Ring is the company that invented the video doorbell category, now one of the most popular smart home devices. While it started by just keeping a digital eye on your front door, today Ring sells a complete home security system, including indoor and outdoor Wi-Fi cameras, multiple video doorbells, smart outdoor and indoor lighting, and a highly rated home alarm system. Started by founder Jamie Siminoff as a way of seeing who was at his front door, Ring has grown into a billion-dollar company since it began in 2013. While the owner must give their permission, civil rights groups have raised concerns about this type of public surveillance.
Ring has continued to innovate in the field of DIY home security, announcing last year the first in-home drone surveillance camera. This wireless camera, which costs $99.99, works both indoors and outdoors and is powered by a removable, rechargeable battery.
It doesn’t have advanced security features like zooming and tracking or package and facial recognition. The camera illuminates and sends announcements to Amazon Echo devices whenever motion is detected.
Finally, it can let you see, hear and speak to people on camera with select Echo and Fire TV devices. It doesn’t have advanced security features like zooming and tracking or package and facial recognition.
It can work inside or out, be battery-powered or wired (with the option of adding a solar panel to keep the battery charged), and use a primary and backup power source. It has a flexible mounting system and smart features like color night vision and People Only mode (with a subscription).
It also has a built-in siren that you can activate through the app, and you can see, hear and speak to people on camera with select Echo and Fire TV devices. On the downside, the Ring Stick Up Cam has the smallest field of view of all the cameras in our ratings, so it won’t capture as much action. It doesn’t have advanced security features like zooming and tracking or package and facial recognition. You can see, hear and speak to people on camera with select Echo and Fire TV devices, and it can be set to broadcast an alert when it detects motion.
The Indoor Cam lacks some features that other Ring cameras, such as a built-in light, battery power, and Amazon Alexa integration. If you just want a basic, inexpensive security camera to keep tabs on what’s happening in your home, the Ring Indoor Cam is a good choice.
It has all of the most important features, including HD video, two-way talk, night vision, a 140-degree field of view, motion detection, and the ability to be controlled by a mobile app. Professional reviewers praise Ring cameras for their simple installation and set-up process and solid overall performance, including prompt alerts and good quality video.
Reviewers also note that Ring cameras are versatile, with multiple power options and devices that can work both indoors and out. Ring cameras don’t have advanced features such as smart detection of vehicles or animals, facial recognition, and track and zoom capabilities found on the more expensive Nest and Arlo. In addition, a new geofencing option sends a reminder to turn your cameras on when you leave and off when you come home. But a snapshot feature, available with a Ring Protect subscription, takes images between recordings to give you a fuller picture of what’s been happening on your property.
You can also call up a live view of any of your Ring cameras on select Echo and Fire TV devices. Ring has a number of safeguards in place to protect your data and privacy, including end-to-end encryption of all video and two-factor authentication as standard for logging into your account. Each offers 1080p full HD video, motion detection, a built-in siren, night vision, two-way talk, and a 130-degree field of view. Each offers 1080p full HD video, motion detection, a built-in siren, night vision, two-way talk, and a 130-degree field of view. It includes motion zones, night vision, a built-in siren, two-way talk, and motion-activated recording. A tiny, wired indoor camera that plugs into an outlet and records 1080p full HD.
It includes motion zones, night vision, a built-in siren, two-way talk, and motion-activated recording. Ring Spotlight Cam ($199-249.99): A battery-powered outdoor camera that records in 1080p full HD video with a 140-degree field of view.
A battery-powered outdoor camera that records in 1080p full HD video with a 140-degree field of view. Ring Video Doorbell Wired (59.99): A hard-wired doorbell camera with full HD video, night vision, two-way talk, motion detection and alerts, and remote control ability from the Ring mobile app or an Alexa-enabled device.
A hard-wired doorbell camera with full HD video, night vision, two-way talk, motion detection and alerts, and remote control ability from the Ring mobile app or an Alexa-enabled device. Includes all the features of the cheaper Ring Video Doorbell, but it’s powered by a built-in battery.
The same as the Doorbell 3, but with a four-second pre-roll feature that uses a second camera to make sure you see what triggered the motion recording. It also supports Motion Warnings and Alexa Greetings, which allows the digital assistant to talk to the visitor on your behalf (with a Ring Protect subscription plan). It also supports Motion Warnings and Alexa Greetings, which allows the digital assistant to talk to the visitor on your behalf (with a Ring Protect subscription plan). An improved version of the Pro, this doorbell connects to your existing wiring and adds enhanced HD video and a head-to-toe aspect ratio.
