Nest Cam review and setup

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I am already a Nest Thermostat user so the Nest Cam was the next logical addition. Luckily Nest wanted to send one over. I walk through the setup, app and functions.

The simplicity of setting up the Nest Cam makes it quick and easy for any homeowner or business. Make sure you dowload the Nest app and register an account. Also make sure you do the setup before mounting this camera. The easy setup relies on the QR code scan. The QR code just happens to be at the back of the camera.

As I show in the linked review video, I was able to add this to the Nest app with the Thermostat and quickly start streaming the camera to devices. I was also able to set motion detection and home/away modes so it would not be on either during certain times or when I came home. This gives a little more privacy for those that only want it streaming when they are not there.

I decided to leave the Nest Cam stream at 720p (the default) instead of 1080p to save one some bandwidth. The auio listening ability worked great as well as the ability to talk through the camera. I show both of those in the review video.

I tested night vision of the Nest Cam and the clarity was excellent. It picked up ambient light and gave a great image. You can see sample images in the video.
Nest Cam stream

Nest Cam comes with a decently long cord and mounting hardware. It is not meant to swivel 360 degrees so plan the angle and use the 180 degree tilt ability I show. The metal plate for mounting has screws underneath to use. Or you can detach the camera and mount on any standard camera mount which was a great feature.

Now I need to mention that the Nest Cam gets hot in my opinion. Definitely more than the other two brands I run and have tested. I am not sure why it gets so much hotter. If that disrupts the functions I will update the review later. Remember this is not an outdoor camera, strictly indoor and away from long periods of direct sunlight.

Overall the downfall of the entire Nest Cam is the app. It had some disconnects. But simply exiting and opening it again reset the stream. Nest offers paid monthly services around cloud storage for your video stream. I can see most wanting this for live viewing. Everything else is configurable via the app itself and that worked without issues.

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Images courtesy of Nest.com for marketing

See also my review on the Belkin NetCam Wi-Fi HD+ Camera with Night Vision review