The Best Outdoor Wireless Security Cameras of 2024

1. Lorex 4 Super HD 2K Camera System - Best Outdoor Wireless Camera for the Smart Home

SecurityScore:

8.2 /10

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Smart Home Integrations

Smart home integrations are big here at Security.org, so we prefer cameras, like this Lorex 2K wireless camera, that work with Alexa and Google Assistant. Here are the commands we could use with Alexa:

Alexa, show me the living room camera.
Alexa, turn on the 2K camera’s light.
Alexa, turn off the outdoor camera’s siren.
Alexa, go home.

We told Google:

• Hey Google, show me my backyard.
• Hey Google, go back.
• Hey Google, turn on the front yard siren.
• Hey Google, turn off the bedroom light.

Aside from these easy, hands-free commands, we could also watch the footage from our Lorex 2K on our Chromecast, Fire TV Stick, and Apple TV. It was exciting to see what was happening in our backyard from our big TV, definitely better than looking at it from a phone.

Color Night Vision

Color night vision provided by a visible light source (i.e. a spotlight attached to the camera) can help deter crime. In Lorex’s case, it deters crime two ways. First, the spotlight is motion-activated. It turns on when the camera detects movement, startling potential intruders. Second, the light also turns on when you’re watching footage. That’s a clear message to anyone who might try to break into your home that it’s under the watchful eye of a security camera.

We have noticed though that the spotlight on the Lorex camera we tested couldn’t stay on all night. It automatically switched to infrared night vision once it stopped detecting motion or when we stopped watching the live feed. But, that’s how most battery-powered cameras with a spotlight work since keeping the light on will drain the battery pretty quickly.

Person Detection

Speaking of person detection, we liked that this camera could differentiate between people and other moving objects like cars, pets, or even bushes blowing in the wind. We don’t need to be notified every time a ball flies into our yard, so we liked that Lorex only notified us when it mattered. Plus, we set up what is normally called privacy zones, although Lorex doesn’t use this vernacular. This meant that we drew a line around our property so that we wouldn’t be notified of any people outside of what we own. When our neighbors walk their dogs in the morning, for example, we weren’t notified. Lorex truly is a smart camera that knows what’s necessary to alert us about and what isn’t. We get enough dings from our iPhones throughout the day, so it was nice that Lorex didn’t contribute to our endless barrage of notifications. Thanks, Lorex!

2. Blink Outdoor - Most Affordable Outdoor Wireless Camera

SecurityScore:

8.4 /10

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Product Specs

Resolution	Up to 1080p
Field of View	Up to 143°
Power	Battery, wired, solar
Connectivity	Wi-Fi
Video Storage	Cloud, local
Smart Platform Compatibility	Alexa

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Affordable

The Blink Outdoor is one of the most affordable battery-powered outdoor cameras out there. It’s a great choice for anyone on a tighter budget, while still providing exceptional features. The camera, when purchased with a Sync Module (hub), costs $120. Add-on cameras cost as low as $99.

You can even purchase a two-camera system (two cameras and a Sync Module)  for $179, which is just $10 more than companies like Canary charge for one camera. And that was just one of the many packaged deals we found at Blink that resulted in discounts. Essentially, the more cameras you buy from Blink, the better the pricing. So, if you’re anything like us and want to set up a camera at your front and back doors, that bundle is the way to go.

Enhanced Motion Detection

We say that the Blink Outdoor is an affordable yet exceptional wire-free outdoor camera because of its enhanced motion detection. It offers features you don’t normally see in cameras in its price range. For example, it offers enhanced motion detection, which makes use of motion zones and person detection to avoid false alarms. With motion zones, you can set up a perimeter around areas you want it to monitor (e.g. your front yard) or areas you want it to ignore (e.g. the sidewalk). With person detection, you can set up the camera to notify you only when the movement was caused by a human. That means you won’t get alerts from rustling leaves or moving shadows. Pretty neat, right?

Battery Life

This camera runs for approximately two years on just two AA batteries. That’s the longest battery life we’ve seen on any outdoor wireless camera. When looking for an outdoor wireless camera, battery life is an important feature. Outdoor wireless cameras are usually placed in high, hard-to-reach places, so we don’t want to constantly worry about replacing the batteries. So having a camera with a really long-lasting battery was an exciting feature for us!