The Ring Protect Basic Plan starts at a reasonable $3 a month or $30 a year and provides 60 days of video history for one camera, as well as the option to save and share your recordings. If you’re just interested in covering the inside of your home, the less expensive Ring Indoor Camera would be a good choice.
If you need to cover an area without an outlet nearby, you’ll want to choose a battery- or solar-powered Ring camera. Ring also has an extensive online support center that includes FAQs on installations, compatibility, functionality, and usage.
Ring Doorbell and Camera Night Vision (What You Need To Know)
As a result I wanted to shoot this video and talk through the pros and cons of Ring’s night vision mode, and also discuss how it works. Whether you use your Ring camera as a security device, or you purely want to more-easily see visitors at your door, good quality night vision is important.
Of course, whilst it’s not great… it’s still substantially better than if you used some fancy mirrorless or DSLR camera to shoot video in the same conditions.
So it is actually fairly impressive that Ring cameras and doorbells costing as little as $50 can adapt to a range of conditions – daylight, night-time and also night mode that suddenly gets flooded with bright light. Having said all that, it’s worth mentioning that you have no control over when your Ring camera or doorbell goes into night vision mode. Many floodlights and motion sensors offer lux or “daylight” control, which allow you to specify when the device works at night.
Ring unfortunately doesn’t offer this, meaning that your device will be stuck in night vision mode when it thinks it’s dark enough – even if this leads to a poor image quality due to other light being nearby. I should add that whether you use color or standard night vision, Ring devices ARE quite good at detecting when lighting levels improve and switching back to normal camera-based recording.
If having a high quality outdoor, night-time security camera is important to you, you probably wouldn’t want to rely on Ring here.
Ring Spotlight Cam Review
Improved software, too, provides greater control over recording and reduces the number of notifications you receive. A slightly fiddly app interface makes finding old recordings a little tricky – but, otherwise, the Ring Spotlight Cam is an excellent camera. Ring has built up an impressive array of security devices that are designed to protect your home inside and out. With the Ring Spotlight Cam, the company is adding to its range of dual-purpose cameras with security lights built in.
Improved software and a decent price make this a handy utility camera, particularly for those who already have a Ring subscription. As an outdoor camera, the Ring Spotlight Cam is designed to be mounted on a wall or fence post. There’s space inside the unit itself for a second battery pack, to extend run-time, with the added advantage that you can have one cell charging while the other is operating your camera. If you don’t want to bother with charging at all, you can buy the solar panel pack to keep your camera’s battery topped up. As with Ring’s other battery-powered cameras, the Spotlight Cam features a large PIR sensor that’s used to detect motion.
The main issue with this kind of product is that any motion will trigger the camera to wake and start recording, and you can’t draw activity zones. Even so, if you face the camera towards a busy street then you’ll find it’s triggered often, thus impacting battery life . To further limit being bombarded with notifications, the Spotlight Cam lets you set up a motion schedule, defining when you do and don’t want to receive alerts.
Trying to find one event, even using the filters to choose the type of recording (motion, triggered by live view, or favourites) is still cumbersome. Amazon Alexa support is available via a skill, which lets you view the camera’s feed on a screen-enabled Echo.
In my experience, it’s worth turning on the camera’s HDR feature, even if this does slightly reduce battery life.
HDR smooths out the image and makes it easier for the camera to cope with varied lighting as a result of changes in the sun during the day.
However, since the Ring Spotlight Cam has two bright LEDs on the side, which light up the surrounding area, the camera is able to capture footage in full colour. The result is that night-time images are almost as good as those captured during the day, presenting in full colour and displaying plenty of detail and sharpness.
If you have other Ring cameras already, then adding this into the mix lets you get cloud storage for one monthly subscription, saving you money. Specs ‹ UK RRP Manufacturer Size (Dimensions) Voice Assistant Battery Length Smart assistants View Field Night vision Light Power source Ring Spotlight Cam £199 Bionaire 69.1 x 75.9 x 126 MM Alexa 4380 hrs Yes 140 degrees Yes Yes Battery ›
Ring Spotlight Cam Review
Ring’s equipment is spot on, which you might expect from a well-established home security company whose bread and butter is cameras. This outdoor security camera comes with an integrated spotlight, motion detectors, and a built-in 110-decibel siren as well as a mic and speaker for two-way audio.
