Best Outdoor Smart Security Camera for House?
I've spent countless hours online the last few days trying to find the perfect smart security camera and am utterly confused.
It seems the ideal solution for me is not available.
I'd like to maintain the exterior light fixtures at the front of the house, ideally would like to avoid paying a high subscription fee, and want it to look good with no visible wiring (and no new wiring through the walls). I'm planning on starting with one camera at the front of the house (porch) with room to expand to the rear as well down the road.
I like the idea of hard wiring a security camera to the original junction box of the light by the front door, and since I want to maintain a light fixture on my front porch and above the garages, the only option that would work is the Maximus camera that replaces the lights with a built in camera + companion lights for the garage fixtures that work in unison. The issue with this is that I don't love the look of the lights themselves but more importantly, the subscription cost is a must and is expensive ($10USD a month) to keep footage in the cloud. It's about $400 for the camera fixture + 2 accompanying cameras. The ring spotlight looked like a good option, but I don't like the look of the 5000K light which takes away from the fixture look. I'd also need to install smart bulbs for the garage fixtures and with my wifi connection at the other end of the house, it'll become a complicated system that may not work reliably.
I didn't want battery options but now I'm considering it, so I can leave all of my house light fixtures as is and just install the camera to the wall nice and clean. The Arlo Pro 2 looks good (and on sale now), but I heard horrible reviews with our cold Canadian winters, that the battery dies crazy fast because of this, as well as the fact that you can't create motion spots/regions to avoid it being triggered on every time a car drives by (this feature only works if it's plugged in, which would look horrible having a cord to the electrical outlet below). I also like the idea of having a central hub by the router to extend the range like the Arlo offers, and that you don't need a subscription.
So I'm completely stumped. Any suggestions? I want to avoid a fully wired professionally installed system and want to keep it as simple and clean as possible. I love the idea of using my porch light's existing junction box, but so far the options I'm aware of don't work for the reasons stated above. I'm open to the battery options but am concerned with the longevity with our cold climates. Is there an ideal solution here?
Edit: Also was considering just getting the ring doorbell, but the builder mounted my doorbell sideways and facing towards my neighbour's house. I realize I can get wedges to angle it 45 degrees, but it will still be facing towards my neighbours house rather than towards my garage and driveway (which it would have had it been mounted on the other side of the door frame).
It seems the ideal solution for me is not available.
I'd like to maintain the exterior light fixtures at the front of the house, ideally would like to avoid paying a high subscription fee, and want it to look good with no visible wiring (and no new wiring through the walls). I'm planning on starting with one camera at the front of the house (porch) with room to expand to the rear as well down the road.
I like the idea of hard wiring a security camera to the original junction box of the light by the front door, and since I want to maintain a light fixture on my front porch and above the garages, the only option that would work is the Maximus camera that replaces the lights with a built in camera + companion lights for the garage fixtures that work in unison. The issue with this is that I don't love the look of the lights themselves but more importantly, the subscription cost is a must and is expensive ($10USD a month) to keep footage in the cloud. It's about $400 for the camera fixture + 2 accompanying cameras. The ring spotlight looked like a good option, but I don't like the look of the 5000K light which takes away from the fixture look. I'd also need to install smart bulbs for the garage fixtures and with my wifi connection at the other end of the house, it'll become a complicated system that may not work reliably.
I didn't want battery options but now I'm considering it, so I can leave all of my house light fixtures as is and just install the camera to the wall nice and clean. The Arlo Pro 2 looks good (and on sale now), but I heard horrible reviews with our cold Canadian winters, that the battery dies crazy fast because of this, as well as the fact that you can't create motion spots/regions to avoid it being triggered on every time a car drives by (this feature only works if it's plugged in, which would look horrible having a cord to the electrical outlet below). I also like the idea of having a central hub by the router to extend the range like the Arlo offers, and that you don't need a subscription.
So I'm completely stumped. Any suggestions? I want to avoid a fully wired professionally installed system and want to keep it as simple and clean as possible. I love the idea of using my porch light's existing junction box, but so far the options I'm aware of don't work for the reasons stated above. I'm open to the battery options but am concerned with the longevity with our cold climates. Is there an ideal solution here?
Edit: Also was considering just getting the ring doorbell, but the builder mounted my doorbell sideways and facing towards my neighbour's house. I realize I can get wedges to angle it 45 degrees, but it will still be facing towards my neighbours house rather than towards my garage and driveway (which it would have had it been mounted on the other side of the door frame).
