Sabi Phagura reviews the Canary Flex weatherproof camera and discovers high-quality security surveillance is a lot simpler to put in place than many people think.
We all work extremely hard for our lavish homes, expensive cars and luxury valuables, so it’s natural to want to protect them. And aside from installing a good burglar alarm system, there is a range of ways to make our homes and valuables safe and secure.
In recent years there has been a rise in installing cameras in our homes to protect our goods and loved ones. With this in mind, we asked Sabi to test out the highly-rated Canary Flex weatherproof camera.
Touted as the world’s most versatile HD security camera, the unit itself looks great, but more importantly, it is extremely well-made and feels extremely durable. The Flex is packaged with a 360-degree magnetic swivel base which means the camera can be placed on a flat surface indoors as well as a wall mount to an interior or external wall.
The Flex can be charged for wireless use lasting an astonishing two months, and can also be used with a mains power supply. You can even have a two-way conversation with anyone at home with the Canary Talk as part of the membership package.
Installing the Flex couldn’t be simpler. We simply downloaded the app (iOS or Android) and followed the on-screen instructions and were good to go.
The magnetic mount works well indoors, but it is advisable to buy an additional mount for outdoor use.
There are a few to choose from – the secure mount which attaches to any wall or surface outside or in, the twist mount, whether you hang it or wrap it around such as a baby’s cot, and the stake mount which can be hidden in a plant pot. Genius!
If you have more than one Flex camera, the app allows you to name each camera, and you can simply scroll between them. With two key functions – camera mode and timeline – the former allows you to select one of three surveillance settings manually.
‘Away’ for when you’re absent, ‘Home’ and the camera is disarmed and ‘Night’ for when you are sleeping. When you are away from home, the Flex can be set to provide notifications for any activity recorded. You can even watch live footage from your camera home screen should you wish to do so.
The timeline presents you with a chronological view of activity history with downloadable footage, which is available for the previous 24 hours. A 30-day history with a Canary Membership is available at a small cost either on a monthly or annual basis.
We were rather impressed with the quality of footage the Flex records. It is crisp in detail when recorded in daylight and more than decent at night, using the camera’s automatic night vision. And the audio quality is not to be sniffed at either.
It is extremely clear with sound recorded through its inbuilt microphone. The footage can be seen in both portrait and landscape modes using the app, and with a simple tap or pinch gesture, we were able to zoom into the recording to assess the smaller details.
The Flex is a great security camera. It looks great, is simple to set up and, above all, it does exactly what you want it to monitoring your home and offering good-quality video.
We particularly liked the no-fuss, less than 10- minutes to mount on an exterior wall and the absence of any tricky wiring. We believe the Canary Flex is a great investment to protect your precious valuables, no matter how big or small.
Where to buy the Canary Flex Camera
The Canary Flex comes in both black and white versions and costs £199 from John Lewis, Amazon, Curry’s, Maplin and Argos. It’s $199 if you’re in the US, and you can also buy it directly from Canary’s website at www.canary.is
You must be logged in to post a comment.