- The Lorex 2K Pan and Tilt Outdoor Camera
is the newest edition in Lorex's lineup.
It has a 360 degree field of vision, local storage,
two-way audio, and a bunch of really cool extras.
It's kind of like having a "Star Wars" droid
of your very own on your front porch.
It's been out since March
and available right now for around $150.
Lorex sent us one
for the full Safewise treatment.
So, I set it up on my front porch and gave it a spin.
My first thought when I unboxed the Lorex 2K outdoor camera
was just how freaking big this thing is!
It's over seven inches wide,
which is pretty big for an outdoor camera,
but all of that real estate makes room
for some pretty notable features.
Before you can start using the camera,
you'll have to connect it to your home network
and set up the mounting bracket.
I was able to do it in just a few minutes,
despite being a bit of a novice with power tools.
Start by plugging in your camera and powering it up.
Add the 2K cam in the Lorex app and follow the instructions.
All of this is pretty standard for IP cameras like it
so, thankfully, I didn't run into any surprises there.
One way this Lorex camera differs from others
is that it has a second port for power over ethernet.
This allows you to plug the camera
directly into your router, so it receives power
and an internet connection from the same cable.
If that's not available to you,
you can use a standard plug
to connect it wirelessly to your Wi-Fi.
Both options are pretty easy.
Once you see live feed in the app,
you can mount it to the side of your house
or any outdoor area you wanna keep an eye on.
Just be ready to drill holes for installation,
and it's best for properties with an outdoor outlet.
The mounting process took around 10 minutes.
Start by marking the screw holes in the mounting bracket.
Lorex includes a template that you can use,
but I walked on the wild side and just used a marker.
Once everything is marked,
drill holes for the bracket, and screw it in.
When the bracket's secure, attach the camera,
then you're done.
All outdoor cameras are weatherproof,
hence the whole outdoor thing,
but this one can withstand rain, snow, dust,
and even extreme heat and cold.
So, whether you live in Texas or Alaska,
this Lorex camera can likely handle your climate.
Now let's get into the best and worse parts
of my testing experience.
The Lorex 2K Pan and Tilt Outdoor Camera was easy to operate
and had lots of settings to play with.
Its video and audio quality was consistently good too.
Hi, I just started recording this.
I got it all set up and ready to go.
But I found a few features that were great in theory
but didn't quite work the way I wanted them to.
PTZ, or pan, tilt and zoom cameras can move side to side,
tilt up and down, and zoom in
to look at anything around them.
And without that fixed position,
field of vision isn't really an issue.
During my test,
I was able to watch both the front porch and the driveway
without having to find that perfect strategic spot
before installing it.
But in the app,
controlling the motions takes a little practice.
The touch pad you use to move the camera
can be a little finicky.
Sometimes it moves exactly the way you want,
and other times it lags, or moves way too far.
The good news is
that it just takes a little practice to master.
The 2K video was a big draw for me with this camera.
Its picture and video quality was buttery smooth,
allowing you to see faces and details so much better
than standard 1080P seen in most cameras,
but it can put a strain on your Wi-Fi connection
if you're streaming in 2K all the time.
So, Lorex lets you drop the video quality to 1080P,
or 960P if things slow down on the 2K setting.
Thankfully, that picture remains crisp,
even if you have to drop the video quality.
We had to do this a couple of times while watching TV
since the camera and the app were slowing our internet down.
But, once I adjusted the picture quality,
everything went back to normal.
When I unboxed the Lorex 2K outdoor camera,
I was a little confused by the dual power cables.
Turns out, this Lorex camera works with power over ethernet
and a good old-fashioned plug. The choice is all yours.
POE allows you to get power and internet
from the same cable.
For POE, connect one end of the ethernet cable to the camera
and the other end to your router.
For the plug, just pop it into an outlet
and connect it to the camera, simple as that.
If you use that second option,
you will need to connect it to your wifi through the app,
and that's what I ended up doing.
Just be sure that you're using 2.4 gigahertz band,
because it won't work on five gigahertz.
Continuous recording is available in a lot of cameras,
but many times it comes with fine print or conditions
like monthly fees for cloud storage.
But with Lorex, you get a built-in SD card
that allows you to store all your footage on the camera,
no monthly payments required,
and fewer security risks involved.
Along with this, Lorex also works
with more traditional forms of local storage
like NVRs and DVRs,
if you wanna keep 24/7 footage on multiple cameras.
