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The vast majority of our reviews come from verified purchases. Reviews from customers may include My Best Buy members, employees, and Tech Insider Network members (as tagged). Select reviewers may receive discounted products, promotional considerations or entries into drawings for honest, helpful reviews.

• Rated 5 out of 5 stars

  Pretty nice indoor wired camera!

  • Tech Insider Network Member
  • Top 250 Contributor

  I have two outdoor Google Nest cameras - a camera and a doorbell (more for the camera) but this is the first time I’ve invited Google as a “camera” into my home without it being attached to something else (Nest hub, phone, etc). Some good / bad and indifferent first, then more details - and will include (pic) when I back it up with proof … Good: Weight / Balance Daylight Clarity Google Home App USB-C to power Meh: Nighttime clarity Can’t turn off the “I’m here” light Bad: Wall/ceiling mount angle I have lots of cameras all around the outside of my home - wired PoE, Blink and a battery operated Google Camera (which is unfortunately out of battery today) - so I proudly display stickers that we record both audio & video. I currently have a Google Home Premium subscription (I have the Nest Doorbell), so my experience may be different than those that don’t have it - since there are more benefits, so take that into consideration. Initial thoughts - pretty heavy, nice grippy base and USB-C to the small sideways angled power brick. The gray is a nice look as well. My first bit of use was while I was out of town & had people coming & going to feed the pets. I was notified promptly of the guests and got snippets of their actions when in the view of the camera. Listening remotely, I found the sound was clear and at times LOUD - as I caught my mom watching youtube on the couch at 110% volume. With the subscription, it kept the videos, identified people vs pets and the quick clips and even gave a preview “zoomed in” on what made that trigger go off. Example: cat was jumping off the couch. Instead of the entire room being replayed for a small animal jumping, the preview showed a zoomed in cat - and when I clicked on the video to watch the replay, it was the entire room & I could choose to zoom where I wanted. Pretty slick. More common App customizations are motion zones, if you want to record audio with your alerts (or only during live view), how bright to make that stupid “I’m here status” light, (and none of those are “off”), and to use faces to let you know who’s there (if you set that up). I did find that when looking at night across a very open room with high ceilings, it looked rather hazy - as if the IR + camera were trying too hard & was making it look bad (pic). However, the color & clarity of the videos during daylight hours were great - no complaints there (pic). After those few days, the camera was relocated to its final destination - the garage. In the Google Home App, it’s ready for this designation! You can set it to watch for open garage doors & then alert numerous times at specified intervals; I set it for 5 reminders at 30 mins apart - mainly because I forget to shut the garage door in the late afternoon & with it getting dark earlier, I don’t want to find a coyote in there staring at me when I go to grab a beer. As the garage has a lower ceiling and is a much smaller room, night vision is perfectly fine (pic) and I am happy with how it looks - live, or recorded. I initially wanted to mount it to the ceiling & point at the garage door specifically but found that I hit the base when angling the camera back for a higher view. Even swiveling the camera so it’s facing the rear of the base didn’t help, so it landed on the fridge (pic). All in all, this is a very good camera. I do wish the larger area night vision wasn’t so hazy and that the ceiling mount could angle properly for me, but to me, it’s a solid wired camera. Recommended!

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  Posted 1 week ago by nhtechie

• Rated 5 out of 5 stars

  Great video and audio. Do you like subscriptions?

  • Tech Insider Network Member

  Unboxing the Google Nest Cam Indoor was very straightforward. Inside the box is the camera (this thing is hefty for its size and feels like it’s forged from a single steel billet), a 10-foot USB-C power cable (hard-wired), power adapter, wall anchors and screws, and a quick-start guide. Packaging is clean and minimal and completely recyclable. Setup couldn’t be simpler: Plug it in using the included AC adapter, open the Google Home app, and follow the prompts. Easy. Camera placement is limited only by the presence of the power cord. It must be within 10 feet of a wall outlet, and I’ll have to get creative to properly conceal the cord. The Google Nest Cam Indoor can be placed on a table, windowsill, shelf – wherever – and it can also be wall mounted. I have currently placed the camera on a bookshelf in the office. The 2K HDR video is impressive. Colors are accurate, even in low light. Motion is smooth (I noticed no stutter or lag), and the field of view is wide enough to cover the entire room without distortion – though I do note a bit of a fisheye effect. Night vision is outstanding with illumination provided by two infrared LEDs. Yes, the night vision is black and white, but it is easy to identify faces and make out details in little or no light. The LEDs have sufficient range to view the entire office (about 15’) with the lights off. Audio is full-duplex, and it works well. I tested the two-way talk feature with my wife, and it was like using a walkie-talkie with a built-in mute button. Again, no lag, and speech is easily intelligible. Solely based on the function and quality of the audio, I’m contemplating upgrading our video doorbell to Nest. The camera’s built-in intelligence seems pretty cool. Documentation indicates it reliably detects people, pets, and motion, and it can send alerts. With Gemini integration, you can ask plain-language questions and get relevant responses complete with summary and pertinent video clips. Unfortunately, the camera is currently on a shelf in my home office where there is minimal activity. My plan is, come springtime, to set it up in the sunroom where it will have adequate shelter (it is an indoor cam) and a view overlooking the back yard and pool; it’s going to be awesome for monitoring activity. If you’ve ever used the Google Home app, getting to know your Google Nest Cam is very intuitive. Everything works just as you expect, and the interface is clean and easy to navigate. Here is my only complaint: Functionality is hobbled without a subscription. There are no event alerts (people, pets, cars). You’re limited to 3 hours of event video previews. No full video history. No continuous recording. To unlock the full feature set – like 30-day (Standard) or 60-day (Advanced) event history, facial recognition, and 24/7 recording – you’ll need a Google Home subscription, currently either $10/mo. or $20/mo. It’s not outrageous, but it’s a little disappointing. I wish more of the camera’s capabilities were available out of the box. The camera picture and sound quality are excellent. Build quality feels solid. It has a pleasing, unobtrusive design. The performance is top-tier. If you’re already in the Google ecosystem and don’t mind the subscription, this is a fantastic indoor security solution. Overall, the Nest Cam Indoor delivers sharp, colorful video with super-simple setup. Just be aware that full functionality resides behind a paywall. If you’re okay with that, it’s a great addition to your home.

