Lindo Pro Dual Camera Video Doorbell Review: A Package Thief's Worst Nightmare

Michael Bizzaco / Review Geek

The Lindo Pro Dual Camera Video Doorbell delivers an awesome 190 degrees of top-down coverage, backed by stellar 2K solution and HDR. And portion definite features are inactive being tested, Lindo aims to sound the contention down a fewer pegs by offering much precocious capabilities for less.

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Design: Grade-A Defense Against Porch Pirates

Michael Bizzaco / Review Geek

Currently priced astatine $169.99, the Lindo Pro Dual 2K measures 6.73 inches from apical to bottom, 6.02 inches wide, 3.5 inches from beforehand to back, and weighs lone 1.12 pounds. A small taller than competitive video doorbells, the other magnitude is mostly acknowledgment to the inclusion of an other downward-facing camera for keeping tabs connected bundle deliveries (more connected this successful a moment). The doorbell sports a achromatic chassis with a matte-black mediate conception and achromatic trimming astir the bottommost lens.

The apical lens tin seizure video astatine up to 2K resolution, and portion I wasn’t capable to way down authoritative specs for the bottommost lens, I’m assuming it tin get reasonably adjacent to afloat 1080p oregon better; mostly due to the fact that erstwhile you enactment some video feeds broadside by side, they look astir identical. And betwixt some lenses, you’re looking astatine up to 190 degrees of coverage, which the institution claims is the champion successful the world. 

Flip the doorbell implicit and you’ll find the power/reset button, terminals for your existing doorbell wiring, and a detaching mechanics for the mounting harness. Sandwiched betwixt some lenses is the doorbell button, which leads america to the Chime accessory itself. About the size of an outlet-based fragrance emitter, the Lindo Chime is cleanable for those of america without an existing doorbell system. When you property the button, the Chime emits 3 large tones to fto you cognize someone’s astatine the door. 

Michael Bizzaco / Review Geek

The Lindo Pro is besides equipped with 3 antithetic kinds of monitoring tech, including PIR and radar question sensors, connected apical of accepted motion-scanning technology. With each 3 successful play, Lindo claims you’ll beryllium capable to trim mendacious alarms (from things similar wildlife and passing vehicles) much efficiently, and astatine an operating scope of up to 23 feet. 

Setup: Just Like Any Other Doorbell Camera

Before installing, you’ll privation to determine if you’re going to usage your home’s existing doorbell wiring (if it’s available) oregon opt for the Lindo Pro’s built-in artillery instead. The institution claims you’ll get up to six months of usage connected a azygous charge, and you tin easy recharge the compartment utilizing the included USB-C cable. For my ain investigating purposes, I went with artillery power.

In presumption of official setup, if you haven’t already, you’ll privation to download the Lindo Life app (for iPhone/iPad and Android) to motion up for a Lindo relationship and activate your Lindo Pro. Next, spell up and plug successful the Chime to immoderate partition outlet it’s going to unrecorded in. Once the front-facing LED turns red, drawback the Lindo Pro and property the powerfulness fastener until you perceive a beep. Now you’ll privation to usage the app to link your Lindo Pro to your Wi-Fi web (2.4GHz only). 

Throwing up the mounting assembly is beauteous straightforward. Use the stencil to people disconnected wherever you’ll beryllium drilling aviator holes (if necessary) oregon inserting screws, and usage the 15-degree wedge portion if you request to present a small much angling to the Pro’s tract of view. With the harness successful place, simply descent the Lindo Pro successful from the top, and you’re each acceptable to commencement utilizing it.

Video Quality: You May Never Even Need HDR

The Lindo Pro shoots astatine up to 2K resolution, on with HDR for enhanced colors and contrast, and fto maine conscionable accidental that the prime of the footage is rather superb. Simply put, the Lindo Pro captures immoderate of the best-looking real-time and recorded video of immoderate Wi-Fi-connected security camera I’ve ever tested, and I’m comparing it to large names similar Ring and SimpliSafe.

The beforehand hallway of my flat gathering is simply a large investigating abstraction for video doorbells due to the fact that of the super-bright LED sconces connected the walls. Most cameras I’ve tested successful the past person a hard clip contending with the large propulsion of these almighty bulbs, resulting successful footage that is often overexposed and riddled with artifacts, but that wasn’t the lawsuit with the Lindo Pro. When viewing real-time feeds from some lenses, everything looked wide and crisp, particularly successful presumption of color. From the grey walls to the navy-patterned carpeting, determination was small item mislaid successful Wi-Fi-connected translation; and portion determination was a tiny spot of blockiness astir the sconces and partition sections closet to the airy source, it was conscionable a flimsy nonaccomplishment of item that’s alternatively connected par for the people erstwhile it comes to web-connected surveillance cogwheel of immoderate kind.

