Last Updated: November 25, 2015
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A security site posted news today that setting a Nest Cam to "off" via its mobile app doesn't actually stop the unit from capturing audio and video. If you read the headline, you might be worried about whether Nest honors your privacy. But because no audio or video is processed, no motion events are monitored, and no multimedia is streamed in "off" mode, we aren't concerned. For our full thoughts on this issue, see the Flaws but not dealbreakers section below.
IP cameras stream live video from your local network to the Internet and let you watch that video on a computer, smartphone, or tablet. The ones we examined also let you play back recorded video and alert you when they’re triggered by motion or sound. You might want one to check on whether the kids have returned home from school, see if a pet’s behaving, or alert you to intruders—and provide the police with the incriminating video.
The Nest Cam comes from Alphabet’s (formerly Google’s) Nest division and is the latest evolution of a long-running product line (its predecessor, the Dropcam Pro, was our previous pick). The Nest Cam adds higher-resolution 1080p video output (the Dropcam Pro captured 720p video) but removes a much-liked feature for geofencing that is promised to return in a future software update.
If you need a multiple-camera setup or to place cameras far away from a power outlet, Netgear’s Arlo offers an affordable but radically different approach, comprising a flexible system of wireless camera pods (powered by lithium batteries that can last for many months) that route through a special Ethernet-connected hub.
ArcSoft’s Simplicam is nearly as good as the Nest Cam, but the narrower field of view will be a dealbreaker for many people. For smaller spaces, however, its lower cost per unit (and per year for cloud storage) may fit the bill. The initial and annual savings add up with multiple cameras.
By themselves, IP cameras don’t offer the kind of comprehensive monitoring offered by complete home-security systems, which feature door and window sensors, a siren, and always-on professional monitoring. Two IP camera systems we tested—Canary Connect’s Canary and Icontrol’s Piper—incorporate some home-security system features, but both products have limitations that keep us so far from wholeheartedly recommending either.
These cameras allow you to watch live video of your house on a computer, phone, or tablet over an Internet connection from wherever you are. The ones we considered all provide recording services that let you watch and listen to what’s happened from a few hours to a month ago, with recording often triggered by motion-detection features. Most also can send alerts to your phone if they detect motion or sound when they’re not supposed to.
But an IP camera is not a replacement for a comprehensive home security system with sensors on all your doors and windows, an arming/disarming keypad, a siren, battery-operated or battery-backed sensors, and a direct connection to a monitoring service. Such systems may also detect temperature changes, water leaks, glass breaking, and other conditions.
Most of the cloud-connected IP cameras we tested are easy to set up and use and have great image quality. However, they have two big weaknesses: they don’t have local video storage, so they’re useless if your Internet connection goes down, and most don’t have batteries, so they’re useless if your power goes out. There are IP cameras without these weaknesses, but they’re generally much harder to set up and use and have much worse image quality. We plan to test IP cameras with local storage in a future guide. Despite these weaknesses, however, we still think an IP camera like a Nest Cam is better for most people because of its ease of use and great image quality—just don’t rely on it to replace a security system.
If you’re suspicious about something, the cameras we recommend will let you review previously recorded video to see what actually happened—and if someone did break into your house, you can see who did it and show that video to the cops. But they won’t contact a monitoring company, who can send police or a security guard if something does go wrong. Each service has different options for how long they store video and what you’ll pay for the privilege. The default included with most plans is usually several days’ worth, but some services allow you to pay more to store up to a month. Some cameras will only save video when they detect motion or sound, while others record everything that happens in front of their little lenses. We recommend cloud storage, because local-only storage in a memory card could be stolen or destroyed in a burglary, fire, or natural disaster for which you need evidence. Cloud archives are persistent.
Despite many new products entering this category lately, we don’t find a compelling reason to update your setup if you already have a Dropcam or Dropcam Pro. While newer cameras offer improved video quality, both previous Dropcam models capture high-definition video at 720p, and the Nest Cam offers the same 130-degree field of view as the older Dropcam Pro. If you own a camera that doesn’t offer high-definition video or the ability to save video to the cloud, you might want to consider an upgrade.
In addition to our own research, we checked out reviews from sources such as CNET and PC Mag, as well as user reviews from Amazon. After considering more than a dozen models and narrowing it down, we called in the Nest Cam, D-Link’s DCS-5020L, Belkin’s NetCam HD+, ArcSoft’s Simplicam, Icontrol’s Piper, Canary, NetGear’s Arlo, and Samsung’s SmartCam HD Pro for testing.
We searched for cameras that are easy to set up and use, with mobile apps, as well as access from Macs and PCs. We wanted cameras that provided clear and detailed images in bright light, low light, and in the dark; DVR features; and alerts if they noticed anything suspicious.
