Home security tips are always good to know about, especially as we transition through to fall. The longer nights are, unfortunately, going to be a golden opportunity for thieves as they work under the cover of darkness. 

“The threat of burglars targeting your home is always greater at night, and so as we enter fall and the days get shorter, it’s the ideal time to re-evaluate your home security set up" says Dave Ward, MD of Ring International

One of the easiest things you can do is learn how home security systems work, and purchase a few home security devices such as the best video doorbells, indoor cameras and outdoor cameras or floodlights. Other home security tips include proper landscaping, home lighting tricks and tips, as well as what to do, and what not to do, with your keys. 

There are many steps you can take right now, without buying anything, to increase your home security. But to really strengthen your home security, the presence of home security cameras, video doorbells and smart lighting will be a sure-fire way to safe guard your property. 

Home security tips

We've caught up with Dave Ward, MD of Ring International, to share seven home security tips to follow this fall, to ensure that your home is safe and secure throughout the longer nights.

With the weather being prime for outdoor home projects, now would certainly be a good chance for you to super-charger your home security without it being too hot or too cold outside to do so. 

7 tips for home security this fall

1. Invest in a video doorbell

Video doorbells, such as the Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2, are amazing for answering delivery calls. They'll notify you when it detects motion at the front door, and some even have advanced AI to let you know when you’ve received a package. 

Many have head-to-toe camera views so you can see when someone drops something off or picks something up from your porch. Video doorbell cameras help a lot in deterring porch pirates during the holiday season.  

Popular choices come down to Ring vs Blink, but other brands like Google, Eufy and Arlo offer strong alternatives too. 

2. Install a smart lock on your door  

Smart locks are a great way to stay informed on who is coming and going from your home, while also increasing security. There are a handful of options that forgo physical keys for more modern security measures like keycodes and biometric data like fingerprints. This makes it easy to share access with people you trust, and keep out people you don’t. 

The best smart locks keep a log, or history, of every time the door was opened or locked and how it was locked. Some even have sensors to notify you when the door is ajar. Auto-locking and geofencing features also make it convenient to keep your door locked even when you forget to do it manually. 

3. Put indoor security cameras near windows 

If you’re diligent about keeping your doors locked, securing your windows is the next step in tightening up security around your home. Placing an indoor security camera in windows that are reachable from the ground, or in garage windows is a quick way to deter criminals. You can do that affordably with a Wyze, Blink or Ring indoor video camera. 

The WYZE Cam OG 1080p HD Wi-Fi Security Camera - Indoor/Outdoor is a good option for inside or outside the home, whereas the Blink Mini Pan-Tilt Camera will rotate up to 360° and work with Alexa for hands-free control.

4. Install a floodlight  

"Security lighting is a great addition to your property and can provide a significant deterrent to any potential burglar. The Ring Floodlight Cam Pro does exactly that, with powerful LED beams and a security siren, you can see what’s happening more clearly with extra peace of mind.” says Dave.

A floodlight scares would-be intruders away by a bright motion activated light illuminating the area where the person is walking. 

Many floodlights also have cameras, so not only will a spotlight suddenly shine on the intruder, but they will also be on camera, and that’s no place a burglar wants to be. Placing one of these above a garage door or on a back patio do wonders for increasing home security.  

5. Smart use of smart lighting 

Smart lighting can be used for more than extra convenience around the home. This Philips Hue White and Color Ambiance Starter Kit for $169.99 on Amazon, for example, is a great way to quickly make it appear that you are occupying your home when you're not around.

You can schedule smart lighting to turn certain lights in your home on and off at specific times. So, while you’re away, from the outside looking in, it looks like people are moving from room to room. Smart lighting is a clever way to deter would-be burglars from entering your home.  

6. Quit hiding your keys

"Check the locks on your windows and doors are working properly and ensure spare keys are tucked away safely. You may also wish to increase your gate and fence security and ensure hinges, bolts and padlocks are all secured on the garden side." shares Dave.

If you haven’t yet installed a smart lock with biometric opening and locking, or if you simply like having physical keys to open and lock your doors, don’t hide your keys outside. 

Under doormats, under fake rocks or potted plants are obvious spots for a criminal to look, find your spare keys, and gain access into your home. If you have spare keys, the best option is to give one to a trusted family member, or to use a key safe such as this Master Lock Key Lock Box for $32.25 on Amazon. 

7. Landscaping  

Trees around your house can give access to windows or your roof. Keeping branches away from your home is an easy way to keep people off your home. A hedge trimmer like this BLACK+DECKER Electric Hedge Trimmer for $37.79 on Amazon would help. You can also plant hedges or bushes in front of windows. 

Believe it or not, hedges make it difficult for intruders to access windows, especially if your hedges are of the thorny variety. It’s like having a lovely-looking barbed wire fence protecting your home, but instead of looking like a prison, your house looks great.  

FAQs

Gone are the days where a home security professional would come to your home to wire an elaborate home security system throughout your house. Much like cable cutters who ditched the cable company, and now only pay for the streaming apps they want, home security has gone down a much similar path. Thanks to DIY (do it yourself) home security, you can mix and match the equipment you want to protect your home, and keep a watchful eye on your home while you’re away using your phone. 

A home security system can be as simple as installing one of the best video doorbells, or can be as advanced as a complete home security system with door and window sensors and indoor and outdoor cameras - all of which are connected to a central security hub. You can even have systems professionally monitored by a third-party professional monitoring company, but more on that later. 

When piecing together your first home security camera system you don’t necessarily have to buy products from the same company. There are many companies to choose from including popular brands Ring and Blink (you can read our comparison of Ring vs Blink), as well as Google, Eufy, Wyze and Arlo - to name a few. That being said, if you choose different companies to build your system, like a Ring video doorbell and an Arlo outdoor security camera, you’ll also have to use separate phone apps to manage your system, and that’s a bit of a pain. For simplification, we do recommend going with a single system home security brand to build out your entire system. 

In this guide, we’ll walk you through what comprises a home security system, how home security systems work, and the best way to protect your home.

3 of the best home security products you can buy in 2024

How do home security systems work?

DIY home security systems connect your security devices, such as your video doorbell camera, indoor camera and outdoor camera, to your mobile devices, such as your phone or tablet. You can access live video feeds from the devices on your mobile device through the security devices app. For example, if you have a Ring device, you can watch live video from the Ring security device through the Ring app on your phone. This gives you control and peace of mind while you’re away from home that you can view what’s happening around your house.

Virtually all security camera devices have motion control. When motion is detected by your home security camera device, a notification will be sent to your phone alerting you that motion was detected. You can click on the notification and be taken directly to the live video feed. If you have a security device that records locally, like the eufy S330 camera, you will be able to view recorded clips of what triggered the motion. Many security companies use cloud video storage, but that often requires a subscription. 

For example, Ring uses a subscription service, Ring Protect Pro, that enables a handful of different features such as cloud video storage and advanced AI on certain home security devices. Ring also provides 24/7 professional home monitoring services through subscription. This means that when you aren’t near your phone, a home monitoring service provider can monitor activity, and even dispatch police to your home in the event of a break in. 

FAQs

The best wireless security cameras need not be an expensive outlay reserved only for those who can afford an entire system, as they once were. Now, there are a host of brands competing for your attention—and pushing the price down—on individual cameras that work as part of wider systems that you can build up as needed. Home security can be tight, even if your budget is too.

If you have the freedom to add cameras all over your property, it's a good idea to start by thinking about how many you want to purchase initially, as you can get deals on packages. If it's just the one, then where do you want it? Does it need to come with a security light or siren option? Should it be smart-connected so you can view and control it from your smartphone?

Once you've narrowed down those details, you may want to consider quality, as a 1080p video will offer more resolution to zoom in than 720p. Night vision is also pretty standard now, although some also offer color night vision—ideal if you're using it a lot during the darker hours.

There are battery and mains-powered options, so it's worth considering if you want the easiest to install and don't mind charging the cameras or if you can wire it in and forget about power issues.

The best wireless security cameras we recommend

Our team has thoroughly reviewed the products featured in our buyer's guides. We strive to provide comprehensive and unbiased rankings based on our hands-on testing and expert research. Our evaluations consider top-rated brands and essential features to assist you in making informed purchasing decisions at the best value.

The best wireless security camera overall

The Arlo Pro 2 offers all the excellent app features that the 4K Ultra gives you, only for a far more affordable price. You still get full 1080p quality which is enough to identify individuals clearly in the day and still enjoy pretty decent night time footage. 

Since this camera is cloud based you'll be pleased to hear it comes with seven days of free storage, for free, for life. Yup, that means anything that happened within the last seven days is stored there for you to scroll back and view. This makes the camera stand out against rivals like Nest where a subscription is needed for such a privilege. Activity zones are a nice touch but you will need the camera in mains power mode to take advantage of this feature.

• Read our full Arlo Pro 2 review

The best wireless security camera for smart homes

The Nest Cam Indoor is the smart home camera that started it all and still offers one of the best experiences thanks to updates and that superb build quality.

The Nest works really well both in daylight and in night conditions thanks to its infrared lights for night-vision. Another great Nest positive is its ability to play nicely with other smart home gadgets which makes it superbly versatile. Location detection allows you to let this turn itself on and off as you come and go automatically and when linked with things like Nest home heating, that can be activated using the app too.

• Read our full Nest Cam Indoor review

The best wireless security camera for video quality

The Nest Cam IQ Indoor is the best indoor-only model we’ve tested when it comes to video quality. The footage itself is super clear and that applies to both day and night time scenarios. On top of that you also get top quality motion detection meaning you only get alerted when it's important, so you don't get pestered via the app.

Nest Aware, is the cloud storage option that will cost you extra. This gives you 24/7 video recording, meaning you can catch anything bad that's happened, like an intruder, to use later as evidence. Without paying for this service the camera isn't quite so useful. That said this model does offer facial recognition over the standard model, but you do pay a premium for that.

• Read our full Nest Cam IQ Indoor review

The most flexible wireless security camera

This is another camera on the list that features basic free cloud storage, a huge positive. That is combined with a battery-operated mode, making is safer from intruder tampering. For more cloud storage you'll need to pay out but there are lots of options to suit every budget.

You get activity zones and motion detection as standard which can be used to make sure your alerts are kept to a minimum – key for long term use of the camera. The Nest Cam does this a little better but with higher monthly costs.

• Read our full Hive View review

The best budget wireless security camera

The Logitech Circle 2 offers the advantage of being a totally wireless camera without the need for a base station, meaning easy setup and space saving. You also get free cloud storage which works with smart alerts in order to keep alerts to a minimum. All that uses decent quality video which offers a clear picture of the screen for both day and night scenarios. 

Motion zones are an option but they require you to pay for the subscription service, which also gets you an upgraded chunk of cloud storage space. While there are better quality cameras out there, the Circle 2 manages to offer most of the best features with decent quality all at a price which undercuts the competition nicely. 

• Read our full Logitech Circle 2 review

The best 4K wireless security camera

The Arlo Ultra is a fully fledged 4K camera that offers stunning quality video footage both during the day and at night. This is a great option for those that want enough quality at night to actually faces of people in shot. You will need to either store that video locally using microSD or pay for a cloud option.

While the cloud activity zones are useful for fewer notifications, positioning the camera carefully is the only way to preserve battery life.

• Read our full Arlo Ultra review

The best hassle-free wireless security camera

Arlo is fast becoming one of the big names in home security cameras and its fourth generation model of the Pro is justifying that position. The Arlo Pro 4 is battery powered and super easy to install, making it a great choice for anyone that wants minimal hassle. It's also possible to detach easily using the magnetic mount should you want to move this about – doubling as a baby monitor when you're on the move, for example. 

In security mode this offers an impressive 2K quality video feed, loud siren and bright light as just some of the many features that can be controlled in the powerful app. You will need to subscribe for cloud storage to get the most out of this model and with the camera being quite expensive, that's worth thinking about before you buy.

• Read our full Arlo Pro 4 review

The best 4G LTE wireless security camera

The Arlo Go is the most mobile unit making it ideal for those who camp regularly, or have a motorhome or boat, or even an outbuilding away from internet coverage. This is thanks to its onboard SIM that offers 4G LTE connectivity wherever there's signal. That cost includes seven days of free cloud storage but remember this will still cost you on data used. You will also need to pay for a subscription service to get full use of activity zones and cut down on alerts and battery wastage. 

The 720p resolution is looking a bit old now but it's still enough to do the job in most situations, both day and night. While you can record to SD, without an LTE connection the camera won't work fully which isn't ideal as you're recording blind.

• Read our full Arlo Go review

How to choose the best wireless security camera for you

The best wireless indoor security cameras have a number of features to look out for. First up is the video quality captured, with most now recording in Full HD 1080p. Some models now record in 4K and in High Dynamic Range (HDR), delivering even better clarity, especially in high contrast lighting. While the quality can be great, remember you’ll need a decent internet speed to cope with the large data transfer, so that’s something to bear in mind.

It’s not just daylight recording you need to think about, the quality of night-time footage is just as important too. WiFi security cameras use infrared LEDs instead of visible light, so they don't match the color or detail of daytime videos. The coverage is also reduced, but this does vary from camera to camera, with some only having a range of just 15ft, and others 30ft and beyond.

Coverage is also an important consideration. You want to see what’s going on in the whole room ideally, so you’ll want an indoor home security camera with a wide field of view. At around 160 degrees, you can expect to see every part of the room in front of the camera, though some cameras go even wider at 180 degrees. They work best if you mounted high in a corner that overlooks the room.

A wide field of view means digital zoom is important. This allows you to select part of the video and enlarge it, helping you get a closer look at something. Bear in mind that the quality of a digitally enlarged video won't be as sharp or detailed as the original.

Motion sensors

While you can easily live stream, you don’t want to be glued to your smartphone screen waiting for something to happen at home. That’s why the best wireless indoor security cameras feature motion sensors that detect both movement and sound, alerting you via a notification sent directly to your phone, as well as email. To avoid a load of unnecessary alerts, more advanced security cameras can recognize faces and pets as well, so it won’t pester you when your kids are home, but will when a stranger is lurking.

Many indoor security cameras not only feature built-in microphones, so you can hear as well as see what’s going on at home, but also speakers. This means you can communicate with whatever’s going in your house, whether that’s to tell the kids to stop jumping on the sofa or to ward off a burglar. 

Local or cloud storage?

You’ll find that most home security cameras offer a solely cloud-based storage solution, which sees footage automatically sent, stored and backed up at a secure remote location. For security, your files are encrypted so only you have access to them when needed. There are models out there that can either record or backup footage onto a MicroSD card as well.

Cameras with local storage let you access your video without subscription fees, though you might need extra memory cards or to write over older footage if you plan to keep your camera recording at all times.

Cloud storage is all about convenience compared local storage, but the trade-off is that there are often subscription fees. You typically don't need a subscription to view a live feed, while some will offer a free amount of storage over a specific period before you have to start paying for the privilege.

An important advantage of cloud storage is that any footage captured is safe and secure, whereas should a burglar break in and take out the memory card, you’ve got no evidence.

Battery or mains power?

Home security cameras will be mains powered, but for extra piece of mind, some also feature a battery power backup as power outages can and do happen. Some savvy burglars even cut the power, leaving your camera out of action if it doesn’t support a battery. That means you’ll have no video evidence of the break-in, so this can be a handy feature to look for.

Smart home integration

As well as creating a multi-camera setup by adding additional cameras, some systems even allow you to integrate them with other smart home gadgets. If you want to do this, check if any home automation or DIY home security systems work with the camera you’re thinking about buying.

These systems can use WiFi security cameras to control smart locks, thermostats and other devices in your smart home. These devices can also tell the camera to record or not, based on your personal preferences. The biggest appeal of6 u9 these systems comes from using a single app to control all of your smart home devices.

The Arlo Essential Indoor Camera has made it onto our list of the best wireless security cameras, meaning it's worth considering if you need one. This model is specifically aimed at those who want an indoor camera with mains power.

As the name suggests, the Arlo Essential is about offering core features. Despite that, the price is still higher than some of the competition out there. Also, you'll need to pay more if you want to take advantage of the cloud storage and all the features that go with it.

For security, this is a top pick as it comes with an automatic privacy shield – a physical cover that slips over the lens should you want it to. You can also expect a decent video and audio experience from this well-known home camera security brand.

This camera connects to WiFi and works with the Arlo app to make sure you're notified of activity, movement or sound as soon as it happens. You can even interact with people in the room using the two-way audio system. All this is high quality but tops out at 1080p rather than the 2K and 4K resolutions of the Arlo Pro 4 and Arlo Ultra – a reasonable fact considering this is a more affordable option.

So, is this the camera for you? Read our full review to find out!

Arlo Essential Indoor Camera: Design

• Clean and minimal finish
• Included mounting system
• Mains powered

The Arlo Essential Indoor Camera follows in the company's design ethos, which means a rounded plastic casing with a glossy finish and smooth edges. As such, this looks clean and simple, and has that black and white two-tone finish. Free-standing, this camera is just 1.8-inches high, making it one of the smallest indoor cameras out there right now.

The base has a mount which means you can leave it to stand, or use a single screw to attach it to a wall and hang it as needed. Thanks to a ball and socket joint, the camera can be easily tilted and moved to get the perfect angle. Everything feels plastic but at the premium end, with a solid feel and smooth movements that are reassuring for longer-term use.

The camera itself uses a 1080p Full HD sensor which has a 130-degree field of view to capture a wide area even in tighter spaces. However, it's worth noting that this is a smaller viewing angle than some of the competition.

On the back of the camera is a micro-USB port that allows you to connect the power cable. This is made with an angled head so that the cable runs down and away from the camera at the correct angle for ease. Above that is a speaker port for audio as well as the siren which this security-focused camera offers.

On the front is a privacy shield which is digitally controlled either using the app or on a schedule, but more on that further down.

Arlo Essential Indoor Camera: Set up and usability

• Simple app setup
• Easy installation
• Quick mounting

Arlo makes a point of creating an easy setup process. The camera itself can be slipped out of the box and plugged in within a minute. You can then scan the QR code on its base to get the app. Sign-up and you're good to go, simply needing to connect the camera to the local Wi-Fi network easily using a QR code on your phone's display held up to the camera.

This is a 2.4Ghz network only, which is good for range but does lack on the latency fight. That said, it means that even when further from your router, this will likely still work.

While there are some basic settings you can play with like activity zones, audio settings, video brightness and quality options, everything is ready to go right out of the box. That means the lens will adjust to the local lighting and the microphone setup will make sure audio is clear from wherever it is placed.

Mounting is simple using a one screw system. The Arlo Essential even includes a raw plug so if you're mounting into masonry, rather than wood, that is straight forward too.

One part of the setup that's also made easy is access to the cloud storage subscription. This is a free three-month trial, so you're automatically enrolled. It's a great way to get access to the full range of features, but it could be difficult to cancel and let go of them if you decide paying for a subscription isn't for you.

Arlo Essential Indoor Camera: Performance

• Great 1080p quality video
• Smart voice controls
• Useful geofencing

Despite being a 1080p camera in a 2K and 4K world, this does a very good job of delivering a high-quality image. In reality, unless you plan to zoom in a lot, this resolution when viewed on a smartphone is plenty. The field of view, at 130-degrees, could be a little wider, but again will likely cover most rooms entirely without the need for more.

At night, the quality is still there thanks to an infrared night vision camera setup which will mean a drop to black and white, but still a decent image for nighttime. For example, this could work as a baby monitor with enough quality to leave parents feeling comfortable. 

Audio quality is also decent, with clear two-way chat between the camera's microphone array and the speaker. There was a little lag in our testing, but not enough to cause a problem when talking.

Additionally, the Arlo Essential offers a siren security feature. It's not going to deafen anyone, but it could be enough to wake someone up, give a pet a nudge, or to scare off any potential intruder.

The privacy shield is a useful addition that can be closed over the camera lens using the app. This also turns off any video and audio monitoring while engaged, for total privacy. You can set this on a timed schedule or, usefully, with geofencing, so that the camera only fires up when you leave the property. There is also a manual set up so you could leave external cameras on while the internal go off when at home.

The Arlo Essential Indoor Camera has decent compatibility with smart voice controllers including Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. However, Apple fans will be left wanting, as there is no HomeKit integration at time of publishing. 

The Arlo Smart cloud storage subscription is a must if you want more features like video storage and smart alerts. This allows you to control alerts more intelligently so you're not getting notified too often when not needed – but all that will cost you extra.

Arlo Essential Indoor Camera: Price

• $99.99 / £119.99

The Arlo Essential Indoor Camera does just manage to hit that sub-$100 price point, which you'd expect from the essential nature of the device. That's a good thing, but it's still on the pricier side compared to the competition, which offers most of the same features for lower prices.

The Arlo Smart cloud storage subscription is charged at $2.99/£2.49 per month after the initial three-month trial comes to an end, something else to add to the cost if you want the most features and controls.

All that said, this camera does offer the superb Arlo app, high-quality and reliable features, and a solid build. Go for a more affordable alternative and you may find it lacking in some of those areas.

Arlo Essential Indoor Camera: User reviews

Head over to Amazon and you'll see lots of customer reviews for the Arlo Essential Indoor Camera, which gets a respectable 4.3 out of five stars. That includes 68% of five-star reviews and 15% at four stars.

One positive review says: "Bought this to use in our nursery. The included mount allows for the camera to be mounted on the wall overlooking the crib. Connected it wirelessly to our eero mesh network, no hub necessary, by temporarily pausing the 5GHz and only allowing 2.4GHz. Installation was less than 5 minutes. The new privacy shield is a great touch for an indoor camera."

