Amazon Cloud Cam Security Camera

This camera has worked well for me, a non-tech person. I have tried to answer as many of the common questions asked about this camera as I could.I am not sure why, but there is a lot of misinformation out there, especially in some of the top reviews. Some of the problems have been fixed in software updates, but much of the information is just not correct. Hopefully these reviews will be updated at some point.(Edit 8/11/2018 I have noticed many of those top reviews with bad info and most of those “camera caught the thief” video reviews are gone for some reason).• You can download and watch videos on a PC with the free plan (in the last 24 hours)• You can watch live stream on a computer via cloudcam.amazon.com• You can turn off audio playback (from the app)• You can invert the video (from the app)• You can turn of the infrared night light (from the app)UNPACKAGINGPackage came on time and was without any damage, but there was no padding inside the shipping box. Included in the main box were the camera, USB cable, AC adaptor for 110 voltage, small setup manual, wall mount and two drywall screws (see photos).OVERALL FIRST IMPRESSIONSCamera seems well made and a little smaller than I thought it would be. All items were included and in good condition.The image on the live view in daylight was good (see photo), images appeared sharp and easy to identify. Sound was crystal clear. I turned on the TV, went into another room and was easily able to watch the TV and hear the sound very clearly when it came through. There were some breakups of the sound at times though, making me miss some of the audio detail. But night vision is dark and grainy, it is not easy to make out itemsSETUPSet up took me less than 11 minutes which includes downloading the app and logging into all accounts. I am not a big tech guy but setup was quite easy. Basically you just plug the camera in to the AC adapter, download the Amazon Cloud Cam app to your phone, wait for the blue blinking light on the camera to change to a pulsating blue and green light, and you will hear a chime sound. This means the camera is ready for setup. Then you just hit the setup button on your phone and in about 3 minutes it is working. I am using a Moto E as my video source and for the app.HOW IT WORKSYou can watch live view or see the video clips the camera took upon it detecting movement. It quickly took several short videos detecting movement when I walked around. I also received a sound and text notice on my phone of “Motion detected” every time it detected motion and took a video, and when I touch the notice it will play the video for me. I do seem to get a lot of “We were unable to play this video” error codes when I first try to play the video, but usually it will play when I hit the blue ‘replay’ button. I have not upgraded my plan so I will only get the last 24 hours of video. It does not take pictures but you can easily do this by just taking a screenshot (see photo) on your android phone, normally this is just hitting the power button and volume button at the same time. Or you could do a Print Screen on your computer when viewing recorded video clips. You can view the recorded videos AND download video clips from a PC with the free plan, just go to www.amazon.com/clouddrive, sign in, then when watching your videos in the upper right hand corner there is a download icon. You can also view live feed or videos up to 24 hours any time with the basic included plan on your cell phone or computer.GLASS WINDOWSIt will take video through a window as it can detect movement. Image for me was still pretty good. But at night the infrared light will glare badly on the windows blurring your view almost completely. You can turn off the infrared light via the app though, and using just a porch light I captured cool videos of many animals at night.WHAT I DO NOT LIKEIn my opinion this camera has poor night vision. It does have the ability to see live view from a computer even though many reviews say you cannot do this. Just go to cloudcam.amazon.com to set it up.I set this camera up to watch my car in my driveway as a test, but at night even at low sensitivity it goes constantly, recoding everything. OK, no problem yet. But when I go to Amazon Drive, I see a lot of recorded videos that I just want to delete. But as of now, I have to look at each one individually, and then hit the delete button each time. I would think this could be MUCH easier. I might take a star off for this in the future (maybe it is just something I do not see or have figured out?).Edit: Thx to “Regolith” who gave me an option to quickly delete the videos, see his/her two comments under the “comments” section, they worked well for me. It can work for the phone or the computer.ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS ASKED• You can download videos to a PC on the free plan in the last 24 hours• You can view live stream on a PC via cloudcam.amazon.com• It has no local SD storage• Sound plays very clearly and loud• You can turn off audio playback• It only records if it detects movement• This is an indoor camera only, it is not waterproof• You can turn the camera on/off through the app• When the camera detects motion, you receive a text and sound alert via a cell phone• You can turn off the IR (infrared night light)• It does not pan or zoom• Night vision is dark and grainy, not easy to make out photos• While camera viewing is wireless, it requires a wire to power it (it is not battery operated)• You can have the camera image rotate 180 degrees for ceiling mounting• Does not require a base station (some do, I have no idea what a base station is for)THOUGHTSI have not owned another camera to influence me one way or another.I have continuously updated this review as I have used and tested this camera out. Sorry to write so much, I know most people do not like detailed long reviews but I always write what I would want to know about an item before I make a purchase. Any misinformation please let me know or if you have any questions please ask via comments, I will answer what I can.