The D-Link DCS-8302LH outdoor Wi-Fi camera is one of D-Link’s modest indoor and outdoor IP cameras. With the necessities of home surveillance in our world today, you cannot be more careful. IP cameras are among devices that help provide this needed security.
There are several indoor and outdoor surveillance cameras today, and the D-Link DCS-8302LH camera is featured in this review. With over 35 years in the network equipment space, D-Link has continued to churn out devices to meet home and business needs. WAN routers, switches, IP telephony, wireless controllers, gateways, modems, firewalls, and surveillance cameras are some of the devices that D-Link delivers. With respect to surveillance, the D-Link DCS-8302LH outdoor Wi-Fi camera can provide adequate surveillance as may be required.
The question is “Does this camera meet all of your requirements?” This review discusses this D-Link DCS-8302LH outdoor Wi-Fi camera in detail, to help you make an informed decision. Let’s get started.
Overview of the D-Link DCS-8302LH Outdoor Wi-Fi Camera
As mentioned in the introductory part of this article, the D-Link DCS-8302LH outdoor Wi-Fi camera is a modestly designed outdoor IP camera. As an outdoor camera, it sure functions indoors as well.
When you receive the D-Link DCS-8302LH outdoor Wi-Fi camera, you will find a quick start guide, a surveillance sticker, documentation, cable ties, screws, a three-pin adapter, D.C adapter (12 volts output), and the camera itself, with a 3-meter power cable, its mounting bracket, and ball joint attached to the camera.
The D-Link DCS-8302LH outdoor Wi-Fi camera is cylindrically shaped. It has a very beautiful and attractive finish, a sturdy feel, and minimalist design. The camera weighs 250 grams, has a dimension of 88 x 138 mm (L x H), and it is able to function outdoors at a temperature between -20°C to 45° C.
On the front of the camera, you will see the camera’s light sensor at the very top, which enables it to distinguish daytime from nighttime. Then below the light sensor, you have the camera’s Full HD 1080p resolution lens which is capable of a 135° field of view. Below the lens, you have the camera’s microphone, and then its status LED.
At the back of the DCS-8302LH camera, it has a cover that you open to see other components of the camera. When you open it, you will see a micro SD card slot (supports up to 256GB), a reset button, barcode & PIN, power slot, and an Ethernet port. The Ethernet port built in obviously indicates that you can connect this camera via a network cable or via Wi-Fi. Under the camera, you will find the loudspeaker for voice output and the siren. It is worth mentioning that the D-Link DCS-8302LH outdoor Wi-Fi camera works on the 2.4GHz frequency only. It supports the WPA3 security protocol, 802.11 n/g, and Bluetooth 4.0.
Mounting and Setting up the D-Link DCS-8302LH Outdoor Wi-Fi camera
Mounting the D-Link DCS-8302LH outdoor Wi-Fi camera is pretty easy. You have the flexibility of mounting it on a wall, ceiling, and on a pole. Simply choose your desired location, drill holes accordingly, and mount the device. The camera’s ball joint enables you to conveniently tilt the camera up and down, side to side. So after mounting, you can adjust it accordingly.
After completing this process, you would have to plug the camera’s D.C adapter to power and set the DCS-8302LH camera up on the mydlink app. Do note that the D.C adapter supports an input voltage of 100 to 240 Volts, 50/60 Hz.
When the camera is powered up, then open the mydlink app on your smartphone. If you do not already have the mydlink app, simply download it, create an account and you are ready to add the D-Link DCS-8302LH outdoor Wi-Fi camera.
Connect your smartphone to the Wi-Fi network that will be used by the D-Link DCS-8302LH. Open the app once again and it will scan your Wi-Fi network. When the scan is completed, you should see a message displayed “new device found”. Click on the DCS-8302LH camera to add the device, you will then be prompted to scan the code that’s at the back of the camera. Go ahead and scan the code, after this, you should see connect the camera to your router with Wi-Fi or Ethernet. Depending on what you have or want to use, select either of the two. The app will then search, connect to the cloud, and ask you to give the DCS-8302LH a friendly name, along with a designated number. After this stage, you are done with the setup.
How does the D-Link DCS-8302LH Outdoor Wi-Fi camera perform?