I almost guarantee you
that you won't need 99.9% of the footage you capture.
But, for that 1% of the time that something happens,
you'll be glad you have it on camera.
We're all pretty used to cameras by now,
and they're generally easy to ignore,
but these features change the game.
Smart Track tells your camera to follow any motion it sees.
Stand in front of the camera and step to the side,
the camera moves with you.
But in my test, this feature was laggy,
and it was easy to outpace its movements.
I really like the idea behind this feature,
but there's room for improvement.
And then there's deterrence lights.
This feature kicks on the built in spotlights
when the camera detects motion.
Someone snooping around your car in the middle of the night?
Lorex will automatically shine a light on them.
But, like Smart Track,
these lights weren't always consistent.
Ideally these features would scare off
anyone lingering around your house for too long.
Once you realize that your movements
are being actively watched by a camera with a spotlight,
you might wanna move down the road.
But both of these features need a bit of work
as far as speed and reaction times go.
Tons of cameras claim color night vision,
but the ones I tested tend to be fickle about it.
The Lorex's color night vision was really easy to figure out
and it worked every time.
There's no experimenting to turn it on,
and the option in the app settings
comes with a short explanation of what the switch does.
Thank you, Lorex.
Once I turned that on, the color kicked in
The Lorex 2K Pan and Tilt Outdoor Camera
gets almost everything right,
but for my particular home, and as a renter,
there were a couple things that could have been better.
Finding a power source for this camera
isn't really an issue.
After all, it works with both POE and a regular outlet.
The trick is running those cables outside.
Best case scenario, you can use an outdoor outlet,
but if that's not an option,
you might have to run the cable through a window.
Thankfully, I was able to lock the window
with the power cable in the way,
but it might be a little harder with thicker cables
like those from an ethernet cord.
One workaround is to drill a hole through the outside wall,
into your home.
But, since I'm a renter, that definitely wasn't an option.
I would love to see a battery powered version
of this camera someday,
but it might come with trade offs like shorter battery life.
Again, if you're a renter, an outdoor camera like this
might not be the best option for you
because it requires drilling.
Thankfully, the included screws are pretty small.
We still recommend checking with your landlord
before adding it to your property.
If you don't wanna drill directly into the side of the house
you could try other options like a nearby fence or tree,
but you still have to run the power to the camera
to get there.
AI recognition for people, packages, vehicles,
and even animals, are pretty common in outdoor cameras,
including this one.
This Lorex camera has onboard motion detection
and person detection.
However, it wasn't able to tell the difference
between people and vehicles.
During my testing, I got constant alerts
for someone spotted on my front porch,
only to see a car driving by.
This isn't just annoying,
it can create a boy-cried-wolf scenario,
that trains you to ignore potential risks.
Unfortunately, this is a pretty common issue
in cameras I've tested.
My guess is, because this technology is still pretty new
in the consumer arena.
Between TV streaming in the living room,
video games upstairs,
and any other wifi connected devices in your home,
this camera could put a strain
on your home network pretty quickly.
We experienced this in real time
while I tested the camera and my partner was watching TV.
Thankfully, this was a quick fix.
By dropping the video resolution down to 960P,
we were both able to watch the newest "Stranger Things"
season uninterrupted.
Even at the lowest video resolution,
the footage still looks good.
The perfect security camera should have a great picture
and audio quality, consistent recording,
alerts for relevant events,
and features that scare off bad actors.
And the Lorex Pan and Tilt Outdoor Camera
comes pretty darn close.
This camera is bulky, but it's tough enough to withstand
all kinds of weathers and temperatures.
It delivers a clear picture, and good two-way audio.
And if that 2K streaming puts a strain on your Wi-Fi,
you can always adjust it without sacrificing quality.
I loved the smart track and deterrent lighting features,
and I'm excited to see how Lorex improves them.
I definitely recommend this Lorex camera
for anyone wanting vigilant eyes outside their home,
but that recommendation comes with a caveat,
because it's not the best for renters
or anyone with limited space outside their house.
You'll also need to be a little strategic
about how to feed its power source
from the inside to the camera outside.
Thanks again to Lorex for sending us this new camera.
We have more about Lorex cameras on safewise.com,
in the description below, and you can find this on lorex.com
under one of those links as well.
Thanks for watching and stay safe.
Thanks for watching, and if you want more safety,
head over to safewise.com and you can find reviews
and our lineups of best home security systems,
best wireless cameras, and more. Stay safe.