What’s the price one can put on peace of mind? Having an indoor security camera allows you to keep tabs on the things at home, be it your kids, your pets, or aged parents. Recently, we had an opportunity to use Philips 5000 Series Indoor 360° Camera. As the name suggests, it’s a plug-and-play camera but what it offers is plenty of bang for the buck.

The camera captures top-notch video day and night, has a good 360-degree field of view and captures movements well. You get 3MP 2K (1,296p) resolution, which is good enough for homes as well as small shops. And there is enhanced night vision, offering you crisp and clear video recording, ensuring a good degree of details when you playback videos. You also gain a clear view in low-light conditions with IR visibility up to 10 metres.

There is a light indicator on the top to inform the user about the status of the security camera and there is space for a micro SD card

Setting it up took hardly five minutes. All I had to do is plug in the device, download Philips Home Safety app and add the device. There is a SIM ejector-like pin in the box which you need to use to manually reset the camera before installation and you need to have your phone connected to the home Wi-Fi. It took me less time to get this one going than the Xiaomi Mi wireless home security camera.

The first thing that I enjoyed about the device is the field of view. It’s 360 degrees, complete with pan, tilt and zoom features. These are particularly helpful if your camera has been installed on the wall and you want to get a view of what’s happening below lens level. Working in favour of the Philips camera is the pan-and-tilt options. I have had several indoor security cameras that get stuck in the middle of a rotation. Over the few weeks I used the security camera, there were no such issues with the Philips device.

Second, there is a physical privacy shutter which is usually missing on a wireless home security camera.

Third, movement detection is easily picked up by the camera. You can customise movement sensitivity on the app between high, medium and low (I kept it at medium) and sound sensitivity to high and low. Sound sensitivity helps set up custom alerts based on detection of people, pet, sound or even a child crying.

The two-way audio set-up is also worth a mention and the built-in siren is not too bad for an apartment or a shop.

Where am I using the camera? I have it installed in my home office. The best part of this camera is it also offers offline recording. Motion detection is reliable and I can track everything through the app.

You can have the device installed even in a small shop or a cloud kitchen setup. Having a couple of these cameras ensures a wide coverage of the home and, of course, it offers mental peace.

Sure, there are options for 4K in the market but for most people the 2K option works well.

A sample frame captured on Philips 5000 Series Indoor 360-degree Camera

Despite what I tell my highly-active daughter during her summer vacation, I don’t have eyes in the back of my head. The Wi-Fi security camera and the smartphone app help me keep track of the house and also of my pet cat. Outdoor cameras can withstand the elements but may need an electrical outlet or periodic battery recharges. But indoor cameras can keep an eye on things in your home, which is exactly what most people need.

Philips 5000 Series Indoor 360° Camera is a sensible option for most houses and small businesses. And it can be installed without any hassle.

At a glance

Device: Philips 5000 Series Indoor 360-degree Camera

Price: Rs 8,995

High notes

Easy to install

Good pan and tilt movement

Easy-to-use app

Muffled note

Siren sound need to be louder for larger spaces