How we test home security cameras
Home security cameras are becoming increasingly smart and have all sorts of fancy features built in, so it’s more important than ever to test them thoroughly. Every home security camera we review is given a workout in a real-world domestic environment, whether that be indoors or outdoors.
During testing we look at image quality in the following scenarios:
- Low light and night, evaluating how well the night vision illuminates the immediate area around the camera
- Daylight, paying close attention to how well the camera copes with high-contrast scenes, in particular backlighting. The example below shows how a good camera compares with a not-so good camera in tricky conditions:
We also try out the audio connection to see how loud the speakers are, how clearly the microphones pick up audio and we evaluate how easy the camera is to set up using the various mobile and desktop apps.
And we take care to assess how effective the motion detection is. With so many companies now adding advanced object and audio detection – for instance person, parcel and package detection – this is another aspect we look at while reviewing these cameras to ensure that they actually do what they are supposed to.
Finally, we check how responsive the cameras are. It’s incredibly frustrating if it takes minutes to bring up your camera’s live view, so we check how long it takes for each camera to enter the live view from the app and how long motion events take to generate an alert.
Is video quality important?
Yes. If your camera isn’t capable of recording crisp, detailed video in all types of light conditions you may not be able to make out important details such as number plates or faces. Fortunately, most cameras will capture at 1080p or higher today.
What marks out the best cameras, though, is the way video is processed. The most important feature on this front is HDR. Cameras with HDR take the video signal from the camera and brighten up the dark areas while ensuring the bright areas of the image aren’t blown out and difficult to see. Cameras without HDR tend to struggle to balance areas of bright and dark with the result that it can be difficult to make out crucial details in captured videos.
Night vision is also a key consideration. Most cameras have a night vision mode these days using infrared LEDs to illuminate the area immediately in front of them so they can effectively see in the dark. One or two LEDs are usually enough to light up a small or medium-sized room but, for larger rooms and outdoor spaces, you may need a camera with multiple LEDs.
You should also consider a floodlight camera for large outdoor areas, which pairs bright white floodlights and cameras for the ultimate intruder deterrent. These often need mains power, though, and are therefore trickier to install.
How expensive is the subscription?
Once motion or audio has been detected, most modern home security cameras will store that clip online so you can view it in the app or download it to your phone or laptop. And while many home security cameras offer a basic free storage service so you can use your camera without ongoing costs, the free service is often limited in some way.
Some manufacturers – including, but not limited to, Ring – don’t allow any access to online storage at all after an initial trial period, effectively forcing you to pay a subscription or miss out on core features such as motion detection zones.
It’s also worth bearing in mind that what starts out being free or cheap may not continue to be in the future. Ring, for example, recently hiked its prices by 43% for single cameras, from £3.50 to £5/mth, though the yearly price does stay the same. Here’s a quick summary of what the big companies are charging for cloud video storage.
| Single camera cost (/mth and /yr) | Multiple camera cost (from) | |
| Ring | £5/mth | £50/yr | £8/mth | £80/yr |
| Nest | Not available | £6/mth | £60/yr |
| Arlo | £4.49/mth | £45/yr | £11/mth | £110/yr |
With this in mind, it’s worth looking for cameras that can also record video clips locally to a microSD card. While this isn’t as flexible as cloud storage, it gives you the option to keep using a camera if the company hikes prices beyond what you’re willing to pay.
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What other home security camera features should I look out for?
Pan and zoom: Some cameras have a motor and optics that allow you to move the camera around remotely. It’s a useful feature but not essential. Most home security cameras have a very wide field of view and, if positioned carefully, will be able to provide a view of your entire room.
Smart assistant/speaker integration: Many manufacturers boast of integration with either Alexa or Google Assistant in their specifications but while some aspects of these features are useful, they’re worth taking with a pinch of salt. In most instances, they refer to the ability to ask the digital assistant to display the feed from your camera on your smart screen speaker, which isn’t all that useful in our experience.
Object, person and pet detection: This sounds like a gimmick but being able to filter a long list of motion-triggered video clips by the type of motion detected can be a big time-saver. Some cameras even allow you to link names to faces so that you can be alerted when the camera spots certain people – if you want to know when your kids get home from school, this is an incredibly useful feature.
