While there are some amazing best security camera system available on the market, your budget and requirement are two important factors that can allow you to choose the one that is best for you. Canary is one such company that is continually advancing the industrial standards through its range of innovative products. One such offering from Canary, the All-in-One Home Security Device, will be discussed in this Canary Camera Review.
Benefits of Canary All-in-One Home Security Device
Let us try to understand the advantages of this Canary Security Camera through its various aspects, like design, app, performance, installation, etc.
Design
With a height of 6 inches and diameter of 3 inches, the Canary camera has a cylindrical shape which is sleek and looks modern. The camera is available in three different colors- silver, black, or white. As a matter of fact, it doesn’t even look like a camera and is sure to spark a lot of conversations with regards to its purpose.
The camera has three different modes- Armed, Disarmed and Privacy. In Armed mode, the camera will record and will also send alerts, in Disarmed mode, the camera will record without sending signals and in Privacy mode, the camera and its microphone are turned off. There is an LED ring at the bottom of the camera which indicates the mode in which the camera is active (Green for Armed mode, Red for Disarmed mode and No Lights for Privacy mode).
One drawback which is mostly discussed in many Canary Security review is, it can only be placed on a flat surface. Like other security cameras, like Nest Cam, the camera doesn’t come with a mountable or magnetic stand. Canary somewhat succeeds in overcoming this drawback with the lens of the camera that has a field view of 147 degrees, which is wider than Nest Cam’s 130-degree view.
The lens of the camera is located at the center of its glossy front panel. The camera can be connected to the Ethernet port located at the rear and can also be used wirelessly.
Installation and Setup
While there is nothing lot to do as far as the installation of this Canary Security Camera is concerned, let us directly talk about its setup.
Installation of this camera is simple and shouldn’t take more than a few minutes. The majority of the work is automatically done when you download the Canary app, available for Android, iOS mobile phones as well as Apple Watch.
While the company claims that the camera does not come with any monthly fees or contracts, it is only true if you are satisfied with its Basic Plan. With the basic plan, users can access the recordings of past 12 hours and can download 3 of them to their mobile phone. You will be required to subscribe to its Premium Plans if you need to access more than that. There are many different types of premium plans like plans that allow you to access recordings of past 30 days ($30 for a month), 7 days ($10 for a month) and 2 days ($5 for a month). Along with this, there are unlimited recording downloads and discounts when you pay for a year at once.
As many as four Canary devices can be used in a home, in-sync with one another. This will allow you to view the recording of different parts of your home together. Multiple smartphones can be registered to control the camera. As a result, all the family members can benefit from its features.
With the help of the Canary app, you can manage all four cameras. There is also a Canary web interface, but it is only for the setup of the camera and updating your account. All the main features of the camera can be controlled through the Canary mobile app.
Canary App
The Canary App is easy-to-use and can manage up to four Canary Cameras. You can use the app to view video clips, receive notifications about climate and motion, zoom the video clips and sound its siren, which is surprisingly loud and does an excellent job of scaring any unwanted intruders.
The majority of the Canary Home Security reviews agree that the app is very simple in its layout and design, and is loaded with amazing features. No matter if you are not a big fan of technology or are a gadget-o-phile, you are sure to enjoy your experience of using Canary app.
The live feed screen of the app is neat and has two buttons- Sound the Siren and Emergency Call, which you can use if there is any suspicious activity in the feed. While the Emergency Call button will take you to the dial pad of your phone, you will, in fact, be able to hear the loud siren in your live feed, when you press the Sound the Siren button. Moreover, you can also tag such clips before saving.
When you subscribe to any of the Premium Plans, you can then bookmark or download a fixed number of recordings, based on your plan. When you download a recording, it will be saved to your phone, and you can play it just like a standard video, and when you bookmark a recording, it will be saved on the companies cloud server forever.
Homehealth Technology
The Canary Camera has a built-in ‘Homehealth Technology’ and features multiple sensors, like humidity sensor, motion detector, air-quality sampler, a three-axis accelerometer and temperature gauge that work together to provide you with accurate information.
