FLIR FX HD Portable Security Camera Review

The FLIR FX HD Security Camera has a lot of nice features included.  It competes nicely with many of the top home security cameras on the market including the Nest Cam and many of the Samsung SmartCam models.  The camera packs a lot of high end features and has a multitude of mounting options, perhaps more so than anything else I have seen.

For those unfamiliar with FLIR, they are fairly large company that manufactures and distributes cameras and imaging systems.  I was aware of the Lorex brand of cameras and didn’t realize until writing this article they are made by FLIR.

Software

You can access the FLIR FX with your iOS or Android smartphone.

The iOS and Android apps are fairly typical for security camera applications.  You can view multiple cameras in one view.  You can record some video, take some snapshots, do two-way talk change the video quality.

The FLIR FX features motion, sound and temperature alerts.  On motion, FLIR offers SmartZones to permit concentrating on a smaller portion of the video for motion alerts.  I have seen this on other higher end home security cameras and this helps a lot in reducing false motion alerts.  The FLIR FX takes to this concept a little differently than others by somewhat enforcing a minimal zone size.

I like FLIR’s take on cloud storage.  You get 48 hours of cloud storage included with the FLIR FX.  That’s a terrific feature and coupled with their on-board storage of up to 64GB gives an unusually high amount of flexibility when it comes to checking what’s happened in the past.  There are paid plans available from FLIR that can take you up to 30 days with costs ranging up to $19.99 monthly.  I suspect the free basic cloud plan is sufficient for most, but more is available if needed.

The FLIR FX has a feature called RapidRecap which is a summary of the day’s events.  It’s handy for checking out what motion took place while you weren’t around.  You get to maintain up to three of these a month on the free cloud storage plan.

Setup of the FLIR FX is quite simple.  Just scan the QR code on the bottom of the stand using your phone then follow the prompts for the usual setup which involves connecting to the camera to allow access to your network.

Connectivity

The FLIR FX connects to your wireless router at 2.4GHz using 802.11b/g/n.  Expect a few hundred feet between the camera and wireless router at best.

Hardware

The hardware is very diverse.  FLIR gives you an amazing number of options for use.  I like the ability to remove it from the stand and then have it double as a dash cam or action camera.  Since there’s on-board storage and an internal battery, this is all possible.  FLIR smartly has made mounts available to facilitate these other uses.

Speaking of batteries, yes, the FLIR FX has an internal battery that lasts up to 2 hours.  There’s a second 2 hour battery in the stand as well.  There is a standard micro USB plug with A/C adapters for the US, UK and Europe.  Since the included micro USB cable has a standard USB ending, you can charge from a car’s DC outlet as well.  Handy for use as a dash cam.

Two-way sound is available so that you can converse with someone on the other end through your smartphone.

A 1/3” four-megapixel CMOS image sensor The camera provides 1080p HD video at 30 frames per second.  The lens is an extra wide angle 160 degrees.  That’s one of the widest angles I have seen in a home security camera.  The camera delivers up to 33 feet of clear night vision indoors using 6 infrared LEDs.

The cameras are light and small.  They measure 2.7” x 2.3” x 4.7” with the stand.  That’s fairly typical for an indoor home security camera with the indoor stand.

The camera comes with an 8GB micro SD card but you can go up to 64GB which is more than sufficient for recording motion events.

Mounts

The FLIR FX comes with your typical home stand.  Hooray for FLIR.  They offer one of the largest varieties of alternative mounts that I have seen.  You can add an outdoor mount to make this a weatherproof camera.  FLIR offers a car mount to turn it into a dash cam.  They also have an action enclosure so you can mount it just like you would a GoPro.

Fun and Different

A unique feature on the FLIR FX is the ability to turn it into a hot spot.  Tether your camera to your phone and let it download to the cloud if you have a big data plan.  Another noteworthy feature is the availability of temperature and humidity readings on the app.  This is excellent for an absentee homeowner to ensure the heat or A/C is working when you aren’t at home.  Great for a second home however I found the accuracy to be inconsistent.  Sometimes it was in complete agreement with my home thermostats, other times, it was much higher.

Summary

It’s almost like they read my reviews on other home security cameras and designed the FLIR FX HD Camaera to overcome all the shortcomings I had complained about.  Free cloud, a wide variety of mounting options, internal batteries.  It’s all there.  Way to go, FLIR, on offering a great camera with everything I asked for!

Quick Specs:

Manufacturer Link:  Flir Systems

Mike

All of these articles are written by someone (me) that figured out how to do this stuff the hard way.  I have owned and tested dozens of cameras.  Manufacturer support varies.  There are a few good companies that provide timely answers when you have questions.  There are several that sell you the camera and seem to have little interest in post sales support (which leads me to finding out stuff the hard way).

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