The Full Ring Floodlight Cam Review: Does This Security Camera Work as Promised?

Wireless security cameras are now very popular and they come with different features, such as being able to connect to your smartphone and allowing you to use your phone to see what they see.  Others have motion detectors that, when triggered, would tell the camera to start recording.

Then you have security cameras with night vision and two-way audio, while others are part of a video doorbell, allowing you to see who is at the door without you having to check the peephole. 

The Ring Floodlight Camera is an outdoor motion activated camera that takes things further and gives you the most robust outdoor security camera.  It has motion sensors, floodlights, two-way audio, and a loud siren.   

Motion detection

The Ring Floodlight Cam has motion sensors that enable it to detect movement.  It can recognize faces and objects, and thus effectively minimize false alarms.

Apart from that, the sensors also have a wide field of view and can detect motion for 270 degrees, leaving only few blind spots that would-be burglars can hide in.   

More importantly, you can customize the motion zones.  Motion zones are those areas that you want the Ring Floodlight Cam to monitor.  If movement occurs within the motion zone, the motion sensors would be triggered, while movements detected outside these zones would be ignored.

This is very important if your Ring Floodlight Cam faces an area where there is a lot of traffic, such as a public road ahead.  With motion zones, the sensors will just ignore people passing by or cars going past. 

Furthermore, you can specify times when you want the motion sensors turned off.  For instance, you can schedule your Ring Floodlight Cam to detect motion only from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m., and then ignore all movements detected outside this period.   

HD camera 

The Ring Floodlight Cam has a 4.5-inch tall round camera with a diameter of 2.7 inches.  Aside from the motion detection, the camera also comes with night vision by way of six infrared LEDs.

Not only can you see 30 feet into the dark, but the camera also delivers high-definition video at 1080 pixels of resolution.  It also gives you a very wide field of view at 140 degrees.  Furthermore, the camera allows you to zoom in or out, offering you 8x digital zoom. 

Mobile app 

The Ring Floodlight Cam comes with the Ring mobile app, which allows you to control the camera, the sirens, and the lights.  You can view live streams of what your camera sees.  You can also flash the lights and turn the siren on or off.  The mobile app is also what you use to talk with whoever is outside.

You would also need the Ring app to tweak your Floodlight Cam’s settings and set up schedules and custom motion zones.  The Ring app is available for iOS, Android and Windows Phone devices. It also has an app for desktop PCs and Macs. 

Ring Floodlight Integrations

While it can function as a standalone device, the Ring Floodlight Cam plays well with other connected devices.  Right now, it works with several smart devices and hubs such as WeMo, Wink, ADT Pulse, Lockitron, Lockstate, Kisi, and Kevo.

You can also use IFTTT recipes to make your Ring Floodlight Cam work with other devices and services.  Plus, you can use voice commands via Amazon Alexa speakers to view the live feed. 

What’s in the box 

When you order your Ring Floodlight Cam, it will come with everything you need to install it.  What you get with every package are: 

• Floodlight Cam 
• Mounting bracket 
• 2 cap nuts  
• 3 wire nuts  
• 5 bracket screws 
• Screwdriver handle 
• Phillips bit 
• Socket bit 
• Temporary hook  
• Installation guide  

Pros for the Ring Floodlight Cam?

The Ring Floodlight Cam comes with everything you need to protect your premises from intruders: a floodlight to let you see who is there and what is happening even at night, two-way communication, and a loud siren to alert neighbors or scare any intruder away.

With superior resolution and night vision, you can see things clearly even when it is dark out. 

The device comes with two types of motion sensors.  The passive IR sensors are more sensitive to body heat, detecting anything that passes through its monitored area.

Meanwhile, the advanced sensors, such as the facial and human detection sensors, help you narrow down the triggers so that you only get alerted when people are detected. 

Further, the Ring Floodlight Cam allows you to talk and listen with its range of speakers and microphones, as well as offers some degree of noise cancellation.  This keeps the conversation crisp and clear, even when some background noise is present.  

Another thing you would love is the bank-grade encryption.  When your video feeds are sent to the cloud, it should be encrypted in such a way that nobody else can see your videos even if they do get access to the streams.   

Moreover, the Ring Floodlight Cam is weather-resistant and can withstand freezing temperatures of up to -28 degrees Celsius and hot weather of up to 48 degrees Celsius. 

What Could be Better (Cons)?