However, a negative review commented on the unreliability of the recording: "I pay for the monthly subscription and would expect 24/7 recording, but with how inconsistent it is, it may catch 10 minutes of every hour so the chance of it catching the important stuff happening in the room are slim to none."

Should you buy the Arlo Essential Indoor Camera?

If you want a simple setup of a reliable indoor mains-powered camera that is backed by a good app, then this could be for you. Excellent security features and a reliable build quality combined with ease of setup and use make for a powerful package.

However, if you want local storage, would like to make more of a saving, or require higher quality images, then you may want to look at other models instead.

The Arlo Pro 4 Spotlight Camera has made it onto our list of the best wireless security cameras – yeah sorry, no spoiler alert there. But there's plenty more to know as this review dives deep to find all the good and the bad in this battery-powered home security camera.

Arlo has established itself as one of the big names in home camera systems and as the name of this model reveals, it's well into later generation models now. All that should mean you can expect a well-polished product with decent features and good software backing it up. 

One point worth noting right away is that this is very similar to the Arlo Pro 3. So what's the difference? There is one significant change – this connects directly to your WiFi, meaning you don't need a SmartHub. As such, the price of the product has dropped, but if you've already invested in a SmartHub for other Arlo products then this upgrade may not make sense for you over the Arlo Pro 3.

With 2K resolution video, battery power going for up to six months and a built-in security light, siren, plus night vision, this is a really compelling option for the price and certainly offers the competition a lot to be concerned about. 

So is this the perfect home security camera for you? Read on to find out in the full Arlo Pro 4 review.

Arlo Pro 4: Design

• Weatherproof design
• Battery powered
• WiFi connected

The Arlo Pro 4 follows in the design ethos of many outdoor cams right now, which means a clean and minimal finish in black and white weatherproof outer. And that is a good thing. The rounded edges and functional front make for a futuristic-looking device that not only fits into most situations, but actually looks premium and can enhance the look of your living space.

The camera features a pop button at the bottom to remove the outer shell which, when pressed, has a satisfyingly premium feeling. Open this, pop in the supplied battery, and you're good to get started.

The unit comes with a magnetic base which can be easily mounted using a single screw. While the magnet makes for easy removal of the camera, to charge, that could also be seen as a security risk. That said, more secure mounts are available at an extra charge.

Charging is done via a useful magnetically attaching cable that features USB on the other end making it easy to plug into lots of plugs, devices and outlets. Unfortunately, the proprietary nature of this means you can't use any other charger to juice it back up – so be sure not to lose this one then.

Arlo Pro 4: Set up and usability

• Easy to setup and run
• Lots of app features
• Useful magnetic mounting

The setup is genuinely straightforward. Download the app, put in a few details to create an account, then connect to the camera. This works by showing a QR code on your smartphone which you hold up to the Arlo. It then beeps so you're connected, you pop in your WiFi password, and that's you up and running. 

The battery will need an initial charge to get going but while that's happening you can screw in the magnetic mount where the camera is going to live. If you're screwing into wood, a single screw attachment makes this very easy.

Once connected, you are given a quick guide in the app to show all the feature you can use. This is helpful as digging around in the menus isn't for everyone and some might miss a few of those useful features, like auto face detection and zoom, which aren't turned on as standard.

Alerts come through as push notifications on your phone with a preview image right there on the drop-down. This even lets you tap the "Siren" option to activate that loud audio alarm right away if you need to.

You may want to play with settings but for video, the low light mode and spotlight at night are on as standard. What is essential for most will be to go into the motion zones section. This lets you select the areas that you want the camera to react to – ideal if you have a neighbor's entrance or a road where there could be a lot of activity you don't want to waste battery, or time, being alerted to.

The other simple setup feature is the three-month trial of the cloud storage, this is turned on automatically and when it runs out you'll have to put in payment details to continue. This is pretty essential as most of the features are based on the camera running through cloud storage. 

If you have the SmartBridge, sold with older models, you can store footage locally on an SD card, but as mentioned you still lose lots of features. So it's worth keeping that rolling cost in mind for the storage subscription when you're deciding if you can afford this camera.

Arlo Pro 4: Performance

• Decent 2K video quality
• Siren and spotlight
• Some WiFi lag

Image quality is of prime concern since it can be the difference between recognizing someone and not. Thankfully this is an area the Arlo Pro 4 does well on thanks to that 2K resolution and auto HDR quality. 

In daylight, the image is super clear with rich colors and crisp contrast. At night, this less the case, with more artifacts detected even when using the spotlight to get nighttime color shots. That said, you can rely on the infrared lights and face detection either way, so it's not that important. 

Notification for auto-detection of faces or people is excellent and the ability to zoom in on the face can be a useful feature for seeing a delivery person, for example. This then allows you to talk more naturally, looking at their full face using the two-way audio setup. This feature is as clear as you can expect, and does the job just fine.

All that said, there was some lag we noticed in our setup between pressing play to live view; it had to catch up to what was actually happening. Since we were right next to the router, there isn't really an excuse we can find for this. It's not terrible, but it's not ideal and the Arlo Pro 4 loses a few marks as a result.

The camera's integrated spotlight is quite powerful and can act as a useful deterrent for potential thieves as well as a way to see more clearly in the dark. Combine it with that ear-piercing siren and you've got yourself a decent home security setup right there in a single package.

That said, you'll likely want both of these set to manual, otherwise it could go off with lights and noise at times you – and your neighbors – may not want. And since there is that lag mentioned, you'll have to be quick when your smartphone notification pops up to make good use of these features.

The camera lens can be controlled within the app and offers a decent 110 to 160- degree field of view which you can vary as needed with three options to pick from. There are also power management settings in the app which allow you either to work on getting longer life between charges, or having the most frequent checks and alerts.

You can also turn off the digital zoom to movement feature. It's fun to see a cat or fox zoomed in on and followed in your video, but ultimately not very useful for the battery life it'll take. Again, this is a feature that works using the cloud to compute what is being detected, so you will need to have a subscription to use it too.

The use of 2.4GHz WiFi is good for range but not ideal for that lag mentioned before. It would be nice to see a blend of this and 5GHz so you have the choice to get the best of each.

Arlo Pro 4: Price

• $199 / £219.99

The Arlo Pro 4 is priced at $199 in the US and £219.99 in the UK but there are often deals on it. It's also worth considering how many cameras you need as you can save money if you buy them as a multipack.

For the Arlo Secure subscription on one camera, it'll cost you $2.99 per month which gets you unlimited storage.

Arlo Pro 4: User reviews

Lots of customers have reviewed the Arlo Pro 4 on Amazon. It has a total of 2,223 global ratings which gives it an average of four stars out of five, with 60% of those reviews being five stars.

One good comment read: "I have purchased three Arlo Pro 4 cameras. They connected to my WiFi network with ease. They promptly notify me when motion is detected. I've been extremely pleased with my purchases and will likely purchase another one."

A negative review said: "Even though it is said not to identify animals, squirrels running across the front set it off probably eight or 10 times per day. Not that big a deal but it is annoying and it does waste the battery. The animal detection feature is a complete bust. In addition, I had shut off the automobile detection system and it did not work either, it kept buzzing every time a car went by on the street."

Should you buy the Arlo Pro 4?

If you want a wireless home security camera that's easy to setup and mount, runs on battery power but also offers high-quality 2K video, a spotlight and a siren as well as two-way talking and lots more smart features, this could be the device for you.

However, if you don't want to pay for a subscription, want better night vision quality, demand a faster response time and need a more secure mount you may want to look elsewhere.

The Ezviz C6 2K+ Smart Home Camera is one of the best wireless security cameras but it's also quite a unique one thanks to its 360-degree mechanical pan and tilt. That makes this a great option for full room coverage.

This is a mains-powered camera which connects to the local WiFi network so you can then control it from your phone. This camera also stands out using its AI-detection features including smart pet recognition, hand gesture controls, and more.

Ezviz has been growing its range of cameras with smart indoor and outdoor options, all backed by cloud storage and the option to store locally on a memory card – something a lot of big name brands don't let you do.

So, is this the camera for you? Read our full review to find out.

Ezviz C6: Design

• Not small but compact enough
• Clean rounded edges with minimalism
• MicroSD card slot

The Ezviz C6 is larger than a lot of indoor smart cameras, but it offers a mechanical movement control where most don't. That taken into consideration, this is a relatively compact model, at 3.9-inches in diameter.

With its rounded finish, it looks attractive in most spaces. The outer casing is white with a black camera lens section for a two-tone look which also helps it to blend into most decor setups.

There is a helpful LED light on the front so you know there is power and that the camera is watching and, if you so wish, listening. The central column moves with up to 133-degree of tilt while the top swivels to give a full 360-degrees of visibility.

In the back are two ports: a microUSB for power and a LAN port for wired internet if you prefer that to WiFi. You can also see the speaker, which is capable of pretty powerful sound for its size. 

The included white microUSB cable is really long at over 10 feet, making it easy to setup wherever you need without too much worry about finding a power socket.

Ezviz C6: Set up and usability

• Useful QR code setup
• Helpful privacy shield
• Easy app

The Ezviz C6 is pretty straightforward to setup. Once out of the box and plugged in you simply scan the QR code on the device's base and install the app where you can begin setting up the camera.

A voice comes out of the camera telling you what is going on, even before you have the app, which is reassuring during the installation process. You need to input your WiFi network name and password to get going before connecting to the camera. We had a few goes before this eventually worked.

Once installed and connected to the WiFi, it's possible to start using the app right away. This comes with a 7-day free trial of the cloud storage platform, but you can also slip in a microSD card and that will do the job of recording footage as you need without a subscription cost.

There is a useful privacy shield which is down as a standard but lifts once you get started so you can see the lens of the camera and LED to know it is in action. More on that below.

Ezviz C6: Performance

• Top 2K quality visuals
• Decent AI-detection smarts
• Color night vision

The camera quality is worth shouting about as that 2K resolution is fantastic. This is backed by decent contrast for clear edges and rich colors all making for a super clear finish that can be zoomed into without losing much quality. 

Usefully, this applies at night as well, as you can have color night vision. It's not as good quality but it's a nice option to have for making out what's going on more clearly without daylight.

The pan and tilt system works really well with near-instant response from the smartphone controls. There's also a handy 360-degree picture option which will have the camera do all the moving itself to stitch together a photo which you can swipe and zoom in on to look about.

All that said, the downward angle is limited to mostly straightforward. So if you have this on a shelf with your child's bed below for example, you won't be able to see down without tilting the camera forward by resting it on something – or mounting it to the wall facing outwards. This is made to be mounted and would work well in that setup, but it would be nice to have the option to simply sit this on a side and have it record what's below it.

The privacy shield, even without that cute face, is a welcome addition that lets you feel at ease knowing it is off and not watching without having to unplug the device from the power and lose the option to remote control.

Once powered on, the AI-motion detection is great as it offers a host of options you can turn on or off. This includes pet detection tech, alerting you if your furry friend comes into shot. But you also have human form detection and a fun auto-zoom tracking that follows people as they move about the room. You can then two-way talk if you need to communicate with them – although the speaker is a bit muffled and could be clearer. Voice activation is useful when using this as a baby monitor, picking up even garbled audio and alerting you.

Voice activation is also great to allow you to use the likes of Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa to command the C6. Hand wave recognition is another fun feature, which enables you to activate a video call to the app using a simple hand gesture. We're not really sure in what scenario you'd need this you'd want this, but it can be a bit of fun.

The only gripe we have is with the app, which is still a big rough. Spelling mistakes give you a hint early on that this is a rush build. Then the odd failure to open the privacy shield, inability to connect initially and general clutter make it feel a bit less refined than the apps offered by the competition. That said, it does have a lot of features on offer so for those that don't mind complexity and less finesse to the finish, this is still a decent app backing a very powerful camera.

Ezviz C6: Price

• $130 / £90

The Ezviz C6 is priced at $130 in the US and £90 in the UK, making it a little more expensive than some of the indoor camera competition. However, it's not much of a difference and for all the extra features and quality you get here, it seems worth it.

Also, if you take into account the fact you don't have to pay for a cloud storage subscription, thanks to microSD card storage, you could end up saving money with this option in the longer term.

Ezviz C6: User reviews

Amazon has an impressive five star rating for this camera with a massive 76% of ratings at five stars and 24% at four stars, with no lower level ratings at all. That said, this is from just 15 ratings in total.

A good review reads: "This is such a great camera and does everything I need it to plus some! I installed this camera in a far corner in my living room so I can see most of the living areas. My kids are getting to the age where they want to stay home alone more and I love how I can check in at any point and see how they’re doing- plus I can talk to them through it if need be. Also it’s very helpful to keep an eye on my animals and be sure they’re behaving most of the time as well."

One negative comment says "My only complaint is that the 'Waving Hand Recognition' and 'Abnormal Noise' detection doesn't work very well, and constantly notifies/calls with normal movements or sounds. It may get better as I continue to adjust settings and as new software is released, but these are two features I was hoping to take advantage of that have not worked out well for me."

Should you buy the Ezviz C6?

If you want an indoor wired camera with smart detection, 360-degree view, local storage and lots of features, including a privacy shield and pet detection, this is a standout choice.

However, if you want a more refined app, cheaper price or a simpler setup, then you may want to look elsewhere.

Having the best camera you can get your hands on helps you get the most from your photography, whether you're a professional or a keen amateur. The photography community is constantly growing, with many places to share your captured images, but you’ll still want to use the best camera you can afford. 

That’s not always simple, though. While one shutterbug may be happy with their mobile phone’s integrated snapper, others may want something compact, and another may be looking for a top-of-the-range camera that also takes great video.

There are many makes and models, but our pick for the best pound-for-pound option remains the Sony Alpha A7 III for its versatility. Whether you’re taking wildlife photos, videos of landscapes, or anything in between, it’s small but mighty and can be improved further with the right lenses.

Every camera on this list has been tested, and we’ve affixed a user level to each, too. If you’re a relative newcomer, though, we’d recommend our list of the best cameras in 2022 for photography beginners.

The best camera for one person might not be the best for another, so if you're looking for your ideal shooter, you might consider switching to a professional mirrorless camera or one of the best DSLR cameras. Here, you will find all the best camera options, with their unique skills front and center, so you can pick the one you need.

The best cameras we recommend

Top Ten Reviews is on a mission to review everything we feature in our buyer's guides. Still, while we work hard to make this a reality—or where this isn't possible—some of our guides still feature rankings based on our team's considerable expertise and research.

While we haven't been able to test any of the units in this guide in person, we've instead honed in on top-rated brands and used our knowledge of the best features to help you make the right decision for your home, all for the best price.

The best camera overall

The Sony Alpha A7 III is the camera many DSLR users have switched to - it's that good. Aside from its headline features (above), it offers sensor-based image stabilization, a hybrid autofocus system that covers around 93 percent of the frame, and far better battery life than before. Sony has also been crafting some impressive lenses alongside and now has more than 50 native options available.

Sony offers a stunning 693-point autofocus system with a 15-stop dynamic range and 5-axis image stabilization. The result is that the 24.2MP full-frame back-illuminated CMOS sensor makes the most of any scene. All that means is that even in the hands of a novice, this camera will give any photo the potential to look the best it can be. But this is a camera with enough performance to suit even a pro. This also has the power to capture 4K video, and since this uses WiFi, all that video can be quickly uploaded directly to where you need it to go.

If you don’t quite have the budget for the body and one of these lenses, the older Alpha A7 II would be a good alternative, still offering plenty of power and performance. 

The best mirrorless camera

The Nikon Z6 is one of two cameras that kickstarted the company’s latest Z series, the Z7 being the other. It's the Z6 that offers slightly less power, saving you a grand or so. This blends an excellent 24.5MP full-frame sensor with 4K video recording at 30fps, a beautiful viewfinder, and excellent handling thanks to a generously proportioned grip. 

Its mirrorless design makes this camera’s body lighter and more compact than the company’s equivalent DSLRs. The FTZ adapter allows it to be used with F-mount lenses, although partnering it with the NIKKOR Z 24–70mm f/2.8 S makes for a killer combination. 

The 273 phase-detect AF pixels help with focusing but don't stand up to the Sony A7 III offering. This also doesn't offer NFC, but with Bluetooth and WiFi, that's more than enough wireless connectivity for most. For the pros, a 5-axis stabilization system built right into the camera – as opposed to the lens – is effective at five stops. 

Want something similar but different? The Sony Alpha A7R III is perhaps its closest rival right now.

The best micro four thirds camera

The Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III is a stylish and portable way to shoot without sacrificing power. This Micro Four Thirds shooter features the same 20.4MP sensor as the higher-level OM-D E-M1 Mark II. It's backed by some of the most impressive image stabilization and fantastic processing on any camera at this price point. The on-chip phase detection autofocus is a nice addition, helping to make even the most rushed shots look their best.

Video has also been upgraded here, with Cinema 4K recording (4096 x 2160) at 24fps and a 237Mbps bit rate. Impressive stuff. You can also go slow-motion with Full HD video at 120fps and plenty more settings between the two.

The compact form makes this portable, but the lack of the metallic frame of previous models and smaller hand grip than larger equivalents may be negative points for some users. 

The best DSLR camera

Probably one of the most well-rounded, versatile DSLR options, the D850 caters to enthusiasts and professional photographers who need everything from speed and resolution to high-quality video. 

The body is made of weather-resistant magnesium alloy, and features illuminated buttons for use in low light. The generous 153-point AF system has 99 cross-type points to help keep things extra sensitive. 

Its age has meant it’s dropped quite some way in price, too, making it a cost-effective option for the landscape, wedding, sports, or nature photographer - but if you don’t own any optics already, the AF-S Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8E ED VR would be a perfect partner. And if you need a full-frame Nikon DSLR but money won't stretch this far, check out the Nikon D750.

The best budget full-frame camera

While Nikon’s Z6 may be a great, affordable full-frame camera that many users have switched to, Sony’s A7 II is a great all-around option for saving money without compromising on quality. It’s significantly cheaper now than the Z6 and offers the same features, such as a 24MP full-frame, a tilting LCD, and sensor-based image stabilization. 

It doesn’t have 4K video, and its EVF isn’t as detailed by comparison, but in terms of value for money, you’re not finding a better full-frame option this cheap. The fact that it works with a healthy range of high-quality lenses from Sony and third parties also means that the case you save on the body can be put towards some tasty glass. We love it, but the A7 III (position 1) is a more substantial option if you can stretch to it.

The best cheap 4K video camera

The X-T30 packs the best bites from the excellent X-T3 into a learner and more affordable body. Indeed, it’s surprising how much you get from the more senior camera here, from the 26.1MP X-Trans APS-C sensor and X-Processor 4 engine though to 4K video recording and a collection of popular Film Simulation modes. 

It’s nicely balanced with the XC 15-45mm F3.5-5.6 OIS PZ kit lens,, but if your budget is a bit stretched, the XF18-55 mm F2.8-4 R LM OIS would be recommended. If you need something more powerful, the X-T3 is where to turn, although you get far better value for money here.

The best camera for beginners

The Nikon 3500 is the company’s latest and greatest budget DSLR, and it’s a lovely camera for the price. It’s a relatively inexpensive body that supports the DX sensor system and is compatible with most of Nikon’s F lens systems. The F series has many compatible lenses available for new or - even better - secondhand, which is perfect for the beginner or someone with less money to invest in their photography. 

We love the shape and handling of the D3500. Yes, it’s heavier than its mirrorless counterparts (although it’s light for a DSLR), but this offers more stability for handheld shooting, especially when combined with Nikon’s excellent VR lenses. The deep grip makes it easy to handle and carry, the control wheel is well-placed, and changing lenses on the go is extremely easy. The button layout is simple to navigate, and despite not being touch-compatible, the digital display on the camera's reverse is sharp and clear.

In terms of specs, it has an effective resolution of 24.2MP, which is plenty. For beginners, there is a range of pre-set shooting modes, including ‘Effects,’ which oversaturate images, make colors more vivid, and even offer selective-color shooting. These are in addition to Manual, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, and Exposure / Programed Auto mode, which you’ll find on most cameras. The autofocus is responsive, and you get decent 5fps shooting, which is excellent for budget DSLRs.

The D3500 has excellent features, but it lacks a few settings you may want to graduate to, like batch exposure. Battery life is average, at around 1500 shots per charge, and there’s a single SD card slot. The kit lens that comes with the camera - a 15-55mm VR AF-P lens - is excellent and versatile enough for newbies. For less than $500, you get a LOT of cameras here for your money and plenty of features to help newcomers get started.

The best vlogging camera

The Panasonic Lumix G100 is a mirrorless camera for vloggers and YouTubers. This is thanks to its ability to shoot in 4K at 30fps, albeit with a crop, and show yourself on the fully articulating screen. But it doesn't stop there; this also has a world first: a Micro Four Thirds camera crams in a Nokia Ozo audio-equipped microphone system. That means the three built-in microphones pick up sound from all directions and prioritize voice over background traffic or wind interference. 

The 20.3MP MOS sensor is backed by 5-axis hybrid image stabilization and a great selection of lens options. As such, the colors are punchy, and the detail is excellent. It's only when you go into low-light situations that this doesn't perform as well as some other cameras on this list. 

The compact size makes this ideally portable for bloggers, and the battery life of 45 minutes in the real world for 4K video recording isn't bad for that form factor. The fact that it can charge via USB is a big appeal, meaning a battery pack can keep you going as long as you need without stopping to find mains power.

Camera FAQs

What are the main camera types?

