Security camera with monitor or app: screen or phone

A security camera with monitor or app is the split between a screen on the kitchen worktop and an alert on a phone. On the ABUS listings we read on amazon.co.uk on 15 October 2026, EasyLook stays in the house, and three other models name App2Cam Plus for a view while you travel.

In short

Choose the monitor when the picture should stay in the kitchen. Choose App2Cam Plus when you need a look-in while you travel. The EasyLook bullets say no internet or WLAN. The same file's table still prints Wi-Fi.

The kitchen screen

The camera and monitor set is the ABUS EasyLook BasicSet PPDF17000, model 96078, ASIN B0B4SYR61Y. On 15 October 2026 the amazon.co.uk shelf price was £350.99, the dearest of the six on the ABUS security camera comparison. The bullets say no extra device and no internet or WLAN. You get a camera and a 7-inch monitor. Reviewers describe a private link, which is what a closed circuit home camera means on these pages.

You watch it from the kitchen. Motion uses a passive infrared sensor plus the camera's own software, and two-way audio is listed. The table prints indoor and outdoor use, IP66, infrared, and a resolution cell that reads 3.0. The camera is 12 volt and corded, and the set is about 1 kg. The monitor battery claim is about two hours.

Storage is a microSD you add, up to 128 GB. The bullets do not name a card as included. The star line is 4.4 from 183 ratings, almost all labelled Germany, so it is a count on the UK page rather than a British lab score. Reviews say remote viewing is unavailable. There is no radio-range test here. If you need to view the camera on holiday, this set will not show it to you.

The phone when you are out

Three listings name App2Cam Plus and say you can view the camera while travelling. The outdoor 4K model is the ABUS SmartLook PPIC54520B, ASIN B0DJRGY6HC, at £148.66, with IP66, Wi-Fi or a LAN lead, and no remote pan and tilt. The highlights name person, animal, and vehicle filters. The star line is 3.4 from 18 ratings, almost all labelled Germany. One review calls the away path a relay off the home network. That is one account, not an audit.

The indoor PPIC31020, ASIN B09LYJBZCD, is £96.47. It is a 1080p cube with a 180 degree view, a privacy flap, and an 8 GB card in the box. The table's 128 GB cell is a capacity, not the card supplied. The flap covers the lens and is described as switching off the microphone and the Wi-Fi connection. It is marked not water resistant, on a 5 volt plug-in lead, so it stays indoors beside a socket.

The lamp-camera PPIC46520, ASIN B0C6626ZL7, is £239.82, with IP66 and a claimed lamp of up to 1,000 lumens on a 230 volt supply sold to replace an outdoor light. That swap is mains work. Approved Document P covers dwellings in England. Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland have their own rules. If the cable is the old light's mains, use a competent person.

All three bullets say access and card storage are free of a subscription. That line is silent about a later fee. EasyLook names no cloud plan and tells you to add a card.

The listing that says both

The EasyLook vs Wi-Fi camera problem is two sentences on one page. The bullets say no internet and no WLAN, and the technical table says Wi-Fi. Both lines were present on 15 October 2026. A search for a wireless camera no router lands on the bullets. Reviews, mostly labelled Germany, say you cannot watch the set away from home.

The Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 9, judges satisfactory quality against the description and the price, so decide which sentence you are paying £350.99 for. On this set, wireless is the radio link to the screen. On the App2Cam Plus models the link is home Wi-Fi, or a LAN cable on the PPIC54520B. CCTV without internet, in the household sense, is the EasyLook bullet.

Two other ASINs name neither a monitor nor App2Cam Plus. The CASA30500, ASIN B009XBMPR8, was £221.23, with a 480p cell and an IP66 claim. Its bullets say 8 metres and the night-vision cell says 30 metres. The older lamp, PPIC36520, was £220.03, with 1080p, IP55, and a claimed lamp of up to 950 lumens. Its bullets mention an app and do not name App2Cam Plus.

What each path costs you

You pay £350.99 for the monitor set against £148.66 for the 4K camera and £96.47 for the indoor cube. One review says a failed half was not sold as a spare. That is one report, not a spare-parts policy.

The phone adds the router and the App2Cam Plus account. A support reply narrowed a dual-band bullet to 2.4 GHz only. If your hub is 5 GHz only, test the phone on 2.4 GHz at the camera before you drill. We did not run that test.

The ICO home CCTV guide still applies past your boundary: a clear reason, no more capture than you need, a sign as their example, regular deletion, and a reply usually within one calendar month. The ICO says it will not usually remove a neighbour's camera. The guide was under review after the Data (Use and Access) Act on 15 October 2026, and the Surveillance Camera Code was withdrawn on 17 February 2022. See the ICO home CCTV guide.

Doorbells are a third job

If you want a noise at the door and no picture, use the wireless doorbell comparison. Those kits are radio chimes, with no camera and no Wi-Fi. Eight amazon.co.uk kits, priced on 15 October 2026, run from £9.00 to £22.94. A plug-in chime needs a BS 1363 socket and goes quiet in a power cut.

A face at the door on your phone is a Wi-Fi doorbell. The Wi-Fi doorbell comparison holds that set, from £9.34 to £109.99. Ring's UK FAQ says live view and answering work without a subscription, while saved video needs a Ring Protect plan. Most models there are 2.4 GHz only.

This page is from the Products Compared editorial team. We read those amazon.co.uk listings and the ICO guide on 15 October 2026, with no lab test and no range measurement. A qualifying purchase through amazon.co.uk, tag pcuk26-21, can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.