Originally posted 2019-12-08 11:14:48.

Happy December survivors!

Today I got a chance to review a really cool piece of security equipment that was given to me by the great folks at SUNGLIFE.  Today we’re looking at the SUNGLIFE Outdoor Solar Battery Powered Security Camera, which is an excellent and affordable option to increase the security presence around your home and property.  So, let’s check it out!

 

SUNGLIFE Outdoor Solar Battery Powered Security Camera

Features:

• Completely wireless setup
• Powered by two recharging solar based batteries
• built in solar panels on top of camera
• 2.4GHz wifi connection
• 1080P high definition and standard definition video recording including infrared night vision
• cloud based phone app to easily monitor camera in live time
• Two way audio from camera to phone app
• store video recordings in the cloud or included micro SD card

Unboxing and setting up the SUNGLIFE Outdoor Solar Battery Powered Security Camera

 At first glance, the SUNGLIFE security camera feels solid and reminded me of a classic white surveillance camera.  The exterior of the camera is a white metal and felt very sturdy and  waterproof, which is important because I am installing the camera in what has been a very wet winter so far.   The camera states it has an IP67 waterproof rating. 

After installing the batteries and included 32G SD card, I then began to screw in the baseplate and prepare to get the camera ready to mount outside.  The instructions also do note that you should charge the camera initially by using the included micro  USB plugin.  This helps to juice the batteries up enough to be able to rely on only solar power after it has been mounted outside.  Also, one thing to note is that if you are going to utilize the SD card storage, the camera will have to be dis-mounted in order to unscrew the baseplate and retrieve the SD card for viewing later on your other devices.

After the batteries were installed the camera began to give me an audio cue that it was ready for pairing.  The next step was to download the i-Cam app from the google / IOS store.  In case you’re looking for it, the app you’ll want to use has this icon.

The application is pretty simple to set up – it will cause your phone to emit an audio signal and you will need the phone and the camera to be near one another in order for the camera to pick up this signal.  Once that’s done, the camera is ready for mounting and use.

 

Testing the SUNGLIFE Outdoor Solar Battery Powered Security Camera

Initially I wanted to put the camera in a small grove of scrub oak that we have near our house, but I was concerned this would be too far for the wifi connection to reach the camera – so I opted to mount it on one of the exterior walls of our outdoor sauna.  Installation was a breeze, I used a power drill and the four included screws and the camera was good to go.

Now for testing – I did a few simple tests of walking up my driveway to see how far out the camera will detect motion.  I would estimate in my few walks that the camera started noticing me when I was about 15-20 feet away, which is a fair distance and also helps to prevent picking up false motion events from cars that are passing by on the road (about 50 yards away from where the camera is mounted)

The application allows you to either store these motion events when the camera is turned on to the SD card or “cloud”.  When the cloud mode it selected, it will essentially add these recordings to the gallery on your phone, and each motion detection event will record for 8 seconds.

While on the app, you have the option of turning the camera on and watching from your phone at any given time.  You can take a still picture capture, record video, or turn on the microphone which allows you to start speaking into your phone and the audio will emit from the camera.  While this mode is on, someone in front of the camera can also speak into it and you can communicate with them in real time.  This feature is probably the one I was most excited about and to me it really adds a lot of value – so if you have a delivery driver dropping a package, or someone at the door you can speak to them even if you’re not home (or unwilling to open the door to talk to them)

Recordings have the option of either standard definition or high definition – for the sake of my testing today I just left it in standard def, which is still plenty of detail to be able to see faces clearly and have a good idea of what the camera is picking up.   At night, the camera will automatically switch to infrared LEDs that will allow you to see in black and white, with the white being any warm bodied mass.  See my youtube video for some examples!

Overall, this camera seems to be an excellent value.  From the ease of setting it up, and the features that are on the camera and accompanying phone app, you can really add some security and peace of mind at home knowing you can easily monitor what’s going on around your property.  The added bonus of the two way audio is really cool as well, and I would consider getting another one of these cameras for my front door area so I can communicate with outsiders in a safe way.  While it’s unfortunate we live in a world where home security cameras are more the norm than an exception, the SUNGLIFE Outdoor Solar Battery Powered Security Camera is a great and affordable option if you are looking to get security cameras that are wireless and not break the bank.

Check out SUNGLIFE’s website here, they produce a lot of great electronics including this emergency weather radio and 150W car inverter.

Until next time!