T. C. MCCLIMANS
Great Camera!
My current setup is the Ring doorbell, doorbell solar charging mount, indoor chime, this Spotlight Cam Plus and the 4w solar panel (UPDATE: Replaced the doorbell cam with a plug-in Spotlight Cam Plus as the doorbell cam was getting insufficient light to stay charged).Setting everything up including the preferred settings in the Ring App was surprisingly quick & easy. Everything appears to be quality construction and the ability for the Spotlight Cam Plus to hold 2 batteries is a plus in my book.When mounted as suggested, video quality & motion detection are great, and the solar panel does a good job of keeping both batteries topped off even when mounted in a less-than-ideal location (panel facing due East is the best I can do).To mount on the vinyl siding w/o drilling any holes, I bought these from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XG17SPY?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1 , and they work very well w/the mounting holes on the camera's base. Very easy to attach or move, if need be, but be aware they're also easy to remove just by rotating the camera up 90 degrees. This makes theft easy so if you go this route be sure to mount up high where it's hard to reach.My only real complaint about this camera: I specifically chose the Spotlight Cam over the regular Outdoor Cam Plus because I wanted the motion-activated LED lights as a deterrent to would-be intruders. Unfortunately, it wasn't until after I had it mounted and set up that I learned the LED lights motion-activate only with a wired or plug-in power supply, not solar or battery. This is not mentioned anywhere in the description (not Amazon's fault) and had I been aware of this would probably have gone with the less expensive Outdoor Cam Plus for my needs.Aside from that, I would recommend this camera to anyone who is fully aware of its capabilities & limitations.4.5 stars, thumbs-up!ETA: I contacted RING tech support and after a number of tests they believe the camera's defective, the LED lights should be motion-activated even when on battery. They're sending me a replacement, I'll update this review after the new camera is installed & tested.ETA2: After another factory reset and reboot, the camera LED lights now appear to function normally. At 2am this morning they came on as they should when I entered the back patio. Research shows this is not an uncommon problem with this camera, but I still give it 5 stars.ETA3: I now have 6 of these cameras arranged around my house; 5 plugged into weatherproof exterior outlets & 1 with a solar panel, all with the dual internal backup batteries. Two of them failed early on; one with a burned-out video processor and the other died and wouldn't go into setup mode. RING was quick to help diagnose then replace them.Aside from that, I love the ease of initial setup and the abundance of monitoring/recording options. It's worth it to explore all the options, that's when these cameras come into their own. Ex: The various modes (Disarmed, Home, Away) allow you to choose when the verbal warning ('Hi, you are currently being recorded') is active. We have it 'on' at night for our front door camera or when away, but 'off' during the day when we're at home (always 'on' the other cameras when active), the indoor chime lets us know if someone approaches our front door.Also, I switch off the AI detection choices (like vehicles, people or packages) as that slows the alert response time. Adjusting the motion detection zones and sensitivity can take a little while depending.Another plus for me over other cameras I've researched is the available solar/plug-in extension cord that allowed me to best place the cameras yet still use plug-in power.Despite the two outright camera failures, I still give this camera 4.75 stars.ETA4: I now have 7 of these cameras in use with 3 on solar and 4 on plug-in power, all with dual backup batteries. Performance has been very good for months, with the only problems experienced being one camera (the hardest to reach, of course) will occasionally go offline (3 times in a year?) and require pulling the power cord & batteries to restore functionality and rarely a camera will start draining the batteries despite being on active solar or plug in power, but rebooting the camera starts charging the batteries again. Still highly recommended if you want an outdoor security camera w/lights.Ver másVer menos
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