Google recently updated its home camera line-up and I’ve been testing out the Nest DoorBell (battery) and Nest Cam with Floodlight (wired).
I have previously tested and reviewed two other cameras in the range, Nest Cam Indoor (Wired) and Nest Cam Outdoor (Battery).
One compelling feature is the ability of both the doorbell and the camera to recognise familiar faces and distinguish between people, animals and cars.
This is done securely on-device and allows you to limit recordings and/or notifications only to the types of events you want to see.
Another plus is the flexibility of the motion zones you can create within the outdoor camera's view.
You can isolate the areas you want to get notifications for, so you are not alerted about every passer-by.
Nest Cam with floodlights
The standalone Nest Cam Battery has a small wall-mounted disk, but Nest Cam with Floodlight comes with an outdoor lighting rig that includes a similar magnetic mount that allows you to aim the lens just where you want.
Installing the Nest Cam with floodlights was straightforward enough. It needs to go on top of a standard outdoor junction box, replacing another outdoor light fixture.
The Floodlight comes with all the mounting hardware required, including a mounting plate, wire connectors, and a handy hook to hang the light while the wiring is being connected.
I got an electrician to replace a halogen bulb in my garden which was connected to a light switch inside my house.
The floodlights are super bright, easily illuminating the end of my garden about six metres away.
The camera's got 1080p resolution, HDR, an internal battery that can record events without power, and built-in storage to cache those events if it loses internet connection.
I would recommend leaving the floodlight-mounted camera set to always powered on.
The floodlights are then activated at night when the camera senses a person or people in its field of view.
You can automate the lights easily with Google Assistant, and the motion and light sensors that will work even if you lose connectivity.
Nest Doorbell (Battery)
The sparks mentioned above also connected up my Nest Doorbell because I wanted it hard-wired but you can install this easily yourself if you go with the option to use battery power. It takes about ten minutes and the instructions in the box are clear and Google has handy tutorials on YouTube to help with the process.
On battery power, you will get about between one and six months before needing a recharge, depending on the amount of events and alerts. To take it out and recharge it you will need the tool key which comes in the box.
On the whole, the Doorbell works well with Google Assistant.
If it’s on the same network as any smart speakers you have then it will turn them into doorbells that can announce someone is at the door.
If it’s a familiar face, it will tell you who is at the door.
But be warned it will do this for all your connected speakers and you cannot disable them individually in the Home app.
The camera delivers good dynamic range and video is reasonably bright and clear, but at night it can sometimes blow out faces.
Footage is sometimes not as sharp as I would like. The facial recognition occasionally mixes me up with my postman and thus I get incorrect notifications.
The app will also alert you when a package has been left outside your door and the camera can distinguish between people, animals and vehicles.
Connectivity
The machines connect directly to your home Wi-Fi over the 2.4GHz frequency band.
You need a Google account and the Google Home app which contains the options and settings for all of your installed Google Home compatible devices including the cameras.
You can stream live from both cameras to your TV (using Chromecast) or your Nest Hub display.
I liked using the original Nest app, but it is incompatible with the new range of devices. Similarly, my Nest Thermostat and an older Nest camera cannot be controlled by the new Home app.
Downloading clips and viewing notifications in the Home app is not as straightforward or intuitive as it might be. I’m being kind.
Nest Aware
However, the affordability of the Nest Aware subscription (compared to some competitors) is a plus point.
You get 30 days of event video history for every camera in your house or business premises for just €5 per month. (You can also get up to 60 days event history and 10 days of 24/7 history for €10 per month with a Nest Aware Plus subscription.)
On these new models, Google also includes three hours of free event video history which may be enough for some users. But bear in mind that if something happens in the middle of the night, more than three hours before you wake up, then you won’t have a clip of the incident.
Verdict
Both devices are top quality home security cameras with superb audio and video quality, not to mention decent object and people detection and a relatively inexpensive cloud storage service.
A local storage option would have been helpful and hopefully Google will look at this on future models as it does make the likes of Eufy’s Solo Cam attractive by comparison.
Pricing
Nest Doorbell (battery) costs €199 and Nest Cam with floodlight (wired) costs €269.99.
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