The Arlo Essential 3 PTZ 2K Indoor and Outdoor cameras are part of its value Essential Gen 3 range, offering Pan, Tilt and Zoom (PTZ) at a very good price.
Now remember that these are the Essential PTZ Range, Gen 3, 2025, built to provide essential features over Wi-Fi. It would be unfair to compare this with far more sophisticated PTZ cameras costing several times more.
There are two models, both with similar features. The Outdoor model adds weather-resistance with a longer power cable, and the indoor model has a privacy mode and can be desktop or wall-mounted.
Arlo Essential 3 PTZ specs as at 27/10/25 (where the item is the same, the field is left blank)
| Arlo Essential 3 PTZ Indoor | Arlo Essential 3 PTZ Outdoor | |
| Website | Product Page | Product Page |
| Model | VMC3073-100AUS | VMC3083-100AUS |
| Price AUD | $79 | $119 |
| Warranty | 1-year | |
| Powered – no battery | Plug pack 2m cable | Plug pack and 4.6m cable |
| Resolution | 2K 2304 x 1296 (3MP) requires 5 GHz Drops back to 1080 or 720p with 2.4 GHz | |
| Storage | No onboard – requires an Arlo Secure subscription | |
| AI | Requires an Arlo Secure subscription | |
| Pan | 360° | |
| Tilt | 180° downwards (sleep mode) Base interferes, say 130° | Can’t look up |
| FOV | 130° diagonal | |
| PIR (passive infrared) | Out to about 10m | |
| Auto motion track | Yes, out to about 8m | |
| Digital Zoom | 12x digital | |
| Wi-Fi | 2.4 and 5 GHz WPA2 Take care with Wi-Fi 7 WPA3. | |
| Spotlight | No | Yes – Dual LEDs |
| Night vision | IR mono (default) and up to 8m. | |
| Privacy shield | Disarm camera – camera rotates down | No |
| Siren | Yes | |
| Arlo Security Plan | Recommended | |
| Mount | Desktop-base or wall | Wall or ceiling |
| Arlo Hub | No – Wi-Fi app only | |
| Voice | Push-to-talk – walkie-talkie style with some echo cancellation | |
| Assistants | Compatible with Google Home and Amazon Alexa | |
| 120 x 90mm approx includes rear USB-C cable but excludes wall mount | 148 mm x 75 mm x 285g excludes rear USB-C cable and mount | |
| IP rating | No | Weather-resistant but best installed under the eaves. |
| Inbox | Essential 3 Indoor PTZ 2m indoor charging cable indoor plug pack Wall mount and screw kit Quick start guide | Essential 3 Outdoor PTZ 4.8m cable Weather-resistant plug pack Wall or ceiling mount and screws |
Ratings
We use the following ratings for many of the items below. CyberShack regards a score between 70 and 80/100 as a fit-for-purpose pass mark. You can click on most images to enlarge them.
- Fail (below expectations), and we will let you know if this affects its use.
- Pass(able) rating that is not as good as it should be.
- Pass (meets expectations).
- Pass ‘+’ rating to show it is good, but does not quite make it to Exceed
- Exceed (surpasses expectations or is the class leader).
First Impression – I love Pan, Tilt and Zoom (PTZ) cameras
Pan (means spins around 360°), tilt (means up and down), and Zoom (up to 12X but really 6X before you lose too many details) are way more effective at eliminating blind spots in your home security system. These have just enough intelligence to lock on to movement and follow it to the extent of the PTZ or 2K resolution limitations.
So instead of two or three fixed focus ‘bullet’ style cameras, you can replace them with just one. That is the theory anyway, and it’s all about how far out the PIR (passive infrared) sensor can ‘see’, light conditions and ideal placement.
These are Arlo quality, and you can expect years of service.
Setup – Pass
There are a few things to remember.
First, both are mains powered, so you need conveniently placed power points (outdoors requires a weather-resistant power point). There are no batteries.
Second, they don’t have a standard ¼” tripod mount, so you really need to use the mounting brackets (indoor can sit on a desktop). Don’t try Velcro or Gaffer tape, as these need stability.