And rather honestly, HDR (which is not toggled connected by default) didn’t bash precise overmuch to close the blockiness. In fact, successful my clip utilizing the camera, I didn’t truly announcement any quality betwixt modular 2K footage and unrecorded views/recordings enhanced done HDR—during the day. But if you’re dealing with a light-starved situation travel nightfall, HDR tin ever assistance to capable successful immoderate missing details obscured by shadows. 

Still, though, it’s not a monolithic representation prime booster, and I fishy that having HDR turned connected is simply a quicker drain for the artillery and a bigger propulsion connected your web bandwidth. So if you really don’t request it, I’d support HDR unopen off. 

In Action: Solid Performance with a Few Hitches

As acold arsenic functionality goes, the Lindo Pro works similar a charm. Whenever idiosyncratic approaches the camera, you’ll person a notification connected immoderate instrumentality the Lindo Life app is installed connected (more connected the app below). I personally liked that these pings are besides successful the signifier of affluent notifications, wherever you’ll spot a preview representation of who oregon what was detected successful your phone’s notification blurb, on with descriptive substance that describes the trigger (person detection, idiosyncratic ringed the doorbell, etc.). Tapping 1 of these notifications volition bring you into the lawsuit log of the Lindo app, wherever you’ll beryllium capable to play backmost immoderate footage was captured. 

Lindo claims that the Lindo Pro’s effect clip clocks successful astatine astir 3 seconds, and I tin wholly basal down this claim. Considering the ARM processor that the doorbell uses, Wi-Fi stableness is the sanction of the crippled here. My ain router is located astir 30 feet from the doorway wherever my Lindo Pro was mounted, and astatine nary constituent did I ever person immoderate dropout issues, adjacent with a doorway and a fewer interior walls lasting betwixt the doorbell and the router. 

I besides had nary occupation with utilizing the included Lindo Chime. Whenever the doorbell fastener was pressed, the Chime reacted astir instantly, sounding retired 3 large tones to fto maine cognize idiosyncratic was astatine the door. Two-way chat worked precise well, too. The audio was crisp and wide connected some ends, and the in-app diagnostic is speedy and casual to use.

Now arsenic acold arsenic getting into the app goes (and I person much to accidental astir this below), determination is a small spot of lag clip betwixt tapping a notification and getting into the lawsuit log. It’s lone astir 4 oregon 5 seconds, but successful the lawsuit that you’re trying to entree footage, if there’s an exigency afoot, you’ll request to beryllium prepared for immoderate level of buffering to occur; and this carries implicit into the archetypal camera feed/recording, too. Whenever I would archetypal load a video clip oregon occurrence up the Lindo Pro’s unrecorded view, the representation would benignant of “download” arsenic I was looking astatine it, filling successful exposure, color, and opposition details wrong the archetypal fewer seconds of image-launch.

I consciousness similar I’m making it dependable similar things look ace blurry astatine archetypal sight, which isn’t the case. But ideate this small nighttime scenario: An intruder approaches, issuing a notification to your phone. When you archetypal motorboat the Lindo Pro’s unrecorded view, it takes a fewer coagulated seconds for the provender to optimize, and successful the clip it takes to spell from low- to high-res, the intruder steals a prized structure works and takes disconnected into the night. In-camera, you tin spot however gangly they were and what colour covering they were wearing, but immoderate blockiness successful the caput country makes it astir intolerable to cognize what their look looked like. 

All I’m saying is, successful the satellite of information cameras, the much readily-accessible detail, the better. 

The Lindo Life App: All the Tools You Need

If you’ve ever utilized a video doorbell app, oregon immoderate astute camera app for that matter, the Lindo Life app should look and consciousness beauteous familiar. The “My Home” surface volition springiness you a breakdown of each the Lindo hardware and supported third-party devices presently connected to your network. In the lawsuit of the Lindo Pro, you’ll spot a thumbnail of the last-viewed vantage, on with options for snoozing, a “Settings” button, and a apical paper ribbon with question detection, Wi-Fi, and artillery level indicators.

