Godrej is one of the most established names in the home security business in India, with a wide range of products including door locks, personal lockers, video door phones, alarm systems and CCTV camera systems. The company’s recent launches include the Spotlight range of home security cameras, an expedition into the Internet-of-Things space. That means Godrej will have to compete against popular tech brands like Xiaomi and Realme. I’m reviewing the Godrej Spotlight Pan-Tilt Home Security Camera, a compact Wi-Fi-enabled device that works with an app on your smartphone.
Priced at Rs 3,499, the Godrej spotlight pan-tilt home security camera works just by its name; Not only can you view the camera feed remotely, you can also adjust the pane or tilt view of the camera using the app. I got a chance to use this new IoT home security camera from Godrej and here is my review.
Godrej Spotlight Pan-Tilt Home Security Camera has a microSD card slot for storing recorded footage
Godrej Spotlight Pan-Tilt Home Security Camera Design and Build Quality
Godrej currently has two Wi-Fi-enabled home security cameras in the Spotlight range – a fixed version, and this one, as the name implies, is capable of mechanically panning and tilting when controlled via the app. The cylindrical camera is attached to a vertical ‘stem’ from one side and it is attached to a circular base that holds electrical components and a micro-USB power port. The whole base pan turns left or right, while the stem allows the camera module to tilt upwards and downwards.
The camera can be mounted on a tabletop or mounted on a ceiling when clipped to an attached plate (which is included in the box). A long USB cable and power adapter are also included, allowing for some flexibility in the position of the Godrej Spotlight pan-tilt camera. Interestingly, Godrej said the camera could also be powered by a power bank, so it could be used on the go or away from the power outlet.
At the bottom of the camera unit of the device is a microSD card slot, which supports cards up to 128GB for continuous video recording. At about 400g, the camera is fairly heavy for a device of its size. It is not rated for water or dust resistance, so you need to be careful if you are mounting it in a semi-exposed, dusty or damp place.
With a 2-megapixel sensor, this camera is capable of recording video up to full-HD (1920×1080-pixels). The field of view is 110 degrees, and the camera can pan up to 350 degrees and tilt up to 90 degrees. This gives it the ability to look around. There is also night vision through an IR filter that allows it to work in the dark. A built-in microphone and speaker lets you use it for two-way communication.
Godrej Spotlight Pan-Tilt Home Security Camera App and Features
The Godrej Spotlight app (available for iOS and Android) is used to set up and control the Godrej Spotlight pan-tilt home security camera. The setup process was fairly simple and took about 10 minutes to complete following the on-screen steps. Once done, I was able to view the camera’s video feed and configure other settings. The app can be used to view and control multiple Godrej spotlight cameras.
By jumping directly into the camera view, it takes four to five seconds to activate the camera from standby and shows you a live feed with date and time overload. It is also possible to switch between SD and HD resolution for feed, view it in full-screen mode on your phone, and activate the microphone on the camera so that you get a live audio feed with video.
The Godrej Spotlight app is available for Android and iOS, and lets you control the camera and view the feed.
The app has an on-screen D-pad so the camera can be panned and tilted, and you can save angles for quick jumps. You can also take screenshots, record videos to save to your smartphone, turn on two-way communication to talk to someone near the camera, configure motion detection settings (capture screenshots or video clips when motion detection), and configure continuous recording. Can. Settings (if a microSD card is inserted into the camera).
You can also set up cloud storage through the Godrej Spotlight app. This allows you to access recordings even if the device and storage card are stolen or damaged. Cloud storage is a premium feature, and you need to subscribe monthly. 99 plans for unlimited space. Godrej offers a seven-day free trial. Note that this does not mean that you can constantly record and save everything; Cloud plans can only be used to save recorded clips for motion detection.
If you wish, you can log in to your Spotlight account to access your camera’s video feeds and settings from the desktop browser. Once during this review, the app stalled and refused to load anything despite rebooting my smartphone. Only uninstalling and reinstalling the app has solved this problem.
Godrej Spotlight Pan-Tilt Home Security Camera Performance
Like any home security camera, hopefully you don’t need to use it. However, if that need arises, the Godrej Spotlight Pan-Tilt camera gives you quick and reliable access to its video and audio feeds. It’s definitely a Wi-Fi enabled camera, and you need a stable and reasonably fast internet connection for everything to work properly. Godrej said the Spotlight camera is only compatible with the 2.4GHz Wi-Fi network, and I had no problems connecting it to my home network.
According to the company, the Godrej spotlight camera can also be powered using a power bank
The Godrej Spotlight Pan-Tilt Home Security Camera provides a color video feed in well-lit conditions and automatically switches to a monochromatic night-vision feed if needed. The video feed is clear and detailed in HD and SD resolution, both in daylight and dark. Being able to take screenshots or video recordings to save on your smartphone is useful if you don’t want to use a microSD card for continuous recording.
Although there was some ambiguity in the feed when panning or tilting, the picture was as good as you might expect for a home security camera. It is sharp enough to recognize faces and objects or even read text. Overall, the Godrej spotlight pan-tilt camera has performed as well as expected in its original functionality.
The pan and tilt movement was easy, but there was a noticeable delay of about one second between issuing a command and the camera responding and moving in the right direction. Two-way communication is a useful touch, although there are some delays in sending audio to both parties. This is not something that should be used as an alternative to your video call; Rather, use it only occasionally as a door phone or intercom for functionality.
The Godrej Spotlight pan-tilt camera speaker is quite loud, and also has a built-in alarm function that once set up and activated scares intruders. The camera rings loudly during Wi-Fi as well as during setup episodes, which can be very annoying. The quality of the microphone is decent, but there is always a faint buzz from the sound coming from home appliances such as ceiling fans or open windows.
Judgment
The Godrej Spotlight Pan-Tilt Home Security Camera is simple but effective in its core functionality, and offers everything you would expect from such a device. The wide range of movement means you can look around wherever you put the camera, which is a nice bonus. Stable network connectivity and app support allow you to access the camera from anywhere, and provide additional features such as microSD and cloud support flexibility when storing footage.
Although there are slight delays in transmitting both video and audio, these issues are quite small compared to my generally positive experience with the Godrej Spotlight pan-tilt camera. There are more affordable options with the same features as the Mi Home Security Camera 360 and Realme Smart Cam 360, but Godrej’s reputation as a provider of quality and security solutions to this product makes this device worthy of consideration.
Price: Rs. 3,499
Rating: 8/10
Advantages:
- Wide range of motion and field of view
- MicroSD and cloud storage supported
- Clear video in a well-lit and dark environment
- The app is well designed, the camera also works through the desktop browser
Difficulty:
- Slight delay in sending audio and video