Customer Ratings & Reviews

The Swann CoreCam Security Camera is a nice little camera that takes clear videos and pictures all in HD 1080p. The videos are clear even at night due to the excellent IR function. The camera is only about 3” high (not including the mount) but has a lot of security features that some others in its price class don’t have. The Swann CoreCam comes with camera, mount, 32gb MicroSD card, USB charging cable for rechargeable battery, mounting anchors and screws, quick start guide with summary operating instructions, and theft deterrent stickers in both English and Spanish. The CoreCam has several good security features-1080p HD videos and pictures, 2-way talk, easy recordings (stored on the MicroSD card), weatherproof, and 24/7 day/night vision. It has a powerful Infrared camera for night recordings. The CoreCam has a peripheral vison of 100 degrees (a little less than others of its kind) but still covers my whole backyard. The motion capture distance for both day and night is about 26 feet. The rechargeable battery lasts about 3 months depending on the motion settings (set in the Swann Security App). The Swann CoreCam was easy to set up after fully charged. Once the Swann Security App is downloaded (for iOS or Android), the CoreCam can be paired with you cell phone. Mounting the Swann CoreCam is very easy. It can be used indoors or outdoors. The mounting stand is attached to the camera with a turn screw which makes it easy to remove the camera for charging. The CoreCam mount has a swivel ball to allow you to adjust the direction of the camera for best coverage. After the position of the camera is set, just turn the “nut” to tighten the swivel and the CoreCam is ready to go. Once the CoreCam is paired and mounted all the functions needed to operate the camera is done through the Swann Security app. At the bottom of the App Home Page, is a settings icon that takes you to the CoreCam device Overview Page. Here you can check all the information needed to set up the camera setting to you needs. The app also has a detailed user guide that’s easy to follow. I have my CoreCam set up to cover my backyard. My backyard is about 50x50 and the Swann CoreCam covers the entire backyard. The videos and/or pictures are all stored on the MicroSD card making it easy to transfer recordings to a laptop or computer using the MicroSD card adapter. I like the clarity and the ease of use of the Swann CoreCam. I also like the fact that I can set up a schedule when the camera starts and stops. I do wish that Swann Security had access to a cloud on their website. It does take a bit to find the downloaded videos/pictures on my Android. It also take a little finessing to transfer the CoreCam recordings to a folder on my MicroSD card in my Android. Fortunately, all the recordings are stored on the camera’s MicroSD card so I can still access them any time. I recommend the Swann CoreCam security Camera. It’s small, but powerful and can be put anywhere.

Swann’s Core Cam Security Camera is a great little 100% wireless camera with many features. It can be used indoors or outdoors as it is built to be weatherproof and to resist any type of weather conditions. The images are produced in 1080p HD quality day and night, and the camera is also equipped with infrared night vision so that quality records can be taken 24/7 of any intruder or vandalism. The CoreCam Security Camera comes equipped with 2-way talk and a siren that can be activated through the app. Heat and motion sensing delivers alerts through Swann’s True Detect technology. The CoreCam Camera comes with a 32 GB Micro SD Card and a free 60-day trail of secure record saving to the cloud. Subscriptions can be purchased, or the camera can be used with just the microSD card or the app. A special for new customers with the use of a single camera is offered during installation only for 2.99 a month or 29.99 a year, and the charge will begin after a free 90-day trial. I took advantage of this because I really like the camera and installed it over my patio area. Charging takes a little time and can take up to 5 hours for a complete charge. Usually, a fully charged camera was tested to last for 3 months which is about the same of comparable products. The camera comes with a 32 GB micro-SD card, a USB to micro-USB charging cable, theft deterrent stickers, mounting screws, and a secure screw-on mounting stand. I hope that I am wrong, but I really do not think that the mounting bracket is going to last through the ice and sub-zero temperatures in my area. The plastic just does not seem to be extraordinarily strong at all. I installed it on the facia board under the eave of the house on an inside corner so that it would be protected from the weather elements some, but it still can collect ice during bad winters. The Core Cam Security Camera also has an additional accessory that can be purchased. It is a solar panel which is about the size of an iPad, and which can enable a constant charge to the camera, therefore eliminating having to take it down every 3 months and physically charge it before returning it to its base. That is a nice concept and one I might have to explore further. I was very frustrated with trying to set this camera up. The box advertises “wireless setup in minutes.” I tried for 3 hours one evening to get the camera to pair with my iPhone and almost 4 hours today. I was ready to just write my review and give it one star when I realized that it could not pair with very recent technology, and I was trying to pair it with the app on an iPhone 14 Pro. I added the app to my iPad Pro, and it paired instantly, immediately downloaded a new firmware and did everything it was supposed to do in a matter of seconds. My opinion of the camera reversed completely, and the app works fine now on the iPhone 14Pro once the camera has been set up and installed. It works great on the iPhone 12 Pro. There was just something in the technology of the iPhone 14Pro and the app that would not allow it to pair and set up, it continuously returned an error. I am impressed with it now and most definitely would recommend this camera to a friend.