The Ring Floodlight Cam needs to be hardwired to an existing junction box. It cannot be powered by batteries, thus limiting the places where you could place it.

If you do not have a junction box, you would need to install one.  Also, even with the step-by-step installation guide, the company still recommends that installation be done by a licensed electrician because you would be dealing with live wires.   

Not having battery backup or even alternative power sources means that your Ring Floodlight Cam is going to be useless in the event of a power outage in your area.   

Furthermore, there is currently no way for you to dim the light, but that should not be a problem because the lights only give off the brightness of a 100-watt bulb and it is placed high up, so it is not that bright to look at. 

There is no way for you to view captured footage with your camera, unless you pay for the recording plans that Ring offers.  The good news is that it is very affordable, with the cheaper plan – Basic Plan – costing you only $30 per year.   

The Basic Plan gives you 60 days of video storage, a video review, and the ability to download stored footage from one camera.  If you have more than three Ring cameras, such as a Ring Spotlight Cam or a Ring Video Doorbell, you can opt for the Protect Plan.

This plan gives you the same benefits and services as the Basic Plan, but for an unlimited number of cameras, at only $100 per year. 

Ring Floodlight Cam Features List 

Available color	2, black or white
Price	(For the latest prices & discounts, check here)
Video	1080p HD
Camera size (inches, H x W x L)	4.5 x 2.7 x 2.7
Field of view for camera	140 degrees
Night vision	Yes
Live video stream	Yes
Motion sensing lights	Yes
Field of view for lights	270 degrees
Color temperature for lights	3000 degrees Kelvin
Object Detection	Yes
Face Detection	Yes
Siren	110 decibels
Bank-Grade Encryption	Yes
Batteries	Not needed

Alternatives to the Ring Floodlight Camera

An outdoor security camera that includes lighting is nothing new. Before the Ring Floodlight Cam, three of the most popular of such devices are the Kuna Light Fixture, the Kuna Toucan, and the Netatmo Presence. 

By all accounts, the Ring Floodlight Cam gives you the best value for your money, giving you a good mix of cost vs. features.

The two Kuna devices might have a cheaper manufacturer’s suggested retail price, but they only have 720 pixels HD resolution and have no Web app, no Windows Phone app, no night vision, and no customizable activity zones. 

Meanwhile, compared with the more expensive Netatmo Presence, the Ring Floodlight Cam still offers more features.  The only thing that would make you consider a Netatmo Presence is the local storage.  The Presence uses a microSD card to store your videos because it does not have cloud storage. 

	Ring Floodlight Cam	Netatmo Presence	Kuna Light Fixture	Kuna Toucan
Price	(For the latest prices & discounts, check here)	(For the latest prices & discounts, check here)	(For the latest prices & discounts, check here)	(For the latest prices & discounts, check here)
Color options	White or black	Black	Bronze or black	Black
HD	1080p	1080p	720p	720p
Continuous recording	No	No	No	No
Hardwired	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Live streaming	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Cloud storage	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Local storage	No	MicroSD	No	No
Web app	Yes	Yes	No	No
Motion Alerts	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Activity zones	Yes	No	No	No
Night vision	Yes	Yes	No	No
Mobile app	Android, iPhone and Windows	Android and iPhone	Android and iPhone	Android and iPhone

Reviews

I cannot speak highly enough for what a wonderful product this is. The quality of the Ring Floodlight itself is great and the quality of video is supererb in both day and night. I understand the limitations of night vision but it is still fantastic, the notifications are awesome and if you set your perimeters properly you don’t get a bunch of extra annoying notifications. It is simple to use and installed for me from out of the box, connected to WiFi up and working the unit in less than 30 minutes. This is a must-have… i have shown 5 coworkers today how it works live and pretty sure Amazon will have 5 orders this evening. I will be getting another one for the side of my house that I never thought I could do anything about and a Ring Camera for backyard.. thank you Ring this should win an Award for best product of the decade!! Shannon, Amazon

Final Recommendation – Should You Buy the Floodlight Cam

It is plain to see that Ring has scored a win with the Floodlight Cam.  The security camera offers the most features at a reasonable price (check here for the latest).

If only Ring could offer a free option for recording videos, even if it means keeping only an hour or two worth of video, this would have been the perfect outdoor camera with lights.  Nevertheless, the Ring Floodlight Cam is highly recommended. 

Further read,

• Arlo Pro vs Canary Flex: Which Will You Love More?