Arlo Pro 3 floodlight camera
“Don't waste your money by buying various security devices for your garden. This one has everything. "
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160 degree field of view
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Bright floodlights
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Smart A.I. for detection
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Siren is on the quiet side
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Some video distortion
The Arlo Pro 3 floodlight camera ($ 250) combines three large security devices: a spotlight, a siren, and a surveillance camera in one elegant package. There are also a number of useful functions in this intelligent camera, which is only a little larger than the rearview mirror in your car.
installation
Installing this camera couldn't be easier. All you have to do is follow the steps in the app to connect the Arlo Pro 3 floodlight camera to your WiFi, then attach the base to your house with three screws and then just snap the camera into place. The whole process took about 10 minutes. I don't think I could ask for more from a product when it comes to easy installation.
Alina Bradford / Digital Trends
However, you need an exercise. You probably won't be able to get the screws into what your house is made of without one, and you may need to drill pilot holes if you want to use the screw anchors. If you have no idea what this means, don't worry. The app guides you through everything step by step. Overall, it's very easy if you don't have to drill pilot holes, and a bit more advanced if you do, but almost anyone with a drill could do it.
The camera comes with a rechargeable battery. However, if you want something more permanent, you can purchase a solar charger for the Arlo Pro 3 floodlight camera or a magnetic Arlo charging cable for outdoors. However, the camera cannot be permanently connected to the power supply of your house.
camera
I have very few complaints when it comes to the clarity of this camera. It has an incredible field of view of 160 degrees, which is much better than most of its competitors, including the Ring Floodlight Camera and the Eufy Smart Floodlight. It also has 2K 2560 x 1440 HDR video resolution and color night vision when the lights are on (when the lights are off, the footage is in black and white). You can also zoom in on people's objects and faces up to 12 times for a better view.
The camera is not only clear, but also intelligent. The A.I. allows him to know what he sees and to send you specific notifications depending on what he sees. It can tell the difference between a human, a package, animals and vehicles. I found that the A.I. does a pretty good job and differentiates one thing from the other and it seems to be learning. For a while I always thought that a blowing branch was a person, but after two notifications, I didn't get another notification about the branch, even though the wind was still blowing.
Alina Bradford / Digital Trends
Your videos are stored in the cloud at 4K or less for 30 days (videos can be saved in 2K, 1080p and 720p). The resolution in which your images are saved depends on the plan you choose through Arlo Smart Service, which costs between $ 3 and $ 5 a month for a camera. You can also save footage locally using the Arlo Pro Smart Hub ($ 100).
The only disadvantage of this camera is that it is slightly distorted at the edges of the picture. For example, the edge of my house looks like it curves inside in the videos. However, fishbowl lens distortion is quite common in surveillance cameras, and this distortion is nowhere near as severe as some others.
Headlights
The light from the Arlo Pro 3 Floodlight camera is not only bright, but almost blinding. It shines with a whopping 2000 to 3000 lumens. I was a little taken aback when I found out that you need the Arlo Outdoor magnetic charging cable to bring the light up to 3000 lumens. This is a separately available accessory that costs around $ 50. Nevertheless, the 2000 lumens are very bright if you only use the battery as a power source.
I'm pretty sure an intruder will feel exposed when this light is triggered.
For comparison: your typical indoor light bulb shines with about 800 to 1600 lumens. I'm pretty sure an intruder will feel exposed when this light is triggered. I adjusted the light to illuminate my carport and the walkway to my front door. It illuminated this area and a few more. If you find that your light is just too bright, it can be fully adjusted from 5% to 100%.
Alina Bradford / Digital Trends
The light stays off during the day, but you can turn it on manually at any time. You can also set it to turn on when the camera detects motion.
siren
The only major disadvantage of the Arlo Pro 3 Floodlight camera is the alarm. Compared to competitors such as the Ring Floodlight Camera or the Netatmo Smart Outdoor Camera, the 80 decibel siren is rather quiet.
Annoying, but it may not wake you up if you have a heavy sleep.
This does not mean that this alarm will not catch anyone's attention. Eighty decibels sound about as loud as a lawn mower. Annoying, but it may not wake you up if you have a heavy sleep. It also might not catch your neighbor's attention if there is a significant gap between the houses in your neighborhood.
As with light, you can choose to turn it on manually in an emergency or turn it on automatically when the camera detects motion.
Additional functions
The 2-way audio is a nice feature that not every other floodlight camera has. I think it's a clever addition that can be useful in many different situations. Suppose your family was outside and you had to ask a question. All you have to do is go to the app and start chatting. The microphone has noise and echo cancellation, so you can clearly hear who is in your garden.
Multi-user access is also a nice feature. You can give family members, roommates or house watchers access to the Arlo Pro 3 floodlight camera via the app via an email address.
As with most outdoor cameras, the Arlo app lets you choose where the camera should focus with activity zones. Once you've set up a zone, you'll only receive notifications when something happens in the zone. This can be especially helpful if you want to avoid warnings about a busy street or sidewalk in your home. You can also choose not to capture certain areas of your garden. To avoid these areas, the camera zooms in on the part of your yard that you want to capture. This makes the image a little bit blurred, since enlarging it affects the image quality.
One of the app features that I really loved is that you don't have to go to the Arlo app to view footage. You can see video clips on your phone's lock screen. When there's an emergency, every second counts, and playing with your phone can waste precious moments. Therefore, this function is really intelligent. You can also tap the E-911 service button to send emergency services to your home even when you're not there.
Unfortunately, most of these features require the aforementioned Arlo Smart Service subscriptions. However, it doesn't cost much, so I would say that the subscription is definitely worth it.
I found that while the battery was using the light to trigger when motion was detected and only at night and when triggered by motion, the battery lasted about a week plus a few days before it needed to be charged. That seems pretty short to me. Charging also takes up to 6.5 hours. So this is a little painful.
Our opinion
I'm not surprised that the Arlo Pro 3 Floodlight camera is a great device. Arlo has a great track record when it comes to smart devices overall. The siren isn't as loud as it could be, but the rest of the features more than make up for it. At $ 250, it costs roughly the same as its competitors, but it performs better than most others.
Is there a better alternative?
Yes and no. It has a better field of vision and a brighter headlight than any other big brand. If you want a louder siren, the Ring Floodlight Camera is yours 110 dB alarm would be a good alternative in this case.
Will it take?
Everything will be needed. The Arlo Pro 3 floodlight camera is designed for dust, rain, sun, direct shots with your water hose and temperatures between -4 and 113 degrees Fahrenheit. It comes with a 1-year limited hardware warranty.
Should you buy it
Yes. It is inexpensive and has better properties than most of its competitors.
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