There is already a very capable security system camera at my place, one that can capture things pretty clearly through the day and with a good battery set-up. Yet, it can be disturbing when the motion sensor is triggered by shadows which in turn activate a loud alarm. Plus, the night shots can be disturbing — one in which everyone look like ghosts. Yet, it has served us well and there is no intention of doing away with it. What bothers me is how the family pet is acting when nobody is at home. Cameras can offer a peace of mind but at what cost. Enter Realme’s Smart Cam 360.

Setting it up

There is a longish wire in the box which is helpful. Also packed in the box are a couple of screws to attach it upside down. Before plugging it to a power source, insert a microSD card in the slot below the lens. Things can be a bit tricky if your house doesn’t have a proper Wi-Fi set-up. It’s imperative to attach the camera to a strong network (despite the in-built Wi-Fi extender). Download the Realme Link app, which helps to pair the camera. It took me three attempts to get it right. We suggest you keep the picture quality to SD.

Video quality and controls

Using the app, it’s easy to control the device. One can rotate the camera on both axes, which works just fine. There is an option to take screen shots (comes out well). Under bright lights obviously there are no issues. When the light goes down, the picture quality remains up to scratch. It’s when the lights are — to mildly put it — uneven that the camera falters a bit but nearly not as much as the security cameras already at my place. The device has a “call” function, which means you can talk back to the person being seen but the speaker is as loud as a kitten’s meows.

Scoring a few brownie points is some in-built AI technology. The Smart Cam can pick up noises and alert the owner. There is also motion detection and human body detection. Yes, it works. No, it doesn’t all the time. The camera mostly worked fine but it did injustice to my amplified Al Pacino-style hoo-ahs, springing into action from nowhere, a couple of times!

Is it for you?

Enjoying a full colour video feed from a security camera is great. There are also ways to prevent frequent motion detection, like scheduling it to turn it off during certain times of the day or turning on physical “anti-sight”. With non-stop 1080p recording, one can have footage for 14 days (128GB microSD card). What would have been better is some weatherproofing for outside use and had the Realme Link app been a bit more user-friendly in way of menu options. Otherwise, the Realme Smart 360 is a neat security addition for your home to capture friends, foes and furry animals.