We looked for wide-angle cameras that could take in a horizontal field of view of 100 degrees or more and that shot in 720p or higher. Remote cloud storage was a decider: many IP cameras include microSD as a local storage option but offer no remote storage or too little of it, either by storage size or number of days retained. Some only store clips triggered by motion, which can omit events that don’t hit a threshold but turn out later to be important. We didn’t consider bandwidth usage for cloud storage, although it’s a concern we’ll discuss later. (We plan a future, separate guide on budget IP cameras to look at affordable options with both live remote viewing and local storage.)
IP camera makers almost always list the diagonal field of view, which overstates the horizontal dimension by about 15 percent for an HD (16:9 ratio) camera frame: the Nest Cam’s 130-degree diagonal is roughly 115 degrees horizontal, still enough to sweep in an entire room without being in a corner. For long, narrow rooms, you need a wide field of view so you can place the camera centrally and avoid losing detail at either end of space.Vertical field of view is much less important, as only an average floor-to-ceiling height needs to be captured, but it affects a camera’s placement. (Some cheaper cameras have motors for panning and even optical zoom—one even detects motion and swivels towards it—but wide-field observation makes the most sense for passive monitoring purposes.)
Some IP cameras include a built-in speaker and support an two-way audio intercom feature with one-way video. You can also scare intruders by booming out, “Who goes there!” we suppose, or communicate more gently with a child or pet. In practice, we recommend putting IP cameras in locations that are unlikely to work well for this purpose, such as near the ceiling in a corner of a room. It strikes us an extraneous feature when you could far more easily just Skype or FaceTime.
We excluded outdoor-only cameras, since these typically have different requirements, like low-voltage wiring, power-over-Ethernet, or direct wiring. Some of the cameras we did look at could be used both indoors and out, usually as part of a bundle, but the exterior-only ones had additional or targeted features—like a rugged mounting bracket—that added expense and didn’t work well inside.
Because the cameras communicate over Wi-Fi, we didn’t need to put them near an Ethernet jack or wire in additional Ethernet outlets. Only the Arlo requires a spare Ethernet port on a router or switch for its hub, but we didn’t have to make any changes to our existing home network in order to set it up.
We placed our test cameras where they could cover the largest possible area while keeping critical points (like doors and windows) at high enough resolution to be useful. We did need to position most cameras within a few feet of a power outlet—all of the cameras we tested other than the battery-powered Arlo included a several-foot-long power cord, which allows some flexibility but won’t let you place a camera in hard-to-reach spaces far from outlets. (Depending on the device, longer third-party USB power cords may be available at a nominal extra cost.) Mounting a camera above arm’s reach in a corner might be best, if you’re worried about it being reachable by an intruder.
We viewed live and recorded video on each camera via mobile and web apps and took image samples from the live video from each camera at midday and after dark with all the lights out. We compared samples for image quality and also compared each camera’s field of view, which determines how wide a scene the camera can shoot–the wider the better.
Top pick
Nest Cam
The Nest Cam delivers a high-resolution, high-quality image with excellent app and web support plus cloud-based archiving and footage retrieval.
$200* from Amazon
*At the time of publishing, the price was $190.
Also Great
$160* from Amazon
*At the time of publishing, the price was $180.
Battery powered
Netgear Arlo
The Arlo system is the only IP camera system offering battery power, and Netgear offers less-expensive cameras and a much cheaper (but more limited) recurring cloud storage plan.
Also Great
$150 from Amazon
Budget pick
Simplicam HD
If you’re looking for a lower price for more modestly sized rooms, the Simplicam delivers.
By themselves, IP cameras don’t offer the kind of comprehensive monitoring offered by complete home-security systems, which feature door and window sensors, a siren, and always-on professional monitoring. Two IP camera systems we tested—Canary Connect’s Canary and Icontrol’s Piper—incorporate some home-security system features, but both products have limitations that keep us so far from wholeheartedly recommending either.
Who should get this?
If you want an easy-to-use way to watch what’s happening in or around your house while you’re elsewhere or access video footage after something happens in your home—whether it’s your kids dropping a dish or a burglar breaking in—an IP camera with a cloud-storage option can do the job.These cameras allow you to watch live video of your house on a computer, phone, or tablet over an Internet connection from wherever you are. The ones we considered all provide recording services that let you watch and listen to what’s happened from a few hours to a month ago, with recording often triggered by motion-detection features. Most also can send alerts to your phone if they detect motion or sound when they’re not supposed to.
But an IP camera is not a replacement for a comprehensive home security system with sensors on all your doors and windows, an arming/disarming keypad, a siren, battery-operated or battery-backed sensors, and a direct connection to a monitoring service. Such systems may also detect temperature changes, water leaks, glass breaking, and other conditions.
