Home security technology has advanced greatly over the years and has become much more affordable for everyone. More people are getting security conscious these days and taking steps to protect their homes and adding monitoring and recording devices internally as well as externally with the aid of internet connected security cameras. And these security cameras have more uses than just watching out for thieves – you can keep an eye on pets, children, elderly relatives and even have a conversation with them through the cameras. Home monitoring has never been easier to achieve and with no real need for DIY or tech skills, especially with internal cameras such as the budget friendly Ranger 2C 4MP Indoor Security Camera from IMOU.
There are many reasons for getting a security camera. Your primary objective might be for home security reasons to monitor rooms in the event of a break in so that you can be alerted and monitor in real-time what is happening within your home when you are not there. But you might also want a camera to monitor pets, or to keep an eye on the children when they are in a different room, or maybe you want to observe what the carers of elderly relatives get up to whilst you are not there. Or maybe it is for a combination or all those things.
Security cameras are no longer those old-fashioned big chunky box CCTV (closed circuit television camera) that you find in banks, shops and so on. These days, cameras are smaller and more aesthetically pleasing that don’t look out of place in a room. And as with the cameras of old, there is no longer the need for a bank of monitors to view different cameras. We all have phones, tablets and laptops and these are now our eyes through the camera lens and into the room.
The IMOU Ranger 2C 4MP Indoor Security Camera is an app controlled indoor security and home monitoring camera. It is a small 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 or recorded, will go some way to assist the police and in the event of an arrest, and be excellent undeniable evidence.
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
The size of the camera is quite small, measuring 106.1 x 77.4 x 77.4mm (4.17 x 3.04 x 3.04” inches) 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 if you wanted to mount it on the ceiling.
Hi-tech security camera, internet connected, phone app – setting up the Ranger sounds like it could be a difficult task, but it really isn’t and IMOU have made it as simple as possible. Just download the free IMOU app to your phone or tablet and follow the simple onscreen instructions. These will take you through scanning QR codes on the camera to make sure that you are installing the correct version of the IMOU range of cameras and then helping you to configure it. Within a couple of minutes, it was installed and connected to my wi-fi network 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 and completely frustration free.
As an internal camera, the Ranger can be used for different needs. Depending on what you are using the camera for (I use it for home security), you will need to decide on how and where you want to store captured recordings. 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. Alternatively, 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. You can have up to 256GB microSD card installed (a 64GB card gives 4 days recording, 128GB gives 8 days recording and a 256GB will give 16 days recording). As the camera is also an internet connected camera, you also have the option to save recorded video up and out of the way to the Cloud (there is a fee attached to 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 £0.07p 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).
Once the camera is installed and monitoring your home, you might have concerns around privacy issues. You might have questions such as do you want to be recorded constantly in your own room where the camera is installed or is the camera always listening in to conversations? Of course not. IMOU take privacy very seriously and it is fully GDPR compliant and comes with privacy features included: encrypted and password protected recordings and a privacy shield to cover the camera lens when you are home as well as shutting off the microphone. Through the app, you can enable/disable the camera shielding for privacy with one click of the arm or disarm button, so easy to use and all controlled from your phone. You can even set a schedule for when the camera is armed and disarmed.
The camera is packed with features that make it brilliant to use and more than just an all-seeing eye. And 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 people/pets in the room, perfect for use 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 so that you can see what is happening in the room whilst it is in darkness. With its 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 my 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. I found that this worked extremely well with very little lag between someone walking through the room and the camera movement. You can also share the camera with between 6 and 20 people (depending on what plan you use) so that others can also monitor the camera.
This might be a security camera that is 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 I have found them all to be crystal clear, that goes for day or night vision recordings. They can played back through the app on your phone or tablet or downloaded to a laptop (you can remotely download if you take out the Plus Plan).
The only negative I found with this camera (as well as other cameras I have tried) is with the length of the power cable, it really does need to be longer. I 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 (mine are near the floor) then you might have trouble plugging power in – as far as I’m concerned, the power cable needs to double in length to allow for this and giving a bit of slack for tidying the cable away. I would have had the same issue if ceiling mounting the camera it as I have no power sockets that high up unless taking the cable through the ceiling and through the floor above (although that might not be an issue for others).
Overall, I love the IMOU Ranger 2C 4MP Indoor Security Camera. It is very easy to setup straight out of the box without the need for any real technical knowledge. As long as you can download an app and follow instructions you shouldn’t have any issues. The app is fully functional, allowing you enable or disable the features that you want to use with ease. Notifications when motion has been detected come through straight away to my phone, although this will depend on having a reliable broadband connection at home and on your phone. The night vision is perfect, I can clearly make out details clearly within the image during the night.
If you want to add a bit of added protection to your internal home security measures for recording purposes of any intruder (hopefully this will never be needed) or just to monitor pets or family members, then I 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.
The IMOU Ranger 2C 4MP Indoor Security Camera is an excellent quality feature packed internal security camera but at a budget friendly price (under £35). If the power cable was longer, it would be perfect – although I am happier now that I have sited the camera lower down and think it works better than being higher up, so the cable issue is no longer an issue for me.
Rating: 4.5/5
RRP: £34.99
For more information visit imoulife.com. Available to buy from Amazon here.