6 Best Security Lights with Built-In Cameras (UK Guide) - Smart Home Insider (2024)

As security becomes increasingly important to people, we are spending more money on keeping our families and possessions safe, and the Smart Home industry has been quick to offer us solutions.

Today we are going to be looking at the best security lights with built-in cameras, to help you decide which one would be best for your home.

Quick Summary

In a rush? Here are my top three picks:

Image	Summary
	Best Overall: Ring Floodlight Cam • Two powerful 2000 lumen lights • Integrates well with Alexa • Crystal-clear 1080p HD resolution	View on Amazon
	Runner Up: Netatmo • Customise alerts to only tell you about humans, animals, vehicles etc • Dimmamble light • Great for Alexa or Google Home	View on Amazon
	Best Without Subscription: Eufy • Local storage so no subscription needed • Strong, bright spotlight • Regular plug for easy installation	View on Amazon

Things to Keep in Mind

There are a few things that you’ll need to consider when you are purchasing security lights. To save you time we have listed some of the most important ones below:

• Budget: how much can you afford to spend on these lights? This should be the first thing to consider as all subsequent decisions will be influenced by what you can afford.
• How many will you need?: You will know your house better than anyone, and will be able to identify which areas would benefit from having a security camera – run a quick risk assessment to work out exactly how many areas you would like them to cover.
• Will you need motion sensors?: Some lights/cameras will kick into life if they detect movement in the area – is this something that would benefit you? If, for example, you have them pointing out at a busy street, this may be an unnecessary feature as something would be constantly setting it off.
• Audio: Do you need to be able to hear what is going on, as well as see? Do you need two-way audio so that you can communicate with whoever is there? Be sure to check the legal requirements of capturing audio outside your premises before you buy.

Best Security Lights with Built-in Camera

The best security lights with camera built-in are:

• Best Overall: Ring Floodlight Cam
• Runner Up: Netatmo Outdoor Light
• Best Without Subscription: Eufy Floodlight Cam
• Budget Pick: Foscam
• Best for Small Spaces: Ring Spotlight Cam
• Premium Pick: Eufy Floodlight Cam Pro 2

Keep reading for my full reviews of my recommendations along with the pros and cons of each device.

At the end of the article is a comparison table with side-by-side specs.

Best Overall: Ring Floodlight Cam

We kick things off with the Ring Floodlight Cam, which has two large LED floodlights attached to the top of the unit – these are both incredibly powerful lights (2000 lumens) that will illuminate a large area. You can control the brightness as well if you find that they are too bright for what you need.

The video is crystal-clear, with 1080p HD resolution. While not 4k, this will give you a great picture of what is going on outside your home. The audio quality is also excellent, and it is two-way so that you can communicate with whoever is outside. There is also a very loud siren that you can set off to scare away animals or intruders (just don’t stand too close to it when you are trying it out!).

The motion sensor will detect movement as small as a spider crawling over it, and you can customise it to however sensitive you need it to be – if you find that it is being triggered a little too often, you can turn down the sensitivity. You can also set which zones you could like it to cover.

There are a couple of drawbacks, though – it will only record for a set amount of time, even if movement persists in that area, and the adjustable friction joints are a little bit loose, so it can be difficult to set it at the perfect angle.

All in all, this is an excellent, versatile option, with a great picture and excellent motion sensors. Certainly one for your shortlist. Of course, being a Ring device (owned by Amazon), it plays really nicely with Alexa for pulling up the feeds on your Echo Show or Firestick.

Runner Up: Netatmo Outdoor Light

Next up we have this wonderful Outdoor Light from Netatmo. The first thing that you’ll notice is its appearance – this looks unlike any security camera that I have seen, and the camera is very nicely built into the design, rather than being a separate component like with much of the competition. It looks good.

If that wasn’t enough, what really separates this from most of the other units is how much you can customise it to suit your exact needs. Most notably you can tinker with the alerts that you get on your phone so that you only get notified when specific types of movement happen (humans, animals, vehicles etc). This means that you save yourself an awful lot of time disregarding notifications.

They have gone to great lengths to ensure you don’t waste your time – when you do get a notification there is a small thumbnail image that pops up so that you can quickly judge whether you can dismiss it or watch the full video clip.

It is fully compatible with all of the major smart home systems, so you can integrate it fully into your network. The camera can be voice-controlled as well.

The light isn’t as bright as some of the others (although I found that this didn’t pose much of a problem for my garden), so the ability to make it dimmer isn’t as important as it might be with some other lights.

The small lag between the motion sensor and the camera is a little frustrating – it will still capture almost everything, it’s just there may be the odd occasion that you miss something crucial.

This is a great security light though – one that you should seriously consider.

Best Without Subscription: Eufy Floodlight Cam

Here we have a great little product, the Eufy Floodlight Cam. Straight from the first glance of this unit, you will notice just how well it is made. The combination of metal and glass means that this is a sturdy kit that won’t let you down, which will come as some reassurance as they will be facing all manner of different weathers.

The lighting is incredibly bright; really powerful and far-reaching and one of the best I’ve seen. Let’s be honest, this should be the bare minimum that a security light should do, but this is a powerful light that is both useful for you and off-putting for intruders. You can adjust the brightness, which might be a good idea if you mainly use it for finding your way around the garden, rather than a security light.

I enjoyed the two-way communication feature. The microphone is of real quality, so the audio that it picks up is crisp and clear, making it very easy to speak to people outside your house – the postman will be very grateful that he can be heard!

It is not without its faults though – the motion detector is not of the same quality as some of the other products on this list, with very little flexibility when it comes to customising the settings, and only a 3-meter range.