One of the things that gives us peace of mind in life is security and having a wireless surveillance camera installed can make a huge difference in this area. In addition to the camera, the box includes a USB charger cable, a base with its respective screws and plugs, some documentation, a quick start guide and some stickers and a 32gb micro SD. The installation is very simple once you choose the place where the camera will be installed, it is required to download the Swann Security app to perform the configuration and registration of the device. The camera has a 1080p resolution and the image looks good, and in night mode the image is also clear. The camera has a 32gb micro sd card previously installed, you can format this memory at any time from the camera settings in the Swann Security app, although with this app you have almost total control of the device, the power and reset buttons are physical and are at the bottom of the camera. Regarding the performance of the camera I have no negative comments as being 1080p is a reliable result in terms of image, regarding the microphone and speaker functions are met without difficulty but what if it leaves a little to be desired is the app. It gives the impression that there is no ease regarding how the user can review the events or simply see in real time what happens outside because the app, when you receive a notification of detected movement, does not show you the capture that made that event but sends you to the live view and this is not bad thought but it turns out that there is a delay of about 10 seconds and sometimes more, resulting not very useful to notify you because you lose valuable time even if it does not seem so. The ideal, I think, would be that when we open the notification we can see the recording instead of the live view and then decide if it is necessary to open the live view. Regarding the masks that are areas that can be delimited so that the camera does not detect movement, sometimes it works and sometimes not, sometimes it does not recognize the entire area instead of the area that was previously delimited, it seems to me that the app needs some improvements in this aspect. Regarding the motion detection has several levels of sensitivity, depending on the area where the camera is placed, will be the one you choose. Different modes can be configured so that if you are away from home you can choose the previously configured mode to avoid having to reconfigure the camera all the time, something that I feel is very useful. The camera has a simple but aesthetic design, white color that looks very good, a battery that lasts a long time but, will depend on the notifications settings and motion sensitivity chosen, as the camera goes to sleep mode is activated whenever it detects movement consuming more battery if more events happen in the day to day, it is important to consider this factor as being a wireless camera is required to charge the battery from time to time. In conclusion, this camera was design to take it out of the box, install it, configure it and start using it. It is not required to pay for the Secure+ subscription plan in order to record events, with the included memory you can do that, plus with no cables to connect it is much simpler to operate this device. 1080p looks great and in night mode it looks great too, although the app seems to need improvement, it does give you the option to customize the camera to your needs, there may be other alternatives at similar prices but I think it's a good option if you don't want to deal with wires.

Easy to connect to the Swann app and my network. Once the camera was connected to the app, the app updated to the most recent version. I have the app operating on my android phone and I have 1GB of internet service into my home. You cannot turn the Swann CoreCam camera off with the app, must turn the switch off on the bottom of the camera. Not convenient if you have the camera mounted high. The camera does go into a sleep mode, which will lengthen your battery life however this does not help if you have a lot of activity happening in front of the camera, such as mowing the lawn or a group of people. I prefer the wireless battery-operated cameras because I choose not to run the wiring for electrical power or wired IP connection. If you are monitoring a yard that does not have a great deal of activity wireless battery-operated cameras work fine. During times of a lot of activity with friends or mowing the lawn I turn my cameras off. If you have a great deal of activity, and prefer not turning off your cameras, you may want to consider a Swann wired camera system. Many people have told me they prefer the wired units that are on constantly and display constant video on a monitor. All these people have their base and monitor located in an office or another room and would have to get up and go to that area to monitor the camera. I prefer to get a camera activation notification on my mobile phone, open the camera app on my phone, wherever I may be, and viewing what activated my camera, more convenient for my needs. For the price the picture quality is good. I have 4K cameras that the Swann CoreCam 1080p HD would give a run for their money. I have the CoreCam camera positioned under a 20’ by 20’ patio cover and the video both day and night is good. The camera does come with a 32GB Micro SD Card pre-installed, very nice addition. Most of my video is observed and deleted so this will always be enough for my needs. You can purchase a plan for cloud video if you require it. The CoreCam mounting bracket is one of the better ones I am using, it is very easy to place the camera on and adjust. Goes into standby mode when no motion has been detected, takes 5-10 seconds to awake and produce video. This is a little bothersome when you are wanting to see the area the camera is monitoring. This was also occurring when a notification would come to my android phone. By the time the camera would open with the app, in most cases, the object/person that activated the camera is gone and you must go to the video stored on the camera’s Micro SD Card. Standby Mode Update: it appears the Swann CoreCam is waking up in a split second now, not sure what changed, the location of the camera has not changed, and the wireless signal is the same. I’m now able to click on the notification and, in many cases, see what activated the camera quickly. Standby Mode Update: the Swann CoreCam has revered back to taking approximately 10 seconds and in some cases more, to wake up. Takes a little trial and error to figure out how to batch delete videos. You can press the delete button on the first video and a red square will appear around the video, you move down the list of videos and as you touch each one a red square will appear. You can do this with as many videos as you chose, press the delete button and delete a batch of video. The app ghosted the videos, and it took some time for this to stop however that could be the app or my android phone. The Swann Security app is not the best I have used and it’s not the worst however it is all about preferences and what a person likes or dislikes. The Swann CoreCam Security Camera appears to be a well-made small camera with good video quality, worth the purchase. After four days of constant operation the CoreCam battery has utilized 28 percent of the battery. Battery longevity may not be short as I do not have a great deal of activity where the CoreCam is mounted.

