When comparing Netatmo Welcome 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 Netatmo Welcome is ranked 7th. 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.
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Pros
Pro Locally stored data
All data is stored locally on an SD card - included is an 8GB card. Even better - the slot is push activated, meaning it will spring out when you push it in again. This is an example of the good attention to small details.
The SD card can only hold so much video though, and once storage space has run out it will overwrite any existing files. This means that if you want to keep any videos, it's important to regularly save them to another storage location (or insert a larger card).
Pro Inconspicuous design
At first glance, you wouldn't expect this to be a security camera. that means that it's easy to place it in plain sight without being an eye-sore.
Pro Facial recognition
While not a reliable source of security, the Netamo Welcome can sometimes get faces right. It has trouble differentiating between bearded folks, but other than that it does a decent job once it's sufficiently learned the different faces (it can take up to 2 weeks).
Pro Versatile video
With the wide angle lens (130 degrees), this camera is set to record any action in front of it, as well as slightly to the sides of the main focal point. It also includes a night vision mode, where infra-red LEDs illuminate the darkness but aren't visible to human eyes. This is called night mode, and shows up in greyscale, but in decent enough quality to still be able to see everything that's going on in the frame.
Pro Multi-platform
There are fully integrated Android and iOS apps, as well as a web app (although the web app is limited in its capabilities). This is welcome news for any family which is split between Android/iOS users.
Pro Web app included
While some home security cameras only support mobile apps, this one allows you to view the important information in a web browser for your convenience (configuring the camera itself needs to be done through the app, but it's nice to be able to view the live steam on any computer and not just your phone).
Pro Recognizes who enters a household and notifies via companion 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 Limited positions available
There is no included mount, and it isn't supposed to be pointed at windows or areas with too much light. This limits where you can place it, as it has to be on a table or ledge of some sort, and facing in a specific direction.
Con Visible light when in night mode
When night mode is enabled, there is a glowing red light. This defeats the purpose of its stealthy design, and feels obtrusive when you are walking around your house in the dark - almost like something is watching you (because you are indeed being watched).
Con Sub-par camera quality
While rated at 1080p, the quality of the video doesn't quite match that of other 1080p home security cameras. This might just be optics they used, but the overall quality of the video leaves some to be desired.
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.