Google Nest Cam Outdoor Weatherproof Surveillance Camera

 I bought this to replace a Foscam Camera I had and I was not disappointed. The quality of the design is top notch. It is rugged, clean and sturdy.

It comes with an exceptionally long power cable so you can reach a distant outlet. My closest outlet was 10 feet away and I needed about 16 feet of cable to reach it if I wanted to route it neatly off to the side. I got there with several feet of extra cable to spare. It also comes with all the screws and fasteners one will need to mount it on a variety of surfaces. It’s that kind of thought, care and attention to detail that make the Nest product brand stand-out. Quality all around.

Video stream quality is good (See the attached video) and includes audio so you can hear what is going on as well.

What makes this camera shine though is its ease of installation and turn-key setup and operation. Everything just works. No messing around with trying to figure out what app to get to see your camera’s feed on your phone. The free Nest app is your gateway to your video stream and associates with your camera during the setup process in a dead simple way. No need to figure out what your camera’s IP address, username and password are or deal with router port forwarding. I can’t emphasize enough how approachable and friendly the whole setup process is. You can also access your stream from your computer’s web browser. No special plugins required!

The app allows you to view your live stream and photos of activity from the last three hours, as well as receive email activity alerts when sound or motion is detected. But it is way better if you subscribe to their premium “Nest Aware” service which provides a full 10 or 30 day video history with cloud recording, depending on the subscription you choose. The premium service also includes person alerts (different then “activity” alerts which only detect motion), the ability to setup Activity Zones that provide notifications when motion is detected in a specific area in front of your camera. As well as the ability to create downloadable/shareable clips and timelapses of whatever is available in your history.

I really enjoy the email alerts. I typically receive a notification within 20 seconds of someone walking in front of my camera. This also creates a nice archive of events in my inbox. Activity events are also highlighted with a “dot” in your timeline, allowing you to easily jump from event-to-event without having to search through hours of uneventful activity. This is a really nice feature and makes reviewing the days activity a quick and painless endeavor.

I am normally not a fan of subscription-based services but I saved $100/month this year by replacing my cable and landline telephone subscriptions with lower-cost/subscriptionless services like TiVO and the Obi202 (which I shared on my YouTube channel HDGeekReview). As a result, I am OK with treating myself to a $10/month Nest Aware subscription to really glean the full benefits of this product.

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.

Excelente camara y software, ya he comprado 4, son buenísimas.El softwarwe es muy facil de usar y la claridad de imagen es excelente.