>> Check out more: Best Battery-Powered Security Cameras

3. Ring Stick Up Cam Battery - Best Installation for Outdoor Wireless Camera

SecurityScore:

9.5 /10

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Flexible Mounting Options

When it comes to an outdoor wireless camera, we really wanted something that was easy to install. The Ring Stick Up Cam Battery can be placed anywhere since it comes with multiple mounting options. There are two mounting options, one that’s attached to the camera on the back or one that’s attached to the camera on the bottom. We were also able to rotate the camera while on the mounts when we needed to adjust our views. For outdoor purposes, having this camera mounted higher was better, but because there is the option of using this indoors, we liked having the option of sitting it on a table or desk.

Privacy Settings

Even though we have a security camera, there are some things we don’t want people seeing and Ring gave us the ability to set privacy zones. When those zones were set, the camera only recorded video around those zones; the privacy zone footage is depicted by a black square. We set up this feature for the zone near our mailbox as we didn’t want anyone being able to see our house number. We felt having the privacy zone for this area gave us peace of mind that our address would remain private. Because Ring’s had some hacking issues in the past, the company set up this privacy zone feature to put us at ease and prove they were working to protect their customer.

Two-Way Audio

Two-way audio made it possible for us to speak to the person outside through our security camera. Living in Brooklyn, there is a lot of background noise from sirens and trucks, so we loved that the Ring Stick Up Cam Battery not only offered two-way audio but also noise cancellation. The feature meant we clearly heard who was talking, instead of the unnecessary, distracting background noise.

4. Arlo Pro 3 - Highest Quality Video for Outdoor Wireless Camera

SecurityScore:

9.0 /10

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High-Quality Video

The Arlo Pro 3 brings an element of sophistication to the outdoor wireless camera game with its 2560p HD video quality plus 2K HDR. Compared to the industry standard of 1080p HD, the Arlo Pro 3 gave us clear, crisp videos over and over again. The high-quality video combined with the 2k HDR feature meant we got a glare-free outdoor video even when there was a lot of sunshine.

Impressive Night Vision

With both color night vision and infrared night vision, the Arlo Pro 3 gave us the option of clear night video in color or black and white. With the camera’s spotlight, we could see what was happening on our block in color even when it was dark. But if we didn’t want to have the spotlight on, we could rely on the infrared LED lights to see what was happening at night; we just got that video in black and white instead. City living often means evening commotion, so it was comforting to have multiple nighttime video options. And with the idea that one in three1 violent crimes happen in or near a person’s home, having grain-free day and night video made us feel that much safer.

Smart Platform Integrations

The Arlo Pro 3 worked with multiple smart home platforms including Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple Watch. Many security systems we found worked with Alexa and Google, but Arlo is one of the few that worked with our Apple Watches too. We loved this because we were able to receive motion detection alerts on our watch, so we never missed a thing even if we forgot our phones at home. We were also able to talk to the person on the other side of the camera right through our watch, so we didn’t have to always walk around the house with our phones in hand!

5. Ring Spotlight Cam Battery - Best Solar

SecurityScore:

9.5 /10

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A Green Camera

We love that this camera had an eco-friendly option via the solar panel. While it cost extra to get the solar panel, we thought it was worth the price. Why you may ask? Because with the solar panel, this camera was charging constantly with the sun, meaning we never had to deal with changing the batteries. Plus, this camera cost $199.99 per camera and when you threw in the solar panel the cost comes out to $229.00, an extra $30 we wanted to spend.

>> Solar on your mind? See the best solar-powered security cameras

Rechargeable Batteries

If you don’t want to shell out the extra money for the solar panel, the Ring Spotlight Cam Battery has an easy to use, rechargeable battery option. The rechargeable battery lasted between six and twelve months on a single charge, four months for us with our frequent motion events, and popped out once it died so we didn’t have to dismantle the camera completely. What was unique to this camera were the two battery slots, which meant that when one battery died the other kicked in. This doubled the length of time that the Ring Spotlight Cam Battery lasted.

Professional Monitoring Options

One of our favorite features when it comes to home security systems is the professional monitoring option. We work full time and like to enjoy a fun night on the town here and there, so we aren’t always monitoring our systems as closely as we should. When we were in a work meeting or having dinner, we may not have our phones on us, so having this professional monitoring option gave us peace of mind there would always be eyes on our property. For an extra $10 a month or $100 a year, Ring offers 24/7 professional monitoring so there was always a person who could respond to an emergency.