Most of the cloud-connected IP cameras we tested are easy to set up and use and have great image quality. However, they have two big weaknesses: they don’t have local video storage, so they’re useless if your Internet connection goes down, and most don’t have batteries, so they’re useless if your power goes out. There are IP cameras without these weaknesses, but they’re generally much harder to set up and use and have much worse image quality. We plan to test IP cameras with local storage in a future guide. Despite these weaknesses, however, we still think an IP camera like a Nest Cam is better for most people because of its ease of use and great image quality—just don’t rely on it to replace a security system.
If you’re suspicious about something, the cameras we recommend will let you review previously recorded video to see what actually happened—and if someone did break into your house, you can see who did it and show that video to the cops. But they won’t contact a monitoring company, who can send police or a security guard if something does go wrong. Each service has different options for how long they store video and what you’ll pay for the privilege. The default included with most plans is usually several days’ worth, but some services allow you to pay more to store up to a month. Some cameras will only save video when they detect motion or sound, while others record everything that happens in front of their little lenses. We recommend cloud storage, because local-only storage in a memory card could be stolen or destroyed in a burglary, fire, or natural disaster for which you need evidence. Cloud archives are persistent.
If you own a camera that doesn’t offer high-definition video or the ability to save video to the cloud, you might want to consider an upgrade.
How we picked
This category has exploded with options since we last covered it, and numerous competitors offer different mixes of ease of use, security features, home-automation integration, and portability.In addition to our own research, we checked out reviews from sources such as CNET and PC Mag, as well as user reviews from Amazon. After considering more than a dozen models and narrowing it down, we called in the Nest Cam, D-Link’s DCS-5020L, Belkin’s NetCam HD+, ArcSoft’s Simplicam, Icontrol’s Piper, Canary, NetGear’s Arlo, and Samsung’s SmartCam HD Pro for testing.
Illustration by Elizabeth Brown
We looked for wide-angle cameras that could take in a horizontal field of view of 100 degrees or more and that shot in 720p or higher. Remote cloud storage was a decider: many IP cameras include microSD as a local storage option but offer no remote storage or too little of it, either by storage size or number of days retained. Some only store clips triggered by motion, which can omit events that don’t hit a threshold but turn out later to be important. We didn’t consider bandwidth usage for cloud storage, although it’s a concern we’ll discuss later. (We plan a future, separate guide on budget IP cameras to look at affordable options with both live remote viewing and local storage.)
IP camera makers almost always list the diagonal field of view, which overstates the horizontal dimension by about 15 percent for an HD (16:9 ratio) camera frame: the Nest Cam’s 130-degree diagonal is roughly 115 degrees horizontal, still enough to sweep in an entire room without being in a corner. For long, narrow rooms, you need a wide field of view so you can place the camera centrally and avoid losing detail at either end of space.Vertical field of view is much less important, as only an average floor-to-ceiling height needs to be captured, but it affects a camera’s placement. (Some cheaper cameras have motors for panning and even optical zoom—one even detects motion and swivels towards it—but wide-field observation makes the most sense for passive monitoring purposes.)
Some IP cameras include a built-in speaker and support an two-way audio intercom feature with one-way video. You can also scare intruders by booming out, “Who goes there!” we suppose, or communicate more gently with a child or pet. In practice, we recommend putting IP cameras in locations that are unlikely to work well for this purpose, such as near the ceiling in a corner of a room. It strikes us an extraneous feature when you could far more easily just Skype or FaceTime.
We excluded outdoor-only cameras, since these typically have different requirements, like low-voltage wiring, power-over-Ethernet, or direct wiring. Some of the cameras we did look at could be used both indoors and out, usually as part of a bundle, but the exterior-only ones had additional or targeted features—like a rugged mounting bracket—that added expense and didn’t work well inside.
How we tested
We unboxed and set up every camera on a home Wi-Fi network, except in the case of the Arlo, where we connected the included and required base station to the router via Ethernet. Each camera was set atop an upright piano against one wall in a very long room with eight-foot ceilings (measuring 40 feet by 12 feet) that acts as kitchen, dining area, and living room.Because the cameras communicate over Wi-Fi, we didn’t need to put them near an Ethernet jack or wire in additional Ethernet outlets. Only the Arlo requires a spare Ethernet port on a router or switch for its hub, but we didn’t have to make any changes to our existing home network in order to set it up.
We placed our test cameras where they could cover the largest possible area while keeping critical points (like doors and windows) at high enough resolution to be useful. We did need to position most cameras within a few feet of a power outlet—all of the cameras we tested other than the battery-powered Arlo included a several-foot-long power cord, which allows some flexibility but won’t let you place a camera in hard-to-reach spaces far from outlets. (Depending on the device, longer third-party USB power cords may be available at a nominal extra cost.) Mounting a camera above arm’s reach in a corner might be best, if you’re worried about it being reachable by an intruder.
We viewed live and recorded video on each camera via mobile and web apps and took image samples from the live video from each camera at midday and after dark with all the lights out. We compared samples for image quality and also compared each camera’s field of view, which determines how wide a scene the camera can shoot–the wider the better.
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