Break-ins are increasing significantly these days, which is why monitoring the outside of your house or property is becoming a necessity rather than a luxury. The problem with security camera systems – especially outdoor ones – is that most of them require professional installation and wads of wires and mounts to function properly, but not the Nest Cam Outdoor Security Camera.
Design and Connectivity
Take a look at the Net Outdoor camera, and you’ll fall in love with the modern design it sports. With a rounded back and flat front, the Nest cam would look fabulous as part of any house, especially that it’s compact (5 in. x 3.7 in. x 3.7 in) and lightweight (20 ounces).
In the back, you’ll find a mounting magnet, which is powerful enough to keep the camera in place while offering enough flexibility for you to be able to tilt the camera and move it without much effort.
There’s more to the Nest cam outdoor security camera than meets the eye, though, as the device is IP65-certified, meaning that it can withstand most weather condition without fail. As for the supported temperatures, the Nest can work in sub-zero and hot temps, –40° to 45°C to be exact.
Setup and Installation
Nest designed their outdoor camera with the user in mind, making it easy to self-install by anyone. You don’t need to hard-wire this camera into an electrical circuit. Instead, a waterproof power supply is included, which is composed of two parts: a junction box and a three-pin plug. To install the system, here’s what you have to do:
- Screw the provided mount into a wall.
- Jap the camera to the mount for the included magnet to grab hold.
- Connect the camera to the junction box using the weatherproof USB cable.
- Attach the junction box to a wall using the provided bracket.
- Plug it into an outdoor socket using the three-pin plug.
- If you don’t have an outdoor socket, drill a hole in the wall and connect the USB plug into an indoor AC outlet.
Once you do that, you’ll have to connect the Nest Cam to your Wi-Fi network, which is an effortless process. Next, connect the security camera to the Nest app, which can be used for your other Nest devices.
Camera Features
The Nest Outdoor cam can record 1080p videos over a 130-degree field of view and comes with night vision capabilities. The camera defaults to 720p, so make sure to change the resolution manually if you need full HD videos. If you don’t want to go heavy on your bandwidth, we recommend using 720p, as 1080p is overkill for security cameras.
No matter the time of the day, the Nest outdoor camera can snap crisp-clear images through which you can quickly identify faces and people.
The IR mode is both smart and intuitive as it cannot be fooled by shedding light on it, which a practice that intruders often use to bypass security cameras.
Extra Features
The Nest outdoor camera offers all the features you’d expect from a modern, high-end security camera, including Activity Zones, which allow the camera to send you an alert whenever it detects unusual movements in pre-defined areas, and two-way audio, which will enable you to communicate with your visitors from your house through the included microphone and speaker.
What’s impressive about the Nest camera and app is that they respect your privacy. You can set the cam to turn off and stop recording automatically when the app detects that you’re home. The feature can also be activated for all your family members or roommates as the app supports multiple accounts.
Price
Compared to other products in the same category, the Nest cam outdoor security camera is quite affordable, especially considering the modern design it sports and the intuitive features it offers. The devil’s in the details though, as you’ll need a Nest Aware subscription to get the most out of your surveillance system and enjoy either 10- or 30-day video history.
Without the subscription, the Nest camera will only save the photos it snaps of activities for three hours. You can still make use of the live stream though. Is Nest Aware worth it? It depends, so make sure to determine your needs and go through the terms before jumping on board.
Verdict on Nest Cam
Getting the best outdoor security camera is essential if you want to keep an eye on your house when you’re away, and the Nest Cam outdoor camera checks all the boxes for a product in this category without a frustrating price tag. It’s easy to install, it offers excellent camera quality, and it packs a plethora of convenience-oriented features. What else could you ask for in a security camera?
1 thought on “Nest Cam Review”