The D-Link DCS-8526LH is described as a Full HD Pan & Tilt Pro Wi-Fi Camera that features full 360 degree views in True HD Quality, as well as ‘Cinematic camera movements with pan and tilt technology’ Now I just need to stop you right there, while it’s a handy little security camera device at $179.95, I really do think it’s a stretch calling its functional yet utilitarian camera moves ‘cinematic’ but I digress..
The setup with the 8526LH is super easy! Once the app is installed (Android and Apple) you go ahead and setup a new device, you can do it more manually or use the QR code on the base of the camera, after a couple of quick settings (Have your wifi password handy) you’re right to go.
The camera is powered with an included 5v 2a power supply with a USB Micro (B) plug on the end, so in theory you could use a USB cable with any power supply that matches the required spec. (heads up: Using a power supply with a different voltage rating than the one included with your product will cause damage and void the warranty for this product) but the cable on the included power supply was mostly long enough to sit the camera on a shelf and plug it into the wall. I did cut and extend the cable to test if a potential voltage drop (I needed a much longer cable to place the camera above a window about 8 meters from a plug socket and didn’t have time to order a cable) would cause a problem. It did randomly reset the camera from time to time – I tested it so you don’t have to! (Don’t try this at home, kids.)
After my experimentation, we were installed and up and running in no time!
“It’s a mini R2D2” my 9yo exclaimed! – The DCS-8526LH has a rotating top (340 degrees), and it goes up and down (100 degrees), too, so if your camera is set on a shelf or indeed suspended upside down from its included mount plate (and screws), you can turn the camera roughly 170 degrees left and right from its centre point using the free, downloadable app to face whatever it is you’d like to be looking at. The camera isn’t Lightning McQueen fast, it will take a few seconds to pan from one end of it’s view to the other when you’re using the little direction dial, it’s a little quicker when you set view points in the app, you can also ask the camera to shoot a panorama image and you can use that image in the mobile app to tap and go to the area in the image that you’ve tapped on. If you’re setting this up to catch a speedy pup or a kid that sneaks into the kitchen to sneak a biscuit or two, and your plan is to cinematically pan your way across the room, following their every step, you may be left disappointed.
That said, the camera does an OK job at keeping up with the action when you use the ‘auto-track’ function, well, it did until the camera decided to track all the way around to a blank wall where it sat, staring at sweet nothing. But generally it followed the action for a step or three, allowing the viewer enough time to accurately ascertain what was going on.
The The D-Link DCS-8526LH has a set of IR LEDs giving it a reasonable ‘Night Mode’ allowing you to see up to about 5 meters away, I found the IR to be be satisfactory enough to catch movement and record any activity within my kitchen / dining area in the mostly all dark. During the day, the 1080p 30 frames per second video capture was certainly adequate for its security camera duties. I always find with security type cameras that stick with a maximum of 30 fps, that in less than perfect light that any motion can become blurry and mostly a little pointless. This is the case with the DCS-8526LH, as it has been with many cameras costing much more – I think for the price you pay for this Wi-Fi camera, you get a completely useable performance. Just don’t expect cinema (sorry, there I go again). Sidenote, the camera also supports wired network connectivity, so if you want to plug it in via a network cable, you can do that, too.
The little camera has a built in microphone and speaker, so you can warn off any wayward biscuit thieves, or call your dog and utterly confuse it when it realises that the small thing on the shelf is talking to it!
Something funny I found, reading a few others’ reviews, some suggested this didn’t have a memory card on which to store footage! I’m not sure what they were doing wrong, but I’ll agree the MicroSD slot can be fun to find! You need to tilt the lens up to see the slot underneath its lens. The camera will take a 256gb MicroSD card to store events like motion, sound and person detection. You can also opt to record to the D-Link cloud, with the subscription based myDlink Cloud or ONVIF, if you have an ONVIF recording station (Like a Synology NAS)
The camera supports Alexa and Google Assistant, and comes with a 1 Year Warranty.
The Good?
- Good video resolution.
- Wireless or Wired connection flexibility.
- Motion detection works well.
- Smart Home Compatible.
The Less good?
- The pan and tilt speed can be underwhelming.
- Logging into the app with it’s interface can result in frustration. (Hey, I’m just telling it how it is)
- The web interface has little functionality and a crazy short camera time-out.
- Please stop with calling security cameras cinematic, pleaaaase.
All in all a reasonably priced security camera with a shed-load of features that could come in handy. Well worth a spot on your shortlist if you’re in the market for a security camera.
You can get these from D-Link, resellers or Amazon with a RRP of $179.95. Amazon seems to have it down to around the $151 mark at time of publication.
DRN would like to thank D-Link for providing the review unit.
