Google Nest Cam 2nd Gen Review

The Google Nest Cam 2nd Gen produces crisp video and good color accuracy, but a subscription is essential to get basic functionality, and competing products offer more base features for a similar, or even cheaper, upfront cost.

Video Quality

The Google Nest Cam 2nd Gen captures crisp 1080p video quality. Some of the smaller lines in our Snellen chart test were easily visible, demonstrating the camera's ability to capture fine details that might be crucial for security purposes. Color accuracy is also very good, with only minor color fringe appearing at the edges where different colors meet.

Day Quality Night Quality

During our color accuracy tests, I noticed that blacks are slightly undersaturated, which can affect contrast in certain lighting conditions. The Google Nest Cam 2nd Gen also features strong infrared night vision, with picture quality that is almost pristine in low-light conditions, although details can feel just a bit flatter, and there is a minor lack of contrast. Unlike many competitors, the Nest 2nd Gen lacks color night vision capabilities, but it largely makes up for it with great infrared technology.

All told, I found the Nest Cam's video quality and daytime sharpness to be impressive, positioning it as one of the better picture qualities in our test lineup, especially for a 1080p camera. However, the competition has come a long way since the first iteration of the Google Nest Cam, and with the introduction of higher resolution cameras or cheaper and more feature-rich cameras, even the 2nd Gen with solid infrared night vision isn't exactly pushing the envelope of what is possible. Today, for someone just getting started with a security camera, I think considering a higher-resolution camera, for the same price or less, is a better approach.

Monitoring Performance

The Nest Cam 2nd Gen is capable of person detection from incredibly far away (up to twenty feet to be exact). We also measured its facial recognition to be reliable at up to 10 feet, with consistent results throughout our repeated trials. However, it is worth noting that the facial recognition feature is only available with a subscription.

Speaking of subscriptions, the camera offers only a limited amount of video history without one. I think this is a significant drawback compared to competitors that provide more generous free storage options, like the ability to record to a local SD card. The device stores up to an hour of video locally if the WiFi goes out and has 3 hours of event history but no other local storage options, making it unusable for security purposes if you are trying to review a robbery or package theft from the day before, (which is obviously more than the 3-hour event history), without a subscription.

This security camera features an intuitive 8-point drag-and-drop interface that allows users to create up to 4 motion detection zones with notification alerts for each individual zone, which is one of the more robust detection settings I've seen on the security cameras I tested.

Ease of Use

The Nest Cam app is intuitive and easy to navigate, even for those who aren't particularly tech-savvy. I found the interface logical and straightforward to operate. The live view has a clean look to it, but it only has a shortcut button for the microphone feature. You can also preview recent events directly from the live view page, which I appreciated for quickly referencing events.

The camera is compatible with both “Alexa” and “Hey Google” voice assistants, allowing for convenient integration with existing smart home setups, and can connect to either 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz WiFi networks, offering flexibility for different home network configurations. I personally use a lot of Google products and services, and prefer it to Alexa, so it is nice that the integration with other Google services is pretty seamless.

The Nest Cam 2nd Gen can operate off a battery straight out of the box, but other power and wiring solutions can be purchased separately for those who prefer a more permanent installation. Batteries are fine, but I believe selling it with a wired solution and a backup battery would be ideal.

The most refreshing aspect of the entire Nest App experience is the complete lack of advertisements, which I felt made the daily user experience much more pleasant compared to ad-laden competitor apps.

Should You Buy The Google Nest Cam 2nd Gen?

The Google Nest Cam 2nd Gen is ideal for users who prioritize exceptional video quality and highly customizable monitoring capabilities over cost considerations. It's an expensive camera that essentially requires a subscription to unlock its full potential, but our testing confirms it offers exceptional motion zone customization and sharp 1080p video quality that is on the level of our top picks. This camera is best suited for homeowners who are already in the Google smart home ecosystem and are willing to invest in both the hardware and ongoing subscription costs. It is a great camera overall, but other cameras offer just as much or more for a lower price, which is why I wouldn't recommend this camera over other models in our test lineup.

What Other Security Cameras Should I Consider?