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

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.

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.

I LOVE these cameras. I cannot recommend them enough to friends and family. The picture quality is better than anything that's out there right now (in this price range) and the recording 24/7 is what really takes the cake. I have a RING Doorbell PRO for the front door, and three of these to cover the other areas. The RING says it's 1080P, but side-by-side comparison shows that's it not even close. I've even had SWANN 1080P wired cameras to a DVR, and the quality wasn't this good. Daytime and nighttime. The price for the NEST Aware is a little steep. $10 for the first camera and $5 for every additional for only 10 days of archive. In the grand scheme of things, it's not that expensive. If you have one camera, that's the cost of two cups of "designer" coffee. The best feature, which I think is downplayed a lot, is that it records 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Most other cloud based cameras (RING Included) does not do this. They only record when it detects motion. If it misses something, it DOES NOT RECORD. The NEST has a very easy app (and website) that you can view and save your clips. The motion settings are also very nice (must be setup in web browser). You can custom draw and color coat the motion zones. For example, my garage door code pad, I had that a separate color. I can quickly look through, and see if anyone tried to use it based off the color of the motion. You could also opt for local storage cameras too, but if you're worried about theft, guess what's going to happen to a camera that is storing data local? Get stolen with it. 10 days may not sound like a long time, but if something happens to your house, or something gets stolen, you're most likely going to notice right away. And if you are worried about extended vacations, then just up your plan to 30 days while you're gone that month. I've also read other people talking about a 1 - 2 second lag with the live video. Unless you have a local hardwired system with a monitor plugged into it, you're always going to have a lag. Especially if you are not at home viewing over your internet. 1 - 2 seconds is HIGHLY acceptable for 1080P content to stream to your phone, LIVE. The only downside to these is installation. The hole required to fit the cable is almost an inch big. That's a big hole to drill in the side of the house. I really don't think anyone at NEST was thinking about that when they decided to use an USB connector for the power. The cord length seems to be sufficient, and the mounting bracket is very easy to use. It's magnetic, so you mount the part on the house, then it "sticks" to the camera, so you can fine tune the direction. If you have metal anywhere, you don't even need to mount the bracket, just stick it up there. Also, if you ever (for whatever reason) need to change the wireless network name, the only way to connect them again, is by scanning the QR code on the bottom. Make note of that if you are going to mount these 50 ft in the air... I have three of these cameras, two I have NEST Aware subs on, and one I use for monitoring when I need to. These cameras are great if you just want to stick them up and go, without messing with setting up local storage, running wires everywhere and hoping if someone comes and robs you, they don't take the computer the data is stored on.

Installation very easy. Download the app, open an account and scan the bar code on the camera and you are ready to go. Mounting was also quite simple. I just put the magnetic mount on a down pipe. Didn't need to screw it in as the magnet was strong enough to hold it there alone. It comes with a comprehensive mounting kit which seems simple enough. The video feed quality is quite good. There is a noticeable lag of about 1 to 3 seconds. I have cable 100/40 internet and a N wireless router only 5 meters from the camera so I don't think it is a result of my internet. This is not a problem for my use. The push to talk works fine. The speaker in the camera is certainly not loud though as long as you are standing within a meter or two of the camera it is acceptable. However the person talking into the camera really needs to speak loudly/shout to be heard. The motion alerts are not particularly useful on the free plan. It picks up many false positives. The washing on the line is enough to make it send an alert. I understand that under the paid subscription this is addressed by being able to send alerts only when it detects a person. A particular gripe is that you can’t set alerts on a device by device basis. They are either on or off for all devices linked to your account. For instance, I have installed the app on my iphone, Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire. All three go off when movement is detected. I would rather just to be able to select alerts for the iphone only. I have somewhat got around this by sending alerts via email only rather than via app based alerts. This becomes a particular annoyance when I linked my wife's account to the camera. She is not interested in receiving activity alerts but it isn't possible to just have me receive the alerts. If I shut off her alerts then it also shuts off mine. To get around this I have flagged the Nest alert emails as spam on my wife's account and now they just go into her spam folder which solved the problem. Overall impression is that this is a nice bit of kit. No real complaints so far. We purchased the camera to keep an eye on the pool so that my wife could duck inside for a minute or two but still watch the kids swimming on her phone while she did so. For this it is perfect. However I would question the utility of this camera as a security device at the front door unless you went with the paid subscription to limit alerts to “people” and zones only. Otherwise I think you would soon turn off all alerts. I have no regrets having purchased it so far.