Ring Spotlight Cam Battery Review
This is a rubric that I apply to all of my home security cameras to make sure they’re up to snuff in terms of video, audio, night vision, and more. The Ring Spotlight Cam Battery has 1080p HD, standard in the security camera industry, plus a wide field of view of 140 degrees.
Unfortunately, you won’t be able to zoom in optically with this camera, but that’s definitely not a dealbreaker as the footage is clear in general.
This can be useful just for chatting with someone in another room or scaring away intruders, so it’s fortunate that the Ring Spotlight Cam Battery comes with two-way audio.
While the Ring Spotlight Cam Battery doesn’t come with any cloud or local storage, you can buy it for as little as $3 a month. Still, I’m giving the Ring Spotlight Cam Battery full marks for its smart platform integration. When it comes to home security cameras, artificial intelligence is typically used for person detection and facial recognition. This creates more specific and smarter notifications, as you’ll only be notified when people move in front of your camera, not pets or inanimate objects. Overall, the process only took a few minutes, so I’m giving the Ring Spotlight Cam Battery two thumbs up for convenience.
Ring Spotlight Cam Review
Improved software, too, provides greater control over recording and reduces the number of notifications you receive. A slightly fiddly app interface makes finding old recordings a little tricky – but, otherwise, the Ring Spotlight Cam is an excellent camera.
Ring has built up an impressive array of security devices that are designed to protect your home inside and out. With the Ring Spotlight Cam, the company is adding to its range of dual-purpose cameras with security lights built in. Improved software and a decent price make this a handy utility camera, particularly for those who already have a Ring subscription. As an outdoor camera, the Ring Spotlight Cam is designed to be mounted on a wall or fence post. There’s space inside the unit itself for a second battery pack, to extend run-time, with the added advantage that you can have one cell charging while the other is operating your camera. If you don’t want to bother with charging at all, you can buy the solar panel pack to keep your camera’s battery topped up.
As with Ring’s other battery-powered cameras, the Spotlight Cam features a large PIR sensor that’s used to detect motion. The main issue with this kind of product is that any motion will trigger the camera to wake and start recording, and you can’t draw activity zones. Even so, if you face the camera towards a busy street then you’ll find it’s triggered often, thus impacting battery life . To further limit being bombarded with notifications, the Spotlight Cam lets you set up a motion schedule, defining when you do and don’t want to receive alerts.
Trying to find one event, even using the filters to choose the type of recording (motion, triggered by live view, or favourites) is still cumbersome. Amazon Alexa support is available via a skill, which lets you view the camera’s feed on a screen-enabled Echo.
In my experience, it’s worth turning on the camera’s HDR feature, even if this does slightly reduce battery life. HDR smooths out the image and makes it easier for the camera to cope with varied lighting as a result of changes in the sun during the day. However, since the Ring Spotlight Cam has two bright LEDs on the side, which light up the surrounding area, the camera is able to capture footage in full colour. The result is that night-time images are almost as good as those captured during the day, presenting in full colour and displaying plenty of detail and sharpness. If you have other Ring cameras already, then adding this into the mix lets you get cloud storage for one monthly subscription, saving you money. Specs ‹ UK RRP Manufacturer Size (Dimensions) Voice Assistant Battery Length Smart assistants View Field Night vision Light Power source Ring Spotlight Cam £199 Bionaire 69.1 x 75.9 x 126 MM Alexa 4380 hrs Yes 140 degrees Yes Yes Battery ›
Ring Spotlight Camera Review
Location is as vital to home security as it is to real estate, so we wanted to be smart and strategic when choosing where to place our camera. In addition to customizing the type of motion you want to see, you can also pick certain locations within the camera’s view to focus on. Google Nest’s cams, for example, go even farther with face-recognition detection – but Ring pulls all those nifty features together in a way we simply can’t resist. Pro Tip: If you place your Ring Spotlight Cam near a street, but you don’t want to keep getting motion alerts every time a car passes by, we found that turning on People Only Mode was the best fix. We think it’s worth mentioning that there was a roughly two-second hiccup on the audio, which is a common issue in some other cameras we’ve tested. The Ring mobile app is tied into Neighbors, a helpful neighborhood watch community where you can stay in the loop on suspicious activity or crime near your home.
Ring’s outdoor cameras include a loud 110-decibel siren that is sure to scare off anyone – human, animal, or maybe even vegetable – who might be a threat. We’d love to see Ring’s next release include Google Assistant compatibility as part of its smart home integration options, in addition to Amazon Alexa.
FYI: To fully unleash the Ring Spotlight’s smart home capabilities, we recommend using an Amazon Echo Show, which is basically Alexa with a screen.
