Ring Stick Up Cam Review
The Ring Stick Up Cam is among our favorite wireless security cameras with Ring camera features in a fully wireless camera for only $100.
The Ring Stick Up Cam isn’t tethered by a cable or cord. After charging the battery, you can place this camera almost anywhere. Just a little smaller than a soda can, it fits nicely atop bookshelves, over cribs, or under awnings.
We got our hands on one of our own and tested it out to show you video clips, app settings, and the nitty-gritty of the Ring Stick Up Cam.
Camera is small enough to sit anywhere Motion sensitivity is adjustable Video has minimal lag
Batteries need to charge Events don't load immediately Feed requires Wi-FiCompare Ring cameras
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| Price | $84.99 | $99.99 | $159.99 | $199.99 |
| Field of view | 110° | 155° | 140° | 140° |
| Power source | Battery | Battery or wired | Wired | Wired |
| Indoor or outdoor | Both | Outdoor | Outdoor | Outdoor |
| View on Amazon | View on Amazon | View on Amazon | View on Amazon |
*Amazon.com price as of 04/13/2021 at 12:39 a.m. (MT). Read full disclaimer.
The family of Ring cameras are essentially the same camera in different bodies. Each has 1080p HD video streaming, two-way talk, motion detection, night vision, and app control.
The trick for choosing a Ring camera is knowing what you want the camera to do. The Ring Stick Up Cam is versatile enough to work indoors or outdoors, but all the other Ring cameras are outdoor-only devices.
If you have frequent visitors or get deliveries often, the Ring Doorbell Camera is a good choice for your front porch. With seven versions of this camera, you’re bound to find one that works for your home.
The Ring Spotlight and the Ring Floodlight are similar too. Each camera has bright lights attached to it, making either a good choice for a garage, walkway, or exposed backyard.
The Ring Stick Up Cam has an eco-friendly counterpart that works with solar energy. The Ring Stick Up Cam Solar is a different camera that comes with a solar panel. It requires a little more DIY installation than the standard Stick Up Cam, but you won’t have to worry about tricky wiring paths or cord cutting.
What's in the box
- Ring Stick Up Cam
- Instructions
- Ring window sticker
- Camera battery
- Battery charging cable
Ring Stick Up Cam setup
The Ring Stick Up Cam starts with the Ring app. You’ll need to create an account and get the app up and running before your camera can do anything. The app will guide you through most of the setup process while the included printed instructions show you how to install the camera’s battery and mount the camera to a wall.
While you get the app set up, we recommend plugging in the battery. Ours came with a charge around 40% but lasted only a couple of days. Once the battery’s at full charge, it can last up to a month.
We charged ours fully after the first test run. After several days of running continuously, it was still at 97%. But, like any battery, charges depend on how many features and settings you have running at once. Features like motion frequency, live views, and video clip length can drain your battery faster.
In our tests, the Ring Stick Up Cam held over 95% for several days. A single charge for the battery will depend on settings and use. We saw reports of battery charges lasting up to 60 days and more, which is consistent with our testing.
Camera placement
Battery power cameras come with advantages and disadvantages—without a power cable, you can place the Ring Stick Up Cam anywhere in your home. But that also means you have to charge it regularly.
The Ring Stick Up Cam comes with mounting screws and anchors to place it on a wall or shelving. But, for our purposes, we set the camera high on a bookshelf facing the front door.
We chose this spot to avoid feeling watched (nobody wants that), but the wide angle view still caught snippets of activity throughout the day.
Ring Stick Up Cam HD video
Even in low light, the Ring Stick Up Cam provides crisp video clips and live feed. We could see faces, clothes, and details in the environment in the clips we downloaded. The feed shows a slight lag on the camera with real-time but nothing out of the ordinary.
While the camera was set up, it caught me leaving for a run. The video is clear enough to capture my face and sent a motion alert when I opened the door.
Here are a few noteworthy features we saw while testing the Ring Stick Up Cam.
Motion detection and motion zones
Ring likes to boast its custom motion zones and motion detection alerts. When the camera senses movement, you’ll get an alert sent straight to your phone. But the frequency of these alerts depends on the motion sensitivity in the app.
The sensitivity is on a sliding scale from low to high, so we played with this feature a little to see how much the camera could pick up.
Low motion sensitivity: We turned the sensitivity to a quarter strength and walked in front of the camera. The low motion didn’t catch us walking through the door or waving at the camera. It didn’t even add an event to the timeline.
But this isn’t a total waste. If you want to keep a low profile or avoid getting pinged anytime something happens in a high traffic area, the low setting is better for checking the camera on your own time.
Half motion sensitivity: For us, this felt like the sweet spot. At half power, the motion detection sensed doors opening and people walking across the camera’s view but without the notification explosion.
But if you place your camera in an area that’s off-limits in your house to pets or kids, this setting may not be enough to catch everything.
Full motion sensitivity: If you want to watch what goes on in front of your Ring camera, this is the right setting. Even walking in the peripherals of the camera triggered some motion alerts from the Ring Stick Up Cam.
Here's a clip from motion detection testing. Note that the phone lights up after the camera catches motion, but the clip doesn't appear in the app until a couple of minutes later.
Overall, the right motion setting will depend on what you use your camera for and where you place it. We recommend tinkering with the settings because this varies from person to person.
Snooze notifications: The good news is you can snooze notifications and even set a schedule for motion detection to avoid blowing up your phone. We like this feature for times when you know you’ll be away, like when you’re expecting visitors or the kids come home from school.
Basically, motion zones tell the camera where to look. If you want to put your camera in a busy area, but only focus on the door or a hallway, you can draw around the area you want the camera to watch.
It’s a feature that cuts down on false alarms and respects the privacy of those who may cross the camera’s view.
