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Whether you own a home or a business, surveillance cameras offer an easy way to keep tabs on what’s happening in and around your property. However, if you want to monitor an area that is constantly exposed to the elements, you’ll need a camera that can handle whatever Mother Nature dishes out. Enter the $279.99 D-Link HD Mini Bullet Outdoor IP Camera (DCS-7010L), a weatherproof HD camera featuring a sealed metal housing designed for the outdoors. Like our Editors’ Choice, the D-Link Outdoor HD Cloud Camera (DCS-2330L) ($99.99 at Amazon)(Opens in a new window) , this camera uses the mydlink web, iOS, and, Android apps so you can view streaming video from anywhere using your smartphone or PC. It also offers motion detection and email alerts, but it’s fairly expensive and doesn’t support Wi-Fi networking.
Design and Features
As the name implies, the DCS-7010L is a smallish bullet-style camera. It measures 6.7 inches long by 1.7 inches wide and uses an all-metal housing that meets the IP66 standard for protection against water, dirt, and dust intrusion. It also allows the camera to operate in temperatures ranging from -13 to +122 degrees Fahrenheit. The DCS-7010L uses a 1-megapixel CMOS sensor and has a maximum resolution of 1,280 by 800, a 10x digital zoom, and viewing ranges of 47, 37, and 60 degrees (horizontal, vertical, and diagonal, respectively).
The camera has an infrared (IR) cut filter for improved daylight visibility, and employs a series of 9 IR LEDs to provide a highly detailed image at night with a range of up to 30 feet. D-Link does not offer online video storage, but the DCS-7010L has a built-in microSD card slot that will store recorded video locally. To access the camera’s microSD card slot, you have to unscrew and remove the metal casing, which exposes the inner circuitry. Be sure to adequately tighten the casing when you’re done to ensure a proper gasket seal; otherwise, the camera’s weatherproofing may be compromised.
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A 52-inch long cable, hardwired to the camera, contains a Reset button and connectors for power, audio in, audio out, Ethernet, and DI/DO (Digital In/Digital Out). The DCS-7010L supports Power over Ethernet (PoE), which means you can ditch the power cable if you have a PoE switch. The audio cables provide two-way audio communications when hooked up to an external microphone and speaker.
The DCS-7010L uses the same mydlink iOS, Android, and PC Web apps as the DCS-2330L, and once installed appears in your device list alongside other installed D-Link cameras. With the app you can view live and recorded video, enable motion detection and email alerts, and schedule recording times. Clicking the Advanced Settings button takes you to a Web console where you can adjust image settings such as brightness, contrast, white balance, and saturation. Here you can also create network access lists and adjust IR light control settings.
Installation and Performance
The DCS-7010L isn’t as easy to install as the DCS-2330L because it doesn’t offer wireless networking support, and therefore requires an Ethernet cable run. However, once you have an Ethernet connection available close to where the camera is being installed, setup is a piece of cake—especially if you have a mydlink-enabled cloud router which automatically recognizes and configures the camera. My router does not support this feature, so I downloaded the setup wizard from D-Link’s website, connected the DCS-7010L to my PoE-enabled switch using an Ethernet cable, and ran the wizard. The camera immediately appeared in my device list on the mydlink app and live video was up and running.
Daytime video quality was excellent in my tests, with sharp HD (720p) image detail and solid colors. Motion handling was smoother than what I observed with the DSC-2330L and the Schlage WCO100NX Home Outdoor Camera ($209.00 at Amazon)(Opens in a new window) , thanks to the wired Ethernet connection. The DCS-7010L’s black-and-white night vision video appeared clean out to around 35 feet, which is more than twice the distance provided by the DCS-2330L and Schlage models. Only the SwannSecure offered better night vision (around 60 feet), thanks in part to its numerous IR LEDs. As with the DCS-2330L, motion detection worked wonderfully once I adjusted the sensitivity, and recorded video quality was outstanding. I also received email alerts every time the motion detector was triggered.
Conclusion
Sharp day and night video and a durable weatherproof housing make D-Link’s HD Mini Bullet Outdoor IP Camera a good choice for outdoor surveillance in any environment. You don’t get online storage with this camera, and Wi-Fi support would be nice considering its lofty price. But you can store recorded video on an SD card and have the camera alert you when motion is detected. If you want Wi-Fi, or the DCS-7010L’s price is a deal breaker, check out our Editors’ Choice for outdoor cameras, the D-Link Outdoor HD Cloud Camera DCS-2330L. It’s not a bullet enclosure and doesn’t have a metal housing, but it’s designed for outdoor use and offers solid performance for $100 less than the DCS-7010L.
3.5
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The D-Link HD Mini Bullet Outdoor IP Camera (DCS-7010L) is a well-constructed network security camera that delivers detailed day and night HD video, but it lacks Wi-Fi and is a bit pricey.
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Source link : https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/d-link-hd-mini-bullet-outdoor-ip-camera-dcs-7010l