Ring offers 1080p HD quality, which produces clear, sharp images and is a standard feature in most major-market cams. That same combination of 1080p HD resolution and ultra-bright LEDs also makes Ring’s night vision work like a charm.
One of the simplest ways to watch over your yard
The Spotlight Cam is a strong option if you want a motion-activated outdoor light with a built-in high-definition camera. Download the Ring app for Android, iOS or Windows and follow the step-by-step tutorial to set up your Spotlight Cam. Ring Spotlight Cam Ring Floodlight Cam Netatmo Presence Kuna Price $199/£199/AU$$329 $249/£195/AU$330 $300/£235/AU$400 $199/£155/AU265 Color finish Black or white Black or white Black Black or bronze Power source Plug-in or battery-powered Hardwired Hardwired Hardwired Resolution 1080p HD 1080p HD 1080p HD 720p HD Live streaming Yes Yes Yes Yes Continuous recording No No No No Cloud storage Yes Yes No Yes Local storage No No Internal microSD card No Mobile app Android, iPhone and Windows Android, iPhone and Windows Android and iPhone Android and iPhone Web app No Yes Yes No Night vision Yes Yes Yes No Alerts Motion Motion Motion (person, car or animal) Motion Activity zones Yes Yes Yes No Third-party integrations Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, IFTTT Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, IFTTT Apple HomeKit, IFTTT Amazon Alexa The Spotlight Cam is priced the same as the Kuna/Maximus, but Ring’s camera has a better resolution, night vision, activity zones and more smart home integrations.
Enable the Ring skill and you can ask Alexa to show you your camera’s feed on your screen-equipped Amazon speaker or on a Fire TV. Otherwise you’re stuck watching the live feed 24-7 or being ready to click on motion alerts ASAP to make sure you catch whatever activity is taking place.
The pricier plan includes additional features, like a lifetime warranty and 10 percent off future Ring product purchases. The Spotlight Cam’s simple installation, solid performance and easy-to-use app make it a favorite among the outdoor security camera-light fixture hybrid devices I’ve tested. Keep in mind that a spotty Wi-Fi connection can cause interruptions in your live feed or cause it not to work at all; test out the quality of your network where you plan to install your camera beforehand.
The Ring app has a “Device Health” section, too, where you can check in on the status of your Spotlight Cam’s connection at-a-glance. Overall, Ring’s $199 Spotlight Cam is a great option if you’re looking for a reliable outdoor camera with integrated motion-activated LEDs.
Ring Security Cameras Review and Prices
Ring is the company that invented the video doorbell category, now one of the most popular smart home devices. While it started by just keeping a digital eye on your front door, today Ring sells a complete home security system, including indoor and outdoor Wi-Fi cameras, multiple video doorbells, smart outdoor and indoor lighting, and a highly rated home alarm system.
Started by founder Jamie Siminoff as a way of seeing who was at his front door, Ring has grown into a billion-dollar company since it began in 2013. While the owner must give their permission, civil rights groups have raised concerns about this type of public surveillance. Ring has continued to innovate in the field of DIY home security, announcing last year the first in-home drone surveillance camera. This wireless camera, which costs $99.99, works both indoors and outdoors and is powered by a removable, rechargeable battery.
It doesn’t have advanced security features like zooming and tracking or package and facial recognition. The camera illuminates and sends announcements to Amazon Echo devices whenever motion is detected.
Finally, it can let you see, hear and speak to people on camera with select Echo and Fire TV devices.
It doesn’t have advanced security features like zooming and tracking or package and facial recognition. It can work inside or out, be battery-powered or wired (with the option of adding a solar panel to keep the battery charged), and use a primary and backup power source. It has a flexible mounting system and smart features like color night vision and People Only mode (with a subscription).
It also has a built-in siren that you can activate through the app, and you can see, hear and speak to people on camera with select Echo and Fire TV devices. On the downside, the Ring Stick Up Cam has the smallest field of view of all the cameras in our ratings, so it won’t capture as much action. It doesn’t have advanced security features like zooming and tracking or package and facial recognition.
You can see, hear and speak to people on camera with select Echo and Fire TV devices, and it can be set to broadcast an alert when it detects motion. The Indoor Cam lacks some features that other Ring cameras, such as a built-in light, battery power, and Amazon Alexa integration. If you just want a basic, inexpensive security camera to keep tabs on what’s happening in your home, the Ring Indoor Cam is a good choice. It has all of the most important features, including HD video, two-way talk, night vision, a 140-degree field of view, motion detection, and the ability to be controlled by a mobile app. Professional reviewers praise Ring cameras for their simple installation and set-up process and solid overall performance, including prompt alerts and good quality video.