However, you have to be sure that you do not place the canary camera very close to an audio-visual appliance as they generate heat. Also, place it away from the window, heater or air conditioner to get accurate readings on your phone.
In Use
Many of the Canary Home Security System reviews suggest that the motion sensor of the camera is highly sensitive. It will send alerts for smallest of harmless movements in the area that surrounds the camera. Over time, users might start ignoring these alerts, and this can defeat the whole purpose of installing a security system.
However, Canary has tried to reduce this sensor-sensitivity problem through an app update. Now the app features a sensitivity slider, and you can also tag the alerts to avoid receiving that particular type of alert in future. While the camera does take some time to learn about the kind of alerts that you don’t want to get, the update has helped in improving the accuracy and frequency of the alerts.
The sound quality in the live feed is highly impressive. Words and voices are easy to understand even when someone is talking in hushed tones. This surely speaks volumes about the Canary app and the microphone in the camera.
Features of Canary All-in-One Home Security Device
High-Quality Video Recording – The camera features a wide-angle lens that has field view of 147 degrees and can capture HD videos at 1080p, which you can see in the live feed as well as recorded footage.
Powerful Zoom and Sensors – The Canary app allows you to zoom, tilt and pan the live as well as recorded feed. Unlike many other security cameras, the image is not distorted when zoomed, and you can easily see smallest of the objects. Thanks to the powerful sensors of the camera that smooth-out the video, you can clearly see even in low-lighting conditions, when you are not using the Night Vision mode.
Homehealth Technology – The sensors in the camera monitor the temperature, motion, air quality and humidity to send you alerts when there is any substantial change in any of them.
Impressive Microphone – The built-in microphone of the camera transmits noise and conversations that are not just easy to listen, but easy to understand as well. And it not only captures the sound from the surrounding areas of the camera but other rooms as well.
Loud Siren – Through the Canary App, you can sound a loud siren if you detect any unusual activity around the camera. This is very useful for scaring a burglar, if you ever detect one, in the live feed.
Geofencing Technology – The camera uses an innovative geofencing technology which allows it to detect the presence of registered smartphones in a certain range around the camera. When a registered smartphone enters into this geofenced area, the camera will activate its Disarmed mode (recording without alerts) and will activate the Armed mode (recording with alerts), when the smartphone leaves this geofenced area. This feature prevents the camera from sending any alerts when you are around and automatically activates the alerts when you are away.
Specifications
Camera
- 1080p HD Camera
- Field View of 147 degrees
- Night Vision
Sensors
- Light
- Motion
- Sound
- Temperature
- Humidity
- Air Quality
- Capacitive Touch
- 3-Axis Accelerometer
Audio
- Microphone
- 90+ dB Siren
Power
- 100-240v Power Supply
Connectivity
- Wired Ethernet
- 2.4GHz Wi-Fi
Weight- 0.87lb
Dimension- 6 x 3 inches
Color- Silver, Black and White
- 1080p HD video quality
- Automatic Armed and Disarmed mode
- Temperature, Air Quality and Humidity Sensors
- Loud Siren
- Easy to use app
- Inexpensive Premium Plans
- Highly sensitive sensors
- No Local Storage
- Only One-Way Audio
Conclusion
Canary All-in-One Home Security System is a lot more than a security camera. It offers 1080p HD recording, impressive sound quality, inexpensive premium plans and many other features that combine to provide this security camera with advanced functionality. This cannot be found in the majority of the best security cameras, like Nest Cam, Samsung Smartcam, Belkin NetCam, etc. available on the market. While a lot of Canary Camera Review suggests that the camera is expensive; the air quality, temperature and humidity features still make it an excellent bargain.
While it would have been great if the camera had 2-way audio and the sensors were not very sensitive as complained by users in many Canary Review, the cameras features, like Sound the Siren and Emergency Call are very useful and can, in fact, deter theft or any other criminal activity. Moreover, with every app update the company is adding more features to the camera and in future, the functionality of the camera is only going enhance the security of your home.
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