While analog and digital film cameras are still available, we will focus on digital options. These are even divided into categories, including DSLRs and mirrorless. They also come in sub-forms, including compacts and zooms.

A DSLR uses mirrors to let in light, allowing you to see the scene through the viewfinder. The light makes a click sound as it enters the sensor. This means that DSLRs are some of the largest cameras out there.

A mirrorless camera is similar but uses a digital system to let in light directly. This means no noise but a bit more battery consumption. The actual positive here, though, is that mirrorless cameras can be far more compact. 

While the quality between the two was once a point of debate, now mirrorless and DSLRs are accepted mainly as on par.

What types of camera lens are there?

While there are many types of camera lenses, it pays to know the lens mount your camera uses. This mounting system varies between brands, meaning you're usually limited to the lenses made by your camera manufacturer and some third-party options. There are various types.

Standard lenses
These can come bundled with new cameras and have a mid-range focal length between 35 and 85mm. This is similar to how the human eye sees, so they should produce lifelike images well. They are great for portrait, travel, and general documentary shots. The 50mm prime (fixed-length) lens is an excellent all-rounder for pros and amateurs.

Telephoto lenses
This is the lens you need if you want zoom. The focal length starts at 85mm and goes up depending on how big or expensive you want your lens. The higher the number, the further you can see. These lenses are great for nature and sports photography and can produce lovely portraits with extra depth for that blurry background finish.

Macro lenses
These lenses are ideal for close-ups in nature. Their focal length is between 35mm and 200mm, which can help with zoom. However, they only work on single objects, such as insects or birds, and they won't focus on broader areas like telephoto lenses.

Wide angle lenses
These lenses range from 14mm to 35mm and help take close-up shots thanks to their broad field of view. This is great for indoor photography, as it keeps everything sharply in focus.

Fish eye lenses
These are more built explicitly for specific needs since they go as low as 4mm and top at 14mm. This means you have a circular image that pulls in lots, again ideal for tiny spaces. But they can also create a fun and distinct style for creative shots.

The art of how to take good photos was once reserved people with both the cash to buy the camera kit and the training to use it properly. Nowadays there are plenty of great affordable cameras for beginners out there, and loads of handy resources online to help you learn how to use your new camera.

So if you've invested in a new camera or have simply dusted off your old one, you're in the right place to make the best use of it. This guide aims to help you get the best out of your camera without having to spend countless hours researching and practicing techniques. This will lay out what you need to know about lighting, framing, editing and more, before explaining how best to use all that in your photography.

Whether you're capturing memories of your kids growing up or snapping breathtaking natural landscapes, this guide will have you take amazing photographs in next to no time. It will even help when you don't have the camera and want to use your smartphone. Although for that we also have a specific guide for getting better smartphone pictures and even a guide for getting the best selfies.

Camera quality, revealed

1. Forget resolution, think sensor size

Resolution, aka megapixels, was once the main measure of a digital camera's abilities. But for some years now that has levelled out with all the big names including Canon, Nikon and Sony all offering similar megapixel sensors. Sensor size is the big differentiator these days, and full frame is the best option, as full frame sensors let in the most light. 

Full frame cameras are the most expensive and generally are only going to help those photographers who already know what they're doing. For beginners and intermediates a smaller and more affordable sensor size will do the job just fine. Sensors break down in this order with the largest at the top:

• 35mm Full Frame
• APS-H (Canon)
• APS-C (Nikon DX, Pentax, Sony)
• APS-C (Canon)
• Foveon (Sigma)
• Four Third System
• CX (Nikon)
• 2/3"
• 1/1.7"
• 1/2.3"

For most budding photographers anything APS-C and above will be more than enough to get superb photos even when printed out at large size. The four thirds cameras are fun and can also produce great quality shots, but the quality can be a bit hit and miss with these.

2. Zoom can help

One big sell for digital cameras over smartphones is the ability to offer powerful optical zoom. Sure the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra can offer 100x zoom, but a lot of that is digital zoom, meaning it eats into the image quality and can leave a granular finish. A decent telephoto lens for a DSLR camera will offer zoom but without losing the quality, meaning you can zoom in even further digitally, after you've taken the shot.

For things like animal photography and sports photography, where you may not have time to think about setup, it's important to get the best quality right away, allowing you to work on editing it after you've got that crucial moment. A telephoto zoom lens does exactly that, as does shooting in the right format, but more on that next.

3. Use RAW storage

Quality is also about how the digital image is stored. While most default camera settings are for JPEG images, you can also shoot in RAW. This means that even more information is stored, rather than compressing all that into a JPEG which is more memory friendly. The key here is that, as mentioned above, you're getting the shot in the moment and can then edit that later. 

Using RAW you get two stops worth of light to play with meaning you can brighten and darken the shot as well as mess with color saturation and more, all without degrading the image. Most DSLR cameras will let you shoot in JPEG and RAW so as long as you have enough memory this covers you for most needs.

Use your surroundings

4. Light it right

Photos are ultimately just a collection of light that's landed on the camera sensor and been translated into digital representations of the real scene. So, the more light you can get in then the more information that camera's brain has to work with. Light is good.

We're not saying get your flash on though, or turn on all the lights in a room, all that is artificial. It's all about natural light. Yet even direct sunlight can sometimes be too much so look out for clouds which can be your friend, acting like a diffuser to give a nice even light to your shots.

One of the simplest yet most powerful light-related-tips to keep in mind is that it should be behind you. That way it illuminates what you're shooting, rather than silhouetting it if you shoot into the light.

5. Frame by frame

Framing your shot is one of the most important parts of getting the best photo. Don't only think about what you're shooting, be that a person, an animal, a pet and so on, think about how it sits in relation to its surroundings. You might want the person in shot but don't want to lose the surrounding beauty.

That said the surround doesn't have to be beautiful to help. You could be shooting a person against a brick wall. But by bringing them away from the wall and adding depth it can give more background blur (aka the bokeh effect, more on that next), which adds sharpness to the individual and softness to the background.

One good tip is to use the rule of two thirds. If you're shooting in landscape mode then sitting the person one third in from the side gets a great profile while also framing them with the background too, making for a visually entertaining shot.

6. Use bokeh

One of the great features of a DSLR camera or similar is its ability to create a powerful bokeh effect. This is the blur created when the camera is focused on the foreground and the rest is softened. Many smartphone cameras now have Portrait mode which artificially creates this finish to make shots look more DSLR-like. But the real bokeh created by a powerful lens and camera setup can't be faked. 

While this is best for faces on smartphones, a DSLR can employ bokeh on anything in the foreground of a shot and still look great. From making your car stand out to add drama to that shot of your dinner, this is a powerful tool to be used by simply adjusting focus.

7. Go manual

Using the manual settings can be a daunting task but with countless guides online it's easier now than ever before. One great way to start is to lock most settings but simply adjust the aperture. This is the amount of light allowed into the sensor. Let lots in and you can get blur, flash a little and shots can lack light and depth but offer focus.

Try shooting the stars at night by setting your camera up on a solid surface where it won't wobble then set the aperture to a long opening. A top tip here is to set a timer on the shutter button, this way it will shoot after you've stopped touching when there could potentially be a wobble movement. 

Use more kit

8. Use a tripod

Yup, this tip was always going to feature after talking about aperture. Since that is when you need to hold your camera most still to avoid blur, a tripod is a valuable assistant. Less wobble means sharper shots, essentially. And that's what a tripod can offer.

A tripod is also a great way to get group shots in high quality. Like the ultimate selfie. Most DSLR cameras have a screen you can flip and open allowing you to see how everyone is framed in the shot. Then set a timer on the shutter, hit the button and get in shot. Voilà, you have the best quality selfie, with the biggest number of people in shot you've ever managed.

9. Edit your shots

Photo editing software is more common and easier to use than ever with plenty of free to use options as well as the more advanced paid versions. You may already have photo tweaking experience from using something like Instagram. Thankfully lots of photo editing software now include that simplicity with filters as options, but in this case you can be applying them to super high quality shots in RAW mode, meaning the differences will be even more impressive.

Some great photo editing software includes Adobe Lightroom CC and Adobe Photoshop CC, paid, and GIMP or Ashampoo, for free.

Check out our best photo editing software for your ideal snap sorting suite. We say sorting, there is also the best photo organizing software to pick from too.

10. Let the lens do the work

It's all good knowing how to use your camera to its full potential but without the right lens you're going to be limited. It's a good tip to have a few lens options to suit what you're shooting. A kit lens is fine as an all-rounder but if you want zoom then a telephoto is a great option. If it's portrait shots you want then a prime lens, with fixed focal length is a good choice.

If you've got a full frame camera then a more expensive lens can make a difference but for APS-C and Micro Four Thirds you may want to limit lens expenses as that sensor will only do so much.

If you want better selfies on your smartphone then you're in the right place. Right now you may have a phone full of failed attempts of the same picture as you've attempted to get that selfie just right. That's a perfectly natural way to get a photo right as it takes a lot of factors to reach perfection.

From the right lighting and framing to the background and angle, there's a lot to consider – and that's all before you even start to think about filters. So no matter what phone you have there are lots of ways to improve the end result of a selfie. Do it right and a budget phone could produce a better shot than a top-end model like the iPhone 12.

To help you out, we've put together these top 10 tips on how to take better selfies.

How to take better selfies

1. Lighting is important for better selfies

Lighting is not only important, it's everything when it comes to a selfie. Natural lighting is the ideal way to illuminate your image as it's less harsh than a flash and more even than an artificial light. Natural light leaves skin tones looking accurate and colors appearing rich - it'll even help with contrast to make the picture pop.

The rule here is to get the light behind the camera. That means it'll be shining on you in the selfie so you're well lit. It also means the camera isn't shooting into light where it will struggle to let in light, a bit like your eyes when you squint in the sun.  If you shoot into the sun, the end result will be a blackened silhouette of a figure in shot.

Another tip is to hold something white, like paper, under your chin out of shot. This helps bounce the light up under you so a more balanced finish is achieved, with fewer line marks.

2. Get the angle right

A classic selfie pose is holding the camera at arm's length as far up and away as possible. This is popular because it works. When the camera is further away you get a wider frame to the image so your face isn't too big or unnaturally close. Being above can help to offer a more flattering angle which naturally makes you look better.

Get the angle right and you don't even need to look into the camera - in fact it often looks better to turn slightly away. Just be sure to hold it still so you don't have wobble and blur. A top tip here is to use the volume down button to take the shot rather than fumbling for the on-screen shutter icon.

3. Use the background

Line up your shot before you take it so that the background is considered. Snapping something in the foreground is important but keep in mind it will be framed by what is behind. A white wall, for example, might be too bright and boring – or it could work if you have a lot of color in the foreground. It's about balance.

Often a long distance behind the subject works well as it gives a sense of depth and a feeling of space and freedom. With some cameras the selfie lens will even allow portrait mode to blur out that background for an even more professional DSLR camera style finish.

4. Avoid the flash in most cases

Natural light is best, as mentioned. But sometimes, like in a club at night, or on your sofa when watching Netflix, the light of the room just won't cut it. In those cases the flash, be it an LED or just the screen lit white, will help to bring out your face. Just keep in mind it will usually be a little white-washed and limited on color. For a better shot use a bigger light source, ideally.

For using apps, like Snapchat, look out for the flash icon. This is a lightning bolt in the case of Snapchat and this turns the screen white, as it takes the shot, to act as a flash. It works but don't expect a great result compared to natural light.

5. Keep shooting

Whether your phone has the memory for it or not, take lots of selfies. You can always delete the duds after. By taking lots you have options to pick from so that you end up with the result you were looking for. Change head position, change background location, adjust the camera height and angle and try different facial expressions.

When going through the shots it can help to favorite the ones you like, then go back through those and delete the ones you don't like. Repeat until you're left with 'The One'.

6. Use apps and filters

While many camera phones will have smart snappers, it can pay to use apps and filters to adjust the images after you've taken them. In the case of Snapchat it's often easiest to just shoot from within the app's camera system. But some cameras also have editing features built-in and filters available in the native camera. 

After effects work can also enhance an image. Apps like Adobe Photoshop Fix, Facetune or Perfect365 are good options to try your editing skills for that perfect finish. Be warned though, the perfect image is tough to find so don't over-edit or you may lose the natural positives of the shot itself.

7. Be natural

All that said, going simple, not over thinking, and keeping it natural, can often produce the best results. A forced smile is never a good look, nor is an overly serious attempt to look like a model. But if you can find a natural smile or laugh, that's always going to enhance a selfie.

8. Shadow dodge

Yes, this is another lighting related tip but once that is so important it gets it own section. Shadows are your enemies when it comes to selfies. Shadows are unnatural looking on a face, especially if they are coming from objects around the subject. Even if you have the perfect light it can all be ruined by a pole casting a black line across your face.

One way to avoid shadows is to shoot in the shade. Since direct sunlight can sometimes washout a picture anyway, the shade can offer a good neutral start to work from.

9. Know your good side

It's an old classic but it's true, most people have one side that looks better than the other. Since you're likely angling your phone with one hand, it's likely you're going to favor one side of your face over the other. Make sure it's the good side.

Also be aware of uneven light and how that could potentially enhance your good side, or worst case, hide it.

10. Use a tripod or selfie stick

It's not cheating to use other equipment. A selfie stick or tripod can help here. Not only can these help give you a more balanced shot but they can also offer more distance. That means a bigger background which makes these ideal for landscape shots where you want to be included too.

Make sure your tripod is setup in a solid position and be aware of things like passing people and wind, to make sure your phone doesn't take a faceplant before capturing yours.

Learning how to take better smartphone pictures is an important task if you want to make sure you get the most out of your smartphone. Especially if you've paid out for one of the latest iPhone or Android smartphones.

While smartphone cameras are smarter and more automated than ever before, you can still get more out of your shots if you know how to best use that snapper. Whether you're taking photos of landscapes, Instagramming pictures your meal, or taking stunning night mode photos, there are different ways to improve all your images.

Of course the smartphone isn't everything and getting a good photo from an older device is also possible when you know what you're doing. So whether you're looking to enhance your skills, find a new photography tip or just get the most out of your phone, this guide aims to help you take better smartphone pictures.

The truth about camera quality

1. Resolution in smartphone pictures isn't everything

One common misconception about smartphone cameras is that the megapixel count is the most, or a very, important part. In reality we've reached a tipping point where even the most budget smartphone will have more than enough megapixels. The higher the count, the bigger you can blow up an image. But even if you're bothering to output images to a 4K 65-inch TV, you'll still have plenty of resolution to spare.

The one case where this varies is with zoom. On some phones, like the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, with a 108MP camera, digital zoom can get go as high as 100x. In that case the megapixel count is important as you can zoom in further and still see actual detail, but this is still combined with other lenses and software smarts to get the best results.

2. Optical zoom is important

To stick on the topic of zoom, optical is what you want over digital. While digital will essentially just zoom in on the megapixels you have available to you, make it look grainy and soft after a short distance, optical is different. Optical zoom actually brings the image closer to the camera sensor so you lose no quality. Since this requires a physically large lens, optical zoom is very limited on smartphones.

There are third-party add-on devices that offer more optical zoom so these could be worth considering if you're into your long-range nature photography, for example.

3. Aperture is key

Since smartphone cameras have small lenses, they can only let in a certain amount of light. As a result low-light photography has been a challenge. Sure, it's gotten a lot better in recent years but you're still limited. That's why it's important to check out the aperture rating when buying a smartphone. This is the f/2.0 number for example. The lower the number the more light can be let in meaning better low light shots and also less blur as the lens only needs to "open" for a short time to let in light.

Going into manual mode on your phone and playing with the aperture can be a great way to find a balance between night shots and well lit action shots. Set up on a tripod and leave the camera lens open pointed up at night and you could get yourself a superb stars shot, for example.

Take photos like a pro

4. Light is everything

A well lit scene can mean a brilliant photo. It takes a lot of the work out of it for you, but using lighting correctly is important. Rule number one is to never shoot into the light. Point the phone at someone who is standing with the sun at their back looking at you and all you're likely to see is a silhouette. 

Put the sun or other light source at your back and the subject your photographing will be lit by it resulting in richer colors, better contrast, and a more crisp finish to your photo.

5. Use Portrait Mode

Most smartphones now come with Portrait Mode, or something similar. Many phones will turn this on when in auto mode, but this is a little unreliable and it doesn't always come on when you want it too. By turning it on you can get a professional finish when snapping a person's face. This will create a bokeh effect, blurring out the background, which makes the face appear more in focus and far more vibrant. Essentially this makes a smartphone photo look more like it was taken on a DSLR camera.

When using Portrait Mode be sure the little square on screen is around the person's face so you know it has a lock and will make them look clearly distinguished from the background. It also pays to shoot somewhere with a little depth behind the person, for the best finish.

6. Get group shots using selfie mode

Take a group shot using selfie mode. This lets you see on screen that everyone is in shot before taking. On some phones you can pair with a remote to take the shot or, in many cases, you can use your voice to tell the phone to take the shot. Either way be sure the phone is securely balanced and still so it doesn't wobble, or worse, fall to the ground.

7. Turn off the flash and stay still

The best photos are the most natural, which is why the flash is very, very rarely going to improve a picture - even at night. You'd be better served by keeping your phone as still as possible, perhaps by using a tripod or stand, and then letting in more light by extending the aperture, or shooting in Night Mode.

Use more kit

8. Use a tripod

If in doubt throw more kit at the issue. This rarely fails in terms of tech and smartphone photography is no different. If you've not used a tripod you're likely going to be impressed with the quality variation when you do – especially at night.

A tripod can be an inexpensive tool that's packs down for easy carrying. It makes the camera super steady meaning you can end up with a more sharp and detailed image. At night, when the lens needs to let in more light which can cause blur, this is a really invaluable tool to have. It's also great for setting up selfies or perfectly angled time lapse videos.

9. Bring the light

Natural light looks great and if you get extremely lucky it can be perfect, but you can't always rely on it. In most cases you will likely benefit from bringing a bit of your own light though. A rotolight, for example, is a great option as this clips to your smartphone and creates an even yet bright light. This dispels shadows and can allow for greater contrast in the end result.

Just keep in mind that a light can be too weak, if its a clip-on unit, which may work like a flash losing you some depth. For selfies, where the subject is close, this is a really useful tool. It's also great for video chat, making it well worth the investment.

10. Use a specific lens

Third party lens manufacturers like Olloclip offer clip-on lenses which can enhance your phone's photo taking abilities. From a macro lens to get better close up shots to a telephoto lens to capture far off subjects like animals, there are plenty of options. 

You can go for a single system that has a few lenses built-in, which is easy to carry in your pocket. Or you can get the specific lens, like a large 36x telephoto lens which is more bulky but does a better job of that specific zoom task.

Sony may have decided it's no longer making traditional DSLR cameras, switching its focus to mirrorless cameras instead. While the news hasn't been officially confirmed by the giant, SonyAlphaRumors has spotted that the A-mount DSLR range of cameras have been removed from Sony's website and are now listed as 'no longer available' at various retailers. 

The A-mount range includes the A68, A99 II and A77 II but it's not massively surprising news to see it be dropped. The last Sony DSLR model to be announced was the A99 II back in 2016 and, since then, the nearest to anything new DSLR related was an adapter to allow E-mount camera owners to use A-mount lenses. Otherwise, Sony has been focusing all its efforts on its mirrorless ranges, like the Alphas. 

It's been a good move for the company too with the likes of the mirrorless Sony Alpha A7 III featuring prominently in most sites' run downs of top-end cameras, as well as hitting the number two spot on our look at the best mirrorless cameras. That's a far cry from Sony's omission from the best DSLR camera roundup we only recently updated.

Sony has been a driving force for mirrorless models with the likes of the 61-megapixel A7R IV, 12-megapixel A7S III that's well designed for video, and the hybrid 50-megapixel A1. There were suggestions that Sony was the biggest seller of mirrorless cameras in 2020 so it's a logical shift. It also comes at a time when other companies have done similar with the likes of Canon and Nikon also focusing on mirrorless cameras over ageing DSLR products. However, given the wealth of existing DSLR users, and the huge number of existing DSLR lenses out there - both new and second-hand - all the major manufacturers are offering adaptor solutions to allow people to bring their existing lenses to new mirrorless camera bodies.

So, what does that mean if you own a DSLR camera? Not much fortunately. Your camera will still continue to work as well as it always did. Where things are likely to differ is when it comes to upgrade time. When you're seeking out a new camera, we'd heartily recommend a mirrorless model, regardless of what camera system you currently use. While mirrorless models have traditionally trailed in terms of autofocus capabilities and battery life, newer models are fixing these shortcomings. What's more, firmware updates will only continue to improve mirrorless models. If you're confused by the key differences, check out our look at mirrorless vs DSLR to understand where the distinctions lie. Effectively, it's the future and Sony's apparent decision to drop DSLRs would seem to reflect the company's thoughts on the matter. 

There has been an increasing shift toward the best mirrorless cameras in the photography community over the past few years. Mirrorless cameras display an image very differently from DSLR cameras, and in many ways, their technology is more modern and eloquent. The difference is that mirrorless displays are a 'live view' of what the camera sees, whereas DLSRs show a reflected image of what is on the camera's sensor. This means mirrorless cameras often have lighter, slimline bodies, can shoot silently, and have more sophisticated digital features.

Companies like Nikon and Fujifilm have stepped up their efforts in recent years, and while Sony and Canon have more limited ranges, they also compete in the mirrorless space.

