Incredibly loud and always watching: Canary’s security camera reviewed

Canary first flew onto the smart home scene in 2013 when it was just another Indiegogo campaign hoping to become the next big thing. Now, two years and nearly $2 million in backing funds later, Canary is a full-fledged home security camera.

When it originally debuted, Canary retailed for $249, which is a steep price to pay even with its HD video recording and automatic night vision. But now that it's a bit more affordable at $199, Canary is stiff competition for Nest Cam, Netatmo's Welcome, and other smart home cameras. With a few unique, useful features, Canary hopes to win households over by being not only a good surveillance camera, but a solid security device as well.

SPECS AT A GLANCE: CANARYCAMERA RESOLUTION1080pFIELD OF VIEW147 degreesINTERNET2.4GHz Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n),connected EthernetLIVE STREAMINGYesNIGHT VISIONYesMOTION/SOUND DETECTIONYesMOBILE APPAndroid and iOSSUBSCRIPTIONCanary plans: $5, $10, and $30 per month plansPRICE$199OTHER PERKS90dB+ siren, ambient light sensor, temperature, humidity, and air quality detection

Design

If you saw a Canary on a shelf in someone's home, you might not know what it was at first. About the size of a can of spray paint, Canary is a tubular black device wrapped in a satin metal finish—mine was silver, but you can get Canary with a white or black finish as well. The camera lens is positioned where the silver wrapper meets, and the bottom of the device glows with a faint reddish-yellow light when it's active.