The Blink Outdoor 4 has an adjustable mount that’s sturdy enough to maintain the correct angle.
How to power your camera
Outdoor cameras require reliable power. Some users have no problem recharging the battery every few months. Others may wish to place the camera in a location where regular charging is difficult. Wired versions of cameras skip this step, but typically require existing wiring or electrical work. Then there’s PoE, or Power over Ethernet, which provides both network connectivity and power, but requires a dedicated Ethernet line. Today, we are also seeing more and more solar outdoor cameras offering charging alternatives.
All of these options come down to ease of use: We’re looking for cameras with reliable power options, excellent battery life, available solar panels, and other family-friendly aspects. The higher the camera is placed and the more power it uses, the more important a wired solution becomes.
Durability
Outdoor cameras must be weather-resistant, and high-quality versions should also be able to handle cold temperatures.
Video storage and security
How do outdoor cameras process the footage they capture? The two main options are cloud storage via a network connection and local storage via a hub or microSD card. Cloud storage is easy to capture and share, but often requires a subscription and raises privacy concerns when police can request footage directly from the company. Local storage is more private, but is much more difficult to manage when the storage starts to fill up and needs to be culled. Our list includes options for both, as well as options like the Nest Cam, which offers free cloud storage.
Video encryption is also important to help ensure the security of video transmission and access. At this time, we will launch the latest protocols such as Matter and Thread, aiming to make smart devices safer and more compatible with different platforms. While this compatibility could help many smart devices, Matter doesn’t yet support video, so it’s not suitable for most data management here.
Resolution and field of view
Security cameras require high-quality video and imaging to do their job well. Today, the minimum resolution is 1080p, and we’re seeing more and more 2K and even 4K home security cameras offering more detail. If possible, go no lower than HD. Although less important, field of view also helps the camera capture the largest possible area, which is helpful when viewing the entire front of a house or the entire backyard. The best angle we’ve seen here is 160 degrees, but a 130-degree cam can still do just fine, especially if it’s easy to adjust the angle.
Motion detection and recognition
Motion detection both saves time recording and helps control adjacent features like spotlights and important motion alerts you can get on your phone. It’s usually an automatic feature, but it gets even better when the camera has AI recognition capabilities (ideally free). These features can help the camera ignore cars, foliage, or even animals and focus solely on humans, or let you choose alerts based on the subject. These two features combined make a powerful combination.
Additional features such as two-way audio
It helps if the two-way audio is of high quality and the camera is close enough for people to understand. Lighting is a very useful feature for any outdoor camera, which is why about half of our lists include some kind of lighting (and all have night vision capabilities).
