We are now coming into Autumn where the evenings are going to start getting darker earlier and the mornings will be darker longer, making it a good cover for burglars (most home burglaries happen between the hours of 6pm to 6am) so it is that time of year when we should start reviewing our home security. Does it need improving or updating? What can we do to make our homes safer and deter burglars? When I was growing up home security wasn’t such a big thing. Businesses had CCTV cameras and alarms, but it was very rare that a private home had an alarm, and they certainly had no CCTV! Whilst burglaries did occur (and probably just as many as today), alarms and cameras were not a consideration. Home security seemed to go as far as better door and window locks for most people with the odd burglar alarm here and there. Fast forward to 2021 and home security is big business with people now more security conscious, security equipment being much more affordable and now a lot simpler to install added protection to your home.
Recently we tried out a new internal security camera, the Ranger 2C 4MP, from a company called IMOU and we were very impressed with the ease of use and image quality. It certainly added an extra element to our home security, especially with the Smart Human Detection and Human Tracking functions, and the QHD image capture quality is spot on and quite detailed. We were very impressed with the internal camera, so to beef up our home security more we are going to try out one of IMOU’s external security cameras, the new IMOU Bullet 2E 2MP.
The IMOU Bullet 2E 2MP external security camera is a fixed outdoor camera that features:
- Extremely High Resolution (both day and night)
- Smart Colour Night Vision (full colour pictures, even in complete darkness)
- 1080P (2MP) Full HD
- Diversified Storage
- Human Detection
- Built-in Spotlights, Microphone and Wi-Fi Hotspot
- IP67 Weatherproof
In the box there is:
- Camera
- Power adapter with 3 metre cable
- Waterproof connector
- Positioning map
- Pack of mounting screws
- Quick Start Guide
We have all seen lots of private homes with outdoor security lighting and now outdoor security cameras are becoming more and more popular, especially as they are becoming more budget friendly whilst getting much better quality for your money. The IMOU Bullet 2E outdoor camera is a budget friendly camera but is a high-quality external waterproof and wireless camera that captures images in HD (stills and video) and is packed with a host of features.
Out of the box, it is really quick and simple to set up and the app makes it even easier to use. The biggest problem we had was deciding where to mount it. Once we decided where we wanted it, there is a position map in the box so that you can easily drill holes into the wall to affix it very easily (before you start drilling, make sure that the power cable will reach a power socket – it is a 3 metre cable but we had problems getting it situated in the right place to reach a power socket without drilling through a thick stone wall). The camera itself is rated IP67, so will stand up to the British weather and has a waterproof connector cover to protect the where the power connects.
Setting up a wireless security camera really isn’t that difficult, but IMOU have made it as simple as possible. We already had the free app downloaded for the Ranger 2C 4MP internal camera, so we just had to click the add button on the screen and follow the onscreen instructions, scanning the QR code on the camera to make sure that we were installing the correct version of the IMOU range of cameras. For us, it installed and connected to our wifi network in minutes with no issues whatsoever. It really was just a few minutes from opening the box to having a fully installed and operational indoor security camera, all without any hassle – it was frustration free.
Once the camera is installed you will need to decide how you are going to store any recorded images. The best way is to use the secure Cloud Storage feature, there is a charge for this – with this camera you get 7 days free cloud storage to try this out and see if it is suitable for your needs and then you will need to take a subscription starting from as little as £0.05p per day (any recordings stored in the Cloud are all encrypted and password protected so only you can view them – for more information click here). If you don’t want to pay out for a subscription you can always use purchase a microSD card and store them on that (the camera has a panel underneath which is held in place with two screws and underneath is a microSD slot). As well as recording to the Cloud or a memory card, you can also manually record and take still images using the app and save them on your phone.
Once affixed to the wall and added to the app, the camera is up and running with the default settings – you will want to change some of these as some of the options that you can turn on are pretty cool – especially when it comes to the night vision options.
If you have used a security camera before, internal or external, you may already be aware of the night vision footage they are capable of recording. The black and white looking or negative images. Well, the Bullet 2E does the same but in very high quality and has an extra feature –if you turn on the full colour night vision option then not only do you get high quality images in the dark, but you will also get them in full high-quality colour. The camera has a range of 30 metres colour night vision upon detection of suspicious motion.
There are also some other excellent options that can be enabled to make the camera much more powerful and user friendly.
As the camera has human motion detection, every time the camera detects a human form in its field of view it will send a notification to your phone or tablet and start recording (if you have a storage option set up). Now that is not necessarily a good thing, especially if the camera is pointing at high traffic areas – who wants notifications every time you pop out into the garden to hang up the washing or the kids are out playing? The camera is equipped with a Detection Schedule. With the Detection Schedule option can set the hours of motion detection so that you are not getting notifications during the day when you would be usually using the garden, or even from people passing the garden (very good if pointing towards a road or pavement where there will be a lot of footfall throughout the day). This option will allow you to set it just for the hours of the night when no one is using the garden and notifications will be drastically reduced, and only notifying you when no one should be in your garden.
Another useful feature is that you can also set your own customised motion detection activity zones so that it will only detect motion in the zones that you set (maybe at a door or window rather than the whole area the camera is looking at). This again will reduce false notifications.
When the camera does spot motion at night, not only does it notify you and start recording but the in-built spotlights will come on to illuminate the area (this can be set as a solid light or flashing light).
All the functions can be controlled through the phone app and the Live View function is free to use.
Overall, we love this camera. It is very easy to setup straight out of the box – no technical knowledge needed, just follow the onscreen prompts after downloading the free app. The app is fully functional, allowing you enable or disable the features that you want to use with ease. The notifications when motion has been detected come through straight away to our phones, although this will depend on having a reliable broadband connection at home and on your phone (the wireless connection on the camera hasn’t had any dropouts or loss of connection, even with some of the bad stormy weather we have recently been experiencing as it has a built-in wifi hotspot). The night vision is perfect, you are able to make out details clearly within the image and the addition of the full colour night mode is excellent (and still very clear and high quality in this mode). The camera even features audio recording so you can record any noise or talking.
If you want to add a bit of added protection to your home security setup for recording purposes of any intruder (hopefully this will never be needed) or just to monitor your outside space, then we can highly recommend the IMOU Bullet 2E outdoor security camera. The quality is excellent, it is so easy to use, and the array of easy-to-use features are just excellent.
The IMOU Bullet 2E is an excellent quality, feature packed security camera that belies its budget friendly price. For under £60 it is a reasonably inexpensive addition to beef up your home security and if the need should arise, gives you very clear footage of any intruder or burglar to aid the police in any investigation and the night vision is as clear as looking at the camera during the day.
An excellent outdoor security camera, although if we had to make any changes a 5 metre power cable would be a massive improvement!
Rating: 4.5/5
RRP: £59.99
For more information visit imoulife.com. Available to buy from Amazon here.
