Nest Cam IQ Outdoor
We were waiting impatiently for the outdoor version of Nest Cam IQ. Named "Nest Cam IQ Outdoor", it has a 4K sensor and an HDR mode. Let's see how she defends herself against other cameras in our comparison.
Nest Cam IQ Outdoor is a wired outdoor camera that connects over Wi-Fi. Equipped with a 4K sensor, this camera is also supported by an HDR mode. The latter is supposed to deliver as much information as possible about brightness and to ensure that details are always visible, both in the shadows and in the highlights. 4K is for streaming only, as the footage is recorded in Full HD (1920 x 1080p). For the rest, she embarks a microphone and a speaker but ignores a microSD port or USB, an alarm, or a projector that would allow it to act as a fixture.
Positive Points
- Simple configuration.
- Application management clear and fluid use.
- Effective face recognition (by paid subscription).
- Digital tracking and zooming on the movements
- Beautiful picture quality of day.
- Speaker and high-performance microphones.
Negative points
- No Ethernet port.
- No local storage solution.
- Disappointing night image quality.
- Compulsory subscription required to take advantage of interesting options.
Nest Cam IQ Outdoor Review
Nest Cam IQ Outdoor looks pretty much like Nest Cam Outdoor. It consists mostly of plastic, but its base is based on a plastic structure. Well-rounded, the Nest Cam IQ Outdoor uses the same aesthetic codes as the Indoor version. The whole seems solid and inspires confidence. To install it, it is connected to the sector thanks to its power cable (USB-C) with a very comfortable length of 7.5 m. Nevertheless, the solutions on battery, cordless therefore, are easier to place, like the camera Arlo Ultra or the Spotlight Cam Battery, even if it is necessary to think of reloading them.
Note that the cable can come out of the camera in two places; either on the periphery of the foot, or at the bottom of the apparatus, in alignment with it, to pass the supply directly through the wall. To take full advantage of the potential of Nest Cam IQ Outdoor, it is essential to install a base to be fixed to the wall with 4 screws. Those who do not master the art of DIY are likely to be bothered by the need to remove drill, screws and ankles before enjoying their purchase. If you want to remove the Nest Cam IQ Outdoor from its base - which is clipped on the foot, remember - it must use an Allen key. Without this, it is impossible to separate the device from its wall bracket. Thanks to this very secure system, an intruder can not remove it.
The foot is inseparable from the camera and allows to rotate it on itself or to tilt it down. This solution does not offer as many possibilities as magnetic systems, such as the one that equips the Arlo Ultra camera, for example. Once installed and powered on, it can be connected to the Wi-Fi network. This camera does not need a connection hub or gateway, unlike the Arlo Ultra model. Wi-Fi, on the other hand, is the only connection solution for Nest because it does not have an Ethernet port. Finally, this camera ignores a microSD or USB port, and thus on the local storage of images. The user is therefore obliged to use the manufacturer's paid cloud.
To manage Nest Cam IQ Outdoor, you use the Nest app. The latter is simple and clear, even for novices. All the steps are explained step by step. On the homepage of the app, you access the live stream and the status of the user (home or absent). This option allows the camera to use the phone's position to turn on when the homeowner leaves home or turns off when he / she returns home.
By clicking on the live image, we have a look at the live stage as well as the previous recordings. An accelerated version or timeline of these is also available to navigate differently. However, you need to subscribe to Nest Aware to take advantage of this feature. More annoying, no subscription, the videos are stored only three hours, which is very short and binding. Already during the test of Nest Cam IQ, this cloud offer did not convince us; Nest has not yet reviewed his copy on this point.
Nevertheless, you can download the recordings on your smartphone or tablet by clicking on "New Preview" from the live interface. The duration of the sequences oscillates according to the movement. Moreover, the manufacturer does not impose any limit on the amount of footage that can be downloaded in the gallery of his smartphone, which is well seen. In addition to the accelerated history, many features are paid, which reduces the possibilities of use.
For example, like Nest Cam IQ, the outdoor version recognizes faces that have been saved. With each new face detected, the camera asks the user if he knows the person. Thus, during detections it is notified to the user that a known face is spotted. This is very convenient because we know if the alerts are about unknowns or not. Another interesting but still worthwhile option, the tracking of a movement with digital zoom on the detected form (Super Sight) whose efficiency is impressive. Thanks to the 4K sensor of the camera, the faces on which it zooms remain legible. We had already seen this on Nest Cam IQ.
Finally, you can create four detection zones against three on the Ring Floodlight Cam. By default, on Nest Cam IQ there is only one and it does not take into account the entire field of view of the camera. It is necessary to think to enlarge it if one wants to have a total surveillance. Unlike the D-Link DCS-8600LH camera, the Nest Cam IQ Outdoor speakerphone - found on the homepage - is not used as a walkie talkie. It must be activated through the microphone icon in the live interface and speak normally. This process facilitates exchanges. In order to cut off the communication, we keep the icon - a real breeze.
Although Nest Cam IQ Outdoor is wired, we're going to compare it to the Arlo Ultra camera that's battery powered, because they're in a similar price range and both have a 4K sensor. In addition, all videos recorded by these cameras are resampled in Full HD (1,920 x 1,080 px). In order to improve the image quality of its camera, Nest also promises a High Dynamic Range (HDR) mode also present on Arlo Ultra and Ring Spotlight Cam cameras. In our tests on Nest Cam IQ Outdoor, we were disappointed by the performance of this feature, which is supposed to provide more details.
By day, the image quality of Nest Cam IQ Outdoor is better than that of Arlo Ultra. The noise is slightly reduced and the details are better. We see it especially well with the teddy bear. The contrast is further with the Nest, but the elements in the shadows still stand out well, like the cap of the bottle. By better managing the contrasts, the light areas are well defined on the Nest, which is not the case of the Arlo Ultra.
The infrared mode of Nest Cam IQ Outdoor did not convince us. The contrast is too great and we lose many elements in the dark areas. We do not see the cap of the bottle at all, for example. There is also a lot of noise, so the details are less well defined, like the cover of the book. We expected a lot better from the Nest. Finally, Nest Cam IQ Outdoor fires when it spots a move at 6.10m vs. 8.50m for the Arlo Ultra. This result is rather below the average observed in our comparison.
Nest Cam IQ Outdoor is on the trail of the indoor model with great sound performance. The speaker is not particularly powerful for outdoor use, but it will be largely sufficient if the person is close to the camera (a few meters) in a relatively quiet environment. The sound is very satisfying with mediums relatively well balanced and especially an early expansion in the low mids. This allows for both intelligible and relatively natural voices given the size of the speaker. The three embedded pickups do not disappoint either. The signal is relatively clean and powerful, no need to force the volume of listening to understand what is happening. The discretion of the background noise and the good sensitivity of the microphones make it possible to detect the subtle noises (footsteps, contacts with objects ...). The intelligibility of the voices is assured although the sound rendering is a little smothered.
Nest Cam IQ Outdoor is not energy intensive at all. Indeed, we recorded a consumption of 0.055 kWh for 65 h 46 min of activity (with more than 200 detections and recordings). Retranscribed in the year, these results amount to adding € 1.10 per year to its electricity bill.
Conclusion
Nest Cam IQ Outdoor is a good outdoor surveillance solution. It combines the good points in terms of configuration and day image quality. In addition, it has a high-performance microphone and speaker. Technically, it is essential. On the other hand, several flaws prevent it from being gratified by 5 stars: its HDR mode is not satisfactory and most of the interesting functions of the application are paying (video recovery, face recognition, digital zoom, etc.).
Nest Cam Outdoor