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  Posted 2 weeks ago by GamerDad

• Rated 4 out of 5 stars

  Priceless Security!

  • Tech Insider Network Member

  My first Nest camera was the Hello Video Doorbell. It was revolutionary to me, discovering the ability to capture all what occurred outside my residence. Based off that experience, I added the Nest Cam IQ Indoor camera. Even though there were more affordable options, my decision to go with that model was the fact that it was years ahead in terms of technology back then. The Google Nest Cam Indoor (wired, 3rd gen) has a similar appearance with a smaller formfactor. While not as expensive as the Nest Cam IQ Indoor was when it was available for purchase, this new addition to Google’s indoor cameras is a genuine contender to the IQ’s reign in my household. As packaged: • Google Nest Cam Indoor (wired, 3rd gen) • 10ft power cable with USB-C adapter • Cable clips (x2) • Wall screws and anchors (3 each) • Quick start guide • Safety & warranty document As previously mentioned, the Google Nest Cam 3rd gen is smaller than my previous Nest Cam IQ but actually weighs more at about 393g. It features a wider 152-degree diagonal field of view and is capable of 2K video resolution (2560 x 1440) at 20fps. Zooming capability is capped at 6X. Night vision is excellent thanks to two high-powered infrared LEDs. There is a status light to indicate video activity. Wireless connectivity is via Bluetooth and along with 802.11ac standard (2.4GHz/5GHz) for Wi-Fi. As formidable as the technical specifications may be, software capable of harnessing all of this is equally important. The device works with the Google Home app. My older generation Google Nest devices work with the Nest app and are accessible via the Google Home app albeit with limited use; timelapse for example is only available via the Nest app for these devices. In the Google Home app, there is no such feature. With incorporation of Gemini in the Google Nest Cam Indoor 3rd gen, review of footage is easier than actually scrolling through time lapse. One simply asks the Gemini via the Google Home app and wait on the response. One of my favorites is the daily brief where all observations are summarized for the user. It must be added that along with responses, Gemini provides clips to back them up. Another pleasant surprise was the seamless integration of my familiar faces from the Nest app. With Gemini onboard, captured events are displayed with description for notifications and to see faces tagged is quite refreshing to me. Setup was fairly straightforward. From the Google Home app, there is an option to scan the provided device QR code or search using your smartphone/tablet’s Bluetooth. Hardware appears well-built. Videos are clear with crisp audio. Two-way communication works the same way they have with my other devices: unmute the microphone to speak and then mute to hear the other person. Activity zones can also be created to focus on specific zones should you choose. Various settings for heard and seen events can help you fine tune your events for notifications. Given that my other Nest/Google devices are still actively working, my new Google Nest Cam 3rd gen should be around for a while. I have always had a subscription for my cameras. The previous Nest Aware Plus was the only option which provided 10 days of continuous video recording and 60 days of stored events I found useful for my needs. It is now called the Advanced plan under the rebranded Google Home Premium moniker. This subscription tier allows me to harness the most potential of Gemini, in my opinion. 60 days of access to stored events implies 60 searchable days by Gemini. The descriptions delivered with the notifications are also only available with the Advanced plan. While I am a loyal subscriber, this may be a dealbreaker for others once realization sets in they may not be using their devices to their utmost potential. The tradeoff in my opinion is the relatively lower price of the device itself compared to the Nest Cam IQ in its prime. Gemini is without fault but it is also continuously evolving. In summary, the Google Nest Cam 3rd gen is the culmination of years of development. With the integration of Gemini, a new era of boundless possibilities may be upon us, in my opinion. If there was any improvement for the next iteration, I would recommend a larger zoom capability and a possible return of the Supersight feature for tracking. As packaged, this device provides robust security with subscription which is priceless in my opinion. I totally recommend.

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  Posted 1 week ago by Knivels