Tapping the thumbnail volition enactment you into the Lindo Pro’s unrecorded view, which is archetypal displayed successful representation orientation, wherever the apical provender is your modular wide-angle lens, and the bottommost is the provender from the downward-facing camera. Turning your telephone sideways (or tapping the “Landscape” fastener successful the bottom-right country of the apical feed) volition springiness you a overmuch wider top-lens image, portion relegating the bundle camera to much of a picture-in-picture display. 

A ribbon on the bottommost of the surface features 5 antithetic commands. From near to right, these see “Snapshot” (for grabbing a speedy photograph of the existent unrecorded view), “Record” (for manually capturing a video clip), “Chat” (for utilizing two-way audio to converse with visitors) “Response” (for delivering system-generated responses erstwhile you’re not location oregon don’t consciousness similar chatting with the idiosyncratic astatine the door), and a “Sound” on/off toggle.

Tapping the “Settings” fastener (top-right icon erstwhile successful unrecorded view) volition bring you to a dashboard chock-full of customizations and monitoring features. Right toward the apical of the screen, you’ll spot “Motion Detection,” “Auto Respond,” and “Power Manager” settings. Tapping “Motion Detection” volition let you to toggle question detection on/off, set detection benignant and sensitivity, and make up to 4 Activity Zones (motion extracurricular of these areas volition beryllium ignored). There’s besides a toggle on/off for “Package Detection” (which is presently being beta-tested and doesn’t look to work). 

Now erstwhile navigating betwixt the unrecorded presumption and antithetic settings panels, the Lindo Life app did an atrocious batch of buffering. And portion these small load-ins didn’t instrumentality much than a fewer seconds to get through, it was a small frustrating to person to support waiting for definite menus to unfastened up. 

Back connected the dashboard, tapping “Auto Respond” lets you pre-record a dependable effect that guests volition perceive whenever they deed the Chime button, and “Power Manager” volition let you to further set question detection to maximize artillery life. You’ll besides spot options for “Video,” “Audio,” “Privacy Zone,” and “Notification” settings, and I urge making a fewer adjustments here. 

For starters, if you’re each astir getting the sharpest-looking footage possible, hop into “Video Settings” and toggle HDR connected (as mentioned, it’s disconnected by default). You’ll besides spot immoderate useful customizations for “Night Vision,” the champion of which is the quality to support the built-in spotlights acceptable to their brightest output for optimal nighttime unrecorded views and recording.  Back connected the Home Screen, pat the “Events” fastener astatine the bottommost of the leafage to spot a log of each motion-triggered and manually recorded video clips, which tin beryllium filtered by lawsuit benignant and time of the week. Tapping a clip volition bring you to a playback surface that replays the footage, with options to download and stock the video. 

What’s super-nice astir the Lindo Pro is that you’ll get 3 days of escaped video retention to Lindo’s servers, and portion it’s not the 30 oregon 60 days you’ll get from competitory doorbells, these one- oregon two-month lawsuit logs are usually tethered to a monthly subscription cost. That’s not the lawsuit with Lindo, and if you do decide to motion up for the company’s monthly membership, benefits see offline signaling and a imperishable postulation of recordings and snapshots. 

Overall, I recovered the Lindo Life app to see conscionable astir everything a video doorbell app should have, but beryllium prepared for typos galore. For the astir part, thing volition beryllium intolerable to decipher, but immoderate point descriptions tin beryllium hard to understand. I’m a spot of a stickler for cleanable transcript successful power apps, and whenever I spot tons of typos, I spell connected precocious alert. Why? Because successful my opinion, a deficiency of lingo-driven prime assurance tin often beryllium a motion of a lackluster merchandise oregon service. As acold arsenic Lindo goes, though, the tech and features are rock-solid.

Should You Buy the Lindo Pro Dual Camera Video Doorbell?

The Lindo Pro Dual Camera Video Doorbell has genuinely got what it takes to go a go-to video doorbell, and don’t hide astir each the features you’re getting that aren’t locked down a paywall. Now determination are inactive a fewer bugs to enactment out, and portion these are mostly successful the signifier of the in-app paper and bid descriptions and footage buffering, if you’re each astir a cleanable idiosyncratic interface and lightning-fast effect times, you should cognize that these are the areas wherever the merchandise needs immoderate work.

But here’s the different broadside of the Lindo Pro coin: Lindo is 1 of the lone companies that includes a downward-facing camera, opening your full vantage up to 190 degrees, which is beauteous awesome if you inquire me.