I have mixed emotions about this product for a number of reasons. I bought 5 of these with the intention of installing all of them on the same day, so far I installed 2 - I might return the rest. The good - it was very simple to install, offers great video and audio quality, great features for motoring and play back, 2 way audio etc. I was doing some research and this is probably one of the best security cams out there. If you have a strong WiFi signal in many areas (I have access points all over my property) of your home and a power outlet you are good to go. No worries about changing camera batteries, connecting to a proprietary hub with a limited range, etc. Pretty much it is plug and play, almost. The bad: Had issues with the Nest app setting up my first cam on my iPhone (iOS 10) - the app just hung on Looking for WiFi networks. So I plugged the USB end of the cam into my computer, ran the .exe and set it up that way. The USB power connection with the cylinder lock mechanism from the camera to the power connector caused me to drill a hole much larger than theoretically needed when installing the camera wire through walls. They should have offered some sort of disconnect or a locking plug-thing on both ends that way you don't have to drill such a large hole to feed it through. Once I had it installed it worked but then stopped. I needed to reboot my router and change the WiFi channel from 1 to auto - so far so good. My biggest gripe is the Nest Aware cloud storage service to provide monitoring features and storage of your history. I found this out AFTER I bought the product - they need this information to be clear in the description of the product on Amazon's site as it is no where to be found. The problem is that they only offer 2 cloud storage option subscriptions to store your history with their Nest Aware cloud storage offering. Don't get me wrong you get some great features for it but those prices are also a bit high for cloud storage especially if you have multiple cameras. Here is the break-down: Currently as of 10/24/2016: 1) 10 day - $100 per year per camera with a $50 discount for each additional camera So for me - that would be $300 / year - to store 10 days of history for 5 of my cameras. That I already spent $1000 on. OR - They also have: 2) 30 day - $300 per year / camera with a discount 50% discount per camera ($150 per year) This is ridiculous for home consumers who want simple home security. I used this for home security, if nothing happens on that day - it can be overwritten the next day for all I care. Nest - please make a subscription option for home security for owners to choose how much storage they want or offer and entry level package to store 1 or 2 days storage at a reasonable price. I found out that if you contact Nest and make this suggestion - they will provide your feedback and report it to the Sale organization for consideration. I lived chat with a Nest rep yesterday and that is what he told me.

Like many of you Amazonians out there, I researched many different cameras out there before choosing to buy this one. To be clear, I really wanted a camera for live monitoring purposes (think baby monitor) rather than strictly recording/security purposes, so that did play into my decision for the Nest Cam outdoor camera. We wanted to be able to monitor our young kids while they are playing in an area in the back yard that we could not see from the house. That being said, I am very happy with the Nest Cam. It hits all the items I really wanted in a monitoring system. So, here are some of the pros/cons. PROS: -Extremely easy set-up. Seriously... I am pretty technically savvy, but I think a 5th grader could have set this thing to connect to your wifi/phone. Well done Nest. ---The magnetic base allows for super-simple 360-degree adjustments at any time. ---Mic: We are able to hear our kids playing and even if not watching the screen, are prompted to respond by just the sound of cries. This pics up pretty well from a long distance ---Video quality: The day-time clarity/color is really impressive and the night-time infrared is really clear as well. ---App: so far the app is extremely easy to use, very intuitive. (caveat: see CON below about "Nest Aware") ---Durability: This think looks and feels very solid. It does not feel flimsy/fragile. It rained the whole day I first had this up and the camera had no problems at all. CONS: ---Color: I know this is probably superficial, but I would think that a darker color camera would blend into more environments than a stark white one. I know some people want the cameras to be highly visible to serve as a deterrent, but when said camera cots almost $200 and can just be pulled off its magnetic base, I would rather people not be able to see it from down the street. Now, I understand, some people might have a white house that this would match, but I think having another color option (black) would be nice so we can choose. I put mine in a tree and having a bright white chord winding down the tree looked absolutely terrible (so I had to buy some black flex to lay the cord in). ---Nest Aware: The monthly fee for the cloud storage is higher than any other camera I looked at. In my opinion, it is ridiculous. Even if you only want 10 days, paying $10/$5 a month per camera is really high... especially after you just paid $200 for each camera. Since I am only planning on using this for monitoring (not paying that monthly fee), I went ahead and bought it for all the other benefits. I think they should give us an option to save footage on our own hard drive/DVR, but of course, then they wouldn't get all that money. If nothing else, they should allow a 24hr option for a lot cheaper. Most of are going to know within 24 hours (especially with the app alerts) if something has been taken off our porch or if someone broke into our house and then we can download the video... we don't need 10 days. This CON is why I took off one star. Overall, this camera does a really good job of what it is meant to do. Easy to use and good quality. Expensive video storage options but I knew that before I bought it. Good buy!

