Defender Guard Pro review: A solid security camera at a sweet price

Price tag When Reviewed

$126.00

Very best Rates These days: Defender Guard Pro

$99.99

Defender showed with its Defender Guard 2K-resolution digital camera that it understands what most men and women want from a property security digicam: sound protection capabilities, intuitive procedure, and an affordable price tag. Its latest supplying, the Defender Guard Professional 2K Wi-Fi digital camera, checks all these packing containers, providing clever detection, a movement-activated highlight, tack-sharp impression quality, on-board storage, and an simple-to-use application all for just $126.

The bullet-type digicam is durably built for outside use with an IP67 rating, this means it’s secured against dust ingress and limited-time period h2o immersion. It is outfitted with dual Wi-Fi antennas, a spotlight, and a constructed-in microphone for two-way interaction with anybody in the camera’s discipline of look at.

This critique is portion of TechHive’s coverage of the greatest household safety cameras, in which you’ll find critiques of the competition’s offerings, moreover a buyer’s manual to the options you should contemplate when browsing for this form of item.

A pigtail on the back again of the camera’s mounting plate features a electricity adapter and PoE (power-in excess of-ethernet) connections. PoE is a conventional that allows the transmission of both equally info and electric power in excess of a single ethernet cable. This simplifies installations when an out of doors electrical outlet is not offered as it permits you to run a single cable again into your property. You will require to have a PoE injector in purchase to choose gain of this element.

The Guard Pro has a major resolution of 2K (2560 x 1440 pixels) and supports each black-and-white and color evening vision. Good Human Detection makes certain motion sensors are induced only by persons rather than all movement, and you can double-down on your defenses by enabling the spotlight to be activated by movement as well.

Defender

The camera data video clip locally to a microSD card, and abnormal for a security digital camera, it will come with a 32GB card pre-mounted. The card reader recognizes playing cards with capacities up to 256GB, but upgrading implies tossing the 32GB card that will come with the digital camera.

Location up the Guard Professional is easy. I have simple obtain to an outside outlet, so I was in a position to use the camera’s electric power adapter alternatively than PoE. Once I plugged in the digicam, it took about a moment to boot up, giving me ample time to obtain the Defender Guard app and sign up an account. When the camera’s LED flashed eco-friendly, I essential only to faucet the “+” button in the application to incorporate the digital camera and comply with the prompts to hook up it to my Wi-Fi. The system was seamless and took a lot less than five minutes.

After the camera is connected, you’ll will need to situation and install it on an exterior wall. The Defender Guard app incorporates a Wi-Fi detection resource that allows you examine your network signal power at your desired installation location. When you’ve verified a robust connection, you can use the bundled mounting template to mark off the region where by you will area the camera. You will have to have a drill to pre-drill the holes, but the rest of the mounting components is provided.

The Guard Pro’s impression excellent is extraordinary in the two common and high definition, but if you your Wi-Fi community and broadband link have the bandwidth to manage it, 2K viewing is the way to go. The high quality in a natural way degrades the much more you drive the 16x digital zoom, but it’s nevertheless very clear more than enough to make out details this sort of as facial options and license plate numbers. Video clip captured with colour night time vision enabled was perfectly-lit with exact hues, and infrared black-and-white evening vision delivered superb illumination with solid distinction.

Michael Ansaldo/IDG

Human detection was precise all over my screening, which was enormously appreciated as squirrels and community cats regularly scurry through my lawn. You can toggle this off in favor of common movement detection when you want to watch non-human motion, as I did when I made the decision to monitor automobiles coming into my driveway. The app presents plenty of means to change movement detection and alerts, which include numerous detection sensitivities, customizable detection zones, and the skill to timetable when the digital camera is “armed.”

The Defender Guard application can make all these options effortless to take care of. It opens to a House monitor in which all your connected Defender cameras are exhibited with dwell-perspective thumbnails. Tapping a thumbnail launches the video feed and handle panel for that camera. This incorporates buttons for capturing online video and screenshots of the camera’s stay feed, triggering the microphone, and activating the highlight or constructed-in siren. An alternative labeled “View record record” provides obtain to your function-induced video clip clips.

The Defender Guard Pro executed solidly in my screening, with no relationship dropouts or important lags. The Defender Guard app was just as reputable with fast responses and no freezes. General, it’s a really polished program that puts dependable dwelling stability inside arrive at of most budgets.