If you're reading this, something has probably already happened. Tools gone from the shed, fuel siphoned, a gate open that you know you shut.
And you may have tried to sort it already:
A camera from the hardware store. It needs a power point, and the shed doesn't have one.
Running power out there. The trenching quote ended that idea.
A monitored system. $2,000 to $5,000 plus a monthly fee, for one shed.
A $60 solar camera online. It needed Wi-Fi that was never going to reach the back paddock.
A big-name camera. You stopped at the subscription.
Every one of those comes down to the same two things: power and signal at the spot you want to watch. So check those first.
Short version: a few hours of direct sun on the panel, plus either your Wi-Fi or mobile signal at the spot. For mobile signal, the 4G version also needs a SIM card and data plan you buy from your carrier.
Does the spot get a few hours of direct sun?
The Guardian charges from its own 7.5W solar panel, so it never needs a power point. The panel just needs light to work with.
Mount it where the panel gets several hours of direct sun, ideally facing north. Cloudy spells are fine: the battery holds 4+ days of charge with no sun at all.
The one spot it won't suit is deep, all-day shade. A panel that never sees the sun will go flat, and the camera stops with it. We'd rather tell you now.
The panel spot gets several hours of direct sun a day. Quick way to check: look at it mid-morning and again mid-afternoon.
Is there Wi-Fi where the camera goes?
The camera sends alerts and live footage to your phone, so it needs a connection at the mounting spot. Back at the house doesn't count.
Take your phone out to the exact spot and look at the Wi-Fi bars. Solid home Wi-Fi there? The Wi-Fi version will do the job.
No Wi-Fi out there, or it drops in and out? Look at your phone's mobile signal instead. That's what the 4G version runs on, using a SIM card and paid data plan you buy separately from a mobile carrier.
Your phone shows home Wi-Fi, or mobile signal, standing where the camera will go.
Wi-Fi or 4G? Let the spot decide.
Same camera, same solar panel, same price: $269.99 either way. The difference is how it connects, and 4G has one extra cost: a SIM card and mobile data plan from your carrier.
Your home Wi-Fi reaches the spot with solid bars
It's a driveway, side gate, front door or garage close to the house
You don't want to pay for a separate SIM and data plan
Wi-Fi doesn't reach, or there's no internet at all
It's a shed, gate, paddock, job site or holiday house
Your phone gets mobile signal at the spot
You're happy to buy a SIM and pay for a data plan
You buy a SIM and a paid mobile data plan from a carrier and put it in the camera. The free SD card in the box is a memory card for footage, not a SIM.
Choose before you order: Wi-Fi and 4G are different hardware and can't be converted later. The Wi-Fi version needs network coverage where you mount it.
Buying more than one? You can pick Wi-Fi or 4G for each camera. Still unsure which? Email our Adelaide team before you order: Customerservice@sentinelcameras.store
4.8 from 153 verified reviews
No electrician, no trench, no power point
Mount the camera and panel, download the free app and follow the steps. No cables to run and no installer to book.
Once it's up, it watches for people, not animals. When someone walks into view you get an alert on your phone with live footage, and you can talk through the camera from wherever you are.
Footage records to the free 64GB SD card in the box, a memory card, not a SIM. We never charge a subscription. On the 4G version, the only running cost is the data plan you pay your carrier.
Stuck on a step? Our team in Adelaide answers by email.
You get 30 days to return it for a full refund, no questions asked. If it develops a fault, it's covered by a 1-year warranty, and you can extend that to 2 years when you order.
Sentinel Cameras support team, Adelaide. We sell one camera, so we know it inside out.
“Night vision is great. Day vision is great. Once I figured out the app it's been no trouble at all. Very happy with it.”