Disclosure: Product provided for review. All opinions and experiences are my own.
Home security has been a constant discussion between my husband and I. We have installed a home alarm system, and have been exploring our options when it comes to video surveillance for our home. We wanted the capability to easily monitor our home when we are away, as well as have a high-quality camera that can easily identify any issues going on around our home. Our budget for this project isn’t substantial, but neither is my husband’s handiness around the house. So we needed to find an inexpensive expert (which is a total oxymoron) or find options that were easy enough for us to do it ourselves.
Speaking of DIY projects, we’ve increasingly gotten better at completing minor home improvement projects despite not having much experience. That’s why when we found out about Guardzilla, we were almost confident it was a project we could take on ourselves. Guardzilla offers a variety of home video surveillance based on your needs and being that we were interested in outdoor surveillance, we knew the Guardzilla 360 Outdoor camera was the way to go. We weighed our options with other companies but ultimately decided this would be the easiest set up with the results we were looking for.
Right out of the box, Guardzilla was simple to set up. I downloaded the Guardzilla app, set up my account, and followed the steps to connect the camera. Within minutes, the camera was set up and ready to go. There are a few options to choose from when it comes to recording your video with Guardzilla, and you can find all their options on the Guardzilla website. We decided just for now we will use their free cloud service which stores 8 seconds of motion detection video only until we are ready to take our next trip. If we are away for an extended amount of time we will opt for a cloud storage package where we can look back on video and audio in the event there is an issue at home. Guardzilla offers 6 months of free cloud storage, and plans start at just $5 a month.
I love a few things about the Guardzilla camera. For starters, if you don’t bolt it into the wall outside, it’s portable, so I can use it where I need it. I have a hook outside I can hang it when I don’t want to come downstairs to open the door for packages, and I can easily communicate to the delivery person downstairs. He can hear me clearly and I can kindly ask him to just leave the packages and I’ll be right down. I love that I can watch my kids in the backyard when I move the camera to the yard, and I can even use it to keep an eye on the kids in the playroom. Guardzilla offers something that no other security camera has offered us so far, which is a 360 degree view. This camera covers so much more area than anything else we’ve seen out there. The battery lasts a long time after it’s fully charged, but at some point it will be a permanent fixture by the front door where it will be plugged in regularly.