This is the first wifi connected security camera I've ever owned. Like most smart home related products, I was pretty sure that this thing would win or lose based upon two things: how easy it is to set up and how well the app works. Fortunately, it's a win for the most part in these two areas. Attaching the camera to the overhang of my front porch was easy enough. Screws are provided, though I swapped these out with ones I suspected wouldn't strip as easily. If you plan to do this note that if the screw head is even slightly larger than the ones provided you may want to go in at an angle, as the ring that tightens and locks the camera mount itself into position can't really go anywhere and is somewhat in the way of the bottom screw. I wish there was a way to take that part of the mount off of the plate for installation purposes, but I didn't ever figure out a way to do so. It's worth noting that you'll need to charge your camera first, which is done via micro-USB and a provided cable. I would prefer USB-C, but I get that it's probably too large for what they needed on the camera. Once it was charged, it's incredibly easy to mount. You just screw it in like a camera to a tripod plate and voilà. Positioning is simple and straightforward. It's easy to get it just right. Pairing the camera with the Swann app and getting connected to wifi was also easy as pie thanks to a QR code on the back of the camera itself. (You may want to do this before mounting for obvious reasons, depending upon where you hang it.) You'll have to create a Swann account for using the app and while they do offer a paid subscription service, I'm delighted to report that they don't constantly barrage you about joining in the app itself. And about that app. It's not bad. Not great. Notifications about movement and person detection have been spot on. But tapping on those notifications and getting an immediate live feed from the camera itself takes awhile. In the included literature for Swann's Secure+ plan it mentions one of the features is something called "Smart Alerts" which is advertised as being able to "Know What's Happening Faster." I'm not sure what they mean by that, but if they're intentionally delaying the live feed from appearing in the app unless you subscribe to their service, then that's a major knock against this product in terms of company ideology. Regardless, I just wish it pulled up the feed faster so I could see the live stream to tell who or what is at my door when I get a notification. I've had some connectivity issues. My wifi is great, over 300 mbps and I'm getting over 70% signal strength according to Swann's app itself. But every now and then I had trouble getting the camera to show up as being online. I'm cautiously optimistic that these problems have mostly been resolved after a software update (available via the app). But even after the update, trying to check the device info in the app takes a while to load. I wish that could be sped up. The same is true for how this product works with Google Home. I have an Android TV and a Nest smart monitor. I can get Google to pull up the camera reliably via voice command and that's fantastic. But it takes minutes - yes minutes - to actually show an image. As this is happening on both Google devices, I don't think it's a problem with the device itself and something to do with how the feed is sent to them. If that's a Swann issue then I hope they can fix it via update. I also hope that's not part of their subscription benefits... Image quality itself is great both in daylight and lowlight. No complaints there. Being able to have intercom and speaker access to the camera in the app is great. Recordings (from both cloud and the included microSD card) are easily accessible and stream just fine in the app... after they have had time to upload. I don't know how long it takes, but it's certainly not immediate. That said, there's a handy calendar feature to help you find what you're looking for. One thing I haven't figured out just yet... are the modes options in the app. These have received an update in the few days I've had the camera and I think I'll be able to have it do what I want, but I wish it was easier to simply schedule a period for turning off motion detection. We wait for the school bus twice a day, five days a week. I don't need to be alerted someone's at the door during these times, but it looks like I have to configure this in "Home," "Night," or "Away" modes. Really, I wish I could just set time periods for it to turn off detection. That shouldn't be this complicated. All in all, I'm happy with the product and expect it will continue to get better via software updates. The price is right and the quality is solid. Just know it may take a few days to really feel stable.

The Swann CoreCam is a lightweight battery (or wired) operated camera that can be used for securing your home or office. It features local storage with app controls that work over a wifi connection. Swann Camera setup is incredibly quick, with voice prompts guiding you through the process. A brief synopsis 1. Download the Swann app, 2. Sign in / Sign up, and 3. add a camera to your account by pairing it. The sign-in pairing process does require you to have a wifi signal that runs on 2.4 GHz. The app requires you to give it location GPS access as part of the installation process, which I thought was unnecessary, but it does come up with your home address in the process. The voice prompts are a rather nice touch, given that there are few signs on the front of the camera to tell you what's happening. When you turn it on the first time, there is a blue flashing light. In my case, I found it stopped flashing after a few minutes (I got distracted) and had to turn it off and on again to restart the pairing process. Using the camera is easy. As long as you have a decent wifi signal where you are placing the camera, the camera will work. This isn't a cloud-connected camera; all the pictures are stored on the included 32GB microSD. So could this be used without a wifi connection after setup? Yes, I did try that, and it works as a normal motion detection camera, but you would not have the ability to use the Swann app to see what it recorded. When recording motion, the camera has a sequence of blinking LEDs. The camera blinks red when it detects motion and then a rapid blue when it records it to the microSD card. During darker hours, six infrared, visible red LEDs provide night vision. Motion detection is not bad. It is not relying only on visual motion detection, but the onboard infrared sensor acts as a motion detector to aid in capturing motion. The result is that the captured data is rather quick, and there is no delay. The app that controls the camera has a lot of features. One of the first things after setting up the camera for the first time was the request for a firmware update. Once again, without a voice prompt, one would not know what was going on, as the app completes the download, and then nothing happens until voice prompts tell you it's updating firmware. The app is plenty fast, but one thing I found interesting is that when trying to do a live view, you have to wait 5-10 seconds for the camera to come out of sleep mode. I initially thought it wasn't recording motion as it was sleeping, but in reality, it seems that the infrared motion detector is running and thus will capture the motion of cars and people. The app also seems to disconnect often, but one can go into settings and reconnect manually. Reviewing clips, once you find the clip you want, sorted by date and time and number of motion events, you select your video, and it will download it to your phone before it plays it. This is different from other cameras that I have used before that stream it from the camera to the app. The camera detection is via a passive motion detector, and as it stands, the location of the camera mount determines its effectiveness. The camera does come with a wall mount with a ball socket that allows you to place it in an optimum position. This is necessary, as to capture the best image, you would want a downward angle and enough of a walkway with a cross-motion for the camera to detect and start capturing. The app allows you to create motion detection hot zones to enhance the detection of motion. The app also allows you to talk through the camera and use the siren should there be a need. My experience with this Swann camera, compared to other cameras I use, is that the swann is fantastic at capturing motion. The video quality on the camera is very good, in fact, the best I’ve seen in a long time. The colors are bright and accurate, and the image quality is not missing detail. What I did find is that the image quality does have a lot of ‘edge’ enhancement and as such, can be a bit pixelated when zoomed in. Reasons to Buy: * Easy to use passive infrared detector camera with local storage and great image quality * Easy to mount on a wall, discrete if you don't want to use the mount. * 2 Way voice & siren feature * Good battery life, ability to run it plugged in via MicroUSB on a hardwired connection Reasons not to Buy: * Frequent app disconnections, especially if you are on a cell signal and away from home * Slow to respond wake up from live view, sometimes seconds before an image shows on your device of the live view.

