Home Security Camera or Nanny Cam–Important for Any Home After the NJ Home Invasion

(Note to readers: I was not compensated for this post. I honestly think this is one of the coolest products I’ve seen in a long time and simply thought you’d want to know it exists.)

By now you’ve probably heard about the arrest of the man accused of breaking into a New Jersey home, brutally beating a woman whose three year old child was just a few feet away, an incident caught on her nanny cam, and now seen by millions.

Well, I’d like to think that nanny cam was a critical part of his arrest.  And it makes me so glad I now have a security camera in my own home.

I actually was sent the Dropcam device for a news story that was being researched on high tech home security devices.  It honestly could be a nanny cam, home security device, or even a really awesome baby monitor.  It came in a small box and took about 2 minutes to install.  For someone who is not a techy, that’s pretty awesome.

There are so many cool parts about this device, I feel like I need a list.

Easy installation.  I mentioned this, but seriously—all I had to do was plug the USB cord into the device and then into my computer, pull up the web site, set up an account, and then unplug the device from my computer and plug it into an electrical outlet wherever I chose in my home and I was in business.

Live monitoring from anywhere.  I can pull up my Dropcam account on any computer and see a live picture of what’s happening in my home.  Or, I can watch it on my cell phone through the app I downloaded.

Live talkback.  I LOVE this part! I’ve been using the camera to monitor what I’m doing while I’m gone…partly to see what my dog is up to while I’m gone (the answer: a whole lot of sleeping), but also, when my 18 yr old is watching my 7 yr old, it’s fun to check in on them, and when I do, I make sure to ‘talk’ to them through the device.  I just hit the talk button and they can hear me on the other end.  I can always hear what’s happening on the device when I pull it up online or on the phone.   So cool, right?

Ability to record.  You can just watch the live feed or record what’s going on in your home.  That requires a monthly fee, and you have to figure out if it’s worthwhile.  To me, it’s priceless if something similar to what happened in NJ happens to your family.

Night vision.  It doesn’t matter how dark the room is.  The device can adjust to night vision so that you can see what’s happening.

Alerts.  When there’s movement in the home, you get a text alert.  That’s typically when I pull up the app and see what’s going on back at the house.  It’s usually my dog getting up on my furniture. And no, he doesn’t listen when I talk through the camera telling him to get down. Ha!  But on a serious note, I bet if I ever saw a criminal on the camera, my voice out of ‘nowhere’ would probably get a criminal out of the house.

The ability to set up several devices.  You name each Dropcam, so you can set up several and know what’s going on in different areas.

The only option I’d love to add is the ability to adjust the camera angle remotely.  My kids have already figured out where the camera is pointed and where they need to sit in the room if they don’t want to be on camera.  I really didn’t get it to spy on them, so I don’t mind so much.  It’s there for extra security, to keep an eye on my home while nobody is there.   That’s when I think it’d be cool to be able to follow the criminal by being able to move the angle from afar.

Overall, this camera is an awesome addition to any home.  It won’t stop someone from breaking in, but it will definitely be comforting to know their crime will be recorded if they do.