The advantage of mirrorless cameras is that manufacturers see them as the future of photography, especially as their video capture capabilities are so strong. So, this is the way to go if you're looking to future-proof. The disadvantage is that mirrorless bodies and lenses are - on the whole - more expensive, as they aren't the same size as the new and used market. Plus, if you want to use a DSLR lens on a mirrorless camera, you need a specific adaptor, which is an extra expense.

On the whole, though, we would recommend mirrorless tech - once you've used one, it's more challenging to return to even the best cameras because they make photography... so easy. If you're looking for the best camera for beginners, that's probably a DSLR, but Mirrorless is an excellent option for enthusiasts and above.

The best mirrorless cameras we recommend

Top Ten Reviews is on a mission to review everything we feature in our buyer's guides. Still, while we work hard to make this a reality—or where this isn't possible—some of our guides still feature rankings based on our team's considerable expertise and research.

While we haven't been able to test any of the units in this guide in person, we've instead honed in on top-rated brands and used our knowledge of the best features to help you make the right decision for your home, all for the best price.

The best mirrorless camera overall

Among a raft of new full-frame mirrorless cameras, Nikon’s Z6 is a powerful introduction. Considering this is a first-generation model, it’s impressive that Nikon got so much right: superb image quality, crisp 4K video, excellent handling, a clear and bright EVF, and compatibility with existing Nikon lenses and accessories. 

The FTZ adapter, which can be purchased bundled with or separately from the camera, allows you to choose from hundreds of F-mount lens options. Autofocus and auto-exposure work together. 

While some issues persisted with the original version of the Z6, those have since been largely eliminated thanks to regular firmware updates. Our only actual reservation is the camera's reliance on a single QXD or CFexpress memory card slot - professionals like a second slot to avoid breaks with shoots, and CFexpress cards are still eye-wateringly expensive, PLUS they require a separate card reader, too.

The best mirrorless all-rounder

Building on the popularity of the previous A7 II, it’s safe to say that the A7 III is Sony's best all-around mirrorless camera yet. The 24MP sensor produces excellent images with well-controlled noise levels across the sensitivity range, and with sensor-based image stabilization on board, you don’t need to worry about this being in your lenses. 

The sensor and stabilization also work together to capture detailed, 4K-quality videos. Other highlights include a strong hybrid AF system, many lens options, and battery life ahead of what most mirrorless models can muster.

That 693-point AF system makes this superb in nearly any situation, even for those less accomplished camera users. And if it's fast-paced shots you're after, then the 10fps burst shot mode should cater well to your needs. This isn't the newest camera on the list, but with those specs backed by a recent firmware upgrade, this is one of the best options at a price that's getting lower all the time.

The best mirrorless camera under $1,000

With dashing good looks, plenty of functionality, excellent image and video quality, and a tiny, essentially metal body, the X-T30 is a formidable mid-range mirrorless option. It inherits many features from the more advanced X-T3 and is ideal for those who want to control their camera more through physical controls rather than the touchscreen, with dedicated dials for shutter speed and exposure compensation on hand. 

In terms of value for money, the X-T30 trounces almost every other mid-range model at this price point. And it does it while looking a lot better, too. Even the phase detection autofocus system, with its 425-point setup, punches well above the price. The fact that you can shoot 4K video at 30 fps is also a real draw at this price point. That 26.1MP APS-C sensor can eke out up to 8 fps of burst shots, while the 3-inch touchscreen, with its 1,040k dots, makes for easy controls and clear views.

The best mirrorless camera for megapixel power

The Lumix S1R is Panasonic's full-frame mirrorless camera that aims to cater to the more skilled photographer who can use that 47.3 MP sensor. But it packs in some special tricks that make it stand out from the rivals on this list. Our favorite is the ability to shoot a 187 MP image – perfect for anyone who wants to blow it up in print or have lots of zoom potential afterward. That is well backed by the viewfinder, which has one of the highest resolutions at 5.76 million dots.

The build is rugged enough to go anywhere without worrying about being too careful. The same can be said when shooting, thanks to sensor-based image stabilization that helps improve any shot. That means you can expect a crisp and clear shot from this camera for both good and low-light. 

While the contrast-detect autofocus system is a little behind the rivals, this camera makes up for it in other areas and performs exceptionally well.

The best full-frame mirrorless camera on a budget

The EOS RP might not be the most advanced Canon mirrorless camera right now, but with an asking price considerably below the current EOS R flagship, it sure is tempting. 

It’s super small and quite light, considering its full-frame innards. This makes it great for those with some EF lenses who want to use them through an adapter. It also delivers very nice images without any further processing, although you can play with your raw files if you need to. 

Overall, this is a great choice if you’re a Canon user who wants to try Mirrorless without significantly impacting your bank balance. However, it's worth noting that you will get a heavy crop on the 4K video, and your maximum burst shot speed is just 5 fps. 

The best mirrorless camera for beginners

The Sony A6100 is a fantastic option for any beginner who wants to get into photography using a mirrorless camera. This is a very portable-sized snapper yet crams in a powerful 24.2MP APS-C CMOS sensor, which is backed by a 425-point hybrid autofocus. With the ability to shoot video in 4K at 30fps and capture burst photos at 11fps, this punches well above its price point.

This is great for a beginner, but it requires time to understand everything on offer via the admittedly limited touchscreen interface. The resolution on that screen and the EVF could be higher, but then the price cuts must be made somewhere.

While this is great for a beginner, there's plenty to learn with enough power and features to grow with you as you get better.

Most photographers use one of the best DSLR cameras. While some choose mirrorless cameras instead, and a handful even stick to the snapper on their phone, most still prefer a DSLR camera. DSLR stands for 'digital single-lens reflex,' it's essentially a digital version of the classic camera design. Most DLSRs have a viewscreen to show pictures in real-time, most feature interchangeable lenses, and most require an SD card or similar to store pictures.

The debate around the best DSLR is lively; different photographers swear by different camera brands. There are strengths to cameras from all the big four makers - Sony, Canon, Nikon, and Fujifilm - and, quite honestly, you'll struggle to buy a lousy camera from any of these makers.

If you already own one of the best cameras and want to upgrade to an enthusiast model, we advise you to consider whether you are prepared to part with your lenses. If you've invested heavily in lenses, sticking with the same brand is best. If you don't have much to lose, you may want to move to a more advanced DSLR from a brand with different or cheaper lenses.

Our picks of the best DSLR cameras feature bodies from all the leading manufacturers. We advise you on which lenses to buy and how other accessories compare to the competition.

The best DSLR cameras we recommend

Top Ten Reviews is on a mission to review everything we feature in our buyer's guides. Still, while we work hard to make this a reality—or where this isn't possible—some of our guides still feature rankings based on our team's considerable expertise and research.

While we haven't been able to test any of the units in this guide in person, we've instead honed in on top-rated brands and used our knowledge of the best features to help you make the right decision for your home, all for the best price.

The best DSLR camera overall

The Canon EOS 6D Mk II is a fantastic DLSR camera for both newcomers and experienced users. It offers easy-to-use controls and superb weather-sealed ergonomics, combined with a lot of power, thanks to a newly redesigned 26.2MP full-frame CMOS sensor. Dual-pixel autofocus works well in live-view mode. The optical viewfinder and 3-inch vari-angle touchscreen combo help with shot-aligning, too.

The AF is limited to 45 points, and the burst shots top out at 6.5fps, so we're not at complete professional levels here. Indeed, video is also limited, with a Full HD 1080p top end but an impressive 60fps. The dynamic range could also be better, but it is struggling at the low end of ISO. All that said, it still punches above its price point.

We particularly liked the onboard Wi-Fi, NFC, and Bluetooth, which ensure you're always fully connected and have maximum data to back your shots. The 1,090-shot battery life is also a draw, which helps make this enthusiast DSLR a real all-around winner for its entry-level price.

The best DSLR camera for professionals

Most high-end DSLRs prioritize fast burst shooting or a high megapixel count, but the D850 proves you can have the best of both in a single camera. The 45.4MP sensor provides stacks of detail while burst shooting for up to 7fps – or 9fps with the optional battery pack – is perfect for action shooters needing, or just wanting, that high-resolution output. 

Add to that a superb focusing system, 4K video recording, and a rugged, weather-resistant construction, and you can see why professionals across many disciplines so highly regard the D850. It works with so many exquisite lenses, making it that much better. 

Although the D750 is not as well-spaced, it’s an easier way to get into full-frame shooting if you want something cheaper.

The best 4K DSLR camera

The Canon EOS 90D is a superb option for anyone who needs the powerful 32.5MP APS-C CMOS sensor this ergonomically well-designed camera offers. This means uncropped 4K video and a capable 45-point autofocus system with 45 cross-types. All that makes for an excellent DSLR for both video and still shots.

There's a new processing engine in this generation that is capable of capturing an impressive 10fps of burst shots. And with a 1,300-shot battery, this can continue much longer than much of the competition. The joystick control is another helpful feature that helps cater to the enthusiast and the improving beginner.

The best 4K DSLR camera for beginners

The Canon EOS Rebel SL3 / EOS 250D is a superb beginner DLSR camera that is easy to use but offers many options for anyone looking to improve their camera skills. This lightweight camera is easy to handle and offers simple controls.

The Dual Pixel CMOS AF system also makes shooting easier. Ideally, it could use more AF points, but it does an excellent job of getting the most from that 24.1MP sensor. The 3-inch vari-angle touchscreen is easy to use and is a great way to shoot video. This is in 4K, but that will be cropped a little in the final result.

Thanks to the EF-S lens mounting system, you'll have access to many lens options, making it ideal as a system that can grow as your skills develop.

The best budget full-frame DSLR

It's not the newest or shiniest model here, but the D750 is a DSLR that offers bags of features and an excellent full-frame sensor for a sensible price. Key highlights include 6.5fps burst shooting, a tilting LCD screen sized to a generous 3.2 inches, and a 51-point AF system that does brilliantly when faced with static or moving subjects. 

Image quality is excellent, with low noise levels at higher sensitivities and a broad dynamic range. Unless you need 4K video, this would be a sterling choice for those looking to move into full-frame shooting without blowing a fortune. 

If you like what you see but want a little more to play with, the D850 offers a handful of extra features and a more robust body—for a premium.

The best budget DSLR camera

The Nikon D3500 is a superb option for anyone wanting a DSLR with many features but without the steep price tag, making this perfect for beginners who wish to join Team Nikon. The 24.2MP sensor is a competent APS-S CMOS setup with one of the sharpest image results at this price. This is backed by a decent kit lens which, again, helps make this affordably appealing to a newb.

It covers an 18-55mm range, is perfect for general photography, and gives you a bit of zoom. Nikon’s DX-lens system, which the camera uses, has a wide range of options for getting more specialized, and they don’t cost the earth.

Get over 1,500 shots on the battery and use the Snapbridge app to send shots automatically to your phone, costing you a little of that battery life.

While the D3500 is ideal for beginners, it will help you graduate quickly and start using Manual and Aperture / Shutter priority with ease to get some spectacular shots.

The makers of the Arlo Pro 3 produced the highest-resolution security camera that we’ve reviewed: the Arlo Ultra. Well, the company is back with something arguably better in the Arlo Pro 3. With its 2K resolution and the same range of features as its big brother, the Pro 3 is a more affordable product that will appeal to more people.

To see how it fared against other, read our full guide to the best outdoor security cameras. 

You get three months of free cloud storage in the box, although you can use local storage if you don’t fancy any monthly bills after this period. There are a few oddities in the way that the camera works but they’re easily forgivable and the Pro 3 is a flexible and power indoor/outdoor wireless camera system.

Strangely, although you can buy individual cameras to expand a system ($179.99 each), you can only buy the system as a two-camera kit ($449.99) or three-camera kit ($649). While multiple cameras are the highlight of the Arlo system, it does mean that the starting price is higher than it needs to be.

Arlo Pro 3: Features

• Local and cloud storage recording options
• Powerful modes let you choose when your cameras record
• Smart notifications alert you to people, animals and vehicles

As with all other Arlo cameras, the Pro 3 is configured and set up through the app. This has recently been rebranded from Netgear to Arlo, although the features and interface remain identical.

Before you can add a camera, you first need to plug in the base station, which connects via Ethernet to your home router. All Arlo cameras then connect wirelessly to this base station. The Pro 3 base station is almost identical to the Ultra base station, only here there’s a USB port for local recordings as opposed to a microSD card slot.

You can connect all other Arlo cameras to this base station, including the Ultra or the older Arlo Pro 2. It’s a handy trick, as you can reuse other cameras if you’ve got them. However, you can also run multiple base stations if you prefer, which helps if you need more range and coverage.

We ran into a problem when first setting up our camera. Although we had the base station connected, the app couldn’t read the current security mode and wouldn’t let us add a camera. To get around this, we had to log into the My Arlo web app and use a browser to add our first camera. That fixed the issue and we could add subsequent cameras using the mobile app.

With cameras connected and placed where you want them, you can start to configure them. There’s no free cloud storage with this model, but you do get a three-month subscription to Arlo Smart Premier. This gives you 30 days of video history for up to 10 cameras, plus e911 calls that connect you to emergency services near your home (not where you’re currently located) so that you can call in any threats you spot on your feed.

If you want to continue with this, it costs $2.99 a month per camera or $9.99 a month for up to five cameras and gets you 30-day video history. At the top of the subscription pile is Arlo Smart Elite, which costs $4.99 a month per camera or $14.99 a month for up to five cameras. Elite still gets you 30-days of video history, although the recording resolution is upped to 4K.

Impressively, Arlo Smart lets you record at the camera’s full 2K 2560 x 1440 resolution, whereas the Arlo Ultra is forced down to 1080p unless you pay to upgrade to Arlo Elite. Out-of-the-box, the Arlo Pro 3 records at its maximum resolution while the Ultra doesn’t.

You can cancel your cloud subscription entirely and record footage to a USB drive plugged into the base station, although doing this means that you have to plug the storage into a computer to view what’s gone on. And, you miss out on Cloud Activity Zones.

To cut down on notifications, Cloud Activity Zones let you select the part of a picture that you want to monitor for movement. The Pro 3 is limited to cuboid activity zones, whereas the Ultra lets you use six points that you can drag to create practically any shape.

Activity Zones work brilliantly, and you can use them in combination with Smart Notifications to only be informed when the camera spots your choice of people, animals, vehicles or other motion. It’s a shame that you can’t set the notification type by activity zone, as you can do with Nest’s cameras.

As good as Cloud Activity Zones are, you should still be careful where you place your cameras. On battery power, they use a PIR motion sensor to detect movement, which saves power. When motion is detected, the Pro 3 cameras wake up and start streaming video, at which point the Cloud service discounts any footage where motion is outside of the zone. What this means in practice is that if you point your cameras at busy areas, such as a street outside of your home, you may not get many video clips but your camera’s battery may drain faster.

Powering the camera permanently can solve this issue (the magnetic connector is weatherproof), although it makes installation far trickier, as you have to run a cable to your camera.

All footage is saved to the Arlo app, in which you can find the footage you want by filtering by camera, motion type (people, animals and vehicles), and date. This makes it really easy to find a specific clip, particularly as you get large thumbnails. Clips can be downloaded to your smartphone, letting you preserve evidence.

By default, the camera is set to record at the highest quality. The app settings let you change the video quality setting, dropping it down to save on battery life. Our advice is don’t do this, as lowering quality reduces resolution, meaning that you won’t use the Pro 3 to its maximum ability.

From the app, you can view the live stream from the camera. This lets you see what’s going on but gives you two additional options. First, you can enable two-way chat, so you can speak to anyone that you can see on the feed. It works well and audio from the camera is clear, while the Pro 3’s microphone pics up responses well. Secondly, you can set off an alarm on the camera. It’s enough to get attention, but it’s far from frightening and doesn’t beat a real alarm system.

Audio is recorded by default, but you can also have your cameras start recording when they pick up loud sounds. How useful this is, depends on where your camera is located: outside, we found that our camera recorded a little too often.

As with the other Arlo cameras that we’ve reviewed, you control when the Arlo Pro 3 can and can’t record using modes. At its most simple, there are modes for Armed (recording) and Disarmed (turned off). However, you can also set custom modes, which let you select which cameras are on and off. For example, you may want a daytime mode, where your internal cameras are turned off and your internal ones are turned on.

There’s a schedule that lets you select when you want each mode to be active. Even smarter, you can use geolocation to control your cameras automatically, turning on when you go out. When you return home, the geolocation setting lets you default back to your schedule. This is immensely powerful and no other camera system provides this level of flexibility.

An IFTTT channel lets you trigger rules when an Arlo camera detects movement, and you can use IFTTT to Arm or Disarm your cameras, although you can’t turn on custom modes, which is a little frustrating.

Finally, there are Skills for Amazon Alexa and the Google Assistant, which let you stream footage from your camera to a smart display, such as an Echo Show or Google Nest Hub.

Arlo Pro 3: Design and build

• Two-camera kit has magnetic and screw-in mounts
• Weatherproof body lets you install inside or out
• Base station needs placing carefully for full signal strength

If you put the Arlo Pro 3 next to the Arlo Ultra, it’s practically impossible to tell the difference between them. That’s no bad thing, as the smooth plastic bodies and curved design of the Arlo range is one of the best things about them: they’re smart enough to be seen but don’t ruin the look of your home.

To get the cameras working you have to insert the provided battery. Pressing the button underneath ejects the outer shell a little way, and then you have to pull the rest of the camera away. This is a useful mechanism, as you can eject the battery on a wall-mounted Pro 3 without sending the camera spiralling to its doom.

Of course, you’ll only need to remove the batteries if you decide to use an external charger (an optional extra). It can be a good idea to go this route, as you can have spare batteries topped up, meaning that you get less downtime in your security. 

If you want to charge the batteries inside the camera, you’ll need to bring the camera in, attach the magnetic USB cable to the socket underneath and charge the camera there.

Batteries are rated to last up to six months, although how often your camera is triggered will affect that. Expect, on average, to get a few month’s use out of a camera before you have to bring it in for charging.

All Arlo Pro 3 cameras are weatherproof, so you can mount them inside or out. With the two-pack kit that we had on review, you get a magnetic mount, which can be attached to a wall with a single screw, and a screw-in mount that requires three screws.

The magnetic mount makes it easier to attach a camera and position it, but a Pro 3 is also easy to knock off or even for someone to steal it. With the screw mount, you get a bit more security, as the camera has to be unscrewed to be removed. 

When positioning your cameras you can use the built-in signal strength tool to make sure that they’ll be in range of the base station. Testing in a Victorian terraced house, with the base station placed in the middle, we found that we got good reception inside and outside on the external walls.

Arlo Pro 3: Performance

• High quality video at night and during the day
• Smart notifications cut down on alerts
• Spotlight lets you shoot night video in color

The Arlo Ultra shot the best footage that we’ve ever seen from a security camera when we set it up to record in 4K. The Arlo Pro 3 isn’t far behind and it can shoot at its best quality out-of-the-box without having to upgrade the cloud storage. You can also stream 2K footage locally over your home network to a smartphone, although doing this turns off the track and zoom feature, which zooms into motion and follows it automatically. We had a similar problem with the Ultra, which also disables track and zoom to allow for 4K streaming. 

There’s a 160-degree lens on this model, which doesn’t quite pull in as much detail as the Arlo Ultra’s 180-degree lens, but there’s little in it. Realistically, you can capture an entire room with a single camera.

Video quality is excellent. As well as the high-resolution sensor, the camera has HDR support, which brings out all of the detail in the image. During the day, the video footage is incredibly sharp to the point where you can easily spot individuals and make out defining features.

Things get tricky at night, but the Arlo Pro 3 has the same spotlight as the Arlo Ultra, allowing it to light up the night when it picks up movement. Using a combination of this light, IR LEDs and recording, and the color sensor, the Arlo Pro 3 can record in color at night. When it works to its best, you get far more detail than you would using IR alone. The footage is still softer than during the day but you can see what's going on more clearly.

With Cloud Activity Zones configured, we found that we didn’t get too many notifications, even though the camera was placed outside, towards a busy street. We did have to adjust it a little to make sure that we got the best battery life and to make sure the camera didn't wake up every time people walked past.

Arlo Pro 3: Verdict

The Arlo Ultra is still technically the best security camera that we’ve tested, shooting the highest quality video. However, this quality comes at a price, both in terms of a new purchase, and monthly fees if you want 4K recording. As a result, the Arlo Pro 3 is the better choice for most people: it’s cheaper, its video quality is nearly as good, and you get pretty much all of the other features the Ultra has, including the spotlight and full color night video.

On top of that, the Arlo Pro 3 retains the flexibility of installation and flexible recording options that are the standout of the Arlo system. You can even expand the system to include older cameras, additional Pro 3 models, and even the Ultra, with add-on cameras working out as the best value as you don’t have to buy the base station.

If you need only a single camera and can wire one in, then the Nest Cam Outdoor or Nest Cam IQ Outdoor work out cheaper, record permanently, and have more flexible notification options. That all said, the Pro 3 excels when you want multiple cameras indoor and outside working together and you don’t have the time or ability to add wired cameras. 

Ring Door View Cam: What you need to know

The best video doorbells have traditionally required a doorframe or wall to screw the external components to, increasing complexity and making it impossible for some people, such as renters, to make the upgrade. The Ring Door View Cam is different: this battery-powered model slots into an existing peephole and requires no new screw holes, making it both the easiest smart doorbell to install that we’ve tested and one that’s suitable for renters and homeowners alike.

You get all the same quality features that we’ve seen in previous Ring products, including optional cloud recording, the ability to answer the doorbell from anywhere on the planet (well, provided your smartphone has an internet connection), and customizable motion detection. 