Swann surveillance cameras have been a long known fixture in home and small businesses. However, the inconvenience and also costs (if necessary) often hinder one’s purchase decision to purchase for home use. And while wireless options have been around for the past several years, it is only recently that Swann has entered this space. We will see if Swann can still catch up with the competition. The Swann CoreCam is Swann’s answer to the gamut of total wireless surveillance cameras out in the market. In contrast to most of Swann’s current offerings, the CoreCam is powered by its own built-in battery and operates via wifi. But unlike most wifi enabled surveillance cameras out there, the CoreCam does not require a base to be installed but rather each unit is autonomous and is controlled via an app in your cell phone. (I have tried to look for a way to use the cam via PC but ti no vail as of this writing.). Out of the box of the Swann CoreCam is the main unit itself, a charging cable, a mount, a 32GB sd card and some stickers. Installation and setup is fairly simple. But first and obvious is that you should charge your unit first. And since mine has some charge out of the box, charging took only around thirty minutes. (Your mileage may vary though.) After fully charging your unit, download the app, register for an account and follow instructions within the app. The instructions are fairly simple and should only take a few minutes. Do note that the unit’s wifi uses the 2.4GHz bandwidth. And though you can use a dual band wireless router, you may experience frequent disconnections as the router alternates whichever band has the stronger signal as I have experienced. To prevent this, use only the 2.4Ghz band. Once setup, usage can be customized like what the competition offers. No-zone, home modes, file size, timers and the other usual features are included. There seems to be no geofencing feature though. The Swann CoreCam offers for free 24 hour cloud store (but there is also a paid plan which offers more). But one thin I like about the CoreCam is that video can also be stored in the included sd card thereby saving you money. And lastly, the CoreCam also has an optional solar panel so that you won’t have to continuously charge the unit. And though Swann has been late in the game, it has so far met my expectations as it is more or less up to par with the competition. Plus did I forget to mention that this camera is also weather proof? Overall, this seems to be a solid surveillance camera and I would recommend this to others.

This camera is accompanying a few others around my home, most of which are outdoor cameras, this one is to be used indoors….in the living room specifically. It’s a simple setup and pretty straight-forward interface to use. The app in the iOS store has a 4.7 rating which is very impressive, especially for a camera app. Everything is done from the app. Setup was a breeze and there is a nice audio voice that informs you on setup progress. According to the instructions, it takes up to 6 hours to give the camera a full charge. The camera is also very lightweight, almost like you couldn’t tell it was a wireless camera. One thing I noticed was that you don’t have much room to angle the camera in a flexible way. The mount seems like its meant to be angled upward when mounted upright (base on bottom) as you can see my attached picture. For those not familiar, these types of cameras will record only motion activity and do not record 24x7. This would fill up your memory card quickly and make it more difficult trying to find a particular event. The things I like about this camera are the easy-to-use options, adjustable playback speeds of -8x to +8x, it has a nice bar graph chart that shows you the amount of motion activity based on the time of day, and the premium subscription for cloud storage and other perks is reasonably priced if you choose to go that route. It also provides you with 3 separate Modes which are basically profiles: Home, Night, and Away. You can select the profile you would like to switch to which basically lets you customize the motion detection distance and if you want to receive push notifications. A few things I wasn’t very impressed with was, no timestamp/date when taking photos or videos from a live camera view, nor downloading motion detected video. This can be easily fixed with a software update, but surprised it’s not there already. The speaker on the camera is also not very loud. I have set the volume to 100% in the app and you still have to be close to the camera to hear a voice or the alarm, however the microphone on the camera picks up pretty well when people are talking back to you through the camera. This doesn’t seem ideal since camera’s are usually at a decent distance from a subject, so at this point the alarm and voice function aren’t usable for me. The battery life also claims to last “up to 3 months”. I let the camera initially charge fully overnight and in 2.5 days, the battery is already at 75%. I’m sure the settings and the amount of motion have to be very specific to reach 3 months, but if you can have it plugged in full time, this won’t be an issue. My settings and amount of motion are probably on the higher end of usage though. And finally, as I briefly discussed, the angle of the mounting hardware. Not ideal for placement on a flat surface such as a desk or mantle because the camera is forced to angle upwards. You seem to have slightly better options mounting it upside down. Overall this camera is easy to use, seems to pick motion fairly well, easy to interact with the camera, and its easy to save media to your phone. Software updates can fix a few things I wasn’t impressed with, but not everything. Based on the battery life, its probably best to have this camera in area’s that aren’t high traffic unless you can find a power source, fortunately, it’s a micro-usb connection so even a portable battery backup would probably work well to extend the life if necessary.

