Pros & Cons
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- Sharp 2K video
- Mechanical pan and tilt
- Voice control
- Local and cloud storage
- Easy to install
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- SD card not included
- Does not support HomeKit or IFTTT
Lorex 2K Wi-Fi Smart Lightbulb Camera (Cloud-Enabled) Specs
| Alarm | |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi |
| Field of View | 108 |
| Integrations | Amazon Alexa |
| Integrations | Google Assistant |
| Mechanical Pan/Tilt | |
| Night Vision | |
| Resolution | 2K |
| Storage | Cloud |
| Storage | Local |
| Two-Way Audio |
The Lorex 2K Wi-Fi Smart Lightbulb Camera ($99.99) is a hybrid device that turns any light fixture into a home security camera. It's very easy to install and delivers sharp 2K video, with all the features you’d expect from a smart outdoor surveillance camera, including intelligent motion detection, color night vision, and Alexa and Google voice control. Throw in mechanical pan and tilt and both local and cloud video storage options, and you’ve got our latest Editors’ Choice award winner. While there are cheaper 2K cameras out there, like the $39.99 TP-Link Tapo C120, none we've tested in that price range offer pan and tilt capabilities, let alone come in the form of a smart light bulb.
Design: An Oversized Light Bulb
Shaped like a big bulb, the Lightbulb Camera measures 7.3 by 3.3 inches (HW) and uses an E27/E26 screw-in base that fits standard light sockets. The wide portion of the bulb holds the camera assembly, and the LED lamp is embedded in the area between the camera and the base. The entire enclosure has an IP65 weatherproof rating, making it ideal for use in a porch light fixture, but it can also be used in an indoor lighting fixture if you prefer.
The dimmable LED lamp produces 400 lumens at a 6,500K white color temperature and has an expected life span of 10,000 hours, which is standard for an LED bulb. The camera assembly sits in a round black motorized enclosure that provides 75 degrees of tilt maneuverability and is mounted on a motorized swivel base that provides 360 degrees of panning maneuverability.
(Credit: John R. Delaney)The camera captures 2K (2,560 by 1,440) video at 15 frames per second (fps) and has a 16:9 aspect ratio and a 107-degree diagonal field of view. It uses HDR (High Dynamic Range) technology to deliver bright highlights and dark blacks, and it uses a pair of infrared LEDs for black-and-white night vision. The camera will also capture color night vision in low light conditions or when the LED lamp is illuminated. The camera assembly also features a microphone, a speaker, and an LED indicator that glows green when everything is operating correctly, blinks red when the network connection has failed, and glows solid red when the device is starting up.
A microSD card slot and a reset button reside behind a rubber gasket on the camera assembly. The camera will store recorded video on an SD card, but you’ll have to supply your own media (up to 256GB). Or, you can subscribe to a Lorex cloud storage plan. For $2.99 per month or $29.99 per year, you get 30 days of rolling storage for a single camera. The $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year Multi Camera plan gives you 30 days of storage for up to 10 cameras.
The Lightbulb Camera has an embedded Wi-Fi radio that connects to your home network using the 2.4GHz band. It works with Alexa and Google voice assistants, but does not support Apple HomeKit or IFTTT applets. It uses the same Lorex Home mobile app (available for Android and iOS) as the brand's other devices, including the $249.99 4K Dual-Lens Wi-Fi Security Camera (W891UAD-E).
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(Credit: Lorex/PCMag)The Lightbulb Camera gets its own panel on the app's Devices screen. The panel shows the last captured image and the name of the device, and has a brightness slider, a privacy button, and an alarm (siren) button. Tap the play arrow to open a live stream, with buttons to pause the video, select a resolution (2K, 1080p, 720p, Standard, and Auto), share the screen with other cameras (split screen), mute the speaker, and view the video in full-screen mode.
Buttons below the live video panel let you take a snapshot, record a video, initiate two-way talk and/or the siren, control the light, enable/disable Privacy Mode (which stops recordings), and select a pre-recorded Quick Response message to play for visitors. The very bottom of the screen has a brightness slider for the light and a pan and tilt button that launches a four-way controller. Here, you can create presets to have the camera automatically pan or tilt to a specific viewing angle with the touch of a button.
To access the Lightbulb Camera’s settings, tap the three dots in the upper-right corner. Here you can turn on notifications, configure motion settings including person and vehicle detention, enable auto-tracking, choose a video resolution, set the speaker and microphone volume, and create light schedules. Other settings allow you to format an SD card, record your own Quick Response, share access to the device, and enable sound detection, which triggers a recording and a push alert.
Installation and Performance: Simple Setup, Clear Video
Installing the Lightbulb Camera is almost as easy as screwing in a light bulb, but you have to download the Lorex Home app first. I installed it in my porch light fixture, powered it up, tapped the plus button in the app, and scanned the QR code on the base of the device. The app immediately recognized the camera, so I joined its network when prompted, pressed the reset button until I heard “your device is in hotspot mode,” and tapped Next. I entered my Wi-Fi SSID and password and gave the device a name to complete the installation.
(Credit: John R. Delaney)The Lightbulb Camera worked very well in testing. It delivered excellent HDR-enhanced video with good color quality during the day and sharp black-and-white video at night. Color night vision was decent, but colors were not as vibrant as those in daytime video.
Motion detection alerts arrived instantly and were correctly identified, and the auto-tracking feature worked perfectly. Pan and tilt action was smooth, and the lamp followed my sunrise-to-sunset schedule without issue. Moreover, I had no trouble streaming video to an Amazon Echo Show smart display using Alexa voice commands. Two-way talk was clean and easy to hear, and the siren was loud enough to distract unwanted visitors without disturbing the neighbors.