The Canary security camera is more than just a camera. Armed with its multiple sensors and a 1080p camera, it records events when it detects movement in your absence, provides live monitoring via your smartphone and detects the air quality in your health home.
(embed) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAEQMiAGKJE (/ embed)
Mark : Canary
Category: Security camera
Connection: Wireless
Compatibility: iOS and Android
Price : From 219 €
Availability: French release June 14, 2016
Tested with: Asus Zenfone 2 Laser
Buy Canary :
What you will learn
Canary Unboxing: when the bird comes out of the egg
The security camera is presented in a box covered with cardboard showing the name of the object and its various functions. The cardboard removed, the box appears in itself, of the most beautiful effect! In a deep black with the company logo, a C highlighted, the whole is very sober while inspiring a feeling of confidence.
The opening is then very easy, by lifting the base in question. The camera is then put in front, Half embedded in its passenger compartment. The object is like its packaging: very simplistic, but also very beautiful. After removing Canary from its egg, the accessories are accessible: two cables are present, an audio jack and a USB charger accompanied by its adapter to connect the device to the power.
No user manual, but two small cards advising to download the application. Two small stickers are also provided, if you wish to inform the population that Canary is watching you.
Using simple materials like cardboard and a clean style, the camera has a corresponding packaging.
The whole is quite bulky, given the size of the camera, but the organization of the packaging on 2 floors remains well thought out.
Canary design and ergonomics
Canary's success in crowdfunding ($ 2 million raised on Indiegogo) may well come from there, at least in part. Canary is aesthetic and very beautiful to see. It takes the form of a modern and minimalist cylinder. Three colors are available: black, white and silver, so that you can best choose the one that will blend best with the decor of your stay.
The small camera lens is located on the front of the camera. At the back, we find the brand logo, a C, as well as the Ethernet, jack and micro USB sockets. LEDs are arranged on the base of the device, which also has a small rubber base so that it does not slip, which change color depending on the use of Canary.
The top of the camera is tactile, so there is no visible button or physical activation.
Canary is approximately 15 cm tall. It is equipped with a 1080p camera with a viewing angle of 147 ° and a x3 zoom. Its 12 infrared LEDs allow night vision up to more than 7 meters. A microphone is also integrated (without speaker, unlike Nest Cam), and the 90 decibel alarm will not fail to warn the whole neighborhood in the event of an intrusion.
The aspect has undoubtedly been worked so that Canary is part of the decor of your apartment or house. The camera having been tested with the black model, it was simply placed alongside our box, where it integrated perfectly. The only downside is that due to its size, it does not excel in discretion. A chance that its design is relatively versatile.
Canary application
Who says smart health smart health connected object necessarily says mobile application. Canary is no exception to the rule by proposing a application available on iOS and Android.
The health home screen shows the smart health connected camera and the “direct” button highlighted in the middle. Just below that, the temperature, the humidity and the air quality. Selecting one opens the day tracking.
At the bottom of the screen are the keys to start the siren and to call your emergency number, to be indicated in the settings.
These are located in the upper right corner and allow you to adjust notifications, private mode, as well as the geolocation system which will automatically activate Canary when you leave your perimeter. At least on paper.
Select “profile” to access your personal data: name, telephone number, email address and password. You can also add users so they can watch the live or record videos.
These recordings in question (which are triggered in the event of detection of movements in your absence) are stored on a Cloud, an online storage space, since the device does not offer internal storage. To review a recording, select View Timeline. Each clip will then be accompanied by a description, its duration, as well as an icon "bookmark”(Include bookmark or bookmarks) to add it to your library, or bookmarks. In it, you will have access to all the recorded events with the possibility of downloading them.
Canary app is free, but offers more complete security for a fee. Thus, the free version will offer you 12 hours of history possible per month, 5 bookmarks and 3 downloads. For 4.99 € per month (or 29 € per year): 2 days of history, 25 bookmarks and your unlimited downloads. € 9.99 (or € 99 per year) will offer you one week of history, 100 bookmarks and unlimited downloads, while the most complete package offers 30 days of history, as well as bookmarks and unlimited downloads, for 29.99 € (319 € a year).
Using Canary
The installation of the application is quick: you need to create an account with your email, telephone number and your health home address. Then we plug in the camera itself and we indicate to the application its location : in the living room, the kitchen, the corridor… as well as the internet connection (via WiFi or Ethernet cable). It will then be necessary to connect the smartphone to Canary via the jack cable supplied with, so that the two pair in secure connection. Finally, turn on your camera by placing your finger on its touchscreen top.
