Expert’s Rating
Pros
- Simple wire-free installation
- 2K resolution
- Color night vision
- Inexpensive
Cons
- Colors not always accurate
- Can be slow to connect when waking up
Our Verdict
The Blurams Wire-Free Camera 2K Kit is an affordable way to kickstart your home security project, but color and connectivity quirks suggest it could use a little more polish.
Best Prices Today: Blurams Wire-Free Camera 2K Kit (model A11C, with solar panel)
$79.99
Free
The Blurams Wire-Free 2K Security Camera (model A11C) is the company’s first wireless model. Like the company’s other cameras we’ve reviewed, it marries ease of use, reliable performance, and affordability. You can purchase the Blurams A11C by itself for $47.99 on Amazon or packaged with a solar panel that keeps the camera’s onboard battery continuously charged for $79.99.
The A11C is an oblong camera in the Arlo mold that attaches to a multi-directional joint for full positioning flexibility. It has an IP66 weather resistance rating, indicating it’s impervious to dust and can withstand powerful jets of water (you can learn everything you need to know about IP codes at the preceding link). It comes with screws, wall anchors, and a mounting bracket so that you can affix the camera to an exterior wall or under your eaves. If you choose to use it inside your home, you can forgo the mounting hardware and just stand the camera freely on a flat surface. The accompanying solar panel is packaged with its own mounting hardware and plugs into the camera with a short micro-USB cable attached to its backside.
This review is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of home security cameras.
The camera features a built-in microphone and speaker for two-way communication
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Michael Ansaldo/IDG
The camera is equipped with a 2K image sensor that supports resolution up to 2304 x 1296 pixels, and a wide-angle lens with a 127-degree field of view. Live and captured video is sharp, but colors can be blindingly vibrant and skin tones are rendered in an orange-y hue. Two-way audio is included, allowing you to speak to anyone you may be monitoring at home or to ward off trespassers on your property.
Two types of night vision are supported. When the camera detects motion, three white LEDs activate to enable full-color video—a great feature for capturing important details like the color of a car or a person’s clothing. Video that’s not triggered by motion is captured in IR-enabled black-and-white. Night vision settings can be toggled in the Blurams app to default to one type or the other as you prefer.
The Blurams app provides intutitive acces to camera controls and captured video clips. It also allows you to adjust motion detection sensitivity and track battery levels.
Michael Ansaldo/IDG
Unlike some Blurams wired cameras, which can save continuous video recordings, the A11C only captures motion-detected video, all of which is saved to the cloud. You get lifetime free 24-hour event recording with purchase of the camera. A BluramsGuard Plan allows you to extend that to 15 days for $5.99 a month or $59.90 a year, or 60 days for $8.99 a month or $89.90 a year.
You connect and control the camera through the Blurams app. It’s a straightforward, wizard-supported process that requires you to log in to your wireless network and scan a QR code with the camera to get it online. It takes just a couple of minutes and completed without a hiccup in my testing.
A cable attached to the back of the solar panel plugs into the camara to keep it charged outdoors.
Michael Ansaldo/IDG
The app is designed to provide intuitive control, with clear icons for manually capturing video and snapshots, using the two-way talk feature, and activating the camera’s built-in siren to ward off intruders. In the settings menu, you can adjust the camera’s detection sensitivity and notification frequency so that you’re not bombarded with alerts. You can also opt to be alerted to general motion or only human movement and to receive rich notifications that include a photo of the person triggering the camera so that you can see who it is without having to play the captured video clip.
Overall, I found the camera easy to set up and operate. It captured high-quality video in day and night modes, and motion detection was responsive and accurate. My only complaint was the camera could be slow to connect after waking up my phone, even when I was within a few feet of my router. This will vary, naturally, depending on your Wi-Fi network’s setup and signal strength. Nonetheless, users will likely find the camera’s solid security features and sub-$100 price tag hard to resist.