Night vision
We tested the camera at night with the lights off. And, even if we couldn’t see anything, the camera could. The Ring Stick Up Cam has standard black and white night vision powerful enough to catch details without too many shadows.
Here's a quick clip of the night vision in motion. The video is in black and white, but you can still see details like faces (excuse the bed head) and details in the background.
Two-way audio
Another part of our testing process included the two-way audio. From the live view, you can speak to anyone (or anything) on the other side of your camera or mute the audio if things get too noisy.
For pet parents who want to talk to their furry friends at home, or if you want to talk to your kids while you’re still at work, it’s a good feature to have. It’s even helpful for scaring off any intruders. The trick is catching people in the moment on the app.
Some wireless cameras have a press-to-talk button on the camera itself, allowing loved ones to contact you through the camera, but that’s not the case with the Ring Stick Up Cam.
Video downloads
When your camera catches a motion event, you can download the clip and save it for later. This can come in handy for security purposes (identifying a perp) or sharing with your friends or family (catching a funny moment).
The video download quality is true to the 1080p HD live stream and translates well even after sharing a few times or downloading and redownloading too.
Ring Stick Up Cam app
For the most part, the Ring Stick Up Cam is a set-it-and-forget-it device because most of the action happens in the Ring app. Beyond camera settings like motion zones and motion detection, here are a few of our favorite features we saw in the Ring app.
Time lapse
The Ring app has a live view where you can drop in and see what’s happening in real time, or you can watch a time lapse of past footage.
We really like this feature because it gives you a quick overview of the day or week past. If your camera catches any motion during this time, you’ll get a notification and see it marked within the timeline.
History
The history feature is a log of any events or live views in the past. Whether it’s you or someone you share your camera with, you can see when someone was watching the live cam and what they saw during that time. Any event or live view in the history tab is downloadable too.
Neighbors
Within the time we tested the Ring Stick Up Cam, we saw a variety of alerts in the neighborhood—everything from footage of package thieves in real time to reports of a mountain lion sighting.
It’s helpful to know what kind of things go on in your neighborhood, but we recommend being selective about what you pay attention to.
Having these reports on hand could make some folks feel uneasy or unsafe over one-time occurrences. Think of the Neighbors feature as a good way to spot patterns of events in your neighborhood rather than an eventuality that will happen to you.
Like all the pieces of the Ring puzzle, the Stick Up Cam works with Alexa devices. If you have an Echo Show, you can see feed from your camera on the smart speaker.
If you want to learn more about Amazon Alexa and how it fits into a smart home ecosystem, check out some of our other articles.
Ring Stick Up Cam vs. best wireless security cameras
The Ring Stick Up Cam has a lot in common with the best wireless security cameras around. We’ve lined it up with similar cameras to show how it compares.
| Camera |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $84.99 | $199.99 | $37.98 | $99.99 | $299.99 |
| Video quality | 1080p | 1440p (2K) | 1080p | 1080p | 1080p |
| Wire-free |
 Yes |
Yes |
 No |
No |
No |
| Learn More | View on Amazon | View on Amazon | View on Amazon | View on Amazon | View on Home Depot |
| Read Review | Read Review | Read Review | Read Review | Read Review | Read Review |
*Amazon.com price as of 04/13/2021 at 12:39 a.m. (MT). Read full disclaimer.
The Ring Stick Up Cam fits right in with our list of the best wireless security cameras. All of them come with similar features like two-way talk, motion settings, and smart speaker compatibility (for you Alexa and Google Home fans). Though it doesn’t have the video quality of the Arlo Pro 4, it’s a much more affordable option.
But Ring stands out because it’s compatible with the Ring Alarm system. Nest used to be the only other camera on this list with a companion security system, but this isn’t the case after Nest Secure was discontinued in October 2020. The others on our list like Arlo, Wyze, and Canary come as camera-only options.
Final word
We ran tests on the Ring Stick Up Cam for a week in our own home and came away with some interesting findings. While the motion settings can be a little finicky, the camera was easy to set up and reposition. We also like the timeline and history feature.
If you already have a Ring system or want a super-portable indoor/outdoor camera to watch over your home, this is an affordable option for around $100. But, if you’re simply looking for a standalone camera to watch over your home, there are cheaper options out there.
How we reviewed Ring Stick Up Cam
We always feel the best way to review a product is to get our hands on it and test it ourselves. That’s exactly what we did with the Ring Stick Up Cam. To get the most authentic experience, we set up the camera in our own home and tested the installation process, app, and camera features for about two weeks.
Check our methodology page to learn more about how we review products like this one.
Ring Stick Up Cam FAQ
We have more answers about Ring Alarm and Ring cameras on our Ring FAQ.
The Ring Stick Up Cam features 1080p live streaming. This is the new standard in many wireless cameras and produces a crisp clear picture live or in downloads.
The camera can see 130° diagonally, 110° horizontally, and 57° vertically. When we tested it in a living room, it was able to see three corners of the room while facing the front door.
The Ring Stick Up Cam is weather resistant, but we don’t recommend submerging it or dunking it in water on purpose. However, it can handle rain or snow under a cover.
Ring Protect is Ring’s subscription cloud and sharing service that lets you store, save, and send the videos your camera catches. It starts at $3 per month for the Basic plan or up to $10/month more for premium features.
Yes. The Ring Stick Up Cam is weatherproof, so you can mount it to your door frame, the side of your house, or anywhere outdoors. We do recommend finding a spot with some cover from storms. You can also get a solar panel to keep the battery charged.
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*Amazon.com list price as of 04/13/2021 12:39 (MT). Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product. Safewise.com utilizes paid Amazon links.
Certain content that appears on this site comes from Amazon. This content is provided “as is” and is subject to change or removal at any time.
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