D-Link's latest IP camera (DCS-2670L) is able to survive dust, rain and even snow. However, what it really needs is a team of software developers to give D-Link's companion mobile app and website a makeover.
Because this outdoor camera has the hardware to do its job, but it is being hampered by software bugs that range from annoying to potentially deal-breaking.
Firstly, it is rated at IP65 for dust and water resistance. It can be rotated or pivoted manually, though there is no automatic panning. However, its 180-degree wide-angle lens captures everything in front of it at up to 1080p resolution. Infrared LEDs help the camera see up to 10 metres in complete darkness.
Dangling from the camera are two weather-resistant connectors for the power and Ethernet cables. Its power adapter has a sufficiently-long cable, giving you the freedom to pick an appropriate location for the camera.
Typical of such consumer security cameras, the DCS-2670L can be configured using a mobile device with the mydlink Lite app (for iOS and Android). A QR code included in the box makes it easy to set up the camera and connect it to your home Wi-Fi network.
This app lets you view the camera's video feed in real-time. There is a two-second delay, which is decent for such cameras. Taking photos or videos in live view mode saves the files to your mobile device's internal storage, not the microSD memory card in the camera.
Instead, the microSD card (sold separately) is used only when motion or sound is detected in the camera's vicinity, triggering a short video recording of around five to six seconds. MicroSD cards of up to 128GB capacity are supported, which is good for 235 hours of high-definition video according to D-Link.
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TECH SPECS
PRICE: $289
VIDEO RESOLUTION: Up to 1,920 x 1,080 pixels
VIDEO FORMAT: H.264
FIELD OF VIEW: 180 degrees
NIGHT VISION: Yes (up to 10m)
MOTION DETECTION: Yes
MOBILE APPS: iOS and Android
WEIGHT: 360g
RATING
FEATURES: 4/5
DESIGN: 4/5
PERFORMANCE: 2/5
VALUE FOR MONEY: 3/5
OVERALL: 3/5
Unfortunately, the motion detection is iffy at the default 30 per cent sensitivity level. I had to increase the sensitivity level to over 80 per cent for the motion detection to work. It does not support continuous video recording, so you cannot fall back to this option if the motion detection does not work.
I was disappointed that app notifications - when the camera detects motion or sound - sometimes appear to be delayed by up to 30 minutes. It defeats the usefulness of these alerts for a security camera.
The mydlink Lite app has a functional interface, but lacks polish. D-Link has another app, simply called mydlink, that supports a range of D-Link smart home devices, including this camera. This app looks more modern, but consumers will probably be unaware of it as the mydlink Lite app is plastered on the camera packaging.
But either app is still more usable than D-Link's Web portal. To view the live feed in a computer using a Web browser requires the installation of a Web plug-in. But even after doing so, the video feed did not load properly on my computer using Firefox or Chrome. Microsoft's latest Edge browser is also not supported, though Internet Explorer is.
Verdict: D-Link DCS-2670L is a decent outdoor IP camera undermined by its buggy software.