For this Review, the camera was placed in the living room. The goal is to cover as much space as possible, Canary’s location must be strategic. If you live in a two-story house, then several cameras will be necessary.
A slightly too sensitive detector
The most important feature is the motion detector. He will activate the ehealth recording in your absence, if he deems it necessary. If the camera detects movement, it will record what is happening and keep ehealth in the cloud for 12 hours (in free version). You can therefore keep the ehealth permanently or not depending on your subscription.
When Canary detects something, she will film, and send you a notification on your smartphone: you can then go to the application to see the filmed sequence.
One of Canary's major problems comes into play here: his sensitivity. The detector is very, sometimes too sensitive, and will literally spam you with notifications every time a shadow passes. Fortunately, the alarm will not go off with every false alarm. It is therefore strongly discouraged from using it if you have a pet. In the case of this Review, it was a real problem.
However, Canary has recently announced an update to address this issue with the possibility of adjusting the sensitivity of the sensors. Fortunately, because receiving a notification every 20 minutes will cause the user to ignore them, and a real alert could go unnoticed.
To sound the alert
However, if Canary films a real thief instead of your cat, you have 2 options: start the siren (which is very noisy) or call your emergency number, which you can change in your settings.
But ! Another negative point, Canary does not work with batteries, it must be plugged in. Which would then allow a thief to unplug the camera … unless the alarm had roused the whole neighborhood. For the Review, the camera was discreetly disconnected, and no notification was sent. We can therefore wonder about the usefulness of a security system that does not warn you when it is deactivated …
Obviously, Canary has its uses: being able to monitoring your health home from any location, as long as there is an internet connection. Live ehealth has a slight lag of about 5 seconds, and the night camera is truly impressive. The microphone is also powerful enough to know what your family members are up to.
Three monitoring possibilities
In a concern for the respect of the private life and in order not to transform you into Big Brother, Canary envisaged a system of modes of surveillance: armed, disarmed and private.
Armed mode will record a sequence when motion is detected and send you an alert. When disarmed, Canary will also record, but will not send you notifications, and private mode will mute the microphone and camera.
You can also program Canary to activate in armed mode as soon as you leave your health home, and add access accounts for family members so that it also detects them. However, the function is to be improved, since the camera did not detect our absence and that it was necessary to arm Canary manually via the application.
Give yourself some air
Because Canary doesn't just want to be a simple camera, it also has air quality monitoring : Homehealth (the health of your health home, literally). The temperature, humidity and quality of the air you breathe will hold no secrets for you. Please note that Canary also does not replace a smoke detector and will not send you alerts if it is detected. The sensors are powerful, and will detect kitchen odors, carbon monoxide, and all other harmful materials, also offering graphical monitoring to see the evolution of your air.
This functionality is presented like a detector, it only informs, without distinctions between the different general toxins, dividing everything between three categories: normal, abnormal or very abnormal.
With this feature, you can be notified of a fire, watch it live with Canary, and call the fire department.
Canary in the face of competition
The small camera does its job, but some frustration remains. Its price of € 219 remains average compared to that of the security camera Piper (199 € basic, more for the night camera version), but this is frustrating given its more limited features.
Piper remains in the same price range, but its built-in speaker allowing dialogue with the people present at your health home, as well as its integration into a smart health connected house (door and window opening sensors, brightness control of devices remotely), added to a notification system in the event of toxic substances detected, excuse the € 199 disbursed. Camera zoom and field of view are also better than Canary's.
The price-performance ratio plays in favor of Canary: even if its functionalities are more limited, it remains nonetheless at a very correct price. However, it is necessary to think before buying, given the other cameras at the same price present on the market.
Conclusion
Good points
- Payment not imposed
- Good value for money
- Good quality of night vision
Negative points
- No wireless operation
- No possibility of additional accessories
- A too unpredictable detector
(Review) Canary, the camera taking off
Reviewed by Wilhelm
we
Design & Finishing / Ergonomics : A simple but very effective design.
Application : Does its job, nothing more.
Features : Good ideas but not pushed to the maximum … or too pushed in the case of the motion detector.
Use / Getting started : Easy to use with the possibility of adding access for your loved ones.
Value for money : Its price is based on its functionality, a higher price would have been unwelcome.
Rating: 3
AB SMART HEALTH REVIEW