Swann is one of the leading security camera brands on the market. We have reviewed a number of their cameras with the Swann Xtreem being reviewed most recently. In this review, we have been testing the Swann CoreCam wireless security camera.
The key features of the Corecam are:
- 90-day battery life (6000 mAh)
- True Detect Heat & Motion sensor
- Night Vision
- Smart Mobile Alerts
- Two-way talk with Siren
- Free Cloud & Local storage of footage.
First Impressions
The CoreCam wireless security camera is a wireless camera with an affordable price of £129 that comes with a long battery life of up to 90-day. The camera is also waterproof and unlike the Ring Outdoor camera provides local user recording storage.
What you will find impressive is when you unbox the camera it’s basically ready to use. It comes with a secure screw-in mounting platform with mounting screws and raw plugs. In addition to that, you are provided with a 32GB micro SD card to assist with video storage and a USB to Micro USB charging cable.
Design
The Corecam is well built and comes with a waterproof casing around the camera unit which is IP65 rated making it perfect to use outdoors. It’s also very lightweight at only 209g and it’s not a very large-looking camera at 80x 55x 68mm so it won’t stand out too much when fitted to the side of your house.
On the front of the camera, you have the main lens which provides a 100-degree wide-angle range. Just under that is a small speaker that allows for 2 way audio and also doubles up as a siren when required. Finally under the small speaker is the True Detect PIR heat & motion sensor that offers a range of 8m.
The CoreCam comes with a modern design and comes with 1080P Full HD video (1920×1080 Pixels) that works well in both day and nighttime and provides you with a continuous 24/7 recording due to the 3-month period that a single charge will offer.
What I was also impressed with is the night vision you get up to 8m meaning you will get a good vision of what is happening in the location you have set up the camera at night. Allowing you to spot an intruder early.
Setup
The setup of the CoreCam is quite easy to do but will take a little bit of your time. You need to download the Swann Secure app which is compatible with IOS 11.0 and above and Android 8.0 and above and you will need to create an account.
What you will need to do is link the camera to the same wi-fi network as your phone for the camera to work. Once you have set up the app then you simply need to mount the camera in the spot you want to have it set up is complete.
Once mounted the app allows you to precisely target the camera into the area you wish to monitor just like the Ring outdoor camera we have reviewed recently that also gives you a motion zone.
Features
The Swann CoreCam as mentioned is very easy to set up and this is one of the key features in addition to this is that the 90-day battery will provide you with continuous recording and peace of mind for long periods and we have had the camera set up now for a month and a half and so far so good.
The Swann Corecam also allows you to use a two-way audio feature which allows you to scare off potential intruders and allow you to trigger the camera’s siren from your phone regardless of your location. This is paired by using Swann’s True Detect Heat & Motion detection that triggers a notification to your phone allowing you to use either the siren or the two-way audio. We found using the True Detect sensor reduced the number of false alarms made by the next doors cat or someone walking past the house.
What I also liked about this security camera is you can connect it to your current smart home set up meaning you can use voice commands via Amazon Alexa (Echo Show 5) or Google Assistant. (Google Nest). You can show the camera footage via a simple command to your smart home device.
Last but not least the camera also includes a 32GB Micro SD card which allows you to store thousands of clips which could be useful if the police require some footage of a potential break-in.
Performance
As mentioned the Corecam camera can be used both indoors and outdoors but in this review, we used it outdoors to protect the front of the garage where the new car is parked. When you install the camera consider its positioning as the wi-fi range is 20M which was not an issue for us as our router is positioned at the front of the house.
Once set up the camera provides you with a 100-degree viewing angle which is less than others on the market that provides 180-degree viewing. The fact the corecam only offers a 100-degree viewing angle is a little restrictive so you need to consider the positioning. We still found the footage and viewing angle very good regardless of the time of the day for our main purpose of use.
THE SWANN SECURITY APP
The Swann Security app is the same app we have used with the Swann Xtreem camera we have reviewed before and downloading the app is available on both IOS and Andriod. Once downloaded you simply scan the QR code on the camera and it will take you through the set-up with ease. You get handy voice commands along the way to help you with set-up. If like us and you have an additional Swann camera in operation. The app will simply display both cameras for you to pick which one you want to view and each camera can be named in terms of location.
The app allows you to set up motion detection which will also monitor the heat of a person approaching the camera and provide a notification if the camera detects someone. If you are at home you can also set the app to a do not disturb if you do not want a notification going off all the time ideal if am cutting the grass at the front of the house and would walk past the line of sight of the camera several times.
You can also use the app to check recordings and the number of motion alerts and Swann does this well by showing alerts in a calendar format so you can select the date and footage you want to view.
The app also allows you to access live footage at any time which is a nice feature to have especially if you are away on holiday and want to check everything is ok.
Verdict
The Swann Corecam comes packed with features to help keep your house safe and the True Detect PIR Heat & Motion sensor is especially useful when detecting motion either during the night or day. Detecting the heat of a person who should not be in that location is a very useful feature to have. If the camera is alerted you will get a notification as long as you have push notifications on which is useful when you are away from home for a long period.
The Swann Corecam is available to buy in multiple options if you’re looking for more than one camera to protect the home. If you just need the one it’s well priced at £129 and with a simple set up it’s highly recommended even if you are not an ace in the DIY space. It also allows for you to purchase an additional solar charging panel that gives you an even longer battery life.
If you wanted to increase the ability of this camera consider the Swann Secure+ app which offers the following benefits:
- 60-day cloud recording
- People, Pet, Car and package alerts
- Rich Notifications
- 36-month extended warranty
- Insurance Protection
- Unlimited Devices
The cost of this is £8.99 per month or £89.99 for the year for unlimited devices or if you just have a stand-alone camera the costs are £2.99 per month or £29.99 for the year. It is an option the camera will still work well without the Swann secure+ it just gives you increased protection especially when you consider the cloud recording.
Overall this camera performs very well the viewing range could be improved considering what else is on the market but apart from that it’s budget-friendly, allows you to purchase multiple cameras to protect the whole house and the app is easy to use.
I was also impressed with the night vision and the True Detect feature is very good at detecting the heat of a person who might be trying to break into your home or try to steal your car.
At £129 for a stand-alone camera and offering availability to pair with multiple cameras purchased and the fact, I have been happy with the Swann Xtreem I would very much consider purchasing the Swann CoreCam to add to my existing Swann Security set-up.
Product Rating:
Design: 5.0 out of 5.0 stars5.0
Features: 5.0 out of 5.0 stars5.0
Performance: 4.0 out of 5.0 stars
Swann Security App: 5.0 out of 5.0 stars5.0
Value for Money: 5.0 out of 5.0 stars5.0
Overall Rating: 4.8 out of 5.0 stars
Swann CoreCam™ Wireless Security Camera – SWIFI-CORECAM – £129.99
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