a perfectible surveillance camera smart health innovation

The Ring company specializes in health home automation, that is to say objects smart health connected to the health home. Among them, there are obviously surveillance cameras, including the Floodlight Cam. But what is this smart health connected security object worth? Answer in our Review.

With the advent of smart health connected objects, a large part of the elements of our homes have become linked. If some don't immediately come to mind, those on security quickly emerged. Even today, we are discovering new products, such as Ring Floodlight Cam. However, it remains to be seen whether this smart health connected surveillance camera is capable of keeping its promises and protecting a health home.

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• Mark : Ring

• Model : Floodlight Cam

• Category: smart health connected security camera

• Price: 299 euros

• Availability: Immediate

• Tested with: Huawei Honor 8, iPhone 7

Ring Floodlight Cam Unboxing

As usual, Ring company offers us a very sober packaging, presenting the product globally. If you are first surprised to see only one end of the camera when opening, most of the content is below. I have to say that storage is done with precision and is very efficient. Given the size of the object, one would have expected a real bazaar, but it is not.

Regarding the content, we are pleasantly surprised when we discover that tools are provided to fix the Ring Floodlight Cam. So we get a multifunction screwdriver which is enough to mount the machine. We will be surprised, however, to find in the manual a warning indicating "the need to leave the installation to a professional". We will come back to it.

Design and ergonomics of the Ring Floodlight Cam

The Ring Floodlight Cam offers a strange form to say the least. It is actually its "folded" aspect which facilitates its storage in the box. We can thus ingeniously rotate lights and camera to face the real product. Despite these necessary maneuvers, the materials show no brittleness and everything seems very solid. Bulbs are also powerful and can light up dark places with no problem. Hard to say it goes unnoticed, but the machine should deter more than one thief.

The implementation poses more concerns, in any case if DIY is not part of your habits. As explained above, the manual even indicates that "installation and wiring must be carried out by a licensed electrician". In other words that an amateur will quickly worry and end up paying a professional in addition to the object. In reality, it is not that complicated to set up and operate it, especially as the instructions are very clear. However, be careful to cut the power, otherwise you will suffer an electric shock far from pleasant.

Unfortunately we will notice unable to mount the camera on a wall if a support is not present. Indeed, it will be necessary to install (and therefore buy) a separate base to take advantage of the Ring Floodlight Cam. A really negative aspect when you know that the camera is already worth almost 300 euros alone. It is therefore better to think of these extras before going to the checkout.

Ring Floodlight Cam features

As a smart health connected security camera, the Ring Floodlight Cam must have access to a number of features. Among them, we obviously find the live broadcast to smartphone. Any link between the two devices is made by Wireless, so it's better to have a good connection. On the image side, therefore, we are entitled to a pleasant quality, that is to say, 1080 pixels. Thanks to the lamps, you can clearly see the environment, even at night. A first problem, however, comes from movements. Indeed, the camera struggling to make them fluid, which turns any person into a porridge of pixels. Not very practical for a security object.

Then we find the motion detection, an aspect dear to many owners of smart health connected surveillance cameras. If we can regret a llow latency between action and alert (around five seconds), that's okay. Note that the ehealth is also entitled to it, although we can approach ten seconds in this case. No need to be alarmed, since this is the average time in a large number of products of the genre.

Finally, there is the possibility of speak directly through the camera via his cellphone. Here, we can say that this is a bitter failure. Even when speaking slowly, impossible to understand half of what is said. If the goal is to deter thieves from approaching, it will be difficult to reach. There is also a alarm reaching 110 decibels, which is good enough, even for a large house.

Application of the Ring Floodlight Cam

The app is the control center for your smart health connected security camera. With it you can access all the features available. Note that this is not a program dedicated to the machine, but to all Ring brand products. We can say: it is a high quality application. Very readable and easy to use, it’s accessible to anyone. It is a pity that the connection is sometimes difficult to make, making its practice less pleasant.

In addition to the various commands (turning on the lights, activating the motion detector, etc.), the application allows you to keep an eye on the events of the day. So, each detected movement is recorded in a summary. You can also choose which zones should be taken into account when it comes to spotting an intruder. It is also possible to record videos at certain times of the day, or under certain circumstances. However, this is only available with a Ring Protect subscription. This one reaches 30 € / year (or € 3 / month) for a camera and € 100 / year (or 10 € / month) for an unlimited number of cameras. A 30-day trial period is still available for purchase. .

The Ring Floodlight Cam facing the competition

There is no shortage of smart health connected surveillance cameras on the market. The Ring Floodlight Cam must therefore face tough competition. Within it, some stand out and offer particular interest.

Netatmo Presence

He’s probably the most direct competitor to Ring’s product. Already well known in the world of smart health connected surveillance, the Netatmo Presence has many qualities. First of all, his discretion plays in his favor, with a design that can be integrated into any facade. His image rendering is impressive and its projector very powerful. Simple to configure and install, its main defect lies in the sound. Indeed, a constant noise just spoil it, preventing you from hearing clearly what's going on. Like the Floodlight Cam, its price is around 299 euros.

Netgear Arlo Pro

The Arlo Pro is much more special than its competitor seen above. Indeed, it calls on a whole system and wants to as discreet as it can adapt to any environment. So after purchasing a central base, you can add as many cameras as you want. Given their smaller sizes than the others, the image quality offered is impressive. Easy to install, we regret its price: 339 euros for the basic kit, 249 euros for each camera added.

Somfy Outdoor Camera

With this product, we are making a slight leap into the future since it will only be available only from summer 2018. However, we already know enough to know that the Somfy Outdoor Camera will be an important competitor for Ring. Its design already gives it a good point given its style, quite refined and very rare for such a camera. Between Full HD images and a 110 dB alarm, he is elbowing the subject of this performance Review. His 130 ° wide angle play for him in his favor. No price has been announced yet.

Conclusion

The Ring Floodlight Cam security camera has many qualities. Let it be her Full HD image, its responsiveness or its effective application, you’re in front of a good product. However, this one is traveled with faults preventing it from being a big machine. Mandatory subscription adding to the price of the object is one, not to mention the need to invest in a base to fix it to a wall. The few connection and visual problems drooling at the slightest movement also don't help. Finally, sound is a real disaster, to the point where you barely understand what the person is trying to say. We still remain on a good impression, in particular thanks to the great ease of use of the device.

Good points

• Good image quality …

• An effective application

• Simple and instinctive use

Negative points

• … But which tends to decrease with movements

• Poor audio system

• An inconvenient installation for novices

Design and ergonomics – 7

Features – 6

Application – 7

Value for money – 6

6.5

Design and ergonomics : With this Ring product, we are entitled to a solid and well-built machine. If the installation can be scary at first, it turns out to be quite simple. We clearly regret the absence of a base to be fixed directly to the wall, but everything is ultimately quite positive.

Features : This is the part combining both the best and the worst of this security camera. On the one hand, it is very reactive to movements and can be controlled very easily. On the other, the recovered image tends to drool and the sound is just not up to scratch. Depending on what you expect from such a product, the scale tilts to one side or the other.

Application : The application offers great readability, as well as an ease of use that will appeal to novices. It offers full control over the camera, with many options. The big black point remains this subscription obligation to access all the features.

Value for money : For 299 euros, the price of the Ring Floodlight Cam is close to the rest of the competition. Once again, its paid subscription spoils this aspect of the machine. By adding the Ring Protect subscription, not all wallets will be able to follow.

AB SMART HEALTH REVIEW