BodyGuardz 360 Test: Useful Utility for Keeping Safe on the Go
RRP $ 199.00
“Not all surveillance cameras can go anywhere. The Bodyguardz 360 is one of the few that can do that. "
advantages
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Portability on the go
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Practical built-in night light
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Saves videos to USB for offline use
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Battery lasts five days on a single charge
disadvantage
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The set up process was less than intuitive
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The best features are locked behind a subscription plan
The BodyGuardz 360 camera is more like a thermos or portable bluetooth speaker than a security camera. This similarity becomes even more apparent when you first see how to store the cable and charging brick. Although it has a rather unconventional look to it, the BodyGuardz 360 offers storage straight to USB, offline functionality, and a 360-degree field of view, and beats its weight class at just $ 200.
Setup and Operation: Some annoying issues
The set up process had me ready to pull my hair out. What should have been a simple process turned into 10 minutes of troubleshooting. You will be prompted to first download the BodyGuardz app on your phone before pressing the camera's physical power button three times to put it in "scan mode". At this point, hold a QR code from the app in front of the camera. It's hard to tell exactly when the camera is watching; Although the on-screen instructions say there will be a beep, I didn't hear a sound until the camera saw the QR code.
After that, the setup went smoothly. I was able to install the camera and place it wherever I wanted with no further difficulty. The camera works fine when it's running, but most of the time when I minimize the app and try to open it again, I have to force the application before the camera comes back on. It has happened several times since I first set up the camera. It's a little nuisance that adds up when it happens almost every time.
You can control the camera from the app. It's not what I would call intuitive; You must tap and hold the phone screen before the controls appear. It feels like the app is more geared towards looking minimalist than simple controls. There's no reason the camera controls couldn't be placed under the rest of the buttons.
The BodyGuardz 360 offers limited intelligent control via Amazon Alexa and Google Home, but only for switching the night light on and off. There is no way to control the panning of the camera with an intelligent assistant, which limits the real benefits of the integration.
Subscription plan
There are three different levels of the BodyGuardz Smart Life plan.
Free: You get zero days of video history and can save footage locally. You'll have access to features like two-way talk, the 90dB emergency siren, and push notifications, but won't get smart detection alerts, desktop streaming, activity zones, or the ability to review and share videos.
Deluxe: The Deluxe plan is $ 4 per month per camera and includes seven days of video history. Motion capture is recorded as a video clip and you get access to smart detection alerts, desktop streaming, custom activity zones, and the ability to share and save videos.
bonus: The Premium plan is $ 10 per month for three cameras. It includes 30 days of video history and all the features of the Deluxe plan with the added benefit of an extended product warranty.
Unfortunately, you need the subscription to take advantage of many of the more powerful features. It's affordable at just $ 4 a month – but it would be a nice addition if it came standard with activity zones and smart detection alerts.
Image Quality: Clear video anytime of the day
The BodyGuardz 360 camera doesn't stream 4K content, but its 1080p resolution is good enough for all home (or on-the-go) use. The image quality is good enough to see most of the details. The camera can be swiveled around its entire base to give you a 360 degree field of view. You always have your home in view, from almost every corner. The 360 also has an automatic night vision function. When the sun goes down, the view changes to black and white without losing image quality.
Color accuracy is another area where the camera is not exactly perfect. My walls are off-white, but the camera has always tinted them a faint shade of blue. In one picture, a black shirt hanging from the back of a chair looked purple. It could be something as simple as calibrating color temperature with the software, but the inaccuracies won't help either. You won't want to use the BodyGuardz 360 to admire a Jackson Pollock, but it's enough to keep an eye on activity in and around your home.
It's worth noting that the camera includes a night light. It's not always active and you have to activate it manually – but it works well for placing in the middle of a dark room. To his credit, the night light doesn't seem to interfere with night vision much.
Features: A focus on privacy and alerts
If you want to customize your notifications, you can monitor for both sound and motion. The noise detection picks up all noises above 90 dB. The motion detection is self-explanatory, but can be broken down even further – just not in the free tariff.
When you subscribe to BodyGuardz's Smart Life subscription, you can choose to monitor all types of movement or just people. You can also set up activity zones to avoid false positives.
One of the great things about the BodyGuardz 360 camera is its attention to privacy. You can easily turn the camera on and off in the app. You can do the same with his microphone. If at any point you feel like the camera has captured something that it doesn't need, you can delete your video history.
If that's not enough, the camera even has a physical privacy screen that you can slide in front of the lens. It serves two purposes: On the one hand, to protect the lens when transporting the camera. Second, it blocks the video completely so you don't have to worry about it when you don't want to watch it.
Performance: portability for security on the go
The BodyGuardz 360 camera is a fully portable security camera. You can't live stream if you're not on WiFi, but you can plug a USB stick into the side of the camera and all activity around it will be recorded automatically. You can access these clips by connecting the USB drive to a laptop.
This makes the camera especially useful if you spend a lot of time in hotels. The battery lasts up to five days on a single charge, depending on the activity around it and how long it is used. Of course, activating the night light shortens the battery life. It should be noted that the camera also fits well in a standard-size cup holder in the car.
You can also connect the camera through its brick for unlimited use. The most surprising part of this camera, however, is the way the cable is stored. It's wrapped around the inside of the camera. The bottom slips like the bottom of a thermos and then you pull the cable out of its compartment. The stone is kept at the very bottom of the camera and pops out when the cable is free. It's a brilliant way to keep the cable out of the way, especially when using the camera while traveling.
Our opinion
The BodyGuardz 360 is a good – but not yet a great – surveillance camera. It packs a host of powerful features for a relatively low price, and its 360-degree view means you don't have to invest in multiple cameras for one room. The numerous small annoyances when setting up and operating the camera as well as the opaque nature of the actual panning could be resolved by software patches. It has a lot of potential, but it's not quite there yet.
Is there a better alternative?
There aren't many portable security cameras out there. The BodyGuardz 360 definitely hits a certain niche, but it has competition in the larger area of home surveillance cameras. The Arlo Pro 4 spotlight camera costs $ 200 and offers high resolution and a respectable 160-degree field of view.
At the budget end of the scale, the Wyze Cam Outdoor is another versatile camera like the BodyGuardz 360, which offers 14 days of free cloud storage and 1080p resolution for just $ 60 – while also offering a convenient offline mode to continue recording videos when there is no Wi-Fi connectivity around.
How long it will take?
The BodyGuardz 360 is made of plastic. It's not the most durable camera in the world, but it's got enough weight and weight to feel sturdy. With proper care, it should last at least five years, if not longer, with regular use. In the event of problems, BodyGuardz grants a one-year guarantee from the date of purchase.
Should you buy it?
Yes. Despite its shortcomings, the BodyGuardz 360 is a powerful surveillance camera with many functions that are seldom found in other products. The ability to take it with you to watch your hotel room or Airbnb is impressive, and the relatively low price and huge field of view make it a firm competitor.
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