Outdoor Security cam review (was a freebie)

Paul Iddon

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Preston
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United Kingdom
Dash Cam
Viofo A139 Pro 4K, A129 Pro Duo 4K, A229 Duo 2K, & NB 522GW
There are no reviews for any that anyone on the forum seems to own - so I thought I'd put this in - (if it's not allowed, admin can remove it)...

I asked the makers (Soliom) if they would send me their new camera when available, after the first one (an earlier model) that I had broke.

So, I was kindly sent this outdoor Solar Powered S90 Pro security camera direct from them for free, and I promised to do a review of it and to give my opinion on its design and performance as a thank you.

The camera arrived in a well packaged and well laid out box. The contents include the camera, the mounting bracket, 3 antennas, cabling, fixing screws, wall plugs and a screwdriver. Everything you need to set up the unit.

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My first impression was of much larger the S90 camera is compared to the earlier model S60 (this was called “The Bird”) that was less than half the size of the new S90. At first I thought this might be a disadvantage, making the camera somewhat obvious, however once in position, it seems OK. I am also of the opinion, that being predominantly white plastic, the camera would be obvious because of this too. Again, once installed this seems to be acceptable.

The unit itself measures 19.5 cm x 22 cm x 8 cm. It is Weather Resistant with a rating of IP66. There are 3 solar panels on the top of the unit – 2 of which are on “wings” that can be angled away from the horizontal plane. The camera is housed inside behind a small black panel, which holds the lens and sensor unit, and the motion detection array, which uses an advanced rectangle PIR with radar. Behind all of this is a 10,000mah battery – a vast increase in the battery size of the older S60, and after one week of use, the battery is virtually at 100% capacity, even on a north facing corner wall (the worst position is on a north wall) but I am impressed with the charge being held. Soliom claim that the current from three parallel panels will add up to a total flow of 500ma per hour under direct sunlight, and I have no doubt this is fact. Well done with this battery choice. Within this housing too, is a two-way audio system (noise cancellation built in) that allows you to communicate with any visitors to your premises. This audio is clear and loud enough – requiring a phone app to work of course.

To access the camera via Wi-Fi, you will need a minimum upload speed of 2Mbps for optimal performance.

Moving on to the installation – it took me less 15 minutes. Remember to put in a memory card (up to 64Gb is easily sufficient). I had connected the camera and charged it up overnight, to ensure the battery was at its maximum charge. I screwed the 3 antennas into position and tightened them up

Having already downloaded the app from Google Play (and it’s available also for iOS) and it was a simple task to pair the device. Full easy to follow instructions are included in the manual.

Once up the ladder, (Soliom suggest a height of around 8 feet though I went higher) I drilled four holes and simply screwed the wall mount in place. The camera attaches easily onto the wall mount and I positioned the angle of the solar panels and the spread of the antenna. There is an allen key provided, and I simply angled the camera in the direction I wanted it and tightened up the fitting. After that, it was a simple task of connecting the camera via the app to check all was well. I decided I needed to rotate and point the camera, so I just loosened the fitting, changed the camera angle, and re-tightened, with the app still open which allowed me to see exactly this time what the lens was seeing. Once satisfied I double checked everything was fully secure and that was it.

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Onto performance – the 1080p give a good clear view of the road outside of my house. It is clear and bright in the sunshine and fine on duller days. The night vision is bright and clear – the camera records/views night time footage in black and white. I downloaded some of the video to my phone, and this was less than clear than I expected – but having said that, I expect the actual video files stored on the memory card will be perfectly good (they were on my previous S60, so no reason to see that change on the S90 Pro) though I have not been back up to the camera to retrieve the card yet! Since the camera was installed, I have already instructed an Amazon delivery to be taken to a neighbour using the audio communication (Amazon app informed me on my phone the driver was due, so I switched connected to the camera through the Soliom app, watched him arrive, and passed on the instructions. This is very good and simple to do. Additionally, the app shows brown markers on a time bar when the camera detects movement and by scrolling to these marked points, I discovered somebody carrying an old bed mattress at 2am go past the house (which I later found dumped nearby, and also a stranger parking his motorbike outside of the house behind our cars even though the rider doesn’t actually stay on the street at all once his gets off the bike!

So, performance wise, this is very effective, both for live viewing and for recording and playback.

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Overall, I am happy enough to recommend this Soliom S90 Pro camera.

You can buy this camera from Amazon USA:

Amazon USA

Paul.
 
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