I will start with the positive! Nice solid design has a good weight to it and the mount works well. Battery was nearly charged up when I received it. Has terrific wide viewing angle compared to other camera brands that I have used. Package includes security stickers if you want to advertise to protentional intruders. The app allows for full view on your device being it a phone or tablet. I have another brand that will not allow full view. I have the camera set to Max video quality for a few days now and battery shows 95% so, not enough time to determine longevity. Can easily take snap shots or video and play back. Can select all history to delete at once. The camera has stayed faithful to my network, does not disconnect. Two-way conversation is good. Alarm and other features work. Ok, Things I don't like! Initial set up was touchy. Had everything right next to WiFi router and app could not locate or connect. Found and connected on the third attempt, but, had no screen after set up. Messed around with it and finally came to life and then performed update automatically. Not convinced that I'm getting the best operation. Zoom is terrible. Close zoom range is great, but image is unreadable as you can see in my pic of a street sign. Getting alerts, but always takes approx 10 seconds to see the result. If your looking for a wifi only solution for basic capture, this will fit the need, just don't expect beyond basic operation.

The good features of the Swann wireless security camera are that it comes with a 32GB micro SD card, it is wireless and it charges up quickly. The package insert said it might take 6 hours to charge, but it actually charged in 1.5 hours. I had trouble connecting the camera during the initial set up. The camera would speak to me and say the device was connected and ready to use, but the app said the connection failed. It took about 20 minutes of retrying to finally establish a connection. The app doesn’t automatically detect the time zone. The time on the video clips was initially off by a couple of hours. Swann offers a 90 day free trial of its Secure+ Plan, but it requires a credit card that is automatically charged $9.99 if the plan is not canceled before the 90 days are up. There is a list of items that the Secure+ plan provides, but basically it is used to purchase 60 days of Cloud storage. I opted to not sign up for the free trial. I’ve seen better apps. There are very few customization options. It does have the ability to create a mask to define an area within the field of view. Some apps let you delete all notifications with one or two steps. In the Swann app each event has to be trashed, deleted and confirmed individually. Deleting doesn’t happen quickly. It can take 5 seconds per notification. After touching Playback there are 2 blue icons on the right side. One is a calendar and the other opens a screen that is labeled with the camera name. Event videos can be viewed in both Playback and Camera. I don’t know why both are needed. Perhaps it’s a way to deal with multiple cameras. The trash can in the Playback mode is underneath the calendar and camera icons. The preview pane can be moved up to access the trash can - except for the last one. The last notification is almost impossible to delete because it can’t be moved up and it remains covered with the icons. In the Camera view of the clips, there are no icons and the trash can is visible. But deleting in Playback doesn’t delete in Camera view and vice versa. Which means deleting is twice as hard as it should be. The main app icon shows the number of notifications. However it doesn’t always update when notifications are deleted within the app. With all notifications deleted, the main app might still show a number of new notifications. I sometimes had to turn the phone off and on to clear the count. When positioned inside the house “looking” out a window, the Swann security camera shows a clear wide angle view of the outside - but it can’t detect any motion on the other side of the glass. It uses infrared sensors that are triggered by warm, moving objects. The heat from those objects is blocked by the glass and there is nothing to make the camera turn on. When turned to face the interior of the house and aimed at the entryway, the live view shows most of the living room, the front door, the hallway and the adjacent room. The distance from the camera to the entryway is about 12 feet. I’ve walked directly past the camera at least 25 times today and I’ve come in and out of the front door many times. It hasn’t detected me even once. It will only turn on when I stand directly in front of it, at a distance of no more than 3 feet. I’ve tried changing the near/far settings and repositioning the camera without any improvement. When placed outside it detects motion, but only in a narrow, close up area. The live view shows the house next door, our driveway and the house across the street. But the camera didn’t see me when I drove up and down the driveway directly in front of it, no more than 15 feet away. I could only make it activate by walking within 3 feet of it. It has poor night vision. It is activated outside at night by a person walking in front of it but the picture is so grainy that it’s impossible to tell who that person is. It can’t differentiate between person, vehicle and animal. The elapsed time from when the camera detects an event to my being able to see it in the app is about 2 minutes. There is a 30 second delay between the motion trigger and the phone sound. When I open the app it has to “fetch my user data” which can take 10 - 20 seconds. Then if I want to see the Live View, there is a message that the camera is in standby and please wait 5 - 10 seconds. This is with the camera set to “minimum” sleep. If I then tap on the event clip to see what triggered the notification, there is a 30 second delay while the file downloads. If I try to look at it too soon I get an error message “video is still processing please try again in a few minutes”. The battery seems to go down about 5% per day. At that rate, it will need to be recharged at least once a month. If mounted in a place that’s difficult to access, recharging could be very inconvenient. I’ve worked with this camera for over a week, hoping to find a way to improve its performance, without success. The camera has great vision, but poor motion sensitivity and the app is poorly designed.

