Most inexpensive out of doors security cameras I’ve examined have one obtrusive concern, or the producer prioritized superfluous options over the fundamentals. Who cares about Alexa assist if the video feed is uneven? Is it actually a cut price if I’ve to join a month-to-month subscription simply to view my clips?
It’s not excellent, however the Defender Guard Professional is a refreshingly simple out of doors safety digital camera that delivers clear video and helps primary options most folk need—all at an reasonably priced value. Video clips are saved regionally, there aren’t any hidden additional charges—it even comes with a MicroSD card—and it labored reliably for me (after slightly tweaking).
Shaky Setup
Let me get the dangerous stuff out of the way in which. The worst a part of my expertise with the Defender Guard Professional was the setup. There are two causes for this, and also you’ll wish to take into account them before you purchase this digital camera.
First, the Defender Guard Professional solely helps the two.4-GHz Wi-Fi band, which is frequent for safety cameras, however it might current issues throughout setup in case your telephone isn’t related to the two.4-GHz band in your Wi-Fi community. Some routers let you switch bands by way of the app, or you’ll be able to create a visitor community that often operates on the 2.4-GHz band. I downloaded the Defender Guard app, signed up for an account (I used to be happy to see two-factor authentication), and scanned the QR code on the digital camera, nevertheless it took a number of makes an attempt so as to add due to this concern.
Screenshot: Defender Guard by way of Simon Hill
Screenshot: Defender Guard by way of Simon Hill
Second, the Defender Guard Professional is a tethered digital camera that wants an influence outlet. You get a prolonged energy cable (10 toes) with an non-compulsory extension (25 toes), however the cable isn’t waterproof. The digital camera is designed to be wall-mounted on the outside of your home (screws are provided), and you could drill a gap to feed the cable by way of—solely a brief part of the facility cable on the finish is waterproof. This digital camera helps power-over-Ethernet, so you can even use an Ethernet cable, although this isn’t offered. The digital camera itself is IP67-rated for water and mud resistance and has braved wet Scotland with none issues.
A 32-gigabyte MicroSD card comes within the field with the Defender Guard Professional, however you can even purchase it with a 128-GB or 256-GB card (or insert your personal). For those who plan to show steady recording on, it’s in all probability price snagging a higher-capacity card, however for recording occasions, 32 GB is lots.
Clear View
With a max 2,560 x 1,440-pixel decision, the Defender Guard Professional affords pleasingly clear and clean video at 30 frames per second. You may pinch to zoom in (as much as 16X digital zoom) and nonetheless see an inexpensive stage of element. It’s also possible to change to a decrease decision in case your Wi-Fi’s vary is proscribed, however video high quality inevitably suffers. The primary weak point is the dearth of HDR, so brilliant areas can seem blown out (keep away from putting in the digital camera in a spot that will get direct solar).
Screenshot: Defender Guard by way of Simon Hill