Summary: The video quality has been excellent, and the phone app is outstanding. I like it so much I'm planning on purchasing two more. Features: I love that it has a microphone and speaker, but probably not as much as my kids do. They love yelling at each other at the front door now.. The video quality is excellent, and I like that it has "AUTO" for quality so I don't have to manually try to adjust video quality to match my internet connection. The zones work great for limiting alerts, and I like that I can ignore any alert that doesn't say "Your camera thinks it spotted a person". I don't really care about anything but people showing up in my alerts. User Interface: The website interface and the iPhone app have been excellent. I really like the timeline view on the phone and the ability to easily watch the events that triggered the alerts. It's easy and intuitive to scroll through the timeline to find events. Like: are the kids home from school? did the UPS guy really just throw my package like that? The web interface for downloading clips worked great, and made it easy if you ever want to keep that cute moment or need video evidence to publicly shame those neighborhood punk kids who smashed your halloween pumpkin. Installation: I decided to place it above the front door, and spent a bunch of time researching the best way to plug it in without breaking fire code, and make it look nice. It looks like running low voltage through the exterior wall of the home is OK, so I drilled a 7/8" hole in the stucco above my door and fished the USB cable through the wall. I then ran the cable around the door trim down to floor level where I mounted the DC converter to the wall. I also cut the A/C power cord and put a new plug on it to avoid having a big mess of extra cable wound up next to my front door. I'm fairly happy with the install, and with a little patch work and paint, it isn't hardly noticeable. Misc: I've talked with some of my friends who have more traditional video security systems. They rave about local storage, battery backups, etc. I really am happy with this level of security and find the cost and the convenience of setup and installation (which were my barriers to getting a traditional security camera system) were exactly what I needed to jump in. Complaints: * Wish the website "home.nest.com" didn't use flash for the video playback. * I occasionally get inconsistent alerts on my iPhone. Wife's phone will beep, but mine is silent * Temperature rating up to 104 F. I live in Arizona where 104 F happens at 9 am in the summer time. I'm not sure if I should chance getting another camera until I have a chance to see how this one behaves in the summer. I'm betting that it just won't do 1080p in the heat. My camera stays at 720p in AUTO anyway (I assume because of WiFi signal), and I'm happy with the picture quality there. I would be very disappointed if it dropped to the lower 360p in the heat.

I've put off video security for years because I couldn't make heads or tails out of the complicated systems which require a DVR, hard drive, etc, not to mention having to send cables through the crawl space. This is a game changer! It's all in one little unit - NO OTHER COMPONENTS NEEDED! Power: Needs to plug this in, however it comes with very long length of cable so it should accommodate most situations. The only issue I could see is if the plug is low enough for an intruder to unplug the unit. Of course they would likely (but not necessarily) be filmed walking up to it, which would trigger an alert - so maybe that's not a huge issue. A wireless unit however might be very convenient - except when it's time to change batteries ;) Having an all in one unit like Nest Cam is a life saver - yes, it's pricier than the DVR kits but you get no muss, no fuss installation and the data is stored to the cloud so no one can simply take the hard drive and make off with evidence. Yes, there is a subscription fee - $100 for one year/ten day monitoring, which I believe means it will save ten consecutive days of data before it records over it. They also have a thirty day option. It's well worth it. Set up: Easy to get up and running and attach. Can I just say the magnet option is AMAZING! I needed to attach one screw!! The instructions are blessedly super clear and well laid out with text and graphics - thank you! I typically dread setting up new electronics - there are always hiccups and lots of frustration - Not with this one! Coverage: I thought I might need two cameras for the front of my home but the angle of the lens is wide enough that one gets the job done. I may need two for the back as there are some trees that obstruct the view. Picture/audio: crystal clear and audio is very sensitive (also can be turned off). I'm really impressed with the features: alerts if the camera detects a person in view, camera will shut on and off if it detects your phone in/out of the house, you can monitor on your phone or computer, and lots more features. Cons: The upper limit for heat is 104 degrees - as I live in the desert where it can regularly be 110-118 degrees, I'm wondering if I need to bring the camera in or if I can take my chances. I'd hate to cook a $200 camera (or multiple as I plan to get more). I suppose I could bring it in during the day and put it back out at night as it cools off - but what a pain - not to mention not feasible when I go out of town in the summer for a few weeks. I may experiment with setting the camera up indoors near a window - wonder what effect the glass will have on it? I can't recommend this enough - go for it - it feels so good to have this level of security for just a few hundred dollars! I'm on the fence as to whether to purchase the indoor camera - it's received some mixed reviews - so going to mull that over for a bit.