Third, they need to be placed where 360/180° PTZ works – no blind spots, against a wall, etc. Also, remember that PIR requires the ‘beam’ to be broken across it rather than straight on. A central position is best followed by a corner position with maybe 145° FOV.
If you do not place PTZ properly, get a fixed bullet camera.
Download the Arlo App for Android or iOS. Set up an account, agree to the privacy and terms, which are benign.
Initially, they connect via Bluetooth, and then you select Wi-Fi (either 2.4 GHz or 5GHz (it understands a combo SSID and works with mesh). It has a Wi-Fi signal strength meter, and you can change the SSID later. Warning: It requires WPA2 to connect, so on a Wi-Fi 7 router, you will need to have a separate 2.4 and 5 GHz band set to that.
Arlo Secure – optional but really necessary
Now for the fun part, and it depends on whether you want to pay for an Arlo Secure Subscription (it comes with a 30-day free trial and requires an auto-renew credit card number) or not.
Most of the smart features are part of the subscription.
- Recognise the difference between people, vehicles, animals, and packages.
- Hear Smoke, CO alarms, gunshots, screams, glass breaking and dog barking.
- Get smart notifications with thumbnail images and animated previews
- Set up motion zones
- Filter out everyday movement, like trees swaying.
- There are lots of new features in BETA test, too.
For this review, we skipped the free trial so you can understand what you get out of the box. On the downside, you won’t get any of the above if you don’t sign up for a Plus subscription.
You can be billed annually or monthly.
- Basic ($6.67 p/m single camera, $10.83 p/m unlimited cameras) offers a 30-day video history in the cloud
- Plus ($15 p/m unlimited cameras) adds facial, vehicle and package recognition, along with advanced audio and fire detection.
Comparison here.
What do you get for free?
- Smartphone basic notifications and live view
- Auto PTZ track
- IR mono night vision (can set colour/LED spot on the outdoor model)
- PTT audio
As it has no local memory, does not connect to a hub, cloud or store on a smartphone, there is no video storage, just live view from the App.
Responsive: Pass
Using a TP-Link Deco BE85 Wi-Fi 7 BE22000 tri-band mesh router – If you feel the need for massive, distributed speed, we get terrific Wi-Fi coverage from the router and two Ethernet backhaul satellites.
Using Wi-Fi, the video and audio lag is from 2 seconds (strong coverage) to about 5 seconds. Using a mobile, it can take several seconds. The main issue here is audio lag. Microphone feedback has been reduced compared to Gen 2.
You can control PTZ as well – lag applies, but the camera motion is smooth.
Presets
You can save four presets (different angles and views) from the home position or use the app’s wheel control.
Images
CyberShack’s view: Arlo Essential 3 PTZ 2K Indoor and Outdoor Cameras are a low-cost way to get Arlo security
The key issue here is low capital cost versus ongoing subscription. Speaking to Arlo, it’s clear that they fundamentally believe the subscription model delivers the best choice.
Instead of focusing on hardware, they focus on AI-driven features like scream detection. The camera does not need to know if the sound is a scream – AI will model that against its database. So, in support of subscription, there is a lot more that Arlo AI can do with any ‘dumb’ camera.
As we always say, it is not about buying a camera or two but mapping out your security ecosystem and selecting a brand that can do it all – do not buy disparate brands that use different apps!
Arlo Essential 3 PTZ 2K Indoor and Outdoor Cameras Rating
We find it increasingly challenging to rate ‘dumb’ hardware backed by uber-smart AI. And as we wanted to test this without AI enabled, it is just a 2K camera and the Arlo standard app. So we won’t allocate a formal rating.
Features: Standard 2K camera with PIR detection, Wi-Fi, Siren and PTT. No local storage.
Value: Fair value for a standard camera. Good value for PTZ. The subscription is a tad expensive for single cameras – it’s more for an Arlo ecosystem.
Performance: As a 2K PTZ camera and 12X zoom, it performs no better than any other brand.
Ease of Use: The Arlo app is well-designed and easy to set up and use.
Design: A step away from Arlo’s standard design yet unmistakenly Arlo quality.
