These days, more and more people are getting security conscious, especially when it comes to their homes (I know that we are). That doesn’t just mean better locks, lighting and outdoor security cameras, it now also encompasses indoor security, including internal cameras. Home monitoring in this day and age is a must and it has never been easier to achieve. It could be that you just want to monitor certain rooms in your home that the children use, or you want to monitor different points of entry as a security feature when you are not there. There are a number of different cameras on the market and for this review we were sent the budget friendly IMOU Ranger 2C 4MP indoor NVR (Network Video Recorder) security camera.
When we think of security cameras, most people will automatically think of the old-fashioned CCTV (closed circuit television camera) that you find in banks, shops and so on – the big and ugly cameras that really do stand out. But these days more and more homes are equipped with their own security cameras and long gone are the days of big and ugly cameras mounted to outside walls or on the ceilings that can be seen from a distance. And there is no longer the need for a bank of monitors used to view different cameras. We live in a world where we have apps on our phones and tablets to do a large array of things, and home security is no different. The IMOU Ranger 2C 4MP is an app controlled indoor security and home monitoring camera. It is a small(ish) and discreet camera that is packed with features and is an excellent way to add a bit of added protection to your home. In the event that your home should be broken in to, hopefully a high-definition video recording, that can also be viewed live, will help to assist the police.
The IMOU Ranger 2C 4MP Security Camera offers:
- Cost Effectiveness for family budgets
- Privacy Mode: IMOU GDPR compliance (User data protection is always the first priority of IMOU)
- 4MP QHD (Quad High-definition resolution)
- Diversified Storage (Cloud or microSD card)
- Advanced IR Algorithm Provides Clear Pictures In Darkness
- Auto on&off Night Vision Mode
- Smart Human Detection (No False Alert)
- Pan&Tilt 360° Coverage (No Blind Spot)
- Abnormal Sound Alarm
- Full-duplex Two-way Talk
- Free App
Out of the box, the size of the camera is quite small and has a solid and quality feel to it. It has non-slip rubber feet on the base and is supplied with a discrete plate (and fittings) for inverted mounting.
Setting up a wireless security camera sounds like it could be a different task, but it really isn’t and IMOU have made it as simple as possible. You just need to download the free IMOU app to your phone and follow the onscreen instructions, scanning QR codes to make sure that you are 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.
Now depending on what you are using the camera for, you will have to decide on how you want to store data. If you are using for home monitoring purely to keep an eye on children, elderly relatives or even pets you might not need to store any recordings. If you are using it for home security purposes, you will need to store the recorded video somewhere. The IMOU Ranger 2C 4MP has a hidden microSD card slot where you can install your own microSD card and record on a loop, the only cost of this is the price of the card. As the camera is also a Cloud camera, you also have the option to save recorded video up and out of the way to the Cloud. 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).
Now, once the camera is installed and monitoring your home, you might have concerns about privacy – do you want to be recorded constantly in your own room where the camera is installed? Of course not. IMOU take privacy very seriously and it is fully GDPR compliant and comes with privacy features included: encrypted and password protected recording and a privacy shield to cover the camera lens when you are home. You can enable the camera shielding for privacy with one click, so easy to use and all controlled from your phone.
The camera is packed with features that make it brilliant to use. It doesn’t just monitor and record video. It has two-way audio so that not only can you hear what is happening in the room, but you can speak back to the people/pets in the room, maybe as a calming voice for pets when you are not there, or worst case, informing an intruder that you have called the police and they are on their way. It has very clear night vision (makes the room look like it is in daylight). With the pan & tilt feature you can manually control the camera to have a 360 degree look around the room and tilt the camera lens up and down. It is also equipped with a very loud siren that you can set the decibel level from 50dB to 90dB to scare off any intruders. It has features Abnormal Sound Detection so that if it picks up an unusual sound like breaking glass, or even a crying baby, a notification will automatically be sent to your phone. But our favourite feature has to be the Smart Human Detection and tracking. The Smart Human Detection detects a person in the room (with no false alerts so far) and the camera then tracks their movement around the room so that they are always in view. We found that this worked extremely well with very little lag between some walking through a room and the camera movement.
The IMOU Ranger 2C 4MP camera might be suitable for family budgets but it certainly doesn’t skimp on features or have budget video quality. The quality of the images recorded is excellent and so far, we have found them all to be crystal clear, that goes for day or night vision recordings.
The only negative we found was with the length of the power cable, it really does need to be longer. We tried mounting it on top of a bookcase and the cable didn’t reach any plug sockets, so unless your plug sockets are mounted half-way or higher up the wall (ours, in most rooms, are all near the floor) then you might have trouble plugging power in – I think the power cable needs to double in length to allow for this and giving a bit of slack for tidying the cable away. We would have had the same issue if we had ceiling mounted it as we have no power sockets that high up (although that might not be an issue for others).
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 night vision (QHD) is perfect, you are able to make out details clearly within the image.
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 pets or family members, then we can highly recommend the IMOU Ranger 2C 4MP security camera. The quality is excellent, it is so easy to use, and the features are excellent.
An excellent quality feature packed security camera but at a budget friendly price (under £40). If the power cable was longer, it would be perfect.
Rating: 4.5/5
RRP: £34.99
For more information visit imoulife.com. Available to buy from Amazon here.