The slight quirk is that the doorbell swings as the door opens and closes, changing what’s recorded, making a fixed doorbell a slightly better option where possible.

Ring Door View Cam: Features

• Customisable knock detection
• Can trigger recording on other Ring cameras
• Smart alert suppression options

As with Ring’s other products, the Door View Cam is controlled entirely through the Ring app. If you’ve got other security cameras from the company, they all appear on the app’s homepage, giving you a thumbnail view from the camera. Tap your Door View Cam and you get into the live view part of the app, which wakes the doorbell up and starts streaming its video to your phone.

If you want, you can tap the microphone icon to start talking to whoever you can see on the other side. As you’d expect from a device that’s primarily designed to enable communication, the Door View Cam has a loud and clear speaker and pics up voices well thanks to its integrated microphone.

With a Ring Protect plan, video is automatically saved to the cloud when motion is detected, you activate the live view feature or someone presses the doorbell. Plans cost $3 a month ($30 per year) per camera for 60-days of cloud storage; if you’ve got four or more Ring devices, then the Ring Protect Plus plan ($10 per month or $100 per year) gives you 60-days of cloud storage for all cameras and adds in professional alarm monitoring if you have a Ring Alarm system.

Without a Ring Protect plan, the Door View Cam will still alert you to motion and doorbell presses, but you can only view the live video feed and can’t access previous video clips.

With Ring Protect, the live view part of the app lets you swipe backwards through recent events to see what the camera recorded. It can be slightly laborious if you want to move back through a day’s worth of content. To make things a bit easier, Ring has a filter that lets you view recordings by type (motion, live view or ring), although this filter only appears once you’ve selected a previous event. You can also jump to a specific date using the on-screen calendar.

Alternatively, you can use the Recent Activity option to get a list of all recent events. The list view makes it easier to see everything and jump to a specific time, but it would be nice if each entry had a thumbnail image. You can filter the Recent Activity list by event type but you can’t filter by date. Any clip that you view can be downloaded to your smartphone to preserve evidence, and Ring also has a web interface if you’d rather download video clips to your computer.

Privacy is a hot topic with video doorbells, which can just record everything going on outside of your home. To help, the Ring Door View Cam has a new feature: Privacy Zones. These let you black out part of the image, say obscuring a neighbor’s path. All processing is handled in-camera, rather at the cloud, so even Ring can’t see what’s going on in a Privacy Zone. Just be careful where you place them, as you don’t want to obscure the faces of anyone in front of your door.

As the Door View Cam is powered by a battery, it uses a PIR motion sensor to detect movement. Once movement is detected, the camera wakes up, turns the camera on and starts to record. Waking up is a swift process and the Door View Cam doesn’t miss any of the action.

While a PIR sensor helps save on battery life, the main issue is that you get less control, and the Door View Cam doesn’t let you draw activity zones that you want to monitor; instead, all motion picked up by the PIR sensor is recorded.

Ring does let you adjust the sensitivity of the motion sensor using a slider. A blue circle on the screen, drawn over a thumbnail of what the camera can see, extends and shrinks as you adjust sensitivity to give you an idea of where the camera will pick up motion. We found that we could prevent the Door View Cam from recording when someone walked past the house on the road, but that a neighbor coming home always set the camera off. 

It’s worth noting that motion inside a Privacy Zone will also trigger the camera to record, even though this often ends up with a video clip where you can’t see anything going on.

The Door View Cam is alone in Ring’s range in that it lets you disable motion detection completely. This option is buried in the settings menu and is designed for people who live very close to neighbors, such as those in apartments, where they’d get a flood of alerts.

If you leave motion detection on, you have options to cut down on the number of notifications that you get. First, Ring lets you set the motion capture and notification frequency: Frequent, Standard and Light. These settings reduce or increase how often the camera records motion and tells you about it. 

Next, there’s a Motion Snooze option, which lets you pause alerts for your choice of 15-minutes, 30-minutes, one-hour or two-hours. This is a really handy option if you’ve got a delivery or workmen coming in and out of your home while doing a job. 

You can manually turn off motion alerts or schedule when you do and don’t want them, but the Ring Door View Cam will continue to record when it detects motion. Given that this camera is designed to protect your main entryway, it makes sense that you can’t easily disable any of the security features.

It would be nice if Ring upgraded its Ring Protect to make alerts smarter, say only sending a notification when a person is spotted. The rival Nest Hello offers this and even has facial recognition built-in.

With Linked Devices, you can now trigger any other Ring cameras to record when your Door View Cam detects motion. In the right circumstances, it’s a neat trick that may capture more evidence or give you a clearer view of what was going on. Be careful how often your doorbell picks up motion, though, as you may find that this feature generates a lot of extra clips across all of your cameras; it may be a feature best saved for when you’re on holiday.

One of the main ways that you’ll get alerts is when someone presses the doorbell. This sends an alert to your smartphone (and the phones of anyone else that you’ve given access to your Ring account). You can then answer the doorbell from your phone, and Ring has finally changed the option so that you can use the talk feature in portrait mode, rather than landscape. It’s still not perfect, though: in landscape mode, you get neat icons for answer and hang-up; in portrait mode, you have to tap the microphone icon to talk to the person at your door.

The doorbell also sounds an audible alert to let you know that somebody is there. This can be hard to hear inside, so you might want to invest in a Ring Chime or Chime Pro to give you an internal alert, although you can also get your Amazon Alexa speakers to broadcast when somebody is at the front door.

New to the Ring Door View Cam is Knock Detection, which uses an accelerometer to detect when someone knocks rather than pressing the doorbell. It’s a handy way to sort out couriers that knock and try to run, and there are sensitivity settings to get the feature working correctly on your door.

Ring Door View Cam: Design and build

• Neat exterior but slightly flimsy interior
• Very quick installation
• Optical peephole

The standard Ring Video Doorbell 2 is quite chunky because the outside unit has to hold the battery. The external part of the Door View Cam is far slimmer and neater, as the battery is housed in the rear unit, which hangs on the back of your door.

The external doorbell and camera look neat and feel tough, although you don’t get the interchangeable colored faceplates that you get with Ring’s other doorbells. Internally, the battery compartment is a little basic and the outer cover is made from quite thin plastic. However, given that you won’t have to touch this part very often, the internal unit is plain and inoffensive enough that you’ll barely notice it.

Installation is really easy. With the tool provided in the box, you can scrape away any paint that’s holding in the existing peephole and then unscrew it. You then just slide the Door View Cam’s mounting bracket and cable through the hole in the door, with the doorbell fitting doors between 34mm and 55mm thick. On the back of your door, the battery compartment screws into the mounting bracket.

It’s then just a matter of sliding in the battery, which you should first charge using the micro USB port. If you want, you can buy a second battery, so that there’s no doorbell downtime caused when charging. 

Neatly, the battery compartment still has an optical peephole built-in, so you can peer through this to see what’s going on outside. It has a simple shutter that you can slide up for privacy, too.

Once installed and powered, the doorbell connects to 2.4GHz Wi-Fi networks, so it’s important to have a good-quality signal at your door. If you don’t, the Ring Chime Pro can act as a Wi-Fi extender.

Ring Door View Cam: Performance

• A manageable number of alerts
• Excellent video quality, particularly during the day
• Calls come to your phone quickly

Rings at your front door tend to come through in around 30 seconds or so, although the quality of the connection to your smartphone and doorbell all have a part to play. Typically, we found that there was enough time to answer most bell presses before the caller went away, although the occasional over-eagre courier would be on their way out. 

If you have any Amazon Echo speakers, installing the Ring Skill turns your smart speakers into doorbell chimes with Alexa letting you know when someone is at the front door. If you have an Echo Show speaker, you can tell Alexa to answer your front door, which turns on the live view and lets you talk to the person on the other side without reaching for your smartphone. 

It’s a neat trick, although the Nest Hello handles the same job slightly better with the Google Nest Hub, which displays the live view by default, so you can work out if you want to answer the door, and lets you tap an icon to answer rather than having to use a voice command. Sadly, there’s currently no Google Assistant support for the Ring Door View Cam.

We found that door knock detection worked well, although slamming our front door would cause the knocker to bounce and set off an alert.

Video quality is excellent, with the camera’s 1080p sensor and 155-degree lens picking up everything in front of it well. We recommend turning on HDR, particularly if your camera points towards the sun, as this delivers better exposure at the expense of a bit of battery life.

Even so, six to 12 months of battery life should still be possible, depending on how much use the camera gets and how often motion detection goes off.

During the day, video is clear and sharp, particularly up-close where it’s easy to spot individual features of anyone standing in front of your door. 

At night, the Door View Cam has IR night vision, generating a black and white image. The video is naturally softened, as on all cameras, but the Door View Cam maintains a decent amount of detail. For people standing in front of the doorbell, you can see clearly who you’re speaking to; for people further away, you lose some facial details but can see clearly what’s going on outside of your home.

The slightly odd thing about using the Door View Cam is that it’s mounted into your door, so moves as your door swings. As you open your front door, the camera swings, too. If you then spend any time talking to someone, you get a load of footage of the side of your head. 

It also means that if you have your door open, say while you’re unloading the car or taking the rubbish out, your camera isn’t monitoring your front garden. Fixed cameras and doorbells would maintain their view, continuing to record who’s in front of them, which makes them slightly better security devices.

Using the settings in the app carefully, we managed to get the number of motion alerts down to an acceptable level. However, as this model uses a PIR motion sensor, a neighbor walking down their path always set the Door View Cam off.

Ring Door View Cam: Verdict

The Door View Cam is the easiest smart doorbell to install by a long way. The fact that it needs no additional screws or mounting makes it suitable for anyone that’s renting and isn’t allowed to make changes. As such, where there’s no choice, the Door View Cam makes a brilliant security upgrade for many people that were denied the opportunity before.

We like the new Privacy Zones and ease of installation, but find it slightly disconcerting how the camera swings with the door, changing what’s recorded. Where possible, a fixed doorbell, such as the Ring Video Doorbell Pro, will maintain its field of view, making them slightly better security devices.

Filling a niche, the Door Cam View gives security options where there were none but those with choice will be slightly better served elsewhere.

• Best indoor security camera
• Best outdoor security camera

Introduced in 2017, the Arlo Pro 2 is still one of the best wireless security cameras around. Now, the company has announced a major update to the range in the form of the Arlo Pro 3. The early signs suggest it's just as impressive an offering.

The Pro 3 features a number of upgraded specs compared to its predecessor, with the most headline grabbing being the jump to 2K video recording (2560p). 

By way of comparison, the Pro 2 shoots in Full HD (1080p), with the improved resolution standing to make it easier to see who's at the door – and in worst case scenarios, help the police to identify intruders.

As well as sharper video footage, the Pro 3 offers more expansive coverage thanks to its 160-degree field of view. This is a sizeable bump on the Pro 2's 130-degree lens and means it will be easier to keep an eye on not only on visitors but kids, pets, and deliveries.

Further improvements include the addition of an integrated spotlight, two-way mic, and larger battery which Arlo says is capable of lasting up to six months on a single charge.

And like the Pro 2, the Arlo Pro 3 is graded as IP65 water and dust resistant, so it will also be a contender for best outdoor security camera once we've tested it fully.

• Read our Arlo Pro 2 review

Color us surprised?

One new feature we're particularly looking forward to trying is the Pro 3's color night vision mode.

Nocturnal security cam footage is typically black and white, but Arlo algorithms allow the camera to cut through the darkness and reveal the color of things like cars and clothing.

It might sound pessimistic, but these are the kind of details that can help law enforcement identify and catch burglars more quickly, before they can strike again.

In addition to color night vision, the Pro 3 is HDR-enabled, which helps you glean more information from the darkest and brightest parts of an image.

Both of these are features that have trickled down from the excellent Arlo Ultra, which is the brand's top of the range 4K wireless security camera.

• Read our Arlo Ultra review

Arlo Pro 3 price and release date

With pricing starting at just $199.99 for a single camera, the Pro 3 sits just below the Ultra in the firm's indoor/outdoor security camera line-up – though those new to the Arlo ecosystem may find an Arlo Pro 3 starter kit a more useful jumping off point.

It's priced at $499.99/$699.99/$1,099.99 for a package featuring two, four and six cameras, respectively, as well as an Arlo SmartHub. This is required to network the cameras to your router. It's essentially a new version of the Arlo Base Station, which costs $79.99 on a standalone basis.

Also bundled are wall mounts, batteries, cables, a three month free Arlo Smart trial and everything else you need to get started.

Pre-orders for the Arlo Pro 3 are now live on Best Buy in black and white color options, with the retailer touting an expected release date of October 2.

Home Security buying guides:

• Best home security system
• Best wireless security camera
• Best DIY home security
• Best video doorbells

The best cameras don’t always have to cost great sums. In fact, if you know what you’re looking for and you’re happy to forgo the latest tech and shiniest features, you can grab yourself an excellent option for less than what you may expect to pay.

How is this possible? Keeping an eye on deals is one option, but asking yourself what you actually need is well worth doing too. After all, today’s cameras are typically specified to a standard higher than the average person needs. Newer models may sometimes have a handful of nice-to-have advantages, but slightly older models are often just as good for the everyday photographer – and they’re often much cheaper.

We’ve done all the hard work of testing and examining the current crop of cameras to find out where the bargains are. So, whether you just fancy a small camera to slip into your pocket for everyday use or something a little more powerful for more demanding subjects, read on.

• Best compact camera: Top compact cameras for all budgets
• Best mirrorless camera: Our pick of the best compact system cameras
• Best DSLR camera: Great value cameras whatever your skill level

1. Canon EOS Rebel T7: Best DSLR overall 

With the previous EOS Rebel T6 now in camera heaven, the EOS Rebel T7 (known as the EOS 2000D outside the US) steps in its place to provide first-time users on a tight budget with a basic but sound DSLR option. The 24.1MP sensor has the same resolution as many pricer cameras, while the 3in LCD is also the same size as those on many far more advanced models. Wi-Fi allows for fuss-free image-sharing out to the wider world, while Full HD video is also on hand when you need it. There’s also a cheaper EOS 4000D variant in some territories, but the EOS Rebel T7 gives you a more advanced sensor, a much better and larger LCD and a sturdy metal lens mount, which makes it a far stronger model.

2. Nikon D3500: best all-rounder

The impressively compact D3500 is Nikon’s latest entry-level DSLRs, and the company has gone to great lengths to make it as user-friendly as possible for the newbie photographer. The menu interface is great on the eye and the Guide Mode walks you through key shooting options in a way everyone can understand, while the ergonomically designed body is far closer to the pricier D5xxx series than earlier models, with a nice deep grip and an excellent physical control setup. At 1,550 shots per charge, battery life is also considerably higher than we normally find on such a camera while Bluetooth lets you send images to your phone without any fuss. OK, so you’ll have to make do without 4K video, and that LCD screen stays in place at all times, but there’s more to love here than there is to moan about.

3. Canon EOS Rebel SL2: Great first-time DSLR

Canon recently updated the EOS Rebel SL2 (known as the EOS 200D outside the US) with the Rebel SL3, but its continuing presence on the market is great for the bargain hunter after a solid first-time DSLR. You can use it with an exhaustive selection of Canon lenses and the impressive Dual Pixel CMOS AF system kicks into play when using live view and during videos, giving you the smooth and fast focus as you’d expect on a mirrorless or compact camera. The 9-point AF system when using the viewfinder is a little more basic by comparison, but that shouldn’t stop you taking great images. If you’re grabbing it with the default 18-55mm kit lens, make sure that lens has Image Stabilizer (I.S.) written on it – some cheaper options don’t and the small saving you make getting this non-IS lens isn’t really worth it.

4. Nikon D5300: Great if you want to get more creative

If you feel you may quickly outgrow the D3500 above, or you’re lucky enough have a little more cash to play with, the D5300 is where you should turn your attention. While both have a 24MP sensor, here you get a 39-point AF system, a larger LCD that flips out and can be turned to face the front and built-in Wi-Fi, in addition to a microphone port for better audio recording and even an integrated GPS system. So, if you’re on your travels, or you want to get creative and shoot from awkward positions, the D5300 might be a better option. It’s a shame it can’t match the D3500’s 1550-shot battery life, but then no other DSLR in this price bracket can right now either.

5. Canon EOS Rebel T7i: Best advanced beginner DSLR

Much like the D5300, the EOS Rebel T7i (known as the EOS 800D outside the US) is an entry-level camera that gives you more to play with and a superior performance next to the more basic DSLR offerings on this list. While the model came along before 4K video started to become standard on such cameras, there’s a great range of physical controls, a flip-out LCD that responds to touch and Canon’s excellent Dual Pixel CMOS AF system for fluid focus in live view and during video recording. And when you’re using the viewfinder to shoot images, you get a comprehensive 45-point AF system, with each point being cross-type for extra sensitivity.

6. Canon EOS M100: Best mirrorless camera overall

This is one of the cheapest mirrorless cameras around, but there are good reasons to consider it over Canon’s more established DSLRs. It’s small, light and comes with a very compact 15-45mm lens as standard, while the flip-up touchscreen is great for selfies. The Dual Pixel CMOS AF system provides speedy focus while Wi-Fi, NFC and Bluetooth also let you get connected to a smart device as simply as possible. The only thing you might want to think twice about is the lens selection, which isn’t too great next to those from rival cameras. But if you don’t plan on building up a whole system and you just need one or two lenses to give you some flexibility, it’s remains a sound option.

7. Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II: Most stylish

The OM-D E-M10 Mark II is another example of a mirrorless camera that may not longer be the newest in the series, but that still packs a punch – and its handsome looks don’t hurt it either. With image stabilization built into it you don’t have to worry about having this in the lens, and as a member of the most mature mirrorless system around, lens options are plentiful. Its small size makes it ideal for travels and holidays, while its tilting touchscreen makes light work of focusing on subjects from all kinds of angles. Pair it with a small lens and you’ve got yourself a camera that’s far more powerful that it might appear to the eye, although the 2x crop factor from the sensor means that it’s great whenever you need extra reach, perhaps for wildlife, nature or sports.

8. Panasonic Lumix GX85: Pocket powerhouse

Panasonic has made a habit of packing plenty of tech into its G-series mirrorless bodies and delivering them at very competitive price points, and the Lumix GX85 (known as the Lumix GX80 outside the US) exemplifies this perfectly. What other mirrorless camera delivers 4K video, a high-resolution electronic viewfinder, sensor-based stabilization and a tilting touchscreen this cheaply? This all means that it’s still relevant three years since its release, although the grip could be a little more ergonomic and those want to use longer lenses might want a more substantial body. Still, you get lots of Micro Four Thirds lenses to choose from, and as a further bonus, you can easily get it into a coat pocket with the default 12-32mm f/3.5-5.6 ASPH MEGA O.I.S. lens.

9. Sony Alpha A5100: Best bargain mirrorless camera

The A5100 might be almost five years old and at the bottom of Sony’s impressive mirrorless camera portfolio, but don’t let that fool you into thinking it’s no longer a great choice. Its 24.3MP sensor, 6fps burst shooting mode and Full HD video options are still the kinds of features we see on entry-level models released today, while the hybrid AF system is something many cheap mirrorless cameras don’t even have. The E PZ 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 OSS default kit lens is also a very compact pancake-style zoom, which means you can take this anywhere. It might not have the very latest tech on board, but there are good reasons Sony has kept this camera going this long.

10. Olympus PEN E-PL9: Best for the fashion conscious

The PEN E-PL9 stands out for its attractive design, but it isn’t just a looker – it’s pretty advanced on the inside too. The 16MP sensor isn’t quite the newest or the most advanced, but the fact that it’s stabilised gives the camera an advantage over rival bodies from the off as you don’t need to worry about this being in the lens. It also records 4K videos, which we don’t always see on mirrorless models at this price point, and has a display that flips all the way around to face the front for selfies. It’s also compatible with many compact Micro Four Thirds lenses, so you can pack a few different options without the whole kit weighing you down. It’s a touch on the pricer side, but it does deliver a fair bit over some of the other mirrorless cameras on this list.

11. SJCAM SJ8 PRO: GoPro rivalling bargain

GoPro may be the brand that comes to mind when you think of action cameras, but a raft of rivals have been battling the market leader for some time with their own competitively priced offerings. And the SJCAM SJ8 PRO delivers a dazzling set of specs at a surprisingly low price, including 4K video recording to 60p, a 2.33-inch touchscreen on the rear, a further display on the front, raw shooting and six-axis stabilization. Unlike GoPro’s offerings it’s not waterproof on its own, but you can easily grab a case for it you plan on shooting anything underwater.

12. Canon PowerShot SX620 HS: Best travel zoom compact

Some superzoom compacts are a little too ambitious for their own good, but the PowerShot SX620 HS keeps things relatively restrained so that it maintains a certain standard of performance. The 20.2MP sensor offers a very respectable output size, while the zoom range stretches to a setting equivalent to 625mm, which is plenty for most users. It’s great to find both Wi-Fi and NFC on board to help you get connected to a smart device without any faff, and there’s even a small flash concealed in the top plate for extra illumination. Admittedly, there’s no 4K video nor a touchscreen, though neither is really critical on a camera of this kind.

