alert, almost immediately (which I love) when it detects motion. I was looking at the camera image in real time and when I saw one of my cats in the backyard I was able to tell her where he was and she was able to retrieve him. That being said, I have lots of trees near my house, and even with pruning branches, I still get so many alerts when it's windy that I tend to turn off the cameras until it gets less windy. Also, I had to work on placement of the cameras so that I don't get an alert every time a car drove by my house. For me to get on a ladder, unscrew the camera from the mount on the tree, bring it in to charge via USB, then go back out and get on my ladder and try to re-aim the cameras is a pain the butt. The camera is supposed to be an HD camera, but the image during the day is really pixelated, especially if it's windy. The cameras internal IR light is puny, but I have security lights outside to light up my yard, so I don't rely on the cameras own IR light. I would recommend this if you want a general idea of what's happening around your house, just don't expect crisp, sharp images (but really, how often do you see security cameras footage on the news that's clear? I think most security cameras aren't that sharp anyway. ). In fact, I felt the difference was great enough that I've returned my previous system of 5 arlo pro cameras (thank you Amazon for your amazing customer service) and bought 5 arlo pro 2 cameras. I did call netgear and ask if they had some kind of exchange program for owners of the arlo pro who want the arlo pro 2, where I could send my old cameras in, pay the difference, and get new cameras..."
"Mounted a few outside, and that's when I started to notice how poor the quality was. I understand the benefits of having a wire free system (renting a place where you cant drill or run wires, or having the ability to move the camera when ever you want). I would have kept it if it didn't cost so much or if it had a slightly higher bit rate which would result in a lot more detail."