Ring Pan-Tilt Indoor Camera review

Ring Pan-Tilt Indoor Camera: Introduction

• Type: Indoor, pan & tilt
• Connectivity: 2.4GHz Wi-Fi
• Ecosystems: Amazon Alexa

Surprisingly, the Ring Pan-Tilt Indoor Camera is the Amazon-owned brand’s first all-in-one pan-and-tilt camera.

Previously, it sold a pan-and-tilt base for the Stick Up Cam, but here, the motorised base is a permanent feature of this new model, putting it head to head with the likes of the Reolink Argus Track and the Eufy Security Indoor Cam S350.

With the ability to get a clearer view of what’s going on in a room, there’s a lot to like about this well-priced camera.

It is a little short on features that make the most of the tech: there’s no automatic subject tracking, for example.

But does the lack of more advanced pan and tilt features make this camera to avoid? Read on to find out in our full Ring Pan-Tilt Indoor Camera review.

Design and installation

• Bookcase or wall mount
• Manual privacy shutter
• USB-C power

The Ring Pan-Tilt Indoor Camera is effectively the Indoor Cam (2^nd Gen), only with a motorised base that gives the camera its pan and tilt functionality.

Most pan-and-tilt cameras that I’ve reviewed have the pan in the base and the tilt via a lens that can move up and down, such as with the Eufy Security Indoor Cam S350. Ring’s solution is to mount the camera on a stick for the tilt operation, with a motorised base providing the pan.

That, no doubt, saves money on production costs, and it works well enough, provided you’re careful. I found that if the camera was too close to a wall or a book, operating the tilt could cause it to push itself over.

It may prove easier to use the adaptor in the box and mount this camera on a wall, rather than a bookshelf.

The USB-C input at the back provides power. Just plug the camera in, and it turns on, moving through its full pan and tilt range before settling down.

For privacy, a shutter on top rotates around to turn the camera off and physically block its lens.

That’s good if you’re concerned about privacy, but a manually operated shutter can be an issue.

For example, if you go out and forget to remove the shutter, the Ring Pan-Tilt Indoor Camera won’t record any video.

I prefer to control the camera through software. If you’re really worried about privacy, an alternative option would be to connect the camera to a smart plug, so you can at least remotely activate it if needed.

Features

• Excellent home position control
• No automatic subject tracking
• 24/7 recording now an option

The Ring Pan-Tilt Indoor Camera integrates into the Ring app, just like the company’s other cameras.

The main difference is that when you jump into the live view, there are pan and tilt controls to move the camera’s view.

With the camera’s 143-degree field of view, the pan option gives 360-degree coverage of a room. For tilt, there’s a generous 169-degree coverage. Overall that means that you can look around an entire room by moving the camera.

That’s often very useful, as you can see more of what’s going on. When I went on holiday recently, I used the camera to keep an eye on my cat who had a leg injury.

By being able to reposition the camera, I could more easily see what he was up to and that he was alright.

Ring has the option to set a default home position. This is a necessity, as it sets a default monitoring position, which makes it possible to set up activity zones and configure motion sensitivity.

Ring’s implementation is very good, and as soon as a live view is ended, the Ring Pan-Tilt Indoor Camera swings back to its default position. I found this system to be faster and more reliable than with other cameras that I’ve reviewed.

It’s a massive shame that Ring doesn’t offer more. Typically, pan and tilt cameras can be set up to automatically track motion, but Ring doesn’t offer that feature at the moment.

For the most part, then, the Ring Pan-Tilt Indoor Camera acts like a static security camera, with pan and tilt only coming into play via live view.

For security features, then the Ring Pan-Tilt Indoor Camera operates just like the company’s other cameras. There are options to set activity zones and to control motion sensitivity.

Via a Ring Home subscription (the new name for Ring Protect), which is an essential, you can also turn on people only detection, which hugely reduces the number of alerts you get.

With the top-level Ring Home Premium subscription, the Ring Pan-Tilt Indoor Camera is one of the few cameras that supports 24/7 recording.

With this you get alerts for motion events, but video is recorded permanently, so you’ll never miss an event. This subscription level is expensive, so the lower tier options may make more sense for most people.

Video is recorded to the cloud, and you can scrub through events using the timeline view in the Live View section. With filters for date and event type, it’s usually pretty quick to find the clip you want, and then download it to your phone for permanent storage.

I’m a big fan of the way that Ring’s products integrate together, and the Ring Pan-Tilt Indoor Camera is no different.

I particularly like the integration with the Ring Alarm, which can turn the Ring Pan-Tilt Indoor Camera on or off based on the alarm’s mode. That’s functionally much better than using the privacy shutter, and makes it far less likely that you’d go out and forget to enable the camera.

Amazon Alexa support is available, and the Ring Pan-Tilt Indoor Camera can stream its live feed to a compatible smart display. However, there’s no control over the pan and tilt system, which is available in-app only.

Performance

• Works best pointed away from sunlight
• Good daylight vision
• Slightly more basic night vision

I found that the Ring Pan-Tilt Indoor Camera is best set up so that it’s home position is pointing away from sunlight pouring through a window or door.

In my garden office, I found that when the camera pointed at the doors, the video was over exposed; setting the camera to be at a right-angle to the door fixed this.

Recording with its Full HD video, the camera can’t compete with 2K or 4K models, but daylight footage is clear and sharp enough to see what’s going, with accurate colors and good exposure.

At night, the camera can use its full color mode if there’s enough ambient light; typically, indoors doesn’t have enough light, so I ended up turning this feature off and sticking with the black and white IR footage.

This does soften the footage quite a lot, removing detail. That said, the IR lights have enough range to fill a room, and I could mostly find a still frame that showed a person in full detail.

In short, the footage isn’t the best that I’ve ever seen, but it’s more than good enough for monitoring a home.

Final thoughts

The Ring Pan-Tilt Indoor Camera is pretty cheap for a full pan and tilt camera, and the smooth operation and excellent home position control make it stand out.

However, the lack of automatic tracking or other features that could use the pan-and-tilt features feels like a missed opportunity and for the most part this camera acts just like a static camera.

If you like the idea of being able to look around the room, this camera is good value, but most people will get the same experience with the cheaper, static, Ring Indoor Cam (2^nd Gen).

How we test

When we publish our reviews, you can rest assured that they are the result of “living with” long term tests.

Smart security cameras usually live within an ecosystem, or a range of products that – supposedly – all work in harmony. Therefore, it’s impossible to use a security camera for a week and deliver a verdict.

Because we’re testing smart home kit all day, everyday, we know what matters and how a particular camera compares to alternatives that you might also be considering.

Our reviews are comprehensive, objective and fair and, of course, we are never paid directly to review a device.

Read our guide on our review process for smart security cameras to learn more.

FAQs

Ring Pan-Tilt Indoor Camera: Specifications