13. Panasonic Lumix ZS60: Great vacation compact

Packing a big zoom lens, a viewfinder and some impressive tech in such a small body, the Lumix ZS60 (known as the Lumix TZ80 outside the US) provides far more control than we’d usually get at this level. Raw shooting gives you a better starting point for image processing later on, while 4K video captures far more detail than the Full HD option on rival cameras. Handling is also very nice on account of a defined grip and thumb rest, although to squeeze such a huge lens into that body the sensor is on the small side. So it’s perhaps better when light is good rather than at night and indoors, where it can really show you what it’s capable of. Be warned: with the Lumix ZS70 and and more recent Lumix ZS80 now on the scene, the ZS60 probably won’t be around for a great deal longer.

14. Panasonic Lumix FZ80: Great value bridge camera

Few cameras manage to offer a zoom lens like the Lumix FZ80 (known as the Lumix FZ82 outside the US), and the fact that it begins at 20mm (in 35mm terms) makes it particularly useful for travelling photographers shooting landscapes, cityscapes and any other scenes where you need to get lots into the frame. Other perks include 4K video recording, a touchscreen and an effective image stabilization – which is probably just as well. Is there room for improvement? The screen doesn’t tilt away from the body, which some may expect, and the viewfinder is a little on the small side, although this is generally the case on cameras of this sort. This is a little pricier than some of the other options here, but you do get your money’s worth.

15. Sony RX100: Best bargain enthusiast compact

Small cameras with large, high-quality 1-inch-type sensors are now fairly common, and this was the camera that started that trend. The RX100 delivers great image quality in a tiny package, with a modest 28-100mm lens but fast burst shooting, great Full HD video quality and effective Face Recognition, all inside a tough metal body. As an older model you do miss out on some mods cons, such as 4K video and a tilting touchscreen, and there’s also no viewfinder. But if you’re serious about image quality and you’re on a shoestring, you could do much worse. Got a bit more money to spend? Successive RX100 models that are all still available each add a few extra niceties in line with slightly higher price tags.

* Lens measurements given in 35mm-equivalent terms.

Most security cameras are built to do roughly the same thing, so it’s nice to see the Hive View do something a bit different. Although it can operate as a standard indoor security camera, this model also has an integrated battery, so that you can remove the camera component and use it to temporarily monitor an area, for example when you’re unloading your car or want to keep an eye on baby.

With 24-hour cloud recording included for free, the Hive View is a product that you can buy and never spend another dollar on, unlike the Nest Cam, which is reliant on a Nest Aware subscription for many of its features.

• Best wireless indoor security cameras
• Best outdoor security cameras

Features

• Free 24-hour cloud recording
• Actions enable the camera to integrate with other Hive products 
• Simple operation

The Hive View is controlled entirely through the Hive app, which is also used for other Hive devices, including Active Heating 2 and Active Light smart bulbs.

Out of the box, the Hive View starts recording as soon as it detects motion. Tap the camera and you’ll see a list of motion events listed by date – you can filter these by date, but not by time. As the camera records every time it spots motion, and doesn’t suppress alerts if it picks up multiple movements in a short time, you can end up with a huge list of events to scroll through.

Each event is marked with a thumbnail, but picking out the ones you’re interested in can be tough from the often long list. Once you’ve found an event you’re interested in, you can download it to your smartphone to preserve the evidence – this is a feature that was noticeably missing at launch, so it’s good that Hive has added it.

By default, you get 24 hours of free cloud recording, which should do for occasional monitoring. If you need longer you can upgrade to Hive Video Playback for $3.99 a month, which gives you 30 days of video history and covers up to five cameras.

If you’re getting too many alerts, the Hive View has a few tricks to help reduce the number of notifications. First, you can set up to four Activity Zones, quickly marking the parts of the image that you’re interested in.

You can also adjust the motion sensitivity, although this option is global and can’t be controlled on a zone-by-zone basis. Likewise, you can set the motion detection to only detect people, but you can’t configure this option by zone, as you can with the Nest Cam. The Hive View also offers sound detection, with Low, Medium and High sensitivity settings. Medium or Low worked best for us – on High the camera was a little too sensitive to any sound.

Out of the box, the Hive View is set to record at 720p, although you can increase the video quality to 1080p. Provided your internet connection is fast enough we recommend the higher-resolution setting to get the best image quality.

From the app, you can toggle the camera on or off by tapping the shield icon, and you can also schedule when the camera is active. There’s no option to have the camera turn on and off automatically as you leave the house and return based on your phone’s location data, as there is with Nest’s cameras, geofencing in these options but via the Actions menu you can have your Hive View turn on when you go out at the tap of a button – it would be nice if Hive could automate this feature.

Actions also enable you to integrate the Hive View other Hive products. Using the pre-defined rules you can turn on a light when the camera detects motion, or resume your heating schedule when motion is detected.

The IFTTT (If This Then That) channel is neat, too. It gives you two actions – to turn monitoring on or off – and you can have your camera turn on or off automatically using a range of inputs, say pressing a smart Flic button or when you leave an area, creating your own ‘geofencing’ setup. It’s a shame that Hive doesn’t provide any Triggers, so you can’t control other devices when the Hive View detects motion.

It’s a shame there are no Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant skills available, so you currently can’t livestream the Hive View’s footage to a device such as the Amazon Echo Show or Google Home Hub.

The only way to watch the livestream is via the app. Once in the live view, you can use the two-way talk feature to have a conversation with anyone you see – the Hive View’s speaker is surprisingly loud and clear, and there’s only a brief delay in speech. If you want to try and scare off an intruder you can play the sound of a dog barking or a siren, although both seem to be a little quiet to be very effective.

The really clever feature of the Hive View is that you can remove the main camera from its base and use it battery-powered for around an hour. You get a notification when the battery is almost discharged, prompting you to either plug in a USB cable or connect the camera to its charging stand. There’s even the option to play a lullaby if you want to use the camera as a temporary baby monitor.

In battery mode you need to be a bit careful, as activity zones you’ve created may no longer line up with the part of the image you want to record.

Design and build

• Flexible stand that can be desk or wall mounted
• Main camera is detachable for quick monitoring of other areas
• You can charge the camera directly or via the main stand

Few security cameras look great, but the Hive View is one that does. Available in Black and Brushed Copper or White and Champagne Gold, the Hive View may well be one of the first security cameras that you’d actually be happy to have on display.

The main camera body is squeezed into a 56mm-square cube. It’s a robust and tough-feeling bit of kit, with its curved edges helping to soften the appearance.

Set-up is exceptionally easy: plug in the micro USB power cable, connect the camera to your Wi-Fi (2.4GHz and 5GHz 802.11b/g/n) and then use the Hive app to join the Hive View to your network and you’re good to go.

The design is also very practical. The camera magnetically attaches to the stand, with the connection also transferring power. The camera can swivel on this attachment, and you can rotate and adjust the stand’s angle. Combined with the camera’s 130-degree lens, it’s easy to adjust the camera to cover the desired area. If you prefer, you can magnetically attach the base to something metal, or you can wall-mount the entire thing to give you the coverage you want.

Performance

• Few false positives, but motion can generate a lot of alerts and clips
• Clips stored online for free, but it can be hard to find the one you want
• Decent video quality, with enough detail to clearly make out individuals

Where the Hive View falls down slightly is by often generating multiple alerts and clips for a single instance of motion. Other systems will typically record longer clips, but the Hive View tends to give you lots of short clips, often timestamped to the same minute. As such, it’s worth turning the camera off when you’re not using it to avoid filling your timeline with clips.

That said, the Hive View doesn’t generate many false positives when configured with activity zones and with the motion sensitivity adjusted properly. In other words, you typically only get a lot of alerts when there’s something for the camera to shout about.

Image quality is decent for the most part, although if it’s pointed at a bright window the interior of the room tends to look a little dark. The final video lacks some of the sharpness and detail of the best cameras, such as the Nest Cam IQ, but you can still clearly make out individuals.

At night, the Hive View turns on its IR LEDs to light up a room. They’re powerful enough to tackle most rooms, although as with other cameras IR softens the image, and the picture gets noisier and less detailed. There’s a more general softening of the picture, too, making finer details hard to make out. Skipping through the video frame by frame, we could find one in which individuals are easy to make out, although we had to use VLC media player to skip through the video, as using QuickTime created corrupt frames.

Verdict

With its free cloud storage and battery-operated mode, the Hive View is an attractive and flexible security camera – and if you need cloud storage for longer periods, the plans are exceptionally well priced. This camera gets the basics right, although it lacks some of the finesse of the competition, such as the Nest Cam, which costs the same.

In particular, the Hive View has fairly rudimentary activity zone and motion detection controls, which can lead to the app being bombarded with alerts. The Nest Cam has a far neater app that makes it easier to find motion alerts, although the trade-off is a heavier monthly cost for the Nest Aware subscription.

Overall, though, the Hive View’s low price and free cloud storage make it a decent choice for basic monitoring, and for those who don’t want to get lumbered with a monthly cloud storage plan.

• Best wireless indoor security cameras
• Best outdoor security cameras

Flexibility is one of the most important things about having a security camera and the indoor/outdoor Logitech Circle 2 delivers on this. Available in both a wired and wireless version, we have the slightly more expensive latter version on test ($199).

While other wireless cameras, such as the Arlo Pro 2 system, require a base station, the Logitech Circle 2 runs entirely off of your wireless network. This helps keep the price down, as you’re only paying for the camera. A wide-range of accessories and free cloud storage help boost this camera’s credentials, although the slightly annoying app and less than perfect image quality do let the side down.

• Best wireless indoor security cameras
• Best outdoor security cameras

Features

• Free cloud storage
• Activity Zones via Circle Safe Premium subscription
• Ultra wide-angle view

The Logitech Circle 2 is controlled via the Logitech Circle app for your phone. Irritatingly, it runs entirely in landscape mode, which makes holding your phone awkward and it’s frustrating that there’s no portrait mode. It’s trivial to connect the Circle 2 to the app, although you need to have it plugged in and charging first.

You get free 24-hours of Circle Free cloud storage with the camera, although you first get a 10-day trial of the Circle Safe Premium Edition, which also adds 31-day cloud storage, Motion Zones and custom notifications that can warn you when a person has been spotted only. After the trial, this version costs $9.99 a month (or $99.99 a year). There’s also the optional Basic plan ($3.99 a month), which is the same as the free version but gives you 14 days of storage.

These plans work out being quite expensive, with Nest Aware for the Nest cameras costing less than the Premium version. While the entry-level Nest Aware subscription only gives you five-days of video history, the footage is recorded continuously; the Circle 2 only records clips when motion is detected.

Which version of Circle Safe is worth paying for largely depends on the level of storage that you need and where the camera is placed. If you’re going to use it outside, then Motion Zones becomes a more critical feature, as you can set the areas that you want to watch and ignore all other activity, such as people walking past your house.

If you do go for Circle Safe Premium, Motion Zones have to be created through the website, and aren’t available in the app, which is quite annoying as there’s no technical reason why the app can’t have this feature.

Regardless of whether you set Motion Zones, you can limit how annoying the camera is by configuring Smart Alerts. These let you set the types of alerts that you get. First, you can choose alerts by the level of motion: gray (low) or blue (high). In addition, you can set the frequency of alerts in minutes (1m, 15m or 30m), reducing how often your phone can send you notifications.

If you have Circle Safe Premium, you can tell Circle 2 to only notify you about movement in your Motion Zones and to only tell you about people, rather than any motion detected.

In wireless mode, the camera uses a low-power PIR motion sensor to pick up movement, before waking the camera to start recording. This helps save on battery life, and you can tweak the sensitivity of the camera’s low-power motion sensor if you’re getting too many recordings. There’s a handy test mode to help you get things right, too, with the camera flashing its LED when it picks up movement.

To further save on battery life, the Circle 2 also limits its recording length to a choice of 10s, 30s or 60s. It’s worth playing with this setting to make sure that you capture all of the movement that you need and that clips aren’t truncated.

In wireless mode, it’s worth carefully positioning the camera so that it’s not focused on areas that are naturally busy, such as a street. Where there’s a lot of motion, the constant call for your camera to wake up can drain the battery faster.

If you permanently wired the camera in, these limitations disappear and the Circle 2 records until motion stops, and motion is detected using the camera’s image sensor only, not the PIR motion sensor.

Image quality is set to 720p by default to save bandwidth, but if your Wi-Fi network can take it, you should up to the full resolution of 1080p. At night, the Circle 2 has IR LEDs that light up the night.

Audio is recorded by default, although you can turn off the microphone if you don’t want to record sound. You can also use the Circle 2’s microphone and speaker to have a two-way chat with anyone on the other end. The speaker is loud and clear enough for this job, and two-way chat can be a handy way of warning off someone up to no good. In battery-powered mode, the camera can take an age to wake up and for the app to connect to the live view, though.

Recorded video is available by cycling through the icons on the app’s main page. Each icon is colored to show the level of activity (blue for high, gray for low) and has the recording time stamped in it. As you scroll through the recordings, the main image changes to show you a thumbnail of the activity, which is neat. You can filter by day, activity level and, depending on your subscription, people. Even so, a neat list of videos with thumbnails would be easier to navigate through.

To save any evidence that your camera may have recorded, you can download any clips to your smartphone or, if you’re using the web interface, your computer.

There’s also an option to generate a Day Brief video, which shows you a sped-up collection of video highlights from the day. It’s a little odd and feels like it should probably be set to the Benny Hill music.

To control when your camera can record, there are a few options. Manually, you can turn the camera off completely, but you can also just disable recording: nothing is recorded but you can still jump into the live view.

There’s also Geo Location via the Smart Location option, which tracks your position via your phone. When you come close to your camera, Geo Location can either turn on privacy mode (you don’t get alerts) or disable the camera. There’s no scheduling option for this camera, which limits its flexibility: it would be nice for your camera to turn off when you’re at home but to have the option of it turning on at night for security.

There are two Amazon Alexa Skills. The first one is for camera control and lets you start a recording, turn on a camera or turn off privacy mode. You can’t use Alexa to turn your camera off, though. The second Skill lets you view the livestream from your camera on a screen-enabled device, such as the Amazon Echo Show. The Google Home Skill is more limited and only lets you view a live stream on a screen, such as a Google Home Hub. All live streams take a while to start if you have the Circle 2 in battery mode, as the camera first has to wake.

There’s an IFTTT app, which lets you trigger other devices when motion is detected, plus you can also make your camera record and turn it on or off, letting you create your own control rules.

Be careful when you’re searching for the skills or IFTTT channel, as the names change. On Alexa and Google, they’re called Logi Circle, on IFTTT, it’s Logitech Circle. This is a result of Logitech’s confusing branding, where the company seems to use two brand name interchangeably.

Design and build

• Clever and flexible accessories
• Flexible stand for bookcase or wall mount
• In-camera charging

The Logitech Circle 2 is all about flexibility thanks to the way that the camera module is removable. With the battery model, you first have to screw the camera into the battery.

The flexible stand then clips into this and can either be placed on a flat surface or screwed into a wall. Freestanding, it’s a touch wobbly and you have to be careful where you point the camera so that it doesn’t fall over. A wider base would have been nice. There’s a great deal of flexibility with the wall-mount option and it’s possible to point the camera where you want. Add in the massive 180-degree wide-angle lens and you can easily cover the area that you want.

It’s the accessories that make this product stand out, with an optional window mount that’s also powered, spare batteries, a plug mount that lets you just plug the camera into a wall socket, and a weatherproof extension to get an additional 4.5m of range on the wired model. 

Battery life on the camera should come in at around three months, although the level of use and how often the Circle 2 is triggered will affect this.

Performance

• Smart alerts cut down on notifications
• Sharp video but the camera can struggle in bright light
• Activity zones help focus the camera

Recording at Full HD resolution, there’s a decent amount of detail in the image, with only some softness to the background. Careful placement of the camera has to be taken into account. With bright sun outside pointing at the camera, we found that the main image was very dark and there was even some lens flare.

Without direct sunlight, the camera can still make the main image a little dark, although it’s possible to find a frame from captured footage where a person is clearly identifiable, which is the point of a security camera after all. There are better-quality outdoor cameras, such as the Nest Cam Outdoor.

At night, the Logitech Circle 2 has IR LEDs to light up the garden. The result isn’t the best that we’ve seen. The final video was very noisy making it much harder to find a frame where someone was identifiable. You can still work out what’s going on in general, but the footage isn’t as clean as from some rival models and we found it hard to capture an individual’s defining features.

Although the camera can be slow to respond to requests from the app, it wakes up and starts recording quickly enough. We found that at 30s recording lengths, we managed to capture the detail that we needed; 10s clips were a little short and could get truncated missing some of the action.

Without Motion Zones turned on, we found that the camera recorded a lot more clips, although Smart Alerts at least suppressed how many notifications we got on your phone. We liked the person detection option, too, which worked reliably for us, further reducing the number of alerts that we got.

Verdict

Getting a security camera in the right place to cover the areas you need is often about finding a model that’s flexible enough. That’s certainly the Logitech Circle 2, which can act completely wirelessly without a base station, and has a range of accessories for other installations. 

Free cloud storage is nice to see and we like the Smart Alerts, which keep the number of notifications you get on your phone to a minimum. Running at full resolution, with the camera in the right position, image quality during the day and night are both excellent.

Where the Circle 2 starts to fall down is the quality of the app, which is frustrating to use in landscape mode only. And, to really get the most out of the camera and add Motion Zones, you have to spend a fair chunk on an upgraded cloud storage plan. Of course, how important Motion Zones are to you will depend on where you want to place the camera: if you can angle it to avoid too many alerts, then you can save a lot of money.

The Nest Cam Outdoor gives you better-quality video and has a better cloud service, although it does have to be wired in. The Arlo Pro 2 is a flexible and powerful wireless system, although it’s more expensive than the Circle 2. On balance, there are better-quality cameras with cheaper cloud options, but for the right places and uses, the Circle 2’s attractive price and flexible installation options could make it a winner for some.

• Best wireless indoor security cameras
• Best outdoor security cameras

The Nest Cam Outdoor is impressive in that it’s a mains-powered external camera that can be configured in minutes. To see how it scored against other cameras we've reviewed, read our full guide to the best outdoor security cameras.

An excellent app and continuous recording make the Nest Cam Outdoor one of the few products that give you 24-hour security coverage, although the reliance on a Nest Aware subscription for the full range of features makes it slightly more expensive to maintain than its competition.

It also lacks some of the more advanced features of its high-end stablemate, the Nest Cam IQ Outdoor; but with a much lower price of around $199, the Nest Cam Outdoor is arguably the better choice for many.

If you're considering indoor models too, don't miss our guide covering the best wireless security cameras. 

Nest Cam Outdoor: Features

• Continuous recording for 24/7 monitoring
• Highest video quality setting produces excellent video
• Scheduling option doesn’t work nicely with Home/Away Assist

The Nest Cam Outdoor is controlled through the Nest app, which will first connect your camera to your wireless network. The camera supports 5GHz 802.11a and 2.4GHz 802.11b/g/n networks; you’ll want to use at least 802.11n to provide enough bandwidth for the best quality settings. Nest will try and use other devices you already have, such as the Nest Protect, to help make the Wi-Fi connection. In our experience, though, this doesn’t always work brilliantly, and you may need to move your camera closer to your other Nest devices to get it connected. 

At its most basic, the Nest Cam Outdoor can just detect motion and send your smartphone an alert via the app, complete with a thumbnail video clip. To really get the most out of the camera, you need to upgrade to a Nest Aware subscription, which adds cloud storage for video and some additional features. In short, if you’re going to buy the Nest Cam Outdoor but don’t want a monthly fee, look elsewhere.

There are two tiers of subscription. Nest Aware is $9 a month, and for that, you get 30-days worth of video history. If that's not enough, the Nest Aware Plus subscription will give you 60 days of event video history, and 10 days of constant 24-hour video history. These packages include all of the Nest cameras that you have. 

A key selling point for Nest Aware is that it adds additional features to the Nest Cam Outdoor. Top of the list is Activity Zones, which lets you define the part of the image that you want to monitor for motion. You can create up to three zones via the app (a recent addition – previously Activity Zones had to be created in the web app).

For each Activity Zone, you can choose whether you want to be notified about People or All other motion. And, there’s a useful Outside a Zone area, which covers all other parts of the video image.

Using the combination of smart alerts and Activity Zones, it’s easy to get your camera focused on the areas of the image you want monitored, ignoring unimportant areas that could otherwise result in a flood of unnecessary notifications; for example, there’s no point in monitoring a busy road outside your house, unless you really want a notification every time someone walks past.

If you turn on the microphone, you can also get the Nest Cam Outdoor to alert you to people talking, dogs barking or other loud noises. Sound notifications require you to have the camera’s microphone turned on for recording audio alongside video.

There’s two-way chat built into the Nest Cam Outdoor, activated via the microphone icon in the app’s live view. This works pretty well, with only a short delay, and the Nest Cam Outdoor’s speaker is fairly loud – handy if you spot someone outside of your house and want to warn them off.

The Nest Cam Outdoor has three quality settings, based on the expected bandwidth use. High-quality video is set to use a hefty 300GB of data a month, Medium is 120GB per month, and Low is 30GB per month. Unless you have a limited or slow internet connection go for at least Medium, if not High, otherwise image quality and resolution take a real hit.

Although the Nest Cam Outdoor can record continuously, you can also control when it’s active. Geolocation via the Home/Away Assist function can use your smartphone (and those of other house members) to turn your camera on when you go out and off when you get home. If you prefer, you can set schedules instead, defining the times when your camera is active.

You can’t use scheduling and Home/Away Assist at the same time, though, as you can get conflicts where your camera turns off when you’re out. That’s a shame, as the two features should be able to co-exist – for example, we’d like to have the Nest Cam Outdoor turn on when we go out and also turn on during the night regardless of whether we’re home or not. As a result, we just leave our camera on permanently.