Good camera easy set up and good video audio quality. Some delay at times with wifi

This camera has some good features, but the bottom line for me is that the resolution is inadequate for the stated use. 1020p is the equivalent of 2 megapixels. Comp[are that to your cellphone's camera which is much higher (48 megapixels in iPhone 14 Pro). The quantity of megapixels necessary for outdoor security depends on your field of view. In the photos I attached to my review, I am observing my car at a distance of about 30 feet and trying to capture about 30 feet across. The security industry generally agrees that you need 45 pixels per foot to recognize a license plate. A 1080p camera is giving me about. 25 ppm, or about half of what is required for a clear image of something like a license plate. In other words, this may be a great camera for indoors where the FOV is narrower and the scenes closer, but the resolution is inadequate for home security outdoor use. If you just want to observe your kids playing in the yard, this might be sufficient. Add to that the fact that it relies on a battery, and you will have to be going up and down a ladder to charge it every three months (more often in cold weather), unless you place it low enough for thieves to grab it The camera seems sturdy enough in construction. The initial connection was very quick and simple, but when I tried to access the live image when I was away from my home, it "spun" for about 2 minutes before producing an image - not something I would want if there was an invader coming on to my premises. In summary, I'll stick to wired cameras with much higher resolution for outdoor security use.

I like the Swann CoreCam Security Camera because it is a truly wireless camera. There's no ethernet cable, or AC adapter wires to run, and no wireless base to set up near your router. Simply charge it, download the app, and it's set up. Has a built-in rechargeable battery that lasts up to 90-days per charge (depends on amount of use, I'm sure) and the camera provides crystal clear, 1080p video - night or day. Includes a two-way talk feature and the ability to sound an alarm to warn unwanted visitors. It's triggered by motion - up to 50 feet - and heat - up to 26 feet - and comes with a 32gb micro SD card for your video storage. Keeps recordings for 24 hours and then rewrites automatically. There is an optional subscription for cloud storage (and a few other features) but so far I haven't had the need for this option. And, like so many gadgets these days, it also works with Alexa and Google. It can be used indoors or out and has an IPF65 weatherproof rating. The night vision automatically starts at nightfall and the infrared vision detects motion and the camera does its thing! Mine is mounted on the front of my house above my garage doors, and provides a clear view of my driveway and the entire cul-de-sac. Although it hasn't triggered too much activity yet, in the event it does the viewing area can be adjusted. This camera is simple to mount and easy enough to remove for charging, but you can combine it with a solar panel (not included) so you don't have to worry about the battery running down. It is solidly built, feels substantial, and looks great too. Hats off to Swann for a job well done.

I own several indoor/outdoor security cameras, each by a different manufacturer. The Swann CoreCam rises to the top. It is not that each of its features is the very best, but the synergy created by the overall number of features (and the price) takes this camera to the top of my list. Out of the box, the setup was quick ( 3 minutes) and extremely easy. The app provides many features that allow customization so that the many settings can accommodate the needs of every user. Some users want more or less distance coverage. The camera can be set to minimize or maximize distant motion, pet detection, etc. IR sensors matched with the motion sensors provide excellent imagery while almost eliminating alerts of no concern. Zero wires, and a very adjustable mount make locating the camera ezee-pezee. The CamCore is powered by RECHARGEABLE Lithium batteries. The provided cable simply plugs in to the camera and an outlet. I haven't tested the time needed between recharges, but Swann says approximately 3 months. Is a subscription service needed? The CoreCam comes with a 32 GB SD card, and will accept a card with 128GB. That is sufficient storage for most folks, but a cloud based security service is offered for people to keep a rolling 60 days of storage. I used the app to control the siren, and conduct 2 way talk -- excellent results. The 1080p HD video was also excellent, especially combined with the PERSON Detection, even in the evening hours. As for coverage, the field of view is very wide. With the camera looking down at a medium angle, the area under coverage was extensive. Features galore, combined with exceptionally easy setup and camera location -- all at a superb price point means Swann clearly came up with a security camera winner in its CoreCam model.

I have found this security camera to be a great addition to my other Swann security cameras. I already had a 4 camera NVR Swann Security system installed. My existing system included cameras that had 120v power wired to them. These cameras were connected via WiFi. Because this camera is WiFi and has a rechargeable lithium battery, the physical installation is a snap, no wiring at all is required. I was pleased that this new camera which is rechargeable integrated into the display on my cell phone under the same Swann Security Android app flawlessly. The new camera came with a 32GB SD card. The photos and videos from the camera can be viewed from the Swann app on my cell phone. The app also can be used to change many parameters on the camera such as video quality, Mic volume, motion settings, etc. Via the app I can also update the firmware or format the SD card. I can even check the remaining charge percentage using the app. A very intuitive and useful interface – tip of the cap to the Swann engineers. The new camera is indoor/outdoor and once charged can last up to 3 months. I decided to use this camera in a variable placement mode. Since it has two-way audio I can talk to a family member remotely. You can use the camera with Alexa or Hey Google. I like being able to move the camera to a remote window in the house to ensure the window is locked down and secure. Sometimes I move the camera to the garage to add additional security to that area. I plan to purchase more of these cameras to add more security to a system that I can easily build on as desired. I have the camera in my home office room while I write this review in the living room, and even though the office lights are off; I can actually read the papers on my office desk. That is a good testament to the camera night vision as well as the 1080p resolution. I highly recommend this excellent security camera.

