Ring video cameras have become synonymous with smart home security. Ever since ring launched in Australia it has become one of the popular smart home security providers.
So when the company announced they had launched an updated version of their battery outdoor camera, which has seen the camera come with a 2K resolution plus their new security and AI features. However, there is a catch with that and is explained further down in the review, We thought we would put it out for a review test.
So did the Ring Outdoor Cam Plus survive an Ausdroid review?
What’s in the Box?
In the box, you will find the camera itself, along with the battery, which is also located within the camera. The wall mount, which is attached but can be removed, can be placed either at the bottom or the back of the camera.
There is also a USB-A to MicroUSB charging cord which is about .5cm long, and this intrigues me as to why ring hasn’t decided to go all in on USB-C, given this is now considered the standard for all new tech devices. There is also the dual paperwork and 4 screws with wall plugs to help keep the device secured to your wall and a ring security sticker you can place up to show your place is secured by ring.
The design
The ring outdoor cam plus is made from a composite plastic that feels and looks like there is a metal frame obviously built into the device. It is much bigger than, say one of the indoor cameras from what I have seen,
You do get a wall mount which makes it easy for you to set up and drill onto walls which enables you to get the right angle, This mount can either be placed at the bottom of the device standing up or on the back side so it can be pointing in any direction you desire to get the right viewing angle like what we did when we set up the device.
The build of the device ensures there is all round weather protection. Still, the only downside is there is no internal light source to help illuminate the space around the camera but given that ring does have software to ensure at least some night vision capabilities or if you have a light source nearby, which thankfully there is a street light at one corner at the front of the property this isn’t quite an issue.
The camera itself does include a microphone and speaker so you can at least have a two way conversation, although as we live behind a service station and fast food restaurant alongside a busy road to our street, I did have to almost yell into my phone to get my partner attention when I needed to alert him to something I noticed on the camera a bit earlier.
The ring outdoor cam plus is a little bit of weighty device but that would be because of the internal battery which can be removed to be charged and if you can purchase additional batteries from retailers such as ring, amazon and Bunnings, albeit the three local Bunnings have them as special order meaning they have to be ordered and come in when they get them delivered to the stores.
To get the battery out of the device, you simply move the bottom in an anti-clockwise direction to unlock and then hit the clip to unhook the Barrett from the housing, You can also ensure one can undo and take out the battery through a Simon Le screw (which is a Phillips or as my partner call it a + screwdriver – so you don’t need a ring specific screwdriver like you do with its doorbells).
There is a single LED colour indicator to show when you are being picked up by the camera. It is a single blue LED light that is noticeable the first time I saw it working. You can also change this colour within the app itself.
What is does well
The Ring Outdoor Cam Plus does connect to your home Wi-Fi network quite well, especially if you utilise Alexa like we do in our smart home.
When I was connecting the ring camera up within the ring app, it instantly connected to my Alexa account meaning I didn’t have to do anything additional.
Ring does state you can add their cameras to your Google Home set up but I wasn’t able to and I suspect this was because it became connected to our Alexa network.
The 2K viewing during the day is great. Colours are bright and I do like the ability to also speak live with people (and have scared my partner and mum sometimes with it).
I also like the idea that you can add privacy zones where your ring camera will block off say your neighbours property or you can block say your neighbours property across the road. In saying that, it’s not exactly foolproof, and you can’t set up weird shapes other than a square or oblong shape to block out these areas.
Furthermore you can only add 2 privacy zones which to me seems a little bit weird and given a lot of the new housing developments around me such as Marsden Park have houses on top of one another, I am not sure if this will work as intended. It is good to have that option anyway.
What it doesn’t do well
What I found strange was the night vision for whatever reason does seem a little off compared to our ring doorbell camera. Don’t get me wrong its still ok but given the location where we decided to put the camera and given the street lamps is close by, at night have noticed some objects which include people or cars can seem like a very slow blurry movement and makes it seem more like a slo-mo video capture.
The one thing I think I can say is that whilst the 2K resolution has been a good upgrade from the previous generations, it isn’t something to sing home about. I feel that ring should have at least bumped up the camera here a little, but as it does a good job for daytime, but nighttime definitely is the Achilles heel here.
The other thing I had issues with is blurring, so we can’t see our neighbours’ front yards or get notified whenever they get in their car. Because of both the view and angle, I still get a lot of notifications despite trying my absolute best to block out their views and end up removing it because I found it didn’t always work. Yes I did advise my neighbours to it and they are aware before you go saying I am breaching their privacy.
The issue with the privacy block is that you can’t truly make certain shapes other than either square or oblong to create the privacy zones. Furthermore, it seem you can only have a maximum of 2 privacy zones which again whilst I understand this I think either allowing say up to 5 zones and being able to create a privacy zone manually other than a preset shape would be far more beneficial.
Granted, yes you can set up motion zones but for whatever reason I have had issues trying to adjust these to the point I did just give up and set up privacy zones for that reason.
Furthermore, to get the most out of your camera, you do have to purchase a subscription, which includes a free 30-day trial of these features, which include being able to share, download and upload your videos or search for specific videos for car colour or type. Granted subscriptions do start at $5 per month for basic through to $29.95 for premium which includes the Ring AI search features plus 24/7 recording and more. You can view the full subscriptions below:
Honestly, whilst I can see value in both the Home Premium and Home Standard, I tend to just stick to the basic as I feel that this is good enough for our household. Granted I am not suggesting it might be for you and I do suggest you look into this further for your needs.
Ring app – your go-to app for everything
The ring app, which is free to download for free from either the Google Play store or App Store for Apple devices, help you navigate the way to set up and link the camera to your ring account.
If you haven’t got a ring account it is easy to sign up and go through the steps on how to drill the camera into your wall and set up the correct angles and more.
The app also allows you set up device responses, privacy controls, mode settings, See event history, snooze alerts, link chimes, link other ring devices, motion settings, device breath status updates, power settings, device settings, give shared access to other users and additional help responses.
The app is pretty much a one stop shop for all your needs for your ring devices and I do find it simple to use but in others things it was a bit confusing at times to work out what I had to do.
You can also set up your ring plans, which, as stated above, come at various costs depending on what you want to pay for. The only thing is the Home Premium allows you to use rings AI to search and find videos for say what pizza place delivered recently or when did your father in law come over. This is only available to those who subscribe to the higher plan only.
Furthermore, the app allows you and provides you a step by step guide to place the camera on your wall, giving you tips for the best angles and how to get the best features out of the camera as part of the set up.
Should you consider buying one?
I am in favour especially for security options on having survalence cameras and I know as someone who is renting that wired options are not always the best option as you do have to get permission from your landlord or real estate agent before you do put anything up like this (if you can get permission at all) so having battery device is necessary.
Yes, this is a small increment in terms of just being 2K viewing, which is fine to be honest, as anything with higher resolution could mean more battery and processing power is needed.
Yes the nighttime visions whilst its ok its not 100% great is far better than what I have seen with most other outdoor cameras.
Honestly for me, I find the ring outdoor cam plus is worth while investment for those wanting ease of set up and ease of use for a smart home security system.
The ring outdoor cam plus can be purchased from ring directly alongside other retailers such as JB Hi-Fi, Bunnings, The Good Guys, eBay, Amazon and Harvey Norman for $179 in either matte white or matte black colours.