All footage is saved to the cloud, and you can scroll through it on your phone or tablet, with ‘events’ – Nest’s term for instances of activity recorded by the camera – highlighted by a thumbnail and color-coded to the Activity Zone they were triggered in. The smoothness with which you can scroll through footage is impressive, and if you want to find a specific event you can use the Event history option, and filter events by type. 

Event clips can be saved to your Nest account and to your phone, and you can also create your own clips for start and end times that you define.

Smart assistant integration is built in, with screen-enabled Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant devices, such as the Amazon Echo Show and Google Home Hub, able to stream footage directly from the camera, which can be a handy way to see what’s going on if you don’t have your phone to hand.

A full IFTTT (if this, then that) channel lets you control other devices when your camera spots sound or motion – for example you can set this to turn on a Philips Hue light – although you may find it easier to use the excellent Works with Nest rules. There are a range of rules available, depending on which products you have. For example, if you have Philips Hue lighting your camera can turn on lights after a short delay when it spots activity, to create the appearance of someone being at home.

Nest Cam Outdoor: Design and build

• A great-looking camera that’s easy to install
• Magnetic mount makes adjusting the camera easy
• Neat cable clips help keep your installation tidy

A good security camera should stick out enough so that it’s noticed, therefore acting as a deterrent, but also look nice enough so as not to spoil the appearance of your home, and it’s something Nest manages to get right with the Cam Outdoor.

Its white, curved body looks great and has the build quality we’ve come to expect from Nest. In the hand, the Nest Cam Outdoor feels tough, and we love the soft-touch plastic casing.

Installation is often one of the biggest challenges with an outdoor camera, but the Nest Cam Outdoor is designed to make this easy. The camera has a captive USB power cable, which you run to the outdoor, weatherproof junction box. The junction box can then simply be plugged into a standard outdoor power socket – if you don’t have one, you’ll have to drill a hole in the wall to feed the power cable through. Nest provides flat cable clips so that you can keep your cable run tidy.

Neatly, Nest uses a circular magnetic mount, which has to be screwed into a wall. This may require you to drill a couple of holes, although you can attach the mount directly to wood. As the mount is round, you don’t need a spirit level, as you can’t go wrong.

Once done, the ball-shaped rear of the Nest Cam Outdoor attaches magnetically to the mount. This connection gives you plenty of movement so that you can adjust the camera to cover the exact area you want. We’ve had the camera up in high winds, and the magnetic connection has proved to be hugely reliable.

The main disadvantage here is that the Nest Cam Outdoor is easy to steal, or just knock to the floor. Odds are that you’d catch the perpetrator at work, but it’s worth thinking about positioning when you install the camera, and making sure to eliminate any blind spots from where someone could sneak up on the camera. 

Nest Cam Outdoor: Performance

• Excellent motion detection with few false positives
• High-quality video footage at night and during the day
• Continuous recording lets you view any incident

The Nest Cam Outdoor excels at not being too annoying with its alerts. While the number of unnecessary alerts can be kept to a minimum by correctly configuring notifications and Activity Zones, the underlying motion detection technology is excellent, and as a result the Nest Cam Outdoor doesn’t send alerts for foliage blowing in the wind or shadows moving.

That’s not to say it’s perfect. A billowing furniture cover occasionally triggered our Nest Cam Outdoor to suggest there was a person in the backyard, and insects crawling over the lens or flying close to the camera can also trigger a motion detection warning. These are just facts of life for a camera that’s outside, though, and Nest does a good job of suppressing further notifications so that you don’t get a string of alerts in a row.

Image quality is excellent, with the Nest Cam Outdoor doing well in a variety of daylight conditions, from overcast days to bright sunny ones. In all cases there’s plentiful detail in the image with little softness, enabling you to pick out fine details and easily recognize faces in the picture.

At night, the Nest Cam Outdoor turns on its IR lights, ably lighting up a large area (we managed 30ft with no problems). Night vision softens the image, though, and the picture gets noticeably noisier, with less detail than during the day. Even so, it was easy enough to find a frame that captured us sharply, showing that it’s still possible to spot individuals in footage.

In all cases, if you choose to record audio you get clear playback. Nest uses some high-quality noise reduction algorithms, so you can still pick out important details even if there’s a storm blowing outside.

What’s particularly impressive is that you can scroll back through any recorded history, so even if a particular incident isn’t captured and tagged as an event is not recorded, you can go back and view any time period to collect evidence when you need it.

Should you buy the Nest Cam Outdoor?

Most other security cameras only capture footage when motion is detected, but the Nest Cam Outdoor can offer continuous recording, so you can go back and examine footage even when the motion detection has failed you, and this alone makes it a great security tool.

The downside is that the camera is heavily reliant on the Nest Aware subscription service. While the relatively new five-day plan has brought the cost down, Nest Aware is still more expensive than competing services, so you’ll need to decide if you’re happy paying monthly for what it offers.

If you are, then the Nest Cam Outdoor’s ease of installation, excellent motion detection (both in detecting important events and ignoring unimportant ones), and brilliant app make it one of the best security cameras you can buy. The more expensive Nest Cam IQ Outdoor offers better image quality, making it easier to identify subjects and faces, but it’s a lot more expensive. On balance, then, the combination of features and price, not to mention the best cloud service in the business, make the Nest Cam Outdoor the best choice for most people.

The Arlo Ultra is the first camera that can actually record in 4K, bringing the best possible footage to protect your home. To compare it with the other models we've reviewed, head to our guide covering the best outdoor security cameras around. 

Well, in theory at least, as out-of-the-box, the Arlo Ultra has limited 4K support and you either need to pay more to upgrade your cloud account or stream video locally. Still, the ease of installation thanks to an entirely wire-free system means that the Arlo Ultra remains one of the easiest cameras to get working, whether you want to use it inside or out.

At around $399.99 for a single camera and base station, the Arlo Ultra is one of the most expensive security system available, with twin packs costing $599.99, giving you a slight discount. You can add older Arlo Pro 2 cameras to the base station to expand coverage at the expense of image quality if you prefer, helping to flesh out your security system.

Arlo Ultra: Features

• Local and cloud storage recording options
• Smart notifications bring animal, people and vehicle detection
• Clever use of modes gets your cameras working the way you want

The Arlo Ultra is operated and controlled entirely through the Arlo app. There’s a web version available, although this used Flash for live video, so you’re better of sticking with the smartphone apps. 

The Arlo Ultra can record directly to a microSD card installed into the base station, so you don’t need a cloud subscription. However, the Arlo Smart cloud system gives you more features including advanced motion detection, cloud storage and configurable Activity Zones. Arlo Ultra ships with one year of Arlo Smart Premier, which gives you 30-days of video history for up to 10 cameras and e911 calls, which connect you to an emergency responder near your home, not near your current location.

Normally Arlo Smart Premier costs $2.99 a month. There’s also the choice of Arlo Elite Plan for $4.99 a month per camera, which is suitable for up to 4K cameras.

If you don’t want to pay this much, then you can insert an SD card into the base station and record 4K video there. Even then, if you want the best quality live stream, you have to turn on Local 4K Live Streaming, which disables the Auto Zoom & Tracking option that follows detected motion. Note that outside of your home network, the Arlo Ultra streams at 1080p only.

Configuring the camera is helped by two utilities. First, there’s a video test that helps you line up the camera properly: the idea is to keep motion detection outside of the shaded part of the image. Secondly, there’s a Motion Detection Test that makes the camera flash yellow when triggered, so you can test if the Arlo Ultra will work as you want it.

With an Arlo Smart subscription, you can set up Activity Zones, configuring the parts of the image where you want motion notifications. This can dramatically cut down on false positives, preventing the camera from triggering, for example, every time someone walks past your front yard.

It’s a shame that you can’t configure notifications on a zone basis. Instead, the Smart Notifications features are configurable per camera only and let you choose if you want a notification for People, Vehicles, Animals or all other motion. The accuracy is pretty impressive, so you can use these options to cut down on the number of alerts you get.

In Beta is the new Package Detection feature that will attempt to tell you if someone’s trying to deliver something to your home. The Arlo Ultra has to be placed head-on to your front path to work properly. A smart doorbell is probably a better option, so you can speak to a courier when they ring.

Audio is set to record automatically, although the Arlo Ultra can’t listen out for specific sounds, such as people talking or dogs barking; something the rival Nest Cam Outdoor can do. You can set it to listen out for loud sounds and adjust the sensitivity. How useful this feature is will depend on how noisy it is around you. If you have the camera particularly exposed, you may want the Reduce Wind Noise feature turned on; we found that audio was clear enough regardless.

You can have a two-way chat with little delay through the app, which could be a handy way of scaring away someone suspicious. There’s also a siren built into the camera, which is loud enough to attract attention but isn’t as loud as a proper alarm system. The siren is triggered via the app.

There’s not much control over the video settings, bar turning on local 4K streaming. Image quality is largely dictated by the battery life setting, with better-quality video shortening life. Unless you’re running into real issues, we recommend going for the best quality option. For night-time, the Arlo Ultra can use its spotlight to highlight what’s going on, and uses a combination of IR and the color sensor to give you a full-color night-time image.

All recorded video is saved to your Library, where you can view by date and filter by camera and recording type (person, animal, etc). It’s easy to find the event that you want and you can download the footage to your phone to save it. However, unless you’ve paid extra for the 4K video recording, all footage is saved at 1080p. Currently, there’s no way to download video from the microSD card slot either, bar removing it from the base station and plugging it into your computer.

Camera operation is largely controlled via the mode. You can manually set the cameras to be Armed or Disarmed using the app, but you can also automate control via a schedule or geo-fencing. Neatly, geo-fencing lets you revert to a schedule when you’re at home, so you can, for example, have your cameras record when you go out and then turn on at night when you’re in bed. 

You can set custom modes too, defining how each camera will operate. These rules can be used in schedules, too. For example, you may want a night-time mode that turns on the cameras you’ve installed outside but not the ones inside.

There’s an IFTTT channel that lets you trigger devices when the Arlo Ultra spots movement, and you can Arm or Disarm your system using the Actions, say turning on the system when you press a smart button. There’s a plan for the Arlo Ultra base station to be able to control other devices automatically, and it will support Zigbee smart home products; at time of writing, these options aren’t enabled.

Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant support let you stream footage from your camera to a smart display, such as an Echo Show or Google Home Hub.

Arlo Ultra: Design and build

• Easy installation via magnetic mount (screw fitting can also be used)
• Tough-feeling and heavy camera
• Base station needs careful positioning for the best signal strength

The Arlo Ultra is a system of two parts, with the base station acting as the bridge between Arlo cameras (it supports Arlo Ultra, Arlo Pro 2 and Arlo Pro cameras). This updated bridge no longer has the siren built in, with the Arlo Ultra now having this feature. As with all smart home hubs, the Arlo Ultra’s is a plain white box that you’ll want to tuck out of the way.

The Arlo Ultra camera is a reassuringly heavy bit of kit, with a neat finish. To install the battery, you slide the back cover off and then insert the rechargeable battery. There’s a new magnetic connector for charging, which you can do in-situ or you can bring the Arlo Ultra inside.

Arlo says that batteries can last up to six months, depending on use. We found that we lost around 4% charge per week, so around 20 weeks’ use seems about right from our experience.

Installation of the Arlo Ultra is really simple, as there are no cables to run. Instead, the magnetic mount has to be attached to the wall and then the Arlo Ultra grabs onto this. The mount gives plenty of room for maneuvering and getting the angle that you want. It’s strong, too, with high winds not blowing the camera off its axis. If you prefer, the Arlo Ultra has a standard screw at the rear for a more secure fitting; the magnetic mount makes the camera easy to steal or to knock off the wall.

Each Arlo Ultra camera connects to your network through the base station, using a 5GHz wireless signal. The range will depend on the build of your house. Testing in an old Victorian house with thick brick walls, we found that we had to place the bridge out in the open to get a signal through the walls.

Arlo Ultra: Performance

• Excellent smart notifications that spot people, animals and vehicles
• Super-sharp video in 4K, but 1080p performance is less impressive
• Can track subjects if you turn off 4K streaming

Video quality is quite amazing when you can stream or view the 4K feed. With HDR and a 180-degree lens, we found that the Arlo Ultra managed to capture everything in a lot of detail, regardless of the outside weather conditions, from bright sun to torrential rain.

As you can see from the sample image below, the 4K quality is outstanding, with fine detail throughout the video, making it easy to work out what’s going on and to spot individuals clearly.

Stopping down to 1080p, downloading the same footage from the cloud and things are less impressive, with the image getting noticeable software and losing the sharpness that it had. If you’re not going to pay for the 4K cloud storage, then the Arlo Ultra loses a lot of its benefit and a 1080p camera will do the job.

At night, footage remains excellent, with the color night-time shot, aided by the spotlight helping to see what’s going on, avoiding some of the softness issues that IR-only cameras have. Again, the 4K sample is better, and the 1080p shot (above) loses some of the detail that the camera is capable of capturing.

We found with Activity Zones set up that the Arlo Ultra didn’t bombard us with alerts, particularly when we used smart alerts to only watch for people. You have to configure zones carefully, making sure that you’re not looking for anything at the top of the image. If you do, then the Arlo Ultra isn’t as sensitive and can either miss movement entirely or you get an incomplete video with only a little motion captured. At first, we had a few incidents, where the Arlo Ultra only captured a leg as a person disappeared around our bay window out of sight. Readjusting the camera and zones soon fixed these problems.

We initially had a problem where the Arlo Ultra started giving us notifications for motion outside of the zones we’d set, and our camera’s battery depleted over a couple of days. A more recent update and careful positioning of the camera fixed the issue for us and we received dramatically fewer notifications and our library contained fewer recorded incidents, although there were still some recorded events with motion outside of the zones that we had set.

To save on battery power, camera position is important. The Arlo Ultra uses its PIR motion sensor to detect motion, waking the camera up to start recording. The cloud service analyses the video and decides whether or not to send an alert based on where the motion took place. As a result, if you point the Arlo Ultra at a busy location, it’s likely to drain the battery fast, even if you have few notifications, as the camera will keep waking up.

This is less of an issue if you power the camera constantly, but on battery power, you should point the camera as far away from busy areas as you can, focusing the Arlo Ultra on the area you’re interested in. We tilted the camera downwards so that the camera could see less of the road. With the camera in its new position, only a few people walking past the house would set the camera off, but we reduced alerts and recordings to people on our property, preserving battery life.

Should you buy the Arlo Ultra?

The Arlo Ultra is a mix of the incredible and slightly annoying. Despite its high cost, the ease of installation makes this a great camera to use inside or out. And, it’s part of a flexible and powerful security system that makes it easy to add cameras around your home, all with simple control over when they should work.

At its best, the 4K footage is incredible, delivering detail that other cameras can’t produce. Yet, the 4K option is severely limited, either requiring a cheeky extra monthly cost or a microSD card that you can’t access without removing it.

While the cloud activity zones should be the highlight of the product, they result in fewer notifications but positioning the camera carefully is the only way to preserve battery life.

For the best footage and most flexible install, this is a great camera, but the Nest Cam Outdoor is cheaper and has more flexible notification options.

The Nest Cam IQ Indoor was the first security camera from a big manufacturer to use a 4K sensor, and it remains one of the best-quality security cameras you can buy. Although the footage is only saved to the cloud at 1080p, the higher-quality initial recording gives you some of the best video quality you can get. More than that, the high-resolution sensor enables some neat tricks, including the ability to track an intruder through your home, and facial recognition.

Throw in the camera’s ability to become a makeshift Google Home smart speaker, and the Nest Cam IQ is one of the best security cameras you can buy. However, the high initial price, and the reliance on Nest Aware for the more advanced features, may make this a camera that’s a little too expensive for some.

• Best wireless indoor security cameras
• Best outdoor security cameras

Features

• Continuous video recording with a Nest Aware subscription
• Can work as a rudimentary Google Home smart speaker
• Geo-location and video scheduling, although not together

As with Nest’s other cameras, the Nest Cam IQ Outdoor is controlled via the excellent Nest app, which also takes care of the company’s other devices, including the Nest Learning Thermostat and Nest Protect smoke alarm/carbon monoxide detector.

Once your camera is recognized in the app, you get very basic operation: the camera can tell you when there’s motion, although no video is recorded. Thanks to its 4K sensor and high-power processor, the Nest Cam IQ Indoor can tell the difference between general motion and a person, something the Nest Cam requires a Nest Aware subscription for.

As neat as that is, if you want the more advanced features and the ability to record footage you’ll still need to take out a Nest Aware subscription. Five-day video history, with 24/7 continuous recording, costs $5 a month or $50 a year; 10-day video history is $10 a month or $10 a year, and 30-day is $30 a month or $300 a year. For most people, the five-day history will provide more than enough footage, and ample time to save any crucial footage before it’s deleted. Nest offers discounts of up to 50% on subscriptions for additional cameras. 

Even considering that you get continuous recording, whereas most cameras only record clips when motion triggers the camera, Nest Aware is comparatively expensive, so you’ll want to factor in the yearly cost when weighing up pricing options.

As to those additional features that come with Nest Aware, key to cutting down on a surge of notifications are Activity Zones, which let you choose which areas of the video feed to monitor. For example, you can watch a door, or choose to ignore the lower part of the image to avoid pets triggering your camera. There’s also a catch-all Outside a Zone area, which is all other parts of the image.

You can set which notifications you want to receive per zone: People and/or All other motion. Person detection proved very reliable in our testing, so turning on notifications for people only is a good way to cut down superfluous alerts. 

If you turn on your camera’s microphone for recording, you can also set the camera to listen out for noises, including people talking, dog barking and all other sounds. How useful these features will be depends to some degree on how noisy your house is, but sound detection another way to capture a potential intrusion, even if you can’t see who’s in your home.

Having a speaker and microphone in the camera enables you to have a two-way chat using the app – useful if you need to scare off someone in your home who shouldn’t be there, as well as for household communication. The Nest Cam IQ Indoor’s speaker is loud, and there’s only a little delay in the connection, so conversations are easy to have.

Familiar Faces is Nest’s facial recognition technology, which enables the camera to tell the difference between strangers and dangers. When your camera spots new faces, you can tell it if you know the person or not, and name the people you do know in order to get customized alerts when people you know are spotted. It’s a shame you can’t configure alerts to only warn you about unfamiliar people, though.

If you’ve got other Nest cameras that support Familiar Faces, such as the Nest Cam IQ Outdoor and Nest Hello, the library is shared between all cameras, which is neat, and gives you all-around protection. Occasionally Nest will get it wrong, failing to recognize a face it’s seen before and creating a duplicate profile. Fortunately, you can ‘merge’ these mistakes into one profile, helping to train the camera to better identify that person in the future.

Although the Nest Cam IQ Indoor can record continuously, it’s unlikely that you’ll want to bug the inside of your home in this way. To stop the camera recording when you don’t want it to, you can manually turn it off in the app, or you can use automation. 

First, Nest’s Home/Away Assist feature enables you to turn your camera on when you go out and off when you come back home, using your phone’s location data. Alternatively, you can set a schedule for recording, but unfortunately, you can’t use both options together, as the results are unreliable: for example, coming home late will turn your camera off even if you have it scheduled to record.

It’s a real shame that Home/Away Assist and scheduling won’t play nicely together. For example, we’d like to have our camera record when we’re out, but also turn on automatically at night when we’re in bed.

You can’t control the video resolution as such, but the quality of video is defined by the bandwidth setting you choose. High-quality video, for example, gives you the best image quality, although it will use up to a whopping 400GB of data per month. The three other settings are for 300GB, 200GB and 100GB of data. Given the importance of image quality, the higher settings are best if your broadband and Wi-Fi are up to the job.

This hefty amount of bandwidth is mostly down to the fact that the Nest Cam IQ Indoor records constantly when it’s on. It’s a neat trick, and means that you can scroll through everything that’s been recorded, regardless of whether your camera was triggered by motion or not.

The Nest app makes it really easy to scroll through everything, with a timeline that lets you seamlessly scroll through everything you’ve recorded. Neatly, the timeline has thumbnails to show you when the footage was recorded; alternatively, you can Use the Filter view to find the event you want.

All events can be downloaded to your phone and saved to your Nest account, and you can create custom clips to save, too.

Nest has both an Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant skill for the Cam IQ Outdoor, enabling you to stream footage from the camera to a smart display, such as the Amazon Echo Show or Google Home Hub. 

Cleverly, the Nest Cam IQ Outdoor can be Google Assistant-enabled, effectively turning it into a Google Home smart speaker – you can do most of the things you can with a Google Home, including controlling your smart home devices, getting general information from Google and receiving calendar updates, although you can’t make phone calls.

The speaker in the Nest Cam IQ Outdoor is a little tinny, although it’s loud enough to hear for general use (you certainly wouldn’t want to play music over it). Even so, being able to quickly add another Google smart speaker to your home is a neat trick.

There’s also an IFTTT (If This, Then That) channel so that you can control other smart devices when the Nest Cam IQ Indoor detects motion. More usefully, in many cases, there are Works with Nest automated rules, which can do things such as turning on Hue lights if the camera picks up motion. Works with Nest is being phased out although most rules should be replicated on the new Works with Google Assistant system that replaces it.

Design and build

• Flexible stand lets you point the camera where you want
• You can wall-mount the camera
• Neat USB-C connection

The Nest Cam IQ Indoor looks great with its tear-shaped body, decked out in the company’s customary soft-touch white plastic. It’s also incredibly easy to position, thanks to a stand that lets you point the camera in practically any direction without worrying that the whole thing will topple over. If you prefer, you can wall-mount the camera, which will make it a bit more secure, although you have to buy the screw mount separately.