Pro: -Easy setup -Features not locked behind subscription -Expandable SD card storage Con: -Activation time a bit slow -Mic/speaker is muffled -Camera can easily be taken from mount The Core Cam was very easy to set up. Once you register an account in the Swann app, just follow the instructions and scan the QR code on the camera and you’re done. It comes with an optional wall mount and is simply attached to the mount with a thumb screw. It’s easy to remove but also possibly easily taken. The detection features are all there without needing to subscribe to a plan, but more features are available with one. The time between detection and recording is a little slow. The two way talk is not very clear but good enough. The free cloud storage will keep recordings for two days, but they can also be stored on the SD card. The camera has motion and person detection with the ability to adjust the distance and sensitivity. You can also set up a motion detection mask to block part of the camera’s vision. The detection takes a couple of seconds before it captures the images. I place mine at the front door for deliveries and it would only capture video of the delivery person leaving. The person detection doesn’t seem to activate unless the face is clearly in view. The push to talk is muffled and has a bit of a delay. The quality isn’t great and sounds like a drive through speaker. The battery life seems to be good. It should last at least 30 days with average use. Wifi connection hasn’t been an issue, but when you open the app, it has to authenticate each time. Sometimes it’s almost instant, but other times it can take a few seconds or even fail. Usually restarting the app will fix the issue. The image quality can be quite good if it’s set to high quality. Night vision is also clear. The live feed is a bit laggy with a delay of about 1-2 seconds. For storage, you get the free cloud storage for 2 days. There are two plans starting at $30 annually that will keep your recordings for 60 days and additional detection types such as pets, packages, and cars. It comes with an SD card for storing recordings locally, but those will be lost if the camera gets stolen. Overall this is a nice and easy to set up wireless camera. The image quality is good and the battery seems to last quite a while. None of the features are locked behind a paywall, but more detection types and longer cloud storage are available with a plan. Having an SD card for local recording is a plus. Minor flaws are that the time it takes to record after activation is a bit slow and connection with the app sometimes takes a while.

I like to have some security cams around my house, partially for security and also because we get a lot of wildlife in our neighborhood. On previous security cams and trail cams I've gotten pics and video of mountain lions, bears, raccoons, bobcats and lots of deer (plus my cats are constantly setting off alerts). I like the Swann CoreCam because it's totally wireless, doesn't even need a wired power source. You can plug it in and charge it, then it's good for quite a while. Once you get it connected to your home network via the Swann app, it will notify you when there is activity on the camera. You can take pictures and video of any activity and listen/talk to anyone that is there via a microphone and speaker built into the camera. I charged mine then mounted it, almost a week later it was still at 94% battery power. You can monitor the battery level on the Swann app. Another nice thing is that the Swann CoreCam comes with a 32GB microSD card already installed. You can replace it with up to a 128GB card if you need more storage. Cloud backup is available for a fee. Another nice thing is the camera is fairly small, so it will fit into just about any place you want to put it. The mounting bracket swivels, so you can point the camera in just about any direction and adjust it periodically if you need to. The camera is weatherproof and works well in the dark (infrared night vision).

The Swann - CoreCam Indoor/Outdoor Wireless 1080p Security camera offers what true wireless security cameras should be - wireless! Offering nearly everything that the Swann wired cameras offer, this product finally cuts the cords freeing you to place it anywhere you need it and much less effort for set up. I found this camera to be exactly what we were looking for regarding wireless security cameras. Having used wireless cameras from other companies at our last house, we struggled to find the right solution for our new home. This Swann camera finally cuts the cords and allows us to set it up right where we needed it as long as we have a connection to wifi. I am still researching to see if this can be connected to other Swann camera products or if these can be set up en masse around out property. Adding the solar panels are perfect for use with about 300 days of sunlight and a 3-month battery life when used regularly. The only concern we have is the low temp is recommended a -5 degrees, but we can regularly get below this in the winter. It may need to be taken down during the winter which somewhat defeats the purpose during this time. PROS - Swann design and brand quality - Truly wireless operation - Long battery life between charges - Solar Panel addon reduces or eliminates the need to recharge battery - User friendly app with 2-way voice - High quality video day or night CONS - Temperature ratings may be out of spec for some areas.

