As a new home owner I have started looking at security a little closer than before. I don’t know why exactly, I mean I have the same belongings in the house I own vs the house I rented but something about being a home owner and knowing that this home is MINE makes me want to protect it even more. I currently have a few different security cameras throughout my house with the recent addition of the Simplicam by powered by Closeli. Wi-Fi and app based home security cameras have become the future and we love the ability to check in on things even when we are not home.
Home Security Camera Simplicam Benefits
- Peace of mind: See your live video anywhere in 720p HD.
- Two-way talk: Welcome loved ones home. Tell the dog to get off the couch.
- Computer-free setup: Finish in three minutes on your smartphone.
- Notifications: You’ll know exactly when a noise or motion occurs.
- Detection Zones: Customize alerts based on specific areas of a room.
- Night vision: See who stole the cookie from the cookie jar, even at 4 a.m.
- Security: Your video streams are encrypted, so what’s yours, stays yours.
- Smart scheduling: Set camera on/off times from anywhere.
- Complimentary trial: We’ll give you 11 free days of Closeli Recording Services.
My initial thoughts after taking it out of the box is that it is very sleek looking home security camera. This is the only camera out of the four that we have that is black. Black seems to blend in a little more in the decor so that is a plus. It is also a very sturdy camera. It has some weight to it and it can be maneuvered quite a lot to get just the shot you are looking for. When we first got the camera we decided to aim it at our backyard so we could keep an eye on any comings and goings in our patio area.
Immediately I was amazed at the clarity of the camera. The camera is sitting inside the house about six feet from the window. Despite that fact it is still showing just about everything outside. Of all the cameras I have this one definitely has the best quality in photos both during the live mode and recorded mode. The Simplicam also has night vision. You know like those goggles you see hunters and military wearing. This is definitely nicer than the screen going black and it can still detect if there is movement outside.
The Simplicam Home Security Camera was very easy to set up. It is been a while since it was set up but I believe it was just plugging it in, downloading the app, and scanning the QR code on my phone. In addition to the photo quality the sound it can pick up is also quite remarkable. I’m currently sitting at home by myself and decided to do a screenshot of my current setup up and while I was taking the photo I could actually hear through the camera the screenshot capture sound on my iPhone. I am not even close to the camera but it could still pick it up. Occasionally the camera will pick up voices outside when someone walks by the house. You could definitely ease drop on many conversations with this camera LOL!
My camera is no longer monitoring the patio area but because of a unique feature I decided to have it monitor my front door.
The unique feature to this camera is Face Recognition.
It’s the first and only home monitoring Wi-Fi video camera with Face Recognition technology, which allows you to:
- Know who’s there (not just “someone” is there).
- Get notified when a stranger is in your house, business, etc.
- Tell simplicam to not record certain people.
- Manage individual settings for up to 10 recognized people.
I thought it would be really cool if my home security camera could alert me to when my boys come home from school. Sadly a week has gone by and I have not been able to get that feature to work properly. Rarely does it recognize anyone and it does not notify me. However to be fair it is currently in beta and I have been asked to contact support about my issue. Since it is in beta there is a feature where it says to give them feedback regarding this feature so I did.
While the camera can be accessed any time during the day and you can see a LIVE feed it is also recording for you to look back through your day. The amount you can go back in time will depend on the plan you chose which I will talk more about below. However one thing I did find that was interesting is you can filter your recordings by different features such as: All, Motion, Sounds, Face.
I found that using the Faces event filter helped the most. This camera is so sensitive that as the light shifts outside it detects motion and considers it is motion event. Considering the alternative it NOT detecting motion I don’t think it is a bad thing. I was somewhat disappointed that all day yesterday we at in our dining area and were walking back and forth and it still never recognized a face :(.
Motion Detection Notification
So remember I said I was getting no notifications? Well seems that might have been a user error and you have many options. The best thing to do is play around with what works best. I had mine set to notify me via phone and email however I had no email set up and in the settings on my phone I had it set to not allow updates from the Closeli app. So pretty much the app was blocked all around. I decided to turn everything on to see what would happen and set my alerts to let me know as they happened and sure enough a cloud went past the sun and I got an email from Closeli telling me it had detected motion. Ok motion detection is on, now to fine tune it. There is a sensativity setting where you can tell it how to track motion and sound.
Simplicam Pricing Plans
You get what you pay for they say, but this is the one place that I tend to hesitate. There are so many different cameras and free plans out there that I am not 100% sure I’m ready to invest into a plan. However that said the plans overall are affordable when you look at them on a monthly basis. The decision would be based on how far back you want to be able to access your recordings and use the additional features.
In order to use the face recognition and recorded video you must subscribe to one of these plans. A plan is not required to use the camera but without the recording it would simply be a LIVE camera only. You would be able to check in on your home or children as needed but would not have access to any footage prior to your check it as the Simplicam would not be recording.
Benefits of Simplicam Home Security Camera Plans
- Face Recognition: Know who’s home, or if a stranger is there.
- More privacy: Automatically stop recording specific people.
- Added insight: Browse and review video anytime, anywhere.
- Video saving: Hang onto clips in the cloud, or download favorite clips permanently to your smartphone, tablet or computer.
- Easy sharing: Edit and send clips from your mobile device or computer.
Over all my thoughts on this home security camera is that it is superior when it comes to sound and photo quality. I can not stress enough how much better this camera is in these areas! None of the other three cameras we have can compare. There are also several features that are nice when it comes to setting the sensitivity and how you review your recordings. I am not 100% keen on a service plan as I currently do not pay for recordings on the other three cameras I have so at the end of the day the feature that would tip the boat for me and possibly cause me to dip into my pocket book would be the face recognition.
The only other small recommendation that I have is that I believe all home security camera apps should require a password be entered on all logins. No saving of passwords. I would hate for someone to pick up my phone and be able to look right into the app. This would be similar to my banking app which always requires a password. I have passed this information on to the company.
Simplicam Discount Code
Discount Code: SHIBSMLE $10 off when purchase is made through simplicam.com. One use per customer, valid 11:59pm PST May 20th, 2015
Do you have a home security camera at home?
We received the above product for review. These thoughts are our honest opinions of the product.
