Best Outdoor Security Cameras - Top 3
Choosing the best outdoor security camera for you home can be a bit of a mine field. There are so many options available and the quality ranges dramatically.
We narrow it down to our 5 preferred ones based on the price point. For each price bracket, we’ll give present what your best options are. However, before we do that, we summarise our our winner, runner up and the one that you should probably avoid! Check out the table below.
Our preferred camera is the ieGeek Outdoor Camera, due to the price point, ease of install and reliability. As an added bonus, it is wireless and has night vision of up to 25m. In practice though, we found that it’s only reliable up to about 10m, which is still pretty decent.
Despite it being our winner, it’s not the only one that you can go with.
Below, you can check out 5 units in total, depending on your price point. We’re going to do it by giving our views of the best ones in each price bracket, starting from lowest to highest price bracket.
Our Top 3 Outdoor Security Cameras
Blink Indoor Home Security Camera System
The motion detector in this system is really good, night and day. When the motion detector comes on, the device sends an alert to your phone to let you know and starts recording a clip.
On the downside, it is a battery powered system, but not everyone might see as this as a downside as it means it’s more portable. It is supposed to last 2 years and it does come supplied with 2 x AA batteries.
Very much like the one above, it can be installed easily and can be connected to Alexa.
An added bonus is that Blink will give you cloud storage at no additional cost – what a bonus!
Positives
- Excellent motion detector
- Very economical - only records when needed
- Reasonably well priced
Negatives
- At 720p, it isn't exactly cutting edge
- Batteries will need replacing after 2 years
- Can't locate it too far from WiFi source
ieGeek Security WiFi Outdoor Camera
One of the major draws to this item is the ability to install it really quickly and with ease. As you’ll have read in our best lockbox guide, we love it when things are easy to install. As long as you have a handy pair of ladders, you don’t need to employ a contractor to set it up.
Just don’t forget to switch on the WiFi, otherwise it won’t connect.
As mentioned earlier, the night vision is really good but it doesn’t hit the 25m range stated. It’s best around the 10m mark, but can reach up to 15m on a bright evening.
The camera also comes with a long 3 metre power cable which should be long enough for most users. It’s also IP66 rated, meaning it is waterproof.
Finally, you can view it anywhere as long as you’re logged in i.e. through smartphone or PC. It also supports MicroSD up to 128 GB if you wanted to record it at source.
Positives
- Good value for the price
- Easy to set up
- Good picture quality
Negatives
- Customer service isn't brilliant of any problems.
- Motion detection isn't great at night
Netvue Outdoor Security Camera
This budget priced product is compatible with Alexa, which is awesome.
The images are recorded in quite high quality 1080p resolution and the viewing angle is 130 degrees, which is a wide angle perspective.
As you’ll probably know, at Alarms4Life, we like to test, test, test! From our findings, despite the manufacturer claiming this camera sees things up to 60 feet in the dark, but realistically it is 30 feet which is still very good.
Much like the ones above, it is IP66 rated, meaning it is suitable for inclement weather and will keep recording in any weather.
Like the Blink camera, you can set up real time alerts to be sent to your phone.
It will only work with WiFi or ethernet cable. In most cases, you’d probably be using WiFi, so please remember that it will only work with 2.4 Ghz.
On the downside, the cloud offering is a paid service, but does have flexible terms.
Positives
- Very well priced
- Can be set up to work with Alexa
- IP66 rated
Negatives
- Some have complained of faulty cameras
- Cloud service can be quite expensive
To see other reviews in the security section, please click here.