Google Nest Cam Outdoor - 1st Generation - Weatherproof Camera - Surveillance Camera with Night Vision - Control with Your Phone

I've been on this DIY home video journey for about several years. It started about 2 years ago with my purchase of Ring. It's motion detection was lousy. A UPS guy would deliver a package to my front door and Ring would start recording when he was 4/5ths down my driveway. This journey actually seems much longer because this has been a very frustrating journey. After Ring, I paused in my search for a better video system because I was waiting for Ring to get better. But my recent search for a system started about 6 months ago when my neighbor across the street noticed that a guy was lurking in front of my house and approaching my front door and wandering around the side of my house into the backyard. This was at 11:30pm and I was sound asleep in bed. My neighbor called me (I didn't answer because I was asleep) and then called the police. No break-in or damage but it spooked me enough to begin investigating a video system. I wasn't interested in ADT or CPI or any of the large companies that were going to charge me $50/month to monitor my house 24/7. I just wanted to know what was happening outside of my house when either I was asleep or not at home. So I first started with Amcrest. I bought an 8-camera system that needed to be wired for power and internet. My electrician told me that the way my house was built, he could install cameras in the back of the house but not the front. The cost for wiring a system in the back and a totally separate system in the front was $1600 (Just for the installation!). I passed on that. He said I needed to look into a WiFi system, which then led me to ARLO Pro, which has rechargeable batteries (cool) that last about a month or two (depending upon how often the motion detector goes off), and it was connected via WiFi. I've used the ARLO system for about 3 months. The thing that I like most about ARLO is that you can position these cameras anywhere since they don't require a power cord to plug in and they connect to WiFi, and it was a very user-friendly interface (which Amcrest was not. Amcrest is really for IT guys and not for the lay DIY person who just wants the thing to work). The thing that makes me crazy about the ARLO system is that the cameras only turn on when they detect motion and by the time they detect motion, the activity has almost left the visible screen. There were also times when I would pull into the driveway, walk into my garage and a camera that is pointing AT the house would not turn on. But if a leaf blew in front of the camera then it would turn on. There were a hundred false alarms per day as something tripped the motion sensor but when actual people (like a UPS driver) would walk up my driveway, put a package on the ground and walk away - the motion sensor would pick him up AT the door and as he was walking away. ARLO picked up a LOT of false motion and failed to pick up or was slow on real motion. That kind of stuff made me bat shit crazy. I worked with ARLO's discussion board to try to fix the issues (Ghosting; Pixilation; and slow detection times) but the product is what it is at this stage. So I went searching for a system that would give me 24/7 video, would have high-quality cameras (1080p), night vision, audio, microphone and look nice. I had heard about Nest but I also didn't want to pay the monthly/ yearly subscription, but I looking into what the subscription meant (what features were available) and thought I'd give it a try. The purchase comes with a free trial period, so I thought maybe the 3rd time is a charm. And it IS! I only ordered 1 camera because I wanted to test it out and my camera came this morning. I followed the easy installation steps and got it installed and operational within an hour. I have an outdoor outlet in the front of my house and I bracketed the wire down the trim of the house and then plugged it in. (I'll get an alert if it is unplugged or the wire is cut). At some point in time, I'll have an electrician come and drill a hole in the exterior so the wire is not exposed, but I'm really happy with the product as it is. I've left the house several times and checked my phone to see what was happening while I was away. The phone app is easy to use, the video is really 24/7, the installation was easy (I ran into zero issues getting up and running), and I now get alerts that are meaningful. The Nest Aware actually has algorithms that know when a person is in the frame, rather than a bird flying by. AND, I can scroll through the entire video of the day within minutes, AND download a video clip to my Photos on my phone. I'm so happy with this purchase, I just purchased another one that will arrive tomorrow and I'll install that one as well in the back. And, as I learned more about the subscription, I'm Ok with the cost. It's 100/year for the first camera and then $50/year for each additional camera. So for $150/year I can have both the front and back of my house monitored 24/7, and I have use of all the advanced features that come with Nest Aware. I'll still use my ARLO inside (they do work quite well inside), but the Amcrest cameras will be donated to charity.

Clear and crispy quality. Easy installation and set up. I installed it, removed it and reinstalled it into my second home. No issues at all.

So far this is the outdoor camera I've been looking for.I had every intention on buying 3 Hikvision 3 megapixel outdoor cameras since the night vision is so great on that particular camera. My problem was recording and storing video. I'm a normal home owner who just wants a camera installed to watch over my vehicles at night and keep an eye on my front door when I'm not at home. The problem with this kind of set up is I would either have to purchase a DVR for an additional $100-$150 and have the ability to record and store 2 months of footage. Or I'd have to run a server off my PC at all times.Which leads me to the next issue I was planning on dealing with. After purchasing all of this great equipment, getting it installed, spending hours in my attic running cable to the DVR and getting the web server set up, I still have to make the entire system easy enough for my wife to use.With the Nest Outdoor Camera I don't have to worry about that.I pre-ordered the camera figuring I could just return it if I didn't like it. The box came just like my Nest Thermostat and Nest Protect did, well packaged and ready to install. Installation was easier than I thought. I opened my cell phone app and added the camera, scanned the QR code and no more than 10 seconds later had video set up and recording. My wife's phone updated about 30 seconds later. I mounted the little bracket the magnetized base attaches to, and routed the USB cable into the hole I drilled leading to my attic space. The next part was the worst part of the whole process but this has nothing to do with the system itself. I climbed in my attic (which was currently 120 degrees of the most viscous South Texas air you can find) and made my way to the wire I fished through the hole. I used the supplied wire clips to attach it to the roof rafter (it's low voltage wire so this is kosher) which I then routed to the area of my attic that my home builders were kind enough to install a 120 outlet in. Once I got that situated it was only a matter of plugging the power in and getting my rear out of there before the complimentary installation heat stroke was delivered.That's it...Well, not exactly, I did put some silicone caulking around the hole I drilled. A tip for you self installers out there, pull the cord out 3 or 4 inches and wrap 1 or 2 layers of regular packaging tape around the cable, that way when you seal the hole you won't get the cable all goopy.Video quality is fantastic. It's slightly less clear than the Hikvision during the day, but comparable at night. As a normal home user, this is more than adequate for my household.As great as this thing is, there are a few negatives I'd like to point out.- The App constantly reminds you to upgrade your free trial to the paid version of Nest Aware, it's a bit intrusive- I would have liked the magnetic base to have the ability to route the cable directly through it so none of the cable is exposed, a small gripe- 10 day monitoring is a bit pricey at $15 a month for 2 cameras, 30 day monitoring is out of reach for some home users ($45 a month for 2 cameras)- As far as I know, you're locked in to using the Nest Aware for recording and storage of video- Color options would have been cool, I assume they went with white to keep the unit as cool as possible-The magnet base is awesome. I do worry in the Houston heat that the camera could begin to droop or slowly slide down over time.Overall I don't see a scenario where I'd return these cameras. Well worth the $400 investment.**9/23/16 UPDATE**For my second camera installation, I decided to try the POE route. I purchased an 8 port POE injector and 2 USB POE splitters, set up took about 10 minutes. Works perfectly.