Having said that, this is an excellent option if you want a great security light, that also has a decent camera.

Budget Pick: Foscam

Up next we have this Foscam Floodlight Camera – another unit that has two floodlights, with a camera situated just below them. It looks pretty standard for a security light, so certainly nothing to put you off aesthetically.

In terms of its performance as a security light, I think you will struggle to find a better one. The 2600 lumens that it offers is more than any other product that we have looked at on this list, and you appreciate every one of those lumens when you see this at full capacity. That level of brightness won’t be for everyone though, which is why the ability to adjust the lights is so welcome.

Now, the camera – this records in 2K, which provides a really clear and crisp picture, and the colour night vision means that the image is great no matter what time of day it is filmed.

You also get four motion sensors on the base of the unit which give you a great amount of coverage in terms of detection – 270°. Again, this is as good as any other product that we are looking at today.

Where it falls slightly, though, is that the field view of the camera is nowhere near as wide as the range for the motion sensors. So you end up with the lights going on but there is a big lag before the camera kicks in.

That shouldn’t detract from the fact that this is an excellent option for a security light with a camera. It is strong, powerful and incredibly thorough when it comes to detecting movement, which should offer you the kind of reassurance that you desire from a product like this.

Best for Small Spaces: Ring Spotlight Cam

Another Ring camera now, this time the Spotlight Cam. As you would expect from the slightly lower price to the Ring Floodlight Cam that we looked at above, this is very similar, but on a slightly smaller scale.

There are a few main differences between the two: Firstly, the way they connect to a power source – the Spotlight can be plugged into any standard socket, whereas the Floodlight has to be wired into the mains electricity.

The biggest difference, though, is the size and power of the lights. As you have probably guessed, the Floodlight is much more powerful than the Spotlight (2000 Lumens compared to 700 Lumen). As such, the Spotlight is probably better suited to smaller areas.

Other than that, it performs in a very similar way to the Ring Floodlight Cam, with a similarly impressive camera, and similarly impressive motion sensors. The field of view is almost identical, they both have a (very loud) siren and the two-way audio is great on them both.

This is an excellent option for smaller gardens or driveways, and at a slightly smaller price than its stablemate, worth serious consideration if you could make do with the slightly smaller range. If you have other Ring devices such as their video doorbell, this would make a great addition to the ecosystem.

Premium Pick: Eufy Floodlight Cam Pro 2

We finish this list of the best security lights with this premium option from Eufy: Floodlight Cam Pro 2. This is the most expensive product that we’re looking at today, so let’s see whether it is worth the extra money.

The stand out feature is the 360° degree camera pan – this is unlike any other product that we have come across and acts as that unique selling point for the Pro 2. It gives the chance to see everything that is happening, not being hindered by the limitations of your camera.

It also offers a brighter light than any light that we have seen before, at a maximum of 3000 Lumens. This is too bright for standard use, but for warning people off your property, it works an absolute treat.

Everything else is pretty much as you would expect for a floodlight camera of this calibre. The quality of the picture is 2K, which is pretty much as good as you can expect, the two-way audio is great and it is a well-made piece of kit.

I do wish the internal storage was bigger, and the fact that it needs hardwiring means that the setup is a little more complicated – this is just the price you pay for having such a powerful and reliable unity though.

In summary – if budget isn’t a problem for you then the Eufy Floodlight Cam Pro 2 should be high up your list of options.

Comparison Table

Here is a side-by-side comparison table with the key specs of each light with built-in camera:

	Ring Floodlight Cam	Netatmo Outdoor Light	Eufy Floodlight Cam	Foscam	Ring Spotlight Cam	Eufy Floodlight Cam Pro 2
Image
Resolution	1080p HD	1080p HD	2k	2k	1080p HD	2k
Motion Detection	270°	100°	130°	270°	140°	180°
Power	Hardwired to mains	Hardwired to mains	AC plug	AC plug	AC plug	Hardwired to mains
Light	2000 Lumens	1125 Lumens	2000 Lumens	2600 Lumens	700 Lumens	Up to 3000 Lumens
Audio?	Yes - Two-Way	Yes	Yes - Two-Way	Yes - Two-Way	Yes - Two-Way	Yes - Two-Way
Price	$$	$$	$$	$$	$	$$$
Where to Buy?	Amazon	Amazon	Amazon	Amazon	Amazon	Amazon

Related Questions

Are there any battery-operated options?

Yes – while these tend to be much less powerful than their weird counterparts, there are some battery-operated security lights, with cameras, available. Ring offer a battery-powered alternative to the Spotlight Cam that we looked at above.

What are lumens?

Lumens are a measurement of brightness – the higher the number of lumens, the brighter the light. To give you an idea, a standard 40W bulb will offer around 450 lumens. As a rough guide, you’ll want at least 700 lumens for a decent floodlight.

What sort of bulb is best for security lights?

Generally, LED bulbs are the best for two reasons – they are more energy-efficient than the alternatives, and they last much longer than traditional or halogen bulbs. This second point is particularly crucial for security lights, as changing the bulbs can be difficult.

Which Security Cameras Don’t Need a Subscription?

All of the security cameras that we have featured today do not require a monthly subscription – you can run all of them from the second you have installed them at no extra cost.

However, many of these companies offer subscription services. Ring, for example, offer the Ring Protect Plan, which enables you to record the video that it captures to review later. You don’t need this feature, but it may be helpful.

Which Cameras Have a Built-in Siren?

Of the products we looked at on the list above, only the Netatmo security camera doesn’t come with a built-in siren. This is a handy feature to have but by no means a necessity.