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724 Review
56 Karma

Review on πŸ“· Canary Flex – Premium Service Included! Outdoor/Indoor Home Security Camera: Weatherproof, Wire-Free or Plugged in, 2-Way Talk, 30-Day Video Cloud by Antoine Dean

Revainrating 4 out of 5

Easy installation for general surveillance

The Canary Flex is a decent home security camera. The installation of the magnetic base is very simple and the positioning of the camera is very simple. The camera must be mounted vertically as the software cannot automatically rotate or flip the image when the camera is mounted horizontally or upside down. For some odd reason, while pairing, Canary requires both Bluetooth and location services to be enabled (Android install). This caused the pairing to fail a few times as I didn't allow Canary to have location permissions, I didn't think it was necessary and I didn't want to share it. After several failed pairing attempts, I enabled location permissions and the devices paired successfully. After pairing, I removed Canary's location permission and the device has been working fine ever since. I would prefer if the device could only connect via Bluetooth. I also didn't like that the camera required an address during setup. Setup is very easy and if you're looking for a camera that you can plug, pair and go, then this is the one for you. I didn't find any options to set a static IP and there is no web app available through a browser, you must be using Android or iPhone. Even without a subscription, you only get 24 hours of recorded video through Canary Cloud. There is no SD card slot. The Canary Flex does not have an RJ-45 Ethernet jack and must be connected to WiFi at all times. Overall, the performance of the camera is sufficient for indoor use at home and general outdoor surveillance. With a 720p resolution camera and a wide field of view, pixelation is visible on objects 15-20 feet away. This makes the camera well suited for large panoramic shots to determine the movement and behavior of targets. Because you can't change the focal length of the camera, you're stuck with a 116-degree field of view. As mentioned, you can't change the aspect ratio of the camera either. So if you're shooting in a hallway facing a door, much of the empty wall will be filmed. The camera performed well in low light and with the ultra-bright SureFire 6PX LED flashlight. Single output LED tactical flashlight with anodized aluminum body, black light aimed directly at the thermal imager (see images) without much blurring or image degradation. The camera's WDR compensation needs to be improved (see images) when the camera is positioned in a bright scene. Backlight and dark foreground. To record and detect motion, you need to keep the device connected to the network to capture the entire event. When I wasn't connected to the network, recording started about 5 seconds after motion was detected, resulting in me already walking past the camera and not being able to tell who had entered. For this reason, I would primarily recommend placing the camera in a location that monitors general movement and behavior, e.g. B. in a living room or backyard. With a camera connected, the Canary does a great job of capturing a second or two before movement so you can see the entire event. In general, I am satisfied with the device for home or personal use. I will use it as a camera in a hotel room when traveling and use my Zuni Travel WiFi Router ZuniConnect Travel Router + USB charging port to power and communicate with the device.

Pros
  • One year trial
Cons
  • Available in white only