8 Best bulb CCTV cameras in the Philippines (2026)

A bulb CCTV camera answers one very practical question: how do you get a camera onto a ceiling without drilling, wiring or a bracket? You screw it into the light socket.

A 5MP claim with no model number got less weight

We started with what the seller actually publishes, because this category is full of numbers nobody stands behind. IMOU publishes a full datasheet: sensor resolution, field of view, night-vision range, codec and frame rate. Most of the V380 listings publish a model name and a feature icon strip. That gap decided our top pick on its own. Then we looked at verified resolution, and treated a bare “5MP” on a budget listing more carefully than a figure tied to a model number. After that came what the camera detects, since plain motion detection sends alerts for a curtain moving while human and vehicle detection do not. Then night vision, where a published range beats the word “night vision” on its own, and storage, because a microSD card is what keeps a camera recording through a brownout. Finally we weighed the owner record and whether it is sold by the brand’s own store.

Covers a whole room but rarely shows a face

Be clear about the job you are giving it.

• Good at: watching a whole room from above, knowing when someone entered and roughly where they went, checking on a helper, a parent or a pet during the day, and covering a stockroom or a small shop cheaply.
• Weak at: identifying a face. From a ceiling you get a crown of a head, not a face. If a court or a police report is the point, mount a camera at head height instead.
• Not built for: outdoors. Almost nothing in this category publishes an IP rating.

The honest way to use one is as the wide net, with a proper wall camera at the door where identification actually matters. Our best indoor security cameras in the Philippines covers that half.

Will a moving electric fan set off alerts?

• Resolution, attached to a model number. 5MP is the top of this category, 3MP the middle, 1080P or 2MP the entry. A megapixel figure that traces back to a published datasheet is worth more than the same figure on a listing with no model.
• What it detects. Human and vehicle detection filters out the false alerts that make people switch notifications off within a week. Auto tracking follows movement across the room. Plain motion detection alerts on an electric fan.
• Night vision, with a range. Full color night vision comes from white LEDs and gives you clothing color; infrared gives you grey. A published range, such as 25m or 10m, means somebody measured it.
• Storage. A microSD slot, ideally up to 256GB, is what keeps footage on your side of the internet. Check the ceiling: some models take the card in a slot you will have to unscrew the whole camera to reach.
• Video codec. H.265 roughly doubles what a card holds compared with H.264, which matters a lot when the camera runs all day.
• Warranty. In this category it is either two years, one year, or nothing at all. That gap tells you a great deal about who stands behind the product.

Single lens or dual lens?

• Single lens with pan and tilt is the standard. One motorised lens sweeps the room, and you get the full resolution in one image.
• Dual lens pairs a fixed wide lens with a pan-and-tilt lens, so a doorway stays covered while the second lens follows movement. Some show both feeds on a split screen at once.

The trade is resolution: the dual-lens models here run 1080P per lens, well behind a 5MP single-lens camera. Choose dual lens when you want one device watching two things, and single lens when you want the sharpest possible picture of one thing.

How much resolution do you get for the price?

Resolution, with a model number attached. 5MP (IMOU, Hamrol) is the top of this category, 3MP (BAVIN, V380 Q26) is the middle, and 1080P or 2MP (the V380 dual-lens models, the D5) is the entry point. An unattributed megapixel claim on a cheap listing is a marketing number, not a specification.

What it detects. Human and vehicle detection (IMOU) filters out the false alarms that make people switch notifications off. Auto tracking (V380 Q15, Hamrol) follows movement across the room. Plain motion detection alerts on anything, including a fan.

Night vision. Look for a published range: IMOU states 25m, the V380 Q15 states 10m, and most of the rest state nothing. Full color night vision comes from white LEDs and gives you clothing color; infrared gives you grey.

Then check three practical things. Does it keep the light (only the V380 Q26 does)? How much microSD does it take, 128GB or 256GB? And is there a warranty, which in this roundup means IMOU’s two years or BAVIN’s one, against nothing at all from the rest.

IMOU’s 5MP leads, with 25m of color night vision

IMOU Bulb Cam 5MP is our Best Overall at around ₱2,700 as of August 30, 2026: 5MP at 2880 x 1620, a 2.8mm lens with an 89 degree horizontal view, 25m full-color night vision, human and vehicle detection, H.265 recording to a card up to 256GB, and a two-year warranty through IMOU’s Shopee Mall store. Every one of those numbers is published, which is why it wins.

Want two views from one socket? The V380 SQ005 Pro is our Best dual lens, pairing a fixed lens with a pan-and-tilt lens at around ₱1,200, with 1,592 owner ratings. The V380 SQ002 takes Best split screen, showing both feeds at once, with 4,492 ratings and a microSD slot up to 128GB.

On the tightest budget, the V380 Q15 is our Best Budget at around ₱786: auto tracking, a stated 10m color night-vision range, and an AP hotspot mode that works without a router, backed by 10,972 owner ratings, more than every other camera here combined.

Three more fill the gaps. The BAVIN SC801 is our Best value 3MP, publishing 355 degrees of pan and 90 of tilt plus a one year warranty. The Hamrol 5MP bulb cam is our Best cheap 5MP, with H.265 compression that stretches a card much further. And the V380 Q26 is the only one here that keeps the light, so the socket does not have to choose.

If you would rather mount at head height, see our best indoor security cameras in the Philippines.

3MP is enough unless the footage must serve as evidence

Prices move around (Shopee PH ranges as of August 2026). Check the live listing before buying.

For most Filipino homes the ₱950 to ₱1,300 band is enough if the camera is a wide net rather than the main evidence. Spend into the ₱2,700 band when you want specs you can verify and a warranty behind them.