I really like this little camera and it’s loaded with lots of useful features. It has outperformed my expectations in many ways and was well worth getting. I’ve been using the Swann CoreCam Indoor/Outdoor Wireless Security Camera (Swann Cam) for almost a week. From the moment I removed it out of the box, until the writing of this review, I just can’t stop talking about its’ performance. I had the Swann Cam shipped to my house. It arrived well packaged, and all of the contents were intact. However, I believe the box was twice the size it actually needed to be. The Swann Cam came with everything I needed to use it most effectively right out the box, except an adapter. But at this point, just about everyone has an adapter or two around the house. I was pleased to know that I didn’t need to purchase any additional equipment and only needed to grab a screwdriver because I planned to mount it outside. But if you plan to use it in the house, it can simply be sat down on a shelf or desk, and because it’s completely wireless you can just aim it and leave it. It takes at least six hours to charge so I decided to charge my camera overnight. The Swann Cam comes with an easy to read quick start guide, which makes the entire process much easier than trying to figure out where to start. I downloaded the free app on my cell phone and set up an account. The Swann App is well organized and easy to use. There are a lot of useful options to choose from based on your needs. You can set different modes to be utilized based on your preferences and each mode can be different, based on your needs; when you’re home, away or at night, all by selecting it with one quick touch. Setting up the camera was also very easy and can be set up in minutes. It was easy to connect to my wifi and once connected, it maintained the connection without any interruptions. My signal wasn’t that great at first, with only two bars, yet it still worked fine and performed well. It started off with only two bars but has increased to three bars after a couple days of use. I mounted my Swann Cam outside at the top of the garage looking down at the driveway. Since it’s waterproof, small and wireless, it made for an easy solution that allows me to see incoming activity. There were only three screws to mount the bracket and then you place the camera on the mount, hand tighten the nut, after you angle the camera based on what you want to see 24/7. The Swann Cam video quality is really good at 1080p. The live view and recordings are very clear and lifelike. You are able to see a lot of detail. It has True Detect which allows for heat and motion sensing. It works pretty good. I have been getting alerts for people walking up my driveway as well as cars that pull closely to the house. The night vision is great. Although, it’s really dark at night, the camera exposes items and people as if it had a spot light on them/it. You have the ability to have two-way communication and sound a siren if there is unwanted motion. The camera comes with a 32gb micro SD card to record and save movement. You can purchased a larger SD card, up to 128gb if you want to store more videos. They also offer a cloud service if you are in need of additional space and want to store more recordings. I appreciate that I am able to use the camera, have it record all activity, based on my preferences, and see live views and recorded motion via playback on my cell phone. It also tracks all activity and a log can be easily found within the app. The Swann Cam has a preinstalled rechargeable battery they claim can last up to three months before it needs to be recharged. That must be based on low usage and motion alerts. I have mines set on medium sensitivity and 30% of the battery has been used in a week. I think I may have to charge my Swann Cam once a month, which isn’t too bad to keep an eye out on my house. The Swann Cam isn’t perfect and there are a couple things I hope they could fix, change or add. I don’t always get all of the movement or activity alerts. I do get about 95% of it, but there are times when the recording stops midway or it catches half the activity. For example, it may catch me driving out of the garage, but may not catch my return. I may get an alert, but then there’s no recording. Also, some alerts don’t come through right away, I believe that’s where the cloud service could provides faster alerts. Additionally, I wish I could view my recordings in landscape mode, but it attempts to go landscape and then goes back to the standard view. You are able to view live in landscape. I wish when I got an alert motion notification and use that alert notification to open the app that it would take me directly to the playback video, but they may want you to go to live to see what’s happening in real time. In closing, the Swann Cam is a great little camera that has a big punch and bang for your money. It is very versatile so you can pick just about any area inside or outside your home to keep an eye on and you can be confident that it will perform well when you need it most.

This is a small “does it all” wireless video camera PROS: Compact, with easy setup out of the box. There are even some voice prompts to confirm you are making progress. App Interfaces with this and other Swann cameras (hard wired ones) that I have been using prior to this one. Good basic instructions to guide you along the way. Preset motion settings so you are up and running quickly. There are settings within the app to make changes. Person detection and motion detection have separate settings. Streaming video quality can be lower VS the recorded video quality. Speaker volume on the camera can be adjusted from the app. Video quality by day is sharp and with good detail. Night time video is there, but resolution or quality is mediocre on a phone because I have video quality for streaming set lower and infrared video is always much harder to see details. Aspect ratio is wide. You can see a lot in the field of view. Mounting is easy, but there is no lock to keep the camera safe. There is a siren (limited to small speaker but still pretty loud!) that can be set to sound with motion or you can activate it while watching it live. While watching live on your phone you can actually talk to the person in the video. Sound is delayed about 2 seconds but it does work. CONS: Battery life while I have been testing is averaging 4% lower per day so that’s hardly a month at this use. Time will tell as I actually use it and not watch live as much. I may be looking for a solar panel to charge it during the day. You do have to wait after a video is recorded in order to view it. Maybe a 3 minutes or so wait. There is maybe a 2 second delay to start seeing the video once it sees movement. This is the time for the camera to wake up and start recording. Night time detail is border line. Images and movement can be seen but without downloading the images in full resolution and watching on a monitor it’s hard to tell on a phone. CONCLUSION: It’s an easy setup to get it up and working on your phone. Quality of the video is dependent on lighting and distance. Daytime is much better and in color. It’s not just this camera as my wired ones have the same quirks at night. Infrared video at night is hard to see past 20 feet unless you spend more money for cameras. App is OK. Camera is good. The physical size of the camera is very small. Overall it’s a nice compact system that would be good for basic home monitoring without breaking the bank.