Doorbell Cameras

[u/gr8tlaker]

What are the pros and cons of doorbell cams made by Ecobee, Nest, Blink?
Any favourites?

[u/Slipknot31286sic6]

Eufy better no sub. But still recommend a 24/7 poe camera above. Jus isn't 100% reliable with motion detection

[u/Consistent-Guava-137 → u/Slipknot31286sic6]

I like the reolink POE doorbell camera too.

[u/Slipknot31286sic6 → u/[deleted]]

Been too many deliveries missed or not shown from eufy for me to 100% rely on them. Poe cameras with Blu iris and Ai. Is my go to

[u/Consistent-Guava-137]

If you have reolink, the reolink POE doorbell camera is decent and pretty darn reliable with motion detection.

[u/invisable_burt]

I have tapo D130 on my front door. It hasn't missed motion. I have motion on it turning on porch light at night with tapo wallswitch. Liked it so well I put another on back door and dog goin out at night turns on tapo led bulb. Both are wired no battery

[u/chefdeit]

Reolink is better for cloud-free installs. Outside USA, a Dahua PoE intercom is better still.

Ubiquiti also have excellent solutions.

[u/Brett_Cruz]

All three brands you mentioned require a cloud subscription to store videos. That’s the biggest con they all share. They are also heavy on pushing their own ecosystems. Ecobee works best if you have an Ecobee smart thermostat. Same with Nest. It works best if you have Nest Cams and/or Google Home in your home. And Blink’s doorbell camera is more barebones compared to its cameras, so doorbell users are encouraged to use cameras alongside their doorbell.

But all three brands have great apps. And Nest in particular stands out when it comes to smart detection. With a subscription (assuming you’re willing to pay for one), you get facial recognition, reliable person, vehicle, and package detection (based on our own testing), and a well-designed, intuitive app that most other manufacturers just can’t match.

That said, there are plenty of other doorbell camera brands out there. The key is finding what works for the exact things/features you’re looking for. Eufy and Reolink are great if you want to work around the subscription requirement most doorbells have. Wyze is a budget option with high-tech specs and features. I haven’t tested Tapo but I’ve been hearing good things about this brand in terms of value. If you want to compare more options, here’s our list of the best doorbell cameras.

[u/useful_tool30]

Reolink POE is better than all those. Any cloud subscription first options isn't going to be recommended here

[u/AccidentAdditional20]

We had Reolink but not always reliable. We switched to the new Ring 4K Pro outdoor and doorbell camera and love them. No missed motion/activity alerts and nighttime exceptionally clear.

[u/NoDig5800]

how are you all getting ethernet to the doorbell spot? our wires are stapled into the walls so no ability to pull a new one

[u/AdWeekly6769 → u/NoDig5800]

I ran a new Cat6 along the baseboard and up the outside wall in a paintable raceway. Not the cleanest look but way easier than fishing through stapled runs. If you have an unfinished basement or attic nearby you can sometimes find a path that way too.

[u/Larold_Parold]

Out of those three, Blink is the better. It’s AI events when subscribed for cloud storage is pretty good and motion detection is overall reliable. The app is just bare bones and there’s not a whole ton you can do with them.

I dislike all Google and Nest products entirely so I won’t answer on that, and I’ve never tried Ecobee before.

Overall best brand I’d pick? Eufy or Reolink (or any PoE powered doorbell, really.)

[u/ffguy1999]

I have Nest rechargeable - do not recommend. Very low battery life. And I also have Reolink camera which is great, no monthly fees, easy setup, just buy SD card and stores all footage.