The Ring Outdoor Cam is Ring’s base-level battery-powered security camera, but that doesn’t mean it’s not feature-packed. It outputs in 1080p HD with color night vision and a 130-degree field of view. The Ring app notifies you of motion alerts wherever you have a cell signal and lets you view live video, talk two-way, and customize motion zones. It’s also easy to swap out batteries thanks to the quick-release pack, which can be changed in just a few seconds.
A simple and easy security camera to help you watch your property
The Outdoor Cam’s 1080p HD video is sharp enough to easily identify a person at the door or a driver in a passing car. Color night vision keeps it usable after dark, unlike grainy black-and-white IR. The 130-degree field of view is wide without distorting the picture, which is enough for typical entry zones from one mounting point.
Battery life is the big variable. Mount it at a busy driveway with cars and pedestrians going past all day, and you might be unscrewing it for a charge every month. Stick it in a quiet side yard, and the same battery can last six months. The fact that the battery pack pops out without dismounting the camera helps either way.
Live View gives you access to the video feed from the Ring App at all times, rather than only when motion triggers an alert. Two-way audio works fine for short conversations like letting a delivery person know where to place packages on your porch, or warning someone away from your front door. Motion Zones are probably one of the best features of this system. By drawing a box around only your yard and excluding the sidewalk, street, etc., you can limit the number of alerts generated by a Ring camera, making it much easier to manage.
However, recorded video, video history, and the Person Alerts that filter people from passing cars all require a Ring Protect plan, which is about $5 a month or $50 a year per camera. Without it, you can get live view and motion notifications, but nothing is saved. That means you have about thirty seconds to open the app and look before the moment is gone.
It’s easy to recommend the Ring Outdoor Cam as a first security camera. Pop the battery in, run setup through the Ring app, and pick a spot. A wall, a shelf, or any flat surface works. The wire-free design means no outlet to plan around, and if you already have other Ring devices in the house, everything ends up in the same app.
