It is becoming common practice for home and business owners to install outdoors—and sometimes indoors—security lights in order to increase the safety of their environment. Today, there are so many different cameras on the market. Outdoor security cameras with night vision, surveillance cameras with motion sensors, hidden cameras, dome cameras, CCTV cameras, Wi-Fi cameras, ethernet PoE cameras, and even dummy cameras/fake security cameras that can help keep potential intruders at bay. However, more and more people are looking toward cameras with added security lights, such as floodlights. Floodlights are usually motion-activated and extremely bright in order to effectively illuminate dark areas, usually at night. Though these can help deter those who may be snooping around where they should not be, it can often leave the owner wondering what exactly tripped the light. If you are using your security light for reasons other than illuminating the path as you take the trash out at night, then consider a tech upgrade to a security light with a camera included. These can capture the image and activity of whatever caused your light to go on, be it a raccoon or something more nefarious, and really give you peace of mind. These are the best options out there today.
Panoramic Bulb Camera with 360 Degree Fisheye Lens
This bulb with integrated camera is the ultimate in discretion and ease of use. It looks like a basic light bulb but it includes a 360-degree fisheye lens that provides 960p high-resolution video. You can insert a micro SD card up to 128 GB for storing recordings and also have remote access to video via Wi-Fi and the compatible app. Though it seems too small to pack even more functionality, this bulb even includes a speaker and microphone for two-way audio, as well as motion sensitivity. This installs in any standard socket and with the light on one can barely even tell that there is a camera in it. The bulb light with camera is useful both indoors and outdoors, wherever you might think you need some extra surveillance. If you are looking for a quick and easy solution to give you some surveillance along with a security light, this may be perfect for you.
Sengled Snap Security Floodlight with Built-In 1080P HD Camera
For dark outdoor spaces, floodlights can provide a great sense of security. This particular floodlight builds on that security by including a weatherproof ultra-wide 1080p HD camera that can be used anywhere and at any time. The LED floodlight has a passive infrared sensor with a 100-degree detection angle and 25-foot range to catch all motion that is close enough to be of concern. The motion zones can be customized in case there are areas that should be ignored for false alarms. The video can be streamed to your mobile device or stored in the cloud to watch later. The live streaming is free and unlimited but cloud storage comes under two different plans. Everyone gets 24 hours of free cloud storage but if you think you might need to expand on that, Sengled offers a 30-day free trial to test out the cloud storage subscription plan. All of this is powered by any standard E26 light socket or fixture with no additional modifications needed.
Maximus Video Security Camera and Outdoor Light – by Kuna – by Kuna
Security lights do not have to be basic or of the floodlight variety in order to be useful. This Maximus light and camera combination is stylish and discreet. The lantern design attractively camouflages the camera that is installed underneath the light. This device provides HD live and recorded video as well as a two-way intercom, alarm, and motion detection that can send alerts to your phone. It can be installed in just a few minutes where you previously had a basic outdoor light and uses your house’s wiring for continuous power and protection. Though full access to historical recordings up to 30 days back is only available via a subscription to the cloud server, you have access to the past two hours of recordings at any given time, which tends to be enough for most people who are able to pay attention to what is going on a fairly regular basis. Obviously, this does not help if an activity occurs in the middle of the night but if needed the cloud subscription is on a month-to-month basis and can be purchased in a pinch if needed.
Ring Floodlight Camera Motion-Activated HD Security Cam
Yet another tool in Ring’s home security arsenal is this floodlight and camera combination. The double motion sensor lights provide a wider field of light and wide angle of view. The camera provides HD video and it even includes a 110-decibel siren that can deter unsavory characters. As with their doorbells and security cameras, this product includes two-way audio so you can talk to whoever is on the other side of the camera. It is easily installed where an existing floodlight already is and integrates with both your existing Ring environment and Amazon Alexa. With the Ring app installed you can fully control this system, including flashing the lights, sounding the alarm, and zooming the camera in to focus on anything in the 270-degree field of view. Videos are saved on the ring cloud system and can be viewed for $3 per month or $30 for the year, but if you already have the Ring video doorbell or any of the security cameras and haven’t subscribed yet then this might be an easy choice.
Security means different things to a lot of people. While it is always a great idea to have some extra lighting in dark places why not take the security aspect a step further? Technology has improved to the point where it is quite simple to put a powerful HD camera in something as small as a standard light bulb. The fact that it can be Wi-Fi-enabled and send video to your phone is both cool and intriguing. Once you have installed one security light with camera, it probably will not be long before you have thought of another place or two where you could use the same functionality. Though these products can be a bit more expensive than a basic wireless camera, the ease of installation and use as well as the added camouflage can definitely be worth it.