I have 4 of these, I have been using them for 2 months outdoors and I am generally satisfied, however anyone interested should know the following in order not to be surprised.
Positives:
1. Installation within 2 minutes. No cables needed
2. Takes a solar panel with an extra 20 euros and becomes fully autonomous
3. User-friendly application
4. Access to recordings is fast and easy. It keeps up to 7 days back on the sd card without a subscription. With a subscription it offers more things, but it is not necessary for a typical user
5. Quality of daytime footage is above average
6. They have various features, such as a decent siren, LED light that can be set to be permanently on at night or only light up during motion detection or not light up at all, has a microphone (average sound quality), as well as a speaker, so you can talk through the app to anyone in the area, etc.
7. Supports both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands on wifi. So if one doesn't work well, there is the option of the other until you see which one behaves better. In my area, they are all quite stable and became even more stable when I changed the router model and put a stronger wifi.
8. Imou is a subsidiary of the well-known and reputable Dahua, basically meaning that the manufacturer of these cameras is Dahua.
Negatives:
1. Does not record 24 hours a day, only when motion is detected. This is a characteristic of ALL battery cameras and not just this one, and the reason is to save battery.
2. Recording sometimes stops earlier than it should, even if there is still movement in the area, so something important may be missed.
3. Recording starts only when someone approaches within 5-6 meters, in other words, depending on the area being monitored, it may take some time to start recording. The infrareds with which the recording is activated do not see further.
4. The battery lasts much less than the 6 months claimed by the manufacturer, especially if the camera makes many recordings (due to increased activity in the monitored area).
5. While the battery can be removed and replaced, I see that replacement batteries are not easily found, and where I found them, they are quite expensive. However, most of the competitor's battery cameras do not even have this capability, but have a built-in battery on the board, so when their battery starts to fail, they will be useless. At least with this one, you can search for a replacement (IF you find one, at whatever price you find it).
6. Average image quality at night
7. Relatively bulky and with a strange shape. Some may see this as a positive because they may want to stand out.
Summary:
If you want to use them as the main security measure, DO NOT get them. Go ahead and buy and install wired ones, nothing more, nothing less.
However, if you want to add them as a supplement to an existing alarm system without dealing with cable drilling and at a low cost, just to see live what is happening in the area when the alarm goes off or to have some recordings of what happened (do not rely on them though), but also for their deterrent nature, then they are ideal. Along with the solar panels, which I consider essential, they are fully autonomous and the battery never drops below 90%. I hope they will last over time, as personally I do my job just fine with them.
***UPDATE***: After 10 months, one camera, installed like all others in the shade and protected from weather conditions and with very relaxed use (1 recording per 24 hours on average), broke. Minus 2 stars compared to the initial 4/5 I had given and now I have serious doubts about their build quality and durability over time. I hope it was an isolated case.
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