The D-Link DCS-8302LH camera features a 1/29” CMOS sensor, a 3 mm focal length, Full HD 1080p (1920 x 1080), at 30 frames per second. All these give the camera an excellent image and video quality. The camera’s 135° field of view provides a very wide angle to see a large area.
Also, the DCS-8302LH is built with motion detection, sound detection, and AI human detection which performs pretty well. You can increase or decrease this motion sensitivity, and set activity zones to a specified coverage area. With this, you can be rest assured of receiving accurate alerts.
You can configure the camera’s sound detection to pick up abnormal sounds. With this, it can send you a notification, start recording, or put out the siren. With regards to the siren, it is capable of up to 95 decibels.
Just like some other D-Link camera models, you can dial a designated number in case of an emergency. If you receive a motion detection notification and you require emergency assistance, you can dial the designated number you typed in when you were setting up the camera on the app. When you click on a notification, you can view the live feed and also dial your designated number. This D-Link DCS-8302LH outdoor Wi-Fi camera also allows you to set privacy mode, when you are at home or away from home it will act accordingly.
The D-Link DCS-8302LH outdoor Wi-Fi camera features smart voice controls. You can stream live feeds from the camera with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant smart devices.
With regards to two-way audio, you can conveniently speak to your friends and family members from the camera’s loudspeaker. If you have a delivery attendant at the door, or an unfamiliar face, you can communicate and make your presence felt from the camera.
What about storage?
As mentioned earlier, the D-Link DCS-8302LH outdoor Wi-Fi camera is fitted with a micro SD card slot. With this, you have local recording of all video feeds and motion detected. Do note that the D-Link DCS-8302LH outdoor Wi-Fi camera supports 24/7 recording as well.
Along with this, the camera supports recording on NAS or NVRs with ONVIF as well as cloud storage. Right on the mydlink app, you can set these up. If you want cloud storage for the DCS-8302LH, you can get a 1-year free access to it, but with limited features. There are four monthly cloud storage plans and four yearly cloud storage plans including the free plan that you can choose from. They are Free, Basic, Premium, and Pro (monthly/yearly respectively).
The Basic monthly plan costs $2.49, with 7 days of cloud storage, and usable with 3 cameras. The next plan costs $4.99, with 14 days of cloud storage, and usable with 5 cameras. The Pro plan costs $9.99, with 30 days of cloud storage, usable with 10 cameras.
If you go for yearly, the Basic plan costs $24.99, with 7 days of cloud storage, and usable with 3 cameras. The Premium plan costs $49.99, with 14 days of cloud storage, usable with 5 cameras. The Pro plan costs $99.99, with 30 days of cloud storage, usable with 10 cameras.
Based on your country or region, the appropriate currency will be displayed. The screenshot below shows all plans.
How does the app perform?
The mydlink app has a nice UI/UX design. With it, you have full manageability of the D-Link DCS-8302LH camera and other D-Link devices. Integrating the camera with the app is a very smooth and simple process. Once your camera is integrated with the app, you begin to see the livestream and do a whole lot on the app. From the home screen, you can take snapshots, record onto your smartphone, mute and unmute, call your designated number, change settings, and subscribe to cloud storage amongst other things.
Pictorial representation of the full specifications of the DCS-8302LH IP Camera
The full specifications of the D-Link DCS-8302LH IP camera are shown in the screenshot below.
Final Thoughts
The D-Link DCS-8302LH outdoor Wi-Fi camera is a suitable camera for anyone who wants something simple. We say simple because there are other cameras out there with higher specifications.
The DCS-8302LH is a 1080p high-definition camera that gives good image and video quality, flexible ways to store recorded footage, AI human detection, two-way audio, smart voice controls, a siren, LAN and Wi-Fi network connections. But, it is not built with spotlights; in total darkness, the infrared LEDs can only give you 5 meters of clear images. However, if you have good lighting around the location of the camera at night, you should see improved image quality.
There are other D-Link camera models built with spotlights like the DCS-8627LH and DCS-8630LH. Overall, the performance of the D-Link DCS-8302LH outdoor Wi-Fi camera is satisfactory.
You may want to see our review of the eufyCam 3C, Arlo Pro 3 and Arlo Pro 4.
