Ring Spotlight Cam Solar MSRP $199.99 Score Details DT Recommended Product “The Ring Spotlight Cam Solar shines as a sunlight-grabbing camera that will never require a battery change” Pros Never needs a battery replacement App offers lots of features Cons Subscription service required after free trial period
The best wireless outdoor security cameras, like the Netgear Arlo Pro II and the Blink XT, offer solutions to the problem.
Ring’s oddly shaped camera won’t win any awards for styling, but don’t let the lack of looks fool you. The Ring app, available for both Android and iOS, walks you through all setup instructions, making the process easy. We needed to tone down the sensitivity of the camera, as the neighbor’s cat and bushes blowing in the breeze sent motion alerts to our phone.
As residents of the dreary Pacific Northwest, we wondered if the solar panel would do a decent job of keeping the camera powered through the gray, rainy spring. You can check to see whether your battery is charged, snooze motion alerts altogether, adjust camera sensitivity, or download video clips.
As residents of the often-dreary Pacific Northwest, we wondered if the solar panel would keep the camera powered.
One of the things we like is that you can invite friends to “Ring Neighborhoods,” which is a way to connect with neighbors to stay safe and share video footage.
On a couple of occasions, motion alert recordings failed to load at all, and we had to shut down the app and open it again to access it. You can use the Ring Spotlight Cam Solar without paying for a subscription, but its free functionality is limited.
After an initial trial period, you are unable to view recorded video with the triggered motion alerts unless you pay up monthly. You’ll still see a motion alert on your phone, but won’t be able to see what caused it, which defeats the purpose of having a security camera in the first place. We think the Ring Spotlight Cam Solar is a great camera, and not having to bother with a battery replacement — ever — is a sweet set-up.
If you’re in the market for an outdoor wireless camera but aren’t interested in the solar panel charger, go with the Ring Spotlight Cam Battery.
Now owned by Amazon, we expect Ring to add to offerings while continuing support for existing products.
Hands-On Ring Spotlight Cam Battery and Solar Review
The Solar Panel, which sells independently for $49.00, is weatherproof and connects to your Spotlight Cam Battery using a 13-foot cable. According to Ring, with just a few hours of direct sunlight per day, it will keep your Spotlight Cam fully charged.
While some online literature says that the solar panel will not charge the camera’s battery, we found that it did.
In our test, the battery level (which you can check within the mobile app) kept creeping up over time.
Even though we had excellent results, there’s a limitation: if the battery is dead, the solar panel can’t power the camera alone.
Ring Spotlight Cam review
The Ring Spotlight Cam is a great option if you want to deter intruders but don’t have power nearby to hook up a mains-operated security camera? As soon as motion is detected, it will automatically record footage in full HD video and activate both bright lights and a loud siren should you choose.
Simple to use, you will need to subscribe to Ring Protect for $3 / £2.50 / AU$4 per month to view the footage after it’s been recorded, and the camera is bulky and slightly tricky to install.
The Ring Spotlight Cam is a great option if you want to deter intruders but don’t have power nearby to hook up a mains-operated security camera?
As soon as motion is detected, it will automatically record footage in full HD video and activate both bright lights and a loud siren should you choose. Simple to use, you will need to subscribe to Ring Protect for $3 / £2.50 / AU$4 per month to view the footage after it’s been recorded, and the camera is bulky and slightly tricky to install.
Also on board is an extremely loud siren, which when coupled with the lights is ideal for scaring off unwanted intruders. These include ‘customizable motion zones’ so you can, for example, tailor the areas where you want the Spotlight Cam to detect movement and ‘people only’ mode so it doesn’t capture unwanted footage of birds flying across the sky or squirrels climbing the fence. The Spotlight Cam is a versatile outdoor camera ideal for monitoring your property, and while it is a few years old now, the device’s software has been updated considerably to give you all the options you need to use as part of a comprehensive home security setup. As we’ve already mentioned, if you want to review video after the camera has recorded it, you’ll need to subscribe to Ring Protect. A chunky, rectangular-shaped outdoor camera, measuring 4.96 x 2.72 x 2.99 inches / 12.6 x 6.91 x 7.59 cm ( h x w x) and available in black or white, it’s fair to say the Ring Spotlight Cam is not a thing of beauty. However, what it lacks in looks it makes up for in terms of versatility, with a large two-way speaker underneath the main lens and two bright spotlights either side and one below.
Ring claims installation time is around five minutes but, in reality, it took us closer to an hour once it was angled properly. During the day, the full HD footage was clear and detailed, although after dark the images weren’t the clearest we’ve seen.
However, the two-way audio was very loud and clear (the Spotlight Cam has one of the best speakers we’ve seen on a security camera) and the lights powerful enough to illuminate the entire garden. Perhaps it’s the influence of Amazon, which bought Ring in 2018, but the user interface is extremely intuitive with clear options you can toggle on and off.
As with most home security devices, the easiest way to set up the app is to scan the QR code inside the battery compartment. Other useful options include power setting so you can see how much charge your battery has before it needs recharging and a new geofencing feature.
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.
Spotlight Cam Solar
For purchases made on ring.com between 1st November and 31st December, 2021 you have until 31st January, 2022 to return your item(s) for a full, no-questions-asked refund.
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 ›
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