These have been replaced now by gen 2 cameras, so probably explains the price.
Don't forget these are subscription based as well. You need to pay ongoing costs if you want cloud recording.
The bonus solar panel is a fairly good sweetener. That can be used across other cameras in the essential range.
These cameras are direct connection to wifi, so no homebase required.
Price $345 now.
Second generation is USB-C
what is the recommendation for non cloud subscription options at a reasonable price? Eufy??
Eufy or Tapo
JB HI FI is currently having a sale on some Tapo C410, 3 pack will solar powered charger for $299.
considering buying it, I steered away from Arlo cause of cloud sub or requiring a hub to store locally.
Tapo C410, can take a Micro SD card and store locally, which you can access via the app and also have setting so it deletes the video in a first in first delete order.
you can also get cloud sub if you really want to.
I reckon $299 for 3pack of solar powered camera is pretty good.
I might check these out actually!
Did more research on them, the video quality is pretty solid for what they are and the price.
Good thing about it is that a 256gb card can store upto 16 days worth of recordings.
It doesn't have RTSP, so not continuously recording and only records when motion is detected.
Has spotlights or IR for night time recording+ has 2 way voice call feature.
Honestly you are getting bang for your buck here.
Ofcourse it's got Cons but for $299 with solar charging for 3 cams oh also 256gb MicroSd roughly $35 from mightyape
Curious to know if anyone has bought these? seems a good price - I have 2x Arlo Pro2 which are EOL and the viewing of video's realtime is a tedious procedure now and I am keen to swap them out.
Re the subscription - I wondered if you can still use local storage without a subscription by connecting a USB drive to a compatible Arlo base station or hub
This allows you to store and access recordings locally, though it may not be as convenient as cloud storage - but if you have a good home internet connection should be ok?
Or should one steer clear of these?
Yes and No. They have that covered. You can record, but it doesn't support playback. Essentially you have to remove your device from the base station and plug it in to a computer if you want to view anything recorded. As you can probably imagine that soon becomes pretty tedious unless you very rarely have any need to view your footage.
One of the homebase models (VMB4540 smarthub) apparently does support playback from the device. But it still has other limitations.
Agh right, I have the VMB4000 base from the Pro 2 cameras I was thinking of replacing with these Essential 1080p Spotlight Cameras and connecting up to the VMB4000, was hoping the external drive would be the solution to avoid paying their subscription fees!
Previous post for the kit
https://www.cheapies.nz/node/49686
Some feedback on the solar panel
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/635812
The 2nd gen of the solar panel is currently $68 at Harvey
https://www.harveynorman.co.nz/networking-smart-home-and-hom…