If you want a camera that can keep an eye on things without having to be mounted directly in your window, then the Nest Cam IQ Outdoor is one of our favorite outdoor security cameras on the market. The mount puts the flat surface of the camera directly onto the surface of the glass, and its 180° field of view captures more than most other cameras out there. Plus, it automatically turns off the LED ring light in Window Mode, too. These features eliminate a lot of motion-tracking problems and visibility problems caused by glare. You can watch in one minute what happened on your front porch while you were at work. You’ll be able to see your package get delivered, kids stealing your lawn gnomes, or maybe even Sasquatch taking a stroll. With Logitech’s premium Circle Safe subscription plan, you get to choose how long you want the video, what types of activity to include, and the range of hours you want. But if you don’t pay, you’ll still get 24 hours of footage turned into a 30-second video. Logi Circle 2’s Premium subscription includes the following:
Person detection (because falling leaves aren’t scary—but strangers are) Motion zones (to prevent needless alerts) Customizable hyperlapse videos (you determine length and activity type) Advanced alert and event filters (that save you time and worry)
At $9.99 per month per camera (or $99.99 per year), it’s not exactly cheap, but it is a pretty average price for security camera cloud storage. If you want a behind-the-window security camera, this is the best way. We’ve also seen some universal suction cup mounts, but we haven’t verified if they work for Nest Cam IQ Outdoor. To optimize Nest Cam (and others) to work behind a window: When you use it behind the window, the extra features that really make it worth the money in other instances are lost—like two-way audio and specific algorithms suited to outdoor-only light that make the motion tracking better. Not only that, but it costs about one-and-a-half-times as much as the Logitech. You should also keep in mind that Nest Aware, the subscription plan you need for full features with the cameras, runs from $5–$30 a month. We learned you have to mount cameras close to a window in a way that avoids glare and reduces motion-tracking problems through the glass. We also had to make sure the LEDs or other ambient lights didn’t set off unnecessary alerts or ruin the picture quality (unfortunately, the Canary Flex cam and others we reviewed didn’t have this option). We also needed night vision—the farther away we could see, the better. After it was all said and done, the Logitech Circle 2 is the best option out there for a window camera. It’s actually designed with that use in mind, so you’ll be able to get it up and going with much less effort. As we’ve mentioned, you may be better off picking one of our Best Outdoor Security Cameras.
- SimpliSafe cameras can be used without a plan or with a standalone camera plan.
