They are the cream of the crop when it comes to home and garage security products, the best outdoor security cameras will keep a watchful eye over your cars. Often, visual deterrents can make the opportunist stop in their tracks. But should the unthinkable happen, having an outdoor security camera can not only help to detect felons, but they can also help you understand what happened.
A simple one-camera set-up can be enough to beef up your home, garden or garage security. They needn’t cost a fortune, either. Of course, if you have a larger area to cover or more nooks and crannies that need to be protected, there are more sophisticated multi-camera systems that will suit you. And today’s cameras come with a multitude of features to improve their performance.
From enhanced colour night vision and wired CCTV systems to two-way communication, you can select a system that will fit your lifestyle. It’s worth going around your property and assessing where any security weak spots might be. You can then consider positioning one or more outdoor security cameras to cover them. Some arrangements allow you to build up the number of cameras so that you can add them as and when you need them.
The best outdoor security cameras 2024 at a glance:
The best outdoor security camera: TP-Link Tapo C310 – Buy now from Amazon UK
Editor’s pick: Eufy Solocam S340 – Buy now from Amazon UK
Best for overall quality: Eufy S330 (Eufycam 3) – Buy now from Amazon UK
There’s a huge choice in outdoor security cameras. Whether you want assistance to garage door security or just a recording of what happened during the day (or night). So, we’ve done the legwork to narrow down a selection of security cameras and camera systems which should cover most eventualities.
The best outdoor security cameras 2024
The best outdoor security camera
It comes with decent night vision and an automatic siren to deter intruders. The field of view is 105 degrees, which is a bit narrower than is ideal, but the good-quality footage is stored locally on a traditional SD card. It'll accept cards of up to 128GB, which should be enough to store a couple of weeks' worth of footage.
Pros
- Great value for money at under £50 for the set
- Local storage on an SD card
- Compatible with Alexa or Google assistant
Cons
- No live view available
Editor's pick
With the app, you can use it to zoom in 8 times and view your home at 3K resolution. Picture quality is decent and with its solar panel attached, power is easy to obtain and it makes it incredibly efficient.
You can read our full review of the Eufy Solocam S340 here.
Pros
- Easy to install and set up the app
- Great quality video resolution
- No subscription required
Cons
- Wired installation is short and fiddly
The best smart outdoor security camera
Footage can be stored locally using the Blink Sync Module 2 (which will take care of up to ten Blink cameras), or you can take out a subscription plan which starts from around £2.50 per month per device.
Pros
- Flexible system and compact enough to store anywhere
- Long battery life of up to two-years
- Alexa compatibility which makes it easy to operate
Cons
- Requires a subscription to get the best results
Best value smart outdoor security camera
It boasts a clear 1080p resolution and compatibility with Alexa - meaning you can simply voice command your device. Unfortunately however, the included Ring Protect trail only lasts a month, and you'll have to pay £3.49 per device a month. This means you'll have to be quite selective of what device(s) you want to pair the camera with.
Pros
- Easy to install and set up
- Access to footage is easily available
- Great amount of tech for the money
Cons
- Monthly subscription can get pricy if you pair lots of devices
Most advanced outdoor security camera
It boasts a 1080p video resolution as well as an-built siren in the event of an emergency. It's even compatible with Alexa, so you can voice command a view of the camera in whichever area you have the setup installed at.
Pros
- Comprehensive security kit with all the mod cons
- 30-day free trail included
- Great quality camera and floodlights built-in as well
Cons
- Subscription required afterwards
Best night time quality
As it's mains powered, you'll probably have to have it installed professionally. However, once it's going, it'll give you full HD quality during the daytime, and the powerful floodlight delivers clear, colourful footage at night.
There's no facility for local storage, and despite there being a basic free cloud account, you will need to upgrade to a paid account to get access to the full range of features.
It'll talk to Alexa and Google Assistant as well.
Pros
- Easy to set up and use
- Sleek design and lights integrated
- Reliable motion detection
Cons
- A subscription is required
Best for overall quality
It's a battery-operated system – the battery will last for six months on a full charge, but solar panels will keep the cameras topped up with power generated by sunlight, meaning recharging shouldn't be much of an issue.
The cameras are controlled via the well-designed Eufy app, Alexa or Google Assistant, and the base station comes with 16GB of built-in storage, but this is expandable up to an enormous 16TB.
Pros
- Lots of high-tech features
- Long-lasting battery
- Large storage capacity
Cons
- The quality of video on cloud storage is poor
FAQs about outdoor security cameras
How do outdoor security cameras work?
Most smart outdoor security cameras use Wi-Fi to connect to your home network, enabling you to access them from anywhere via a mobile app. Wi-Fi cameras are simple to install as you don’t have to run any wiring. Battery-powered Wi-Fi cameras are the easiest to install because you can put them just about anywhere as long as they can connect to your network. This makes them smarter than, say, garage alarm systems.
What resolution do you need with outdoor security cameras?
An outdoor security camera isn’t very useful if you can’t recognize who or what the camera captures. A 720p camera can offer a reasonable picture. But a 1080p video offers more detail and is the most popular resolution at the moment. Cameras that capture 4K (Ultra HD) or 2K video are also available. Still, you need a powerful broadband connection to stream such high-res video without interruptions.
Plus lots of disc space to store recordings. In terms of motion detection, most outdoor security cameras feature a sensor that triggers the camera to record when it detects motion. Similar motion sensors can apply to solar security lights too. Some security cameras include a floodlight that will illuminate at the same time to light up the area being monitored. Dedicated wired CCTV systems will record absolutely everything.
How do security cameras store video?
Many systems offer limited free cloud storage. This allows a few days of footage to be stored before it is overwritten or deleted. Other systems will encourage you to take out a subscription to their cloud services, which often incorporate additional system functions. If you would rather avoid a cloud-based storage solution, most cameras have a slot for an SD card to allow you to store video locally. On top of things like garage door locks, outdoor security cameras are great additions to ensuring optimum car security.
How we choose
All of these security cameras have been hand-selected by our team of experts, who have spent hours investigating and researching security cameras to make it easier for you to find the very best, and we’d never recommend a product we don’t believe in.
Where possible, we also test and share the latest and best products you should know about.
Alex Boyd is a Commercial Content Writer for Parkers, specialising in power tools and pressure washers. In his spare time, he enjoys DIY, travel, gardening and music.
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