Consider These Flood Light Cameras
Photo: Simon Hill
Reolink Elite Floodlight WiFi (Wired) for $230: Similar to our Reolink pick above, the difference with the Elite Floodlight is that it’s a dual-lens focus camera designed to give you a wide 180-degree view (59 vertical degrees), rather than a pan-and-tilt camera. If you want a fixed camera to cover every side of the building, this would be a solid choice. It records up to 4K video at up to 20 frames per second, has a 105-decibel alarm, and supports dual-band Wi-Fi 6. Other specifications, including a dual-panel, 3,000-lumen, adjustable floodlight, are the same as the TrackFlex above.
Google Nest Cam With Floodlight (Wired) for $280: This aging floodlight security camera may still be your best bet if you opt for a Google Home and have a Nest doorbell. The limited 1080p resolution is offset by a high frame rate (30 fps), HDR, and a respectable 6X digital zoom. The two-panel floodlight can shine up to 2,400 warm light (4,000K), and the brightness is adjustable. Google’s AI detection is perhaps the smartest in the business, and this is a very reliable camera, but you have to register to make it worth it, as there is no location recording option. Google Home Premium starts at $10 a month or $100 a year, but that covers all your devices. It might be better to wait, as Google recently released 2K Nest cameras, and there’s a good chance it will update its floodlight camera soon.
Photo: Simon Hill
Philips Hue Secure Camera for $130 again Get yourself a Floodlight (Wired) for $160: Speaking of which, these are two different devices, but I used this setup in my old house, and it worked great. If you’re invested in Hue lighting, the Discover Floodlight is one of my favorite outdoor lights and a versatile way to light your space. It can put out 2,300 lumens, and you can easily adjust the temperature, color, and brightness in the Hue app, which also allows for editing and animated scenes. Add a Philips Hue Secure Wired camera and you can have it trigger a floodlight or any other Hue lights you have. It’s only 1080p, but the wired camera worked well for me, it starts reliably, and Philips Hue now offers 24 hours of video history for free. But if you want AI detection, reverse recording, workspaces, and 30 days of video history, you have to sign up for $40 a year for one camera.
Arlo Pro 3 Floodlight Camera (Battery) for $250: An obvious choice for people with an Arlo system, this battery-powered camera allows for wireless installation, although you’ll need to charge it. It offers up to 2K photos with HDR and an excellent Arlo app and alert system, though you need the Arlo Secure plan ($10 per month or $96 per year for one camera, $20 per month or $216 per year for unlimited cameras). The floodlight is a single panel that covers the face of the camera and delivers up to 2,000 lumens. You can boost the brightness to 3,000 lumens and eliminate event recording delays with the Arlo Outdoor charging cable ($50), though you’ll need to move it somewhere else. Arlo has a new, wired floodlight camera that I plan to test soon.
Eve Outdoor Cam (Wired) $249: This stylish floodlight camera can replace an outdoor lamp to provide motion-activated lighting (up to 1,500 lumens), 1080p video (157-degree field of view), and two-way audio. Like the HomeKit camera, you’ll need an Apple HomeKit hub (Apple TV, HomePod, or iPad) and the latest iCloud+ system. Sadly, the video and audio quality is only average. This camera also only works on 2.4-GHz Wi-Fi, and there is no Android support.
We do not recommend Floodlight cameras
Toucan Security Floodlight Camera (Wired) for $80: You can connect this camera to an outlet, and it comes with an 8-meter waterproof cable. It has motion-activated light (1,200 lumens), records 1080p video, and supports two-way audio. I got very detailed pictures, but they had a problem with sunlight. You can record locally to a microSD card (sold separately) and get 24 hours of free cloud storage, but it has limitations. Plans start at $3 per month. Even with motion detection set to very low sensitivity, this camera started up several times during the test, and there is no way to filter out people, so I got the usual false positives (blowing leaves, moths, and birds all warnings counted).
Upgrade with unlimited access to DETAILS. Get high-quality reporting and subscriber content that’s too important to ignore. Register Today.
