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Add to SafariWhen comparing Kuna vs Nest Cam, the Slant community recommends Nest Cam for most people. In the question“What are the best home-security cameras?” Nest Cam is ranked 3rd while Kuna is ranked 5th. The most important reason people chose Nest Cam is:
The 1080p resolution allows plenty of detail to be captured, and because it's a wide-angle lens you'll get a wide 130 degree picture. If you need to, you can zoom up to 8X to investigate small details. The night vision feature works surprisingly well in low light, or even pitch black. There are 8 LEDs surrounding the lens which can illuminate the scene.
Question Ranking
Pros
Pro Built-in alarm
There is alarm functionality built-into the Kuna. The alarm is very loud at 100dB (similar to the volume of sound produced by a motorcycle or snowmobile), which should be sufficient to scare off most intruders.
Pro Stealthy design
From a distance, the Kuna looks like an ordinary outdoor light. Only when you get up close do you realize there's a camera hidden just beneath the light. This approach has a couple advantages - first it isn't an eyesore and acts as a functional outdoor light, and second is that intruders won't know they are being watched.
Pro Speak and listen
There is both a mic and a speaker on the Kuna, which lets you have a conversation with whoever is on your property whether it be a delivery man, maid, dog walker, or anybody else. With just a few taps you could also play one of three messages: "I'm busy right now", "Can I help you?", and "Sorry, not interested".
Pro Highly configurable Android & iOS apps
The app is easy to use, and gives quick access to important features. You can control the light manually through the app, set it to turn on or off based on a schedule, or whenever it detects motion. You can also adjust the motion sensitivity, which is useful if you are receiving false alarms from cars on the road or other distant or small movements. You can also adjust the speaker volume from within the app.
Pro High quality video, even in pitch black
The 1080p resolution allows plenty of detail to be captured, and because it's a wide-angle lens you'll get a wide 130 degree picture. If you need to, you can zoom up to 8X to investigate small details.
The night vision feature works surprisingly well in low light, or even pitch black. There are 8 LEDs surrounding the lens which can illuminate the scene.
Pro Scheduling
You can schedule the camera so it isn't constantly recording your everyday activities, or sending you alerts.
Pro Talk and listen capabilities
While not exceptional quality, you can hear the audio picked up through the Nest Cam play through your iPhone. You can also speak into your iPhone, and have the Nest Cam play the sound.
Pro Integrates with other smart phone appliances
If you own a Nest thermostat, the Nest Cam will automatically turn on when you set the thermostat to 'away'. If your Nest Protect (the smoke detector) goes off, your Nest Cam will activate to show you what's happening although the placement of the cam may or may not be useful.
Nest Cam also integrates with other third party smart home products such as Philips Hue smart bulbs (if the Cam detects motion it can turn these bulbs on). Other products that can work together are: SkyBell (smart doorbell), Mimo (baby monitor), August (smart lock), and Petnet (smart pet feeder).
Pro Recreational use
The Nest Cam can act as more than just a connected security camera. You can take time-lapse videos with it, or use it to capture images or video for social media as well.
Pro Well designed
The camera looks sleek and compact, yet includes all the useful features you would expect from a high end security camera. The base is magnetic, helping to keep it stable (it also has a wall/ceiling mount), and the hinge allows enough movement to make sure you can place it virtually anywhere you'd want to.
Cons
Con Spotty Wi-Fi performance
Even when placed reasonably close to the Wi-Fi router (~15 feet), the Kuna can lose connection for a few seconds from time to time.
Con Subscription enables basic features
Without the subscription, your videos will only be held online for 2 hours. Subscriptions start at $5/month as seen below:
$7.49/month (or $60 annually) retains videos for 7 days, unlimited video downloads, theft protection, and 5% discount off future devices. This price is charged per device.
$15/month (or $120 annually) keeps videos online for 14 days, has unlimited video downloads, theft protection, and 10% off future devices. This subscription can be used between up to 4 devices.
$30/month (or $240 annually) allows video storage for 30 days, still has theft protection and unlimited video downloads, and receives a 15% discount off future devices. This subscription can be split between up to 8 devices.
Con Inconvenient viewing of previous recordings
Previous recordings will be kept in the cloud for up to 10 days (30 days with the subscription), however when viewing these recordings there is no option to scrub through the video, leaving you no option but to view the entire clip.
Con Annoying artifacts makes activity detection less robust
When switching to night vision, the camera momentarily goes all black, causing notifications to get fired. This should be avoidable by software handling
Con False alarms
While not frequently occurring, some false alarms will happen. On a particular windy day, trees blowing in the wind may cause an alarm, and sometimes the sun lighting up sections of a room can also cause false alarms.
Con No local storage
All video is immediately uploaded to the cloud, and there is no local storing happening on the Nest Cam itself.
Con Some features require a subscription
The Nest Aware App has a subscription ($10/month) which unlocks additional features. The subscription promises less false alarms, allowing for more advanced algorithms. It also allows for a history of notifications and alarms as well as continuous recording for up to 30 days.