Reviewers also note that Ring cameras are versatile, with multiple power options and devices that can work both indoors and out. Ring cameras don’t have advanced features such as smart detection of vehicles or animals, facial recognition, and track and zoom capabilities found on the more expensive Nest and Arlo. In addition, a new geofencing option sends a reminder to turn your cameras on when you leave and off when you come home. But a snapshot feature, available with a Ring Protect subscription, takes images between recordings to give you a fuller picture of what’s been happening on your property.
You can also call up a live view of any of your Ring cameras on select Echo and Fire TV devices. Ring has a number of safeguards in place to protect your data and privacy, including end-to-end encryption of all video and two-factor authentication as standard for logging into your account. Each offers 1080p full HD video, motion detection, a built-in siren, night vision, two-way talk, and a 130-degree field of view. Each offers 1080p full HD video, motion detection, a built-in siren, night vision, two-way talk, and a 130-degree field of view. It includes motion zones, night vision, a built-in siren, two-way talk, and motion-activated recording. A tiny, wired indoor camera that plugs into an outlet and records 1080p full HD.
It includes motion zones, night vision, a built-in siren, two-way talk, and motion-activated recording. Ring Spotlight Cam ($199-249.99): A battery-powered outdoor camera that records in 1080p full HD video with a 140-degree field of view.
A battery-powered outdoor camera that records in 1080p full HD video with a 140-degree field of view. Ring Video Doorbell Wired (59.99): A hard-wired doorbell camera with full HD video, night vision, two-way talk, motion detection and alerts, and remote control ability from the Ring mobile app or an Alexa-enabled device. A hard-wired doorbell camera with full HD video, night vision, two-way talk, motion detection and alerts, and remote control ability from the Ring mobile app or an Alexa-enabled device. Includes all the features of the cheaper Ring Video Doorbell, but it’s powered by a built-in battery.
The same as the Doorbell 3, but with a four-second pre-roll feature that uses a second camera to make sure you see what triggered the motion recording. It also supports Motion Warnings and Alexa Greetings, which allows the digital assistant to talk to the visitor on your behalf (with a Ring Protect subscription plan).
It also supports Motion Warnings and Alexa Greetings, which allows the digital assistant to talk to the visitor on your behalf (with a Ring Protect subscription plan). An improved version of the Pro, this doorbell connects to your existing wiring and adds enhanced HD video and a head-to-toe aspect ratio.
The Ring Protect Basic Plan starts at a reasonable $3 a month or $30 a year and provides 60 days of video history for one camera, as well as the option to save and share your recordings. If you’re just interested in covering the inside of your home, the less expensive Ring Indoor Camera would be a good choice.
If you need to cover an area without an outlet nearby, you’ll want to choose a battery- or solar-powered Ring camera. Ring also has an extensive online support center that includes FAQs on installations, compatibility, functionality, and usage.
Ring Spotlight Cam review
The price tag puts the Spotlight Cam at the top-end of the smart camera market, so it’ll really have to offer something unique to best the likes of the Reolink Argus 2 and Logi Circle 2. The Spotlight Cam comes in black and white, which should help it blend relatively easy into both light and dark environments, and features an integrated mounting base with an adjustable ball joint. The video, in general, is clear and crisp, and the night vision is capable of illuminating a decent-sized area – around 20-30ft (aka the size of our garden) in our experience. The lights are motion-activated by default, although this can be disabled and manually controlled via the Ring app for iOS, Android, Mac and PC.
While it was once presented in a clunky list format, a fairly recent update to the app now provides a more intuitive timeline view. While we haven’t had a chance to test it out for ourselves, logic dictates that it’d be a worthy purchase unless you’re planning on installing the Spotlight Cam somewhere that rarely sees movement. It’s compact, easy to install and boasts a range of smart security features including motion-activated LED strips, a 110db siren, two-way talk and night vision. The Ring app is well designed too, and a recent update to the UI makes it easier than ever to view past motion events.
But while the technology is strong, it’s let down by the fact that rain and wet weather can cause moisture on the inside of the camera that can completely obscure the view.
Ring Spotlight Cam Review – Is It Worthwhile?
Ring is most widely known for its high-quality video doorbell that allows users to see who is coming and going and even communicate with visitors at the front door.
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