Surveillance cameras are particularly useful in the dark months of the year to keep an eye on backyards, garages and front doors while you are still sitting in the office. In addition, the cameras can also be used as a cat cam to see what the house cat is up to. But a small surveillance camera is not only useful in the dark season – you can keep an eye on your home even on vacation.
If you want, you can also use the surveillance cameras as the basis of a complete smart home, for example to be able to open front doors for the children remotely, turn on the light, make an emergency call and much more.
In the following list we show you three top products from our practical tests. If you are looking for more detailed information about the individual surveillance cameras or general tips and information, you should take a look at our detailed purchase advice. Below the table we show you what you have to observe legally.
Where can you film?
Basically, you are only allowed to film on your private property. This means that parts of the neighboring property, the sidewalk or the street must not be visible in the picture. If you film other people here, this violates the right to informational self-determination (more on the subject: § 6b Federal Data Protection Act, “Observation of publicly accessible rooms with optical-electronic devices). All recordings are also only for private use and may not be published without the consent of the person concerned, for example if friends and acquaintances were filmed at the door.
You may use recordings of your property to collect evidence, for example if you have been the victim of vandalism and fear another crime.