The Best Outdoor Security Camera

An outdoor security camera can keep tabs on pets, package deliveries, and people who may be helping themselves to both of those things. They can alert you to guests, and they can even capture video of a raccoon relishing the year’s first snowfall or the occasional runaway FedEx truck.

However, after reviewing literally hundreds of security cameras over the past eight years—more than 240 at last count—I have yet to find the one magical unicorn that’s the perfect outdoor sentry. Some are hard to install, some need frequent charging, some miss motion, and others require a paid subscription to be most effective.