Pro
Clear 2K video
Decent P&T
Colour night vision (outdoor model only)
No battery to worry about
Arlo Secure is available at an extra cost
Con
12X digital zoom is effective to 6X
No free local, smartphone or cloud storage
AI Smart features require a paid subscription
Requires power (indoors or outdoors)
No Smart Hub compatibility
Now for the fun part, and it depends on whether you want to pay for an Arlo Secure Subscription (it comes with a 30-day free trial and requires an auto-renew credit card number) or not.
Many of the smart features are part of the subscription.
- Recognise the difference between people, vehicles, animals, and packages.
- Hear Smoke, CO alarms, gunshots, screams, glass breaking and dog barking.
- Get smart notifications with thumbnail images and animated previews
- Set up motion zones
- Filter out everyday movement, like trees swaying.
For this review, we skipped the free trial so you can understand what you get out of the box.
Arlo Secure
Arlo Intelligence delivers AI-powered alerts for people, vehicles, animals, and packages, animated preview notifications, and event captions that make alerts easier to interpret. There are lots of new features in BETA test too.
On the downside, you won’t get any of that if you don’t sign up for a Plus subscription.
You can be billed annually or monthly.
- Basic ($6.67 p/m single camera, $10.83 p/m unlimited cameras) offers a 30-day video history in the cloud
- Plus ($15 p/m unlimited cameras) adds facial, vehicle and package recognition, along with advanced audio and fire detection.
Comparison here.
What do you get for free?
- Smartphone basic notifications and live view
- Auto PTZ track
- IR mono night vision (can set colour/LED spot on the outdoor model)
- PTT audio
As it has no local memory, does not connect to a hub, cloud or store on a smartphone, there is no video storage, just live view from the App.
Responsive: Pass
Using a TP-Link Deco BE85 Wi-Fi 7 BE22000 tri-band mesh router – If you feel the need for massive, distributed speed, we get terrific Wi-Fi coverage from the router and two Ethernet backhaul satellites.
Using Wi-Fi, the video and audio lag is from 2 seconds (strong coverage) to about 5 seconds. Using a mobile, it can take several seconds. The main issue here is audio lag. Microphone feedback has been reduced compared to Gen 2.
You can control PTZ as well – lag applies, but the camera motion is smooth.
Presets
You can save four presets (different angles and views) from the home position or use the app’s wheel control.
CyberShack’s view: Arlo Esstential 3 Indoor and Outdoor 2K Pan Tilt Cameras are a low-cost way to get Arlo security
The key issue here is low capital cost versus ongoing subscription. Speaking to Arlo, it’s clear that they fundamentally believe the subscription model delivers the best choice.
Instead of focusing on hardware, they focus on AI-driven features like scream detection. The camera does not need to know if the sound is a scream – AI will model that against its database. So, in support of subscription, there is a lot more that Arlo AI can do with any ‘dumb’ camera.
As we always say, it is not about buying a camera or two but mapping out your security ecosystem and selecting a brand that can do it all – do not buy disparate brands that use different apps!
Rating
We find it increasingly challenging to rate ‘dumb’ hardware backed by uber-smart AI. And as we wanted to test this without AI enabled, it is just a 2K camera and the Arlo standard app. So we won’t allocate a formal rating.
Features: Standard 2K camera with PIR detection, Wi-Fi, Siren and PTT. No local storage.
Value: Fair value for a standard camera. Good value for PTZ. The subscription is a tad expensive for single cameras – it’s more for an Arlo ecosystem.
Performance: As a 2K PTZ camera and 12X zoom, it performs no better than any other brand.
Ease of Use: The Arlo app is well-designed and easy to set up and use.
Design: A step away from Arlo’s standard design yet unmistakenly Arlo quality.
Pro
Clear 2K video
Decent P&T
Colour night vision (outdoor model only)
No battery to worry about
Arlo Secure is available at an extra cost
Con
12X digital zoom is effective to 6X
No free local, smartphone or cloud storage
AI Smart features require a paid subscription
Requires power (indoors or outdoors)
No Smart Hub compatibility
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