Today, I got the Ring Spotlight Cam..the mount version that just recently came out. I’ll be doing the unboxing, setup, installation, settings overview, and sample footage. The camera and light themselves are exactly the same as their plugged in version which I reviewed a while back. I’ll include that  down below.

 

The only difference between the 2 versions are the mounting options. This version can be installed either in a wall or in a ceiling or under the eaves or soffit. This is wired and needs a junction box or as a replacement for your existing light fixture. Ring doesn’t recommend installing this without a junction box. It can be done but just not recommending it.

As you will see later on, I’ll be replacing my non-functioning floodlight at the back side of the house and this camera will mostly monitor my shed in the backyard.

Let’s go over some features of the Ring Spotlight camera…mount version…

This is an outdoor weather resistant WiFi security camera with LED lights on the sides. The light output is 700 lumens.
It is a 1080p HD camera with 140 degree FOV.
Infrared night vision
It has a 2 way audio.
It has a 110 decibel siren
Smart and adjustable multi zone motion detection
Motion activated lights
It comes with 3 different mount brackets. It mounts flushed on electrical boxes which is a pretty clean install.

So, let’s open up the box…
We have a weatherproof gasket for a rectangular box
We have some paperwork..
We have the manual..which is pretty thorough on everything you need to know on different installation options and setting up the camera.
We have a window sticker.

Then we have the spotlight camera itself…looks exactly the same as the plugged in version…we have the LED strips on the sides.
The setup/reset button on top.
Lens and the light sensor for night vision in the front…also the mic and speaker and on the bottom is the motion sensor..
It has some weight on it and this is pretty much weatherproof just like their Floodlight cams.

On the back here is the mounting arm and wire harness that will be attached to the 3 different mounting plates that are also included.

It is a ball joint and has a good range of adjustments.

Ring Spotlight Cam Wired – amzn.to/2mwVlHl

Ring Spotlight Cam Battery Review – youtu.be/LDHs6PfzA90
Ring Floodlight Camera Review – youtu.be/r6eOyC0RH-Y
Ring Doorbell Pro Review – youtu.be/5b7abtr2xHk

What else is inside the box?….

We have the installation kit..which will have everything needed to install this spotlight cam…
First off we have the usual phillips and torx driver…
Some #10 washers
#8 washers
and #6 washers

We have the always included drill bit

We have the S hanger and the security screws..I remembered this from the Floodlight cam.

And we have a plethora of screws and machine bolts of different sizes..
Now, this camera can be installed on every junction box that has been made.
I remebered when they first came out with their Floodlight cam, the machine screws that came with it were too big for my junction box…and now, you have a selection that you can pick from. That is good. And we have the wire nuts.

Then, we have the mounting plates…it comes with a rectangular vertical one..which is pretty sturdy and well made.

We also have the horizontal one… so basically if you have a rectangular junction box, you can choose from these 2 box covers so as to be able to mount and position your spotlight cam properly.

Then we have the round cover…and also comes with an oversized gasket. Please note that the cover themselves have a gasket already glued on them…
The round cover is the one that I’m going to use because I have round junction boxes on my light fixtures.

To install the camera to the cover mount, unscrew the plastic nut, then slide it in to the mount. The arm and mount have grooves that will prevent it from rotating so you need to make sure the position of the camera before locking it in place with the mounting nut.

You can install the camera either vertically like on a wall… or horizontally like in a ceiling or under the eaves or soffit which is what I’ll do. When you already position the camera then you can screw in the mounting nut to secure the camera in place.

For easier install on the junction box, you can rotate the camera arm counter clockwise to separate the camera from the wiring harness, then it will be easier to install the mount and you can screw in the camera later on the final step and secure it with the included security screws…

Time for installation…First, turn power off from your breaker box.

I’m going to install the Ring Spotlight cam as a replacement to my old and rusted floodlight on the back corner of the house. Its main purpose is to monitor my shed which you will see how it is setup later on.

So, I’ll be unscrewing my old floodlight from the box and unscrew the wires.
I’ll just need to hook up 2 wires..

I’ll double check the position of the camera and the mount…then remove the camera for now.

Screw in the wires as per instructions using the wire nuts..white to white…black to black and just cap off the red wire as it is not needed. I’ll show you the purpose of the red wire on another video. Tuck in the wires inside the junction box.

