I have made it no secret that our house has been rife with crime over the last 3 or so years. We had an entire house ransacking where they took everything – EVERYTHING – right after moving in. Then we had our gate motor stolen two years ago from the inside side of our property. And a year after that, all of our garden furniture was stolen – Braai chairs, the benches from the table, even the pot plants!
Since then we have seriously needed to upgrade our security so, when Ring Africa asked to send over a Spotlight Cam to review, I was beyond over the moon. And I could have high jumped over the moon twice when I read up on the features.
Introducing the Spotlight Cam. This premium quality, wire free, high definition security camera includes a wide angle lens as well as a built in microphone and speakers. Yes, you can quite literally shout at an intruder over the speaker! I have spent many a happy moment shouting at Chris (from over 25kms away) when I spot him on the camera returning home from work. And how did I spot him? You can set up your Ring device to notify you whenever motion is detected and it sends an alert to your phone as well as a push notification which easily allows you to click on “Live View” in real time.
How does one set this all up? It should be complicated, right? Wrong. It is beyond user friendly. You access and operate your Ring device via the nifty Ring app on your phone. There is a wonderfully helpful booklet included in the purchase of a Ring security camera but we could easily figure it out without even cracking the book open. And let me assure you that Chris is not exactly technologically gifted… but it was THAT simple. Also included in the box is a mini toolkit which includes everything you need to install and mount your Ring device.
The dashboard of your Ring app is a wonderful place, too. The world is your proverbial oyster in terms of security. You can switch lights on (we have ours permanently set to turn on at the detection of motion), you can view your event history, alter smart alerts (so that it ONLY detects humans, and not cars etc, which is a daily occurrence with the frequency that couriers visit my house) and, as previously mentioned, you can speak in a two way manner.
The sound is SO crisp and SO clear too. I was truly blown away by this aspect because I was sure that the sounds of day to day life of dogs and cars and birds etc would surely drown out the speakers. Wrong again, Rayne. Last week I was even able to speak to a courier (keeping in mind the camera is probably 15 meters away from our security gate) and instruct him to throw the delivery over the wall as he was able to read the waybill out to me so I knew that the items inside the package were soft.
My personal favourite feature is the manual siren. This is a 110-decibel manually activated alarm that you can switch on and off with the touch of a button. Another top aspect is the motion activated spotlight as this serves not only as a deterrant for potential house-breakers, but offers an extra layer of security when we are arriving home late at night.
MY TOP RING FEATURES
- Brilliant 1080HD video
- Wide-angle camera lens
- Built-in microphone and speakers
- Advanced motion detection
- Instant motion-activated alerts
- Motion-activated spotlight
- Infrared night vision
- 110-decibel siren alarm
The beauty of the Ring devices is that you can purchase multiples and operate all of them from your one Ring dashboard on the app. We have been so impressed with our Ring Spotlight Cam that we have budgeted to buy a second one next month!
Ring Africa devices and products are available in South Africa via Takealot, Builders Warehouse, iStore, Incredible Connection and Leroy Merlin. The retail pricing ranges from R1,499 – R3,999.
Rayne XX
