Ring Stick Up Cam Plug-In Review

Promised Features

The Ring Stick Up Cam Plug-In is making a lot of good promises to me through the Amazon website. I can almost hear the excitement in Jeff Bezos’ voice as he no doubt wrote about the camera’s:

• 1080p HD video: the camera shoots in the industry standard for video quality.
• Two-way audio: the Ring Stick Up Cam Plug-In comes with a speaker and a microphone for easy communication.
• Integrations with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant: Being owned by Amazon, this doesn’t exactly come as a shock, but I’m glad that the camera also works with Amazon’s competitor Google.
• Infrared night vision: my preferred method of night vision.
• Weather-resistant: the Ring Stick Up Cam Plug-In will function normally in temperatures from negative five to 120 degrees Fahrenheit.

Sounds good so far, but I try not to judge a camera by its Amazon description. Time to take this thing out of the box!

Necessary Features

I put every camera I review through our Necessary Features test. It ensures not only that the camera is up to industry standards, but that it actually performs well in practice. Let’s see how the Ring Stick Up Cam Plug-In stacks up to my very high standards.

Video

The Ring Stick Up Cam Plug-In offers 1080p HD video, the industry standard as I said before. It goes above and beyond, however, when it comes to field of view, with a 150 degree viewing angle. This is certainly a wide shot, but unfortunately, the camera can’t zoom at all. Drat! Despite this, I’m giving the camera full marks for its video.

Night Vision

I’m happy that the Ring Stick Up Cam Plug-In has infrared night vision as oppose to color night vision. You might think that color night vision sounds like a better deal. After all, would Wizard of Oz have had the same effect if Dorothy showed up to a black and white Munchkinland? But this isn’t an MGM musical, and ultimately you don’t want people to know you’re recording them with a harsh white light. You want to monitor in stealth, and that’s exactly what an infrared LED sensor will provide. Full marks!

Audio

Like I said before, the Ring Stick Up Cam Plug-In has two-way audio which will enable the person livestreaming the footage to speak with the person in front of the camera. I’ve seen videos of people scaring away intruders with two-way audio, so I’m definitely happy its included with the Ring Stick Up Cam Plug-In. This one’s a no-brainer— full marks.

Storage

If you want any cloud or local storage, you’ll need to invest in a paid monthly subscription. If you only have the Ring Stick Up Cam Plug-In and not the rest of the Ring security system, I would recommend doing the Protect Basic Plan. It’s only three dollars a month or $30 a year. Unfortunately, the free plan doesn’t allow you any storage whatsoever, a definite drawback of the Ring Stick Up Cam Plug-In. For the lack of local storage and free cloud storage, I have to give the Ring Stick Up Cam Plug-In half marks for storage.

Smart Platform Integration

Given that Amazon owns Ring, it’s not surprising that the Ring Stick Up Cam Plug-In integrates with Amazon Alexa. Fortunately, it also works with Google Assistant after a recent upgrade, so I’m giving it full marks for smart platform integration.

Artificial Intelligence

The Ring Stick Up Cam Plug-In does not have any artificial intelligence capabilities, meaning it can’t tell the difference between types of moving objects. You might get some unnecessary notifications if a pet walks around, a car drives by, or some leaves rustle in the wind. For the total lack of A.I, the Ring Stick Up Cam Plug-In gets no marks.

Convenience

Installing the Ring Stick Up Cam Plug-In wasn’t the easiest camera I’ve installed, but it was pretty close. I had to sync it up with the base station from my Ring Alarm Security Kit. The easiest way to do that is to just follow the instructions on the app’s video tutorials and make sure you’re not syncing anything else at the same time. The process should only take a few minutes, especially if you’re just placing it on a flat surface.

Value

Although the Ring Stick Up Cam Plug-In is on the more expensive side at $179, I think it’s a good deal. With indoor/ outdoor capabilities, weather resistance, flexible mounting, and affordable cloud storage, you get a lot from the Ring Stick Up Cam Plug-In that many competitors can’t match. Overall, I’m giving this camera full marks for value.

Mobile Application

The Ring— Always Home App is where you’ll livestream footage, speak through two-way audio, get neighborhood crime and safety alerts, control your camera, receive notifications, and view video storage.

The app has okay ratings, but just okay— a 3.3 from the Apple Store and a 3.4 from the Google Play store. Many people complained about the plethora of unnecessary notifications, a side effect of the lack of artificial intelligence. I also saw other people complain about a delay between motion and notifications, probably a result of cloud storage or a bad Internet connection.

Comparisons

Now I want to compare the Ring Stick Up Cam Plug-In to two other cameras— the Canary Flex, an indoor/ outdoor camera, and the Nest Cam Indoor. Let’s see how it stacks up to its tough competition.

Canary Flex

Like the Ring Stick Up Cam Plug-In, the Canary Flex is also an indoor/ outdoor, a bit cheaper at $170. It also has 1080p HD video display, although it defaults to 720p HD, so you may have to change it manually. The Flex’s field of view is a tiny bit more narrow than I’d like at 116 degrees, compared to the Ring Stick Up Cam Plug-In’s wide field of view of 150 degrees. Both cameras have great infrared night vision, two-way audio, easy installation, and integrations with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.

Neither camera has local storage, unfortunately, but at least the Canary Flex gives you some free cloud storage— a whopping 24 hours. After that, you can pay for 30 days of cloud storage with a membership for $9.99 a month or $9.99 a year, more expensive than Ring’s plans. The Flex also beats the Ring Stick Up Cam Plug-In when it comes to artificial intelligence. While the Ring Stick Up Cam Plug-In has no A.I features, the Canary Flex comes with person detection and even package detection! I’d recommend the Canary Flex over the Ring Stick Up Cam Plug-In due to its A.I capabilities,  integration with Google Assistant, and cheaper price, but these two came pretty close.

For more information, read our review of the Canary Flex.

Nest Cam Indoor

Unlike the Ring Stick Up Cam Plug-In, the Nest Cam Indoor doesn’t have outdoor capabilities, so that’s something to keep in mind. At $200, it’s $20 more than the Ring Stick Up Cam Plug-In, so we’ll see if it’s worth the high price. Video-wise, the cameras are pretty similar. Both have 1080p HD display, but the Nest Cam Indoor has a field of view 20 degrees more narrow than that of the Ring Stick Up Cam Plug-In at 130 degrees. However, the Nest Cam Indoor redeems itself with the ability to zoom in eight times, while the Ring Stick Up Cam Plug-In can’t zoom in at all. Both cameras have quality infrared night vision, two-way audio, and integrations with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant but the Nest Cam Indoor also works with Chromecast, and Philips Hue lightbulbs. Neither camera comes with A.I, although the Nest Cam Indoor at least offers person detection with a Nest Aware subscription.

Now let’s talk about storage. Unfortunately, neither camera has local storage, and the Nest Cam Indoor only gives you three hours of free cloud storage, which is still better than the Ring Stick Up Cam Plug-In’s total lack of free cloud storage. If you’re willing to pay for cloud storage, Ring’s plans are much cheaper. For three dollars a month with your Ring Stick Up Cam Plug-In, you can get 60 days of cloud storage, while five dollars with the Nest Cam Indoor only gives you five days of storage. Overall, I’d choose the Ring Stick Up Cam Plug-In over the Nest Cam Indoor because it’s more affordable, especially with cloud storage.

To learn more, read our review of the Nest Cam Indoor.

Recap

Now you know basically everything there is to know about the Ring Stick Up Cam Plug-In, but is it right for you? Let’s break it down.