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Arlo Pro 2 product shot

Once the province of startups like Ring and August, information technology seems similar every consumer electronics visitor is determined to take over the market for outdoor security cameras. That means lots of choices–which is a good thing because each model is a piddling different, and picking the right one for yous can be hard. We've rounded up some of the ones we've been testing, along with some that are widely-used or well-liked for you to look through.

Netgear Arlo Pro 2

Arlo 2

Finding a quality wireless outdoor security camera has been something like searching for the Holy Grail. The need for IR illumination, movement detection, and Hard disk drive video is at odds with battery life. Near devices that describe themselves as wireless mean they can employ Wi-Fi, but still crave power. I've used a variety of units, but hadn't found i that had the correct set of tradeoffs–until at present. I've been using a pair of Arlo Pro 2 cameras for a month. They provide excellent video, timely motion detection, and impressive battery life. Batteries are at about ninety percent and then far. I think this might exist because they rely on a wired base unit rather than each photographic camera needing its ain compute power. You get 7 days of deject storage of motion clips for free, with paid plans providing more. Y'all can adjust the sensitivity of the motion sensor, only information technology doesn't accept whatsoever fancy AI features, so information technology tin can become fix off by pets or birds if yous don't have it adjusted advisedly.

The Arlo Pro 2 is well-nigh two cameras in one. If you plug one into power (using a typical microUSB charging cable) you get the adequacy to have it record continuously–although plainly only if you buy 1 of Netgear'south paid plans. You can as well prepare activeness zones to customize where in your paradigm yous want the camera to await for movement. That's especially useful if you have trees bravado in the wind or areas where shadows come and go in your camera's view. In this fashion it tin also record its video clips to a wink bulldoze attached to the base of operations unit of measurement. While the provided charging cable isn't watertight, there are some aftermarket versions that merits to exist, at least on the cease that attaches to the Arlo.

  • Price: $479.99 for a base of operations unit and two cameras
  • Read the PCMag review
  • Buy on Amazon

Reolink Argus

One of the kickoff truly wireless outdoor security cameras on the market place, Reolink's Argus checks all the boxes at the value price of $99. You get 1080p, movement detection alerts, 2-way audio, and weatherproofing. You also don't need to pay for a subscription, as the camera keeps the video internally, set up for you to log in to wait at it. However, this architecture creates a couple issues. Beginning, the battery life wasn't that not bad in our testing. Placed in an area with a reasonable amount of traffic, the 4 CR123A batteries didn't last a month. Second, because the video is on the photographic camera, if an intruder merely picks it up and takes it you've lost the video–probably before you've fifty-fifty looked at it.

  • Price: $99.99
  • Buy on Amazon

Nest Outdoor Camera

nest outdoor cam

Nest has been shipping indoor security cameras for awhile, but now it makes a plug-in outdoor model. Past default it can send y'all photos of motion, and let yous talk back to whomever is there. However, the photographic camera is really a vehicle to sell yous a Nest Aware subscription. Without paying up, events are only saved for a pretty-pitiful 3 hours, for example. With Enlightened you can get dorsum through your video, equally it is all sent to the cloud. That likewise means Nest's cloud software can identify the motion of people as distinct from other motion in the scene. If you lot don't listen Google learning fifty-fifty more about you, and are willing to pay up, you get 1080p video and some nice features like Sightline that searches through your video archives for events.

  • Price: $194.99
  • Read the PCMag review
  • Buy on Amazon

Ring Floodlight Camera

Ring Floodlight

Band is best known for its highly-regarded doorbell camera. Information technology has received more-mixed reviews for its attempts at outdoor security cameras. Its Floodlight Camera offers an interesting combination of outdoor lights and a siren-equipped Hard disk Photographic camera. I haven't used one myself, but looking at user feedback it seems like the visitor has resolved the software issues that hampered its credence when it first came out. Be prepared to pony up for either a $3/calendar month or $10/month subscription if yous want full access to its capabilities. Also, like any other photographic camera that relies on the cloud for object and face up recognition or video storage, go along an middle on how much data information technology volition be sending over your net connection.

  • Price: $249
  • Read the PCMag review
  • Purchase on Amazon

Generic Cameras From Companies Similar GW and Reolink

GW Outdoor security cam

Finally, if yous're willing to ready your own recording system, then the best way to get a neat outdoor security camera is to find a "generic" version that supports the ONVIF standard. At that place are dozens of these for sale on the spider web. I've had good luck with models from GW and Reolink. For instance the unit of measurement pictured, from GW, features 5MP video, sixty IR illuminators, multiple codec options, variable focus, and Power over Ethernet–all for $120 online. One caveat is brand sure you lot are careful about any potential security issues if you let these cameras to be visible on the internet. Of grade, given other recent breaches, make names aren't allowed to that possibility either.

  • Toll: $109
  • Buy on Amazon

For more on this last idea, read: How to get started with DIY domicile surveillance systems