As with other indoor cameras, the Nest Cam IQ is easy for someone to disable when they’re in your home, either by knocking it over or turning the power off. However, it’s likely that you’ll capture the perpetrator in action.

Once the camera is mounted, the setup process is as simple as plugging in the USB-C power cable, and hooking the camera up to your 802.11ac Wi-Fi network. 

If you have other Nest devices, the Nest Cam IQ Indoor will attempt to connect to them for configuration information. This process wasn’t particularly reliable in our experience, and often failed. Moving the camera closer to other Nest devices can help, but it’s frustrating that you can’t override this automated help and simply select the wireless network you want your camera to join.

Performance

• Excellent daytime image quality
• Powerful IR LEDs preserve nighttime image quality
• Motion tracking lets the camera follow events

Inside the camera is a 4K sensor, although all footage is downsampled to 1080p when it’s streamed or stored online. Far from being a waste of pixels, however, the high-resolution sensor gives you a few advantages. 

First, video downsampled from 4K to 1080p looks better than video shot natively at Full HD – you can see the image quality you get in the daylight shot below. Thanks to the combination of HDR and the high-resolution sensor, the Nest Cam IQ Indoor’s footage is sharper and clearer than other cameras’, with plenty of detail in daytime images.

At night, the camera uses high-power 940nm IR LEDs to light up dark spaces. Video gets a touch softer under IR, as it does with all cameras, but the quality is still very good. From the footage recorded it’s possible to find a frame that gives you the detail you need, including enough sharpness to identify individuals.

The 4K sensor also gives the Nest Cam IQ Indoor a couple of neat tricks. First, you get a 4x zoom into 1080p without losing quality, and the Nest Cam IQ can even automatically zoom in and track motion with Close-up tracking view, enabling you to more clearly see what’s going on – the full wide-angle shot via the camera’s 130-degree lens will still be available to give you the bigger picture.

Nest’s motion detection is excellent. Combined with Activity Zones and the facility to configure the notifications you want to see, you get very few false positives from this camera, so it’s not bothersome to have it on for long periods.

Verdict

In terms of pure image quality, the Nest Cam IQ Indoor is the best indoor-only model we’ve tested. Clear and detailed footage, by both day and night, lets you see exactly what’s going on, while the high-quality motion detection and lack of unnecessary alerts mean the Nest Cam IQ Indoor is also a camera that won’t constantly bother you.

Nest Aware, although it’s quite expensive, gives you 24/7 video recording, so you’ve got more chance of capturing suspicious activity while your camera is on – and you’ll really need to pay for a subscription, as without it the Nest Cam IQ Indoor is of limited use.

There’s some annoyance around the clash between Home/Away Assist and scheduling, and it’s high time that Nest got the two features to play nicely. Even so, if you’re looking for the best-quality indoor camera, this is it; if, however, you can make do with slightly lower-quality video while enjoying the same range of features, bar facial recognition and the Google Assistant option, the Nest Cam is a better choice.

• Best wireless indoor security cameras
• Best outdoor security cameras

The Nest Cam IQ Outdoor follows in the path of the Nest Cam IQ Indoor, which redefined what security cameras were capable of, introducing face recognition and clever tracking technology that follows a suspect around a room. With the Nest Cam IQ Outdoor, the same features come to this rugged outdoor model, bar the option to turn this camera into a Google Home smart speaker.

With its 4K sensor and continuous recording, this camera brings the best image quality to outdoor security, and this model has been redesigned so that it’s harder to steal or knock off the wall, but all this tech comes at a price. The Nest Cam IQ Outdoor isn't cheap.

If you're looking for a cheaper option, head to our full guide to the best outdoor security cameras. 

Nest Cam IQ Outdoor: Features

• Continuous 24/7 recording via a Nest aware subscription
• Smart facial recogntion helps you see exactly who your camera sees
• Home/Away Assist and scheduling options for privacy

As with Nest’s other products, the Nest Cam IQ Outdoor is controlled through the Nest smartphone app. When making the connection to your WiFi network (802.11ac is supported), Nest will try and use other devices in your home to help. The success rate isn’t always very good in our experience, and we ended up having to move our camera closer to our Nest Protect smart smoke alarm to get it connected – that’s a good reason not to install the camera in-situ before you get it working.

Once connected to the app, you get quite basic functionality with the camera. The app can warn you when the camera spots motion, and this model also has built-in people detection, so you’ll get a notification telling you that a person has been spotted.

To really unlock the camera’s capabilities, you need to have a Nest Aware cloud subscription. At its most basic, Nest Aware adds in cloud storage, giving you continuous recording. It’s this 24/7 coverage that makes Nest cameras stand out, as you’re guaranteed to capture everything going on even if the camera missed movement.

Five-day video history, with 24/7 continuous recording, costs $5 a month or $50 a year; 10-day video history is $10 a month or $10 a year, and 30-day is $30 a month or $300 a year. For most people, the 5-day history will provide more than enough footage and ample time to save any crucial footage before it’s deleted. Nest offers discounts of up to 50% on subscriptions for additional cameras. 

Adding Nest Aware also unlocks Activity Zones, which let you choose which parts of the video image you want to monitor. These zones (you can have up to three) help prevent false positives, such as by choosing to ignore the road, so you don’t get a notification every time a car drives past your house.

Thanks to a relatively recent update, Activity Zones can now be created in the app, rather than you having to use the Nest website. 

For each zone, you can choose what you want to be notified about: all motion or just people. There’s also an additional zone that covers all of the remaining areas of the image that aren’t covered by your own Activity Zones. 

Being able to control notifications on a zone-by-zone basis really helps cut down on false positives, where the camera notifies you about unimportant motion.

If you flick on the camera’s microphone for audio recording, you can also set the Nest Cam IQ Outdoor to monitor for sound, with three selectable sound settings: people talking, dogs barking, and all other sounds. Accuracy is high, but how much extraneous sound is picked up will depend on where your camera is located; if it’s outside the front of your house, for example, you’re likely to pick up conversations of people walking past.

You can also use the Nest Cam IQ Outdoor’s microphone and speaker to have a two-way chat with someone via the app. The speaker on the camera is surprisingly loud – certainly loud enough to attract attention, and for you to warn off anyone acting suspiciously around your home.

To reduce the number of unnecessary notifications, you can set the Nest Cam IQ Outdoor to only send notifications when nobody is at home, with your phone’s location used to determine where you are. Nest can communicate with multiple phones to cover everyone in your home.

To stop the camera recording when you don’t want it to, you have a couple of options. You can use Home/Away Assist, which uses you phone’s location data to turn your Cam IQ Outdoor on when you leave the house and off when you return.

If you prefer, there’s also the option to schedule your camera to only record at particular times. Don’t use both options at once, though, as they can clash – for example, if you set your Nest Cam IQ Outdoor to record at night but you’re out, coming home will turn it off. It’s high time that Nest made scheduling play nicely with Home/Away Assist, as the current situation is far too rudimentary.

Familiar Faces is a feature carried over from the Nest Cam IQ Indoor, and since implemented on the Nest Hello video doorbell. It’s Nest’s facial recognition technology, which can be used to train the system to spot people you know. Neatly, the system works across all Nest devices, so a face spotted by your Nest Hello can be recognized by your Nest Cam IQ, for example.

Once you’ve told Nest that you recognize a face, you can give a name to that person. Nest will then tell you that it’s spotted that person in future (without names, you’re just told that your camera has spotted a familiar face).

Facial recognition is pretty powerful, with only the odd mistake. Occasionally, Nest will categorize the same person as two different people; however, you can use such errors to ‘train’ the system, to the point where there’s only the occasional lapse.

That said, we found that this system is far less reliable at night with the infrared LEDs on, and the system would often not spot a familiar face. 

It’s a shame that there’s currently no way to tell the system to only notify you when a certain person has been spotted or to only warn you when someone unrecognized has been seen.

For recording, there’s a setting in the app to control the quality and the bandwidth used. Although the uploaded footage is saved at 1080p resolution, the camera shoots in 4K natively and produces higher-quality video than the Nest Cam Outdoor. As a result, the Nest Cam IQ’s top quality setting will use up to a massive 400GB per month, with 300GB, 200GB and 100GB settings below that. 

We recommend using the highest-quality setting that your internet connection and Wi-Fi can take, while keeping an eye on data usage if you have a limited internet connection, as the lower settings dramatically reduce quality.

Part of the reason that so much data is used is because the video is recorded continuously to the cloud. The advantage of this is that you can scroll back through it and view everything that happened going back as far as your subscription allows, not just footage triggered by motion, each clip of which is tagged as an ‘event’. Nest makes this really easy to do, with the timeline view letting you effortlessly scroll back in time. The timeline is marked with thumbnails of events, color-coded to the zone in which they were recorded. 

If you want to find just events, there’s an ‘Event history option’, which lets you select a specific day and filter by Zone, Motion, Person and Familiar face. All events can be saved to your Nest account or downloaded to your phone to preserve evidence. Likewise, you can create and save your own clips from footage recorded outside of events. No other company has come close to making its app as fluent and as easy to use as Nest has.

Nest has both an Amazon Alexa skills and Google Assistant commands for the Nest Cam IQ Outdoor, which let you stream footage from the camera to a smart display, such as the Amazon Echo Show or Google Home Hub. It’s a shame that you can’t use either of these to toggle the camera on and off.

There’s also an IFTTT (if this, then that) channel, which lets you trigger other devices when the camera detects motion. Likely to be more useful are the array of ‘Works with Nest’ integrations, such as being able to turn on a Hue light after a random delay when motion is spotted, to create the appearance of someone being at home investigating what’s going on.

Nest Cam IQ Outdoor: Design and build

• Tough and heavy body
• Securely attaches to mount for a more secure installation
• Powered via cable that must run through an external wall

Nest has long designed some of the best-looking security cameras, and the Nest Cam IQ Outdoor is no different. Finished in the company’s customary smooth white plastic, this is one security camera that’s stylish enough to have on display, while attracting attention and, hopefully, warning off would-be thieves.

While Nest’s first outdoor camera, the Nest Cam Outdoor, was designed to be easy to install, the Nest Cam IQ Outdoor goes for a more secure installation method, which makes it a bit trickier to fix. Rather than having an outdoor junction box, the Nest Cam IQ Outdoor needs to be powered internally, so you’ll need to run the USB Type-C cable through a hole drilled in your external wall.

The neatest and most secure way to install the camera is to fit the mounting bracket over the hole you’ve drilled, so there’s no cable on show that can be cut. If this isn’t possible, the mount has a cutaway so that you can run the USB cable along a wall to the hole in your wall. Nest provides screw-in cable tidies to keep things neat.

The USB-C cable locks securely in place on the camera, so it can’t be pulled out. To unplug the camera, you have to unlock the cable using a switch that’s only accessible once the camera has been removed from the mounting bracket. Further improving security, the Nest Cam Outdoor’s magnetic mount has been replaced – the new mount locks into place on the wall bracket, and requires the supplied hex key to release it.

For the casual would-be thief, then, trying to knock your camera off the wall or steal it is far harder with the Nest Cam IQ Outdoor then it was with the older camera. If security is paramount, then the extra hassle of installing the Nest Cam IQ Outdoor over its predecessor is worth it.

Nest Cam IQ Outdoor: Performance

• Excellent motion detection that’s rarely set off by accident
• Super-sharp video during the day and night
• Close-up tracking follows the action automatically 

Inside the camera is a 4K sensor, with the footage downsampled to 1080p. That may seem like a waste, but there are a couple of advantages. First, the HDR footage captured at such high resolution and downscaled is sharper than footage from a camera with a native 1080p resolution. Certainly, the Nest Cam IQ Outdoor captured the best-quality footage we’ve seen from a powered external camera.

During the day, even in bright, blinding sunlight, there’s a huge amount of detail and sharpness to the picture, making it easy to discern fine details and tell people apart. Compared to the older Nest Cam Outdoor, this newer model produces far sharper images.

At night, the camera engages its IR LEDs, ably lighting up our 30-foot test garden. Detail becomes a little softer in this mode, although there’s still more sharpness and detail than we’ve seen from other cameras; again, you can easily spot individuals and make out details in the picture.

Nest has some clever uses for the 4K sensor, though. First, as a 4K image is four times the resolution if 1080p (the resolution that video is stored at and streamed to your phone), it means that you can zoom up to 4x into the image and still get a true Full HD image. In effect, it’s a digital zoom without having to sacrifice resolution or quality. Second, Nest uses this zoom for its Close-up tracking, zooming into a motion event and following it around. In the case of a person entering the picture, that means you get high-quality tracking of what’s going on.

Nest maintains the original footage from the 130-degree lens in the cloud, so you can zoom out to see what else was going on. If you really don’t like this feature, you can turn it off but we think it helps to highlight what’s going on.

Nest doesn’t let you adjust motion sensitivity because it doesn’t have to – the detection algorithm is exceptionally good. Foliage blowing in the wind won’t set the camera off, neither will shadows changing, as clouds move across the sun. There are more false positives than with an indoor camera, however: insects flitting across the lens occasionally set the camera off, as did a furniture cover blowing in the wind. Such instances were rare, though, and the camera didn’t overly bother us with unnecessary alerts.

If you set the camera to record audio you’ll be impressed with the results. Nest uses sophisticated noise reduction algorithms, so you’ll capture the finer audio details in your footage even in a heavy rain storm.

Should you buy the Nest Cam IQ Outdoor?

Using its 4K sensor to perform some clever tricks, including the smart Close-up tracking, as well as to capture some of the best video footage we’ve seen from a security camera, the Nest Cam IQ Outdoor is a great way to protect your home. It helps that the Nest app is so good, while Nest Aware is the best cloud service that you can get, enabling continuous recording.

That said, it’s hard to get away from the price of this camera, and it’s one of the most expensive models you can buy. While there’s now a five-day version of Nest Aware, the service still costs more per month than rivals. It’s not bad value, especially given the continuous recording, but the cost may be more than you’re willing to pay – and without Nest Aware the Nest Cam IQ Outdoor isn’t much use.

If you insist on the best, and want an outdoor camera that’s hard to steal, then this is the best model you can buy. If you don’t mind ever-so-slightly inferior image quality with the same continuous recording, and a model that’s a little easier to disable or steal, the Nest Cam Outdoor is considerably cheaper, and will be the better choice for most people.

This camcorder is very similar to the other Sony we tested, the Handycam HDR-CX440, except that it lacks integrated Wi-Fi. It can film in up to 1080p high definition video and has a rotating LCD screen you navigate with a toggle button. Those who find touchscreens cumbersome should enjoy this aspect of this camcorder.

We took this camcorder outside and also shot video inside our labs in varying kinds of light. Seven reviewers watched the footage from every camera and ranked it best to worst, earning this camcorder a D+ for overall video quality. It was ranked second to last by three of the seven people who reviewed the footage. It did, however, receive an A grade for its color balance that was very true to life. For instance, the trees were green but not unnaturally green.

This camcorder has a 30x optical zoom, which is near the bottom of the range of the camcorders we tested – substantially lower than the Panasonic HC-W580 with its 50x optical zoom or the Samsung HMX-F90 with its 52x optical zoom. You’ll want to consider those two cameras if distance filming is important to you. This Sony also has 60x clear image zoom and 350 digital zoom, though image quality isn’t as good.

This camera lacks integrated Wi-Fi as well as editing features, but there are basic features like image stabilization at your fingertips. Like the other camcorders we tested, this model takes still images as well. There is a dual record mode that allows you to shoot video and take still images at the same time, and there’s a dual video mode for recording video simultaneously in two formats.

The accessories that come with this camcorder include the removable battery, an AC adaptor, USB cord and HDMI cable. A short portion of the charging cable is permanently affixed to the camcorder, but is easy to hide by simply sticking inside the hand strap. It’s also lightweight at a mere 7.6 ounces. Some users might like this, but most of the testers in our lab who picked it up were immediately worried it might break and said it felt cheap. It lacks any internal memory as well, so make sure you have an extra microSD card with you so you won’t run out of recording space. The lens cover is manual as well, so you’ll need to open it with the switch on the side of the camcorder before filming.

This camcorder isn’t as physically attractive as sleeker models. Its square removable battery sticks awkwardly out of the back, making it look old fashioned and cumbersome. It also struggles to produce quality videos, which is a bigger problem than its strange aesthetic.

At 10.8 ounces, this is the third-heaviest camcorder we tested. While this contributes to arm fatigue, it also means your handheld video is less likely to be shaky.

The LCD display on this camcorder rotates and has touch controls, so navigation is easy. The touchscreen isn’t quite as responsive as the screen on the Nikon KeyMission 80, but it works fine. You can use the screen on the Vixia HF R800 to access its editing features, which are unique and fun. These include trimming your videos or using the cinema look filter. You can also use slow motion recording at a rate of 0.5x, which is cool for up-close filming at athletic events. Fast motion recording speeds things up by 1200x, though you can choose slower speeds of 300x and 600x. You have to manually open the lens cover before you do any filming.

This camcorder records at 1080p, so your videos will be high definition. Even so, the seven reviewers who watched the video from this device ranked this camera at the bottom of the lineup, ultimately giving it a D+ for overall video quality and clarity. Other camcorders, like the Panasonic HC-WXF991, earned much higher grades for their crisp footage. It also earned an underwhelming C grade for color balance because all the footage we took outdoors had high levels of red. Brown trees, bushes and fences all appeared to have a deep red tint that wasn’t true to life at all.

We attached all the camcorders in our comparison to the top of a car for outdoor testing. While this camcorder was attached just as securely as the others, it shook violently while we drove around. Frankly, it was hard to watch. It should be noted we didn’t turn on image stabilization, because we wanted to compare these camcorders as they worked right out of the box, assuming some users might not have the time or desire to fiddle with more complicated features like white balance and image stabilization. Still, image stabilization is an option you can certainly use to steady your video.

This camcorder comes with a bulky camera battery, a wall adapter, a mini HDMI cable and a USB cable. It also takes a full-size SD card, which we prefer to MicroSD card because they’re harder to lose and can be inserted directly into many computers to transfer your videos. The 32x optical zoom is relatively low compared to others we tested, but it does have Zoom Framing Assist, which helps keep far-away subjects in frame and makes for substantially less jerky footage. This camera’s 57x advanced zoom and 1140x digital zoom can really get in close if you’re OK with a degraded image quality.

Entry-level DSLRs are a fantastically reliable way to capture high-quality images and have remained the go-to choice for photography enthusiasts on a budget. In recent years, mirrorless cameras have been the real headline grabbers, boasting smaller, slimmer designs while entry-level DSLRs remain reliable as ever yet experience little more than incremental updates once a year or two.

This year at CES, the U.S. release announcement for the Nikon D5600 was the only update we saw for entry-level DSLRs, and while it’s an incredibly capable camera, most of its changes are relatively small. Those most noteworthy are its new Snapbridge connection, touchscreen scrubbing and in-camera time lapse creation.

The Snapbridge connection is an always-on low-power connection that the camera uses to automatically sync full-sized JPEGs with your smartphone or tablet. This is a relatively small change since Nikon’s entry-level DSLRs have had Wi-Fi and NFC for a while, but the automatic nature of it all could prove to make a big difference. The more steps we can take out of the process from shooting to sharing, the better.

The D5600 features a swiveling touchscreen display much like the cameras that preceded it. But regardless of the display, browsing through photos after a heavy day of shooting has always been challenging with the relatively basic controls found on an entry-level DSLR. To help alleviate this, the D5600's touchscreen now allows you to scrub through your photos much like you would scrub through a video on your phone, rather than swiping through photos individually.

In-camera time-lapse is a great feature for those looking to create more than just photos with their camera. This mode lets you choose the duration, resolution and framerate of your photo, then the camera automatically takes photos at your predetermined intervals, combining all of the photos into a finished MOV file. It makes getting a DSLR-quality time-lapse easier than ever before.

Aside from its stand-out features, there are many specs from the D5500 that carry over into the new version. The D5600 retains the same EXPEED 4 image processor, 5 fps continuous shooting and 39-point autofocus system as its predecessor. It also has essentially the same sensor.

The D5600 will ship with a 24.2-megapixel CMOS sensor. Like the sensor found in the D5500, it lacks an anti-aliasing filter. This can increase the instances of moiré, a strange effect caused by extremely fine or complicated patterns, but it makes for sharper, clearer images on the whole and is generally seen as a positive move.

Overall, we were impressed by the D5600 during our brief encounter with it at CES. However, with a retail price of $799.95, it’s definitely on the expensive end for an entry-level DSLR, but not unexpectedly so considering its robust feature set. For those looking for the same great image quality at a lower price, check out our list of the best cameras.

Some of the best vacations are the ones close to home. Sure, an escape to the Ishinca mountain peak of Peru would be amazing. However, the good ol  United States has several great destinations that will wow your senses without needing a TSA pat down.

While New York never sleeps, Disney is the Happiest Place on Earth and D.C. has enough history and science museums to increase your IQ by 7 percent, there are many places to visit that are a little less popular. They are located all over the country, so it's easy to find one close to you. Pack a lunch, grab your point and shoot camera and enjoy a fun and unique day trip that will be just as impressive as toasting locals in Morocco with unpasteurized camel's milk. Here are 10 lesser-known sites to check out and explore.

There are hundreds more quaint places to visit and unusual sites to see all over the United States. Regardless of where your travels take you, make sure you take your digital camera along and capture the memories to relive over and over again in the years to come.

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