With all those screws and washers that are included in the kit…I only have to use 2 machine screws, 2 metal and rubber washers for the junction box that I have. Kudos to Ring though for giving us a selection.

Then, we just have to push and screw in the camera to the mount.

With the included security screws..just screw it to the designated hole on the side of the mount so that the camera cannot be unscrewed.

There you have it. The Ring spotlight cam mount version installed. Pretty clean install…no wires showing…

With the power turned back on and the light switch turned on…then we are ready for the setup.
Download the Ring app and sign up if you haven’t made an account yet. Open the app and click the “plus” setup device..
Choose security cameras…and click spotlight cam mount..
Choose a name for the camera…I’ll choose side
click allow..and confirm my address…
click continue..
click yes if you see the flashing light..
Go to your phone’s WiFi settings

Click on the Ring setup network
Go back to the app where the Ring will look for WiFi networks..
Click on your WiFi network..I have a feeling that I will need an extender for this..for now I’ll pick my main WiFi..
Enter the password and click ok..

I’ll skip sharing for now..

That’s it..the Ring spotlight cam is setup.

Let’s check Live View..

Pretty clear video feed…and as you can see this is the shed that the camera needs to monitor…

So, let’s check out the light and siren controls..
On the live view feed..click on the plus sign to show the light and alarm controls..

Lights on…Lights off…

Click the excalmation mark for the siren and click activate…

Let’s go over the app settings…

The gear icon on the upper right is just to change the device name, change location or delete the camera from the app.

There is a toggle switch for the lights – on or off.
Also an on or off for the motion alerts if you want to get notified when motion is detected.

We have the siren button again here…which is a 2 step process to activate..

Then the Live view…
Click on the green phone to speak and red to hang up…

We have the event history..where the recorded videos are stored..
They are all live view because I haven’t setup motion detection yet.
We have device health..
As you can see we have a good WiFi signal..I have to use an extender on this one. Ring is pretty picky on the WiFi signal and it needs to have a Green Good signal to have no issues.

Linked Chimes – which I need to turn on to link it to my Ring Chime.

Then we have motion settings..

In here we have motion sensitivity..where we can slide the slider left or right if you want just people to trigger it or you want all motion..

Then we have motion zones..

I have to add a motion zone..then a dotted blue square comes up and using the dots you can drag and adjust the motion zone to areas you want to monitor and to exclude the areas like my neighbor’s pool or backyard.

Click save and done.

We have the motion schedule if you want to schedule recording and notification only at night for example or at any time range and day of the week that you want.
You can add multiple schedules…personally, I don’t use this.

Then we have light settings…
We can set up the motion zones for the lights… the camera motion and light motion detection are 2 different sensors and you can adjust both of them separately. You can adjust the distance and click save when you are done.

Also, you can have timer setup for the spotlights…when motion is detected, the light will turn on for 1 minute.. 5, 10 or 15 minutes.

click save.

Then there is the option for light brightness…and as I said before, the spotlight cam is only 700 lumens so I don’t know of any situation that you need to dim the lights lower than that…anyways..mine will be set to the brightest setting.

By the way, I know that we setup the motion zones…but we need to toggle the motion alerts to on if you want to get notified via the app on your smartphone when motion is detected.

Now, let’s see how the motion detection works…

As you can see, the camera started recording 2-3 seconds before the motion has been detected. This is one of the main reasons why I like the “wired” cameras better that the battery powered ones..they are always on and has a buffer that can get and record footage earlier. This is what Arlo has been advertising on their new Arlo Pro 2 and Ring already has this on their wired cameras and doorbell pro since the start…

This is what the audio sound like…please note it is very windy..

And the infamous night vision… I thought at first that Ring already updated their firmware to turn to color but I realized that I tilted the camera a bit too high that you can also see the eaves plus the gutter drain and the reflection from it turns the sensor off and video remains in color…

The next night, I adjusted the camera and you will see that it still in night vision even when the lights are on…and there is really no difference when the lights are on or off. The glare from the rain gutter is the only clue that will let you know that the spotlights are on.

Anyways, Ring…we are still waiting for the update..

There is another mounting application on this spotlight cam that I have to do another video on. If you have an existing floodlight you can actually still use it..you can replace the motion detection module of the floodlight and put in the spotlight cam…how about that?…or you could just buy the Ring floodlight cam instead of this…anyways, I’ll do another video on this…