But the company has branched out and added its smart surveillance technology to this compact outdoor security camera. Because it can be difficult to find power sources for outside cameras, we like that the Ring Spotlight Cam has three power options: battery, hardwired, or solar. It also has a built in, motion activated spotlight that will stop trespassers in their tracks. Plus added features like two way audio, a 110 decibel siren, and integration with Amazon Alexa make this camera a leader in outdoor surveillance. That’s why the Ring Spotlight Cam was ranked our number one choice for outdoor security cameras. The distance from which your camera can record images in low to no light situations can have a great impact on its effectiveness if you want to capture activity after the sun sets. We’ve all dealt with photos that are too dark to make out any details. It’s frustrating when it’s a wedding photo, but it’s nerve racking when you’re trying to capture a face or license plate after a break in. Pay attention to the existing lighting in the areas where you want to install security cameras.For example, you can create rules to have the lights turn on when motion is detected, have your doors unlock when a smoke alarm goes off, and have a camera begin recording when a sensor is triggered.Some systems store recorded video locally on an SD card or a solid state drive, while others offer cloud storage.Locally stored video is a good choice for do it yourselfers on a budget, but you have to be careful not to Lunaoverwrite video you may need later.Cloud Pandostorage makes it easy to store and access recorded video, but Alarm Panel it can cost hundreds of dollars per year depending on your subscription.Some Motion Activated Camerasystems offer both cloud storage and local storage, Cove Alarm Paneland some provide a dedicated storage drive that gives you DVR capabilities with time lapse recording, which makes it easy to find a video event that took place at a specific point in time.All of the systems we've Cove Glass break sensortested feature an app that lets you use your smartphone as yourYoutube command center to arm and disarm the system, create rules, add and delete components, and receive push notifications when alarms are triggered.Most apps also allow you to do things like view live and recorded Appvideo, lock and unlock doors, indeedchange thermostat settings, and silence alarms.Some apps will even use your phone's location services to glassdoorautomatically arm and disarm the system according to your physical location.The more expensive systems usually come with a wall mounted Linkpanel that acts as a communicationsLink hub, with a touch screen display that allows you to do everything the app does.The display lets youLink communicate with a professional monitoringLink service when an alarm is triggered and view video from any of the installed security cameras.While many systems use wireless components that are installed using double sided tape, some high end systems use components that require professional Linkinstallation. Look for the night vision range of each camera and consider how much area you want to cover. And beware of using an indoor camera to look outside; they can’t usually capture images through a window or after dark.