Design
Have you seen Wall-E? If yes, you will see an immediate resemblance to the Wyze Cam v2. The Wyze Cam v2 is a small camera enclosed in a small cubical enclosure, and looks quite adorable. It measures just 2.20 x 1.97 x 1.97-inches. To prop it up, it has a small, white base, which is also magnetic. And this makes sure that it sticks to any iron surface. Apart from that, the power port is at the rear. Also, since it doesn’t come with any rechargeable battery, it needs to stay connected to a power source always. When on its feet, it measures about 4.1-inch and looks adorable. If we talk about the other dimension, it has a diameter of 2.4 inches in diameter and 1.7 inches deep.
Features That Matter
Other than that, you get a 4x digital zoom, live streaming, motion sensing, and more importantly, two-way audio. When it comes to the Wyze Cam v2, you can rotate it 360° around, and it also comes with infrared LED lights that help in night vision.
Resolution, Frame-Rate, and FOV
The Cloud Cam films at 30 fps (Frames per Second) and offers a 120° field of vision. During daylight, the streaming quality is great, but not as sharp as its pricey counterparts. However, it gets the job done, and it does so rather brilliantly. Whether it’s shining a spotlight directly into the camera or a harmless fly buzzing into the scene, the little device will do its job of recording and alerting. And the good thing is that the night vision works well even if you are not subscribed to the cloud service. Interestingly, the Wyze Cam v2 has only 110° field of vision. While it may be a bit narrow, thankfully, the swiveling head makes up for it. You can rotate the camera 360° via the phone app and have a view of the surroundings. However, the quality suffers a bit when motion tracking. Aforementioned, the camera comes with night vision, thanks to the infrared LED lights. That said, the quality is not great, and at best can be described as decent. If we were to talk about the user reviews, this device has mixed reviews. But if you ask me, you’ll have to sacrifice something for the $26 price tag, and that’s the crispness in video quality, be it day or night.
Sensors and Motion Detection
As we mentioned above, the Cloud Cam comes with sensors for motion detection. You can set the sensitivity if you want to receive fewer alerts. As of now, you can set it to receive alerts every 10 minutes, every 30 minutes, hourly, every 4 hours, daily, or never. If you pick the last option, the device won’t send you any notification. However, it’ll continue to monitor your house. At the same time, you can also adjust the sensor’s sensitivity (paid). You can choose between the following,
High (person-sized object up to 20 ft away)Medium (person-sized object up to 10 ft away)Low (person-sized object up to 5 ft away).
Other than that, the Cloud Cam also lets you set alerts for Person, Dog Barking, Noise, Glass Breaking, and for Smoke Detectors. When it comes to user reviews for motion detection, they too have been good so far. The folks at Home Alarm Report have tested the Cloud Cam’s responsiveness to events in a variety of scenarios, including one where they were guzzling up the network bandwidth and were happy to report that the Cloud Cam worked and sent the notifications as expected. The Wyze Cam v2 also comes with motion detection and sound detection. By default, it’ll record a clip for 10-12 seconds when it detects motion. But should you want to store more than that, you can put a microSD card to store the footage locally. With it, you can store and record motion continuously, and in general, this feature boosts the camera performance dramatically. All you have to do is remember to get hold of a Class 10 storage card and get going. Other than that this device also has a feature that highlights a moving object in a green box.
Two-Way Audio Quality
Both the Wyze Cam and the Cloud Cam come with two-way audio. That means you can talk to the person on the other side of the camera through the app. Well, most home security cameras allow it these days. Hence, the only thing that’s of concern is sound quality. When it comes to the Cloud Cam, the reviews about the 2-way audio aren’t that great. The mic has a low sound output due to which the person or pet on the other end may or may not hear you. Plus, there have been issues where the audio abruptly clips off after 2-3 seconds. Unfortunately, the Wyze Cam 2 also has less than satisfactory reviews for audio. The audio barely functions, and when it does, the output is not up to the mark. The bottom line is that if you are looking for a home-security camera with two-way audio, these probably are not the best ones that you should buy.
Storage: Local or Cloud
Well, when it comes to Cloud Cam, the name says it all. If you don’t sign up for the subscription, you will be able to save clips for 24 hours only. Naturally, you will receive all the notifications about motion detection. The good thing is that the camera comes with a 30-day trial plan, during which you can gauge if you really need the extra features such as Person Detection, Zones, and Unlimited Sharing. Plus, the cloud subscription also increases the amount of storage. The great thing about the Wyze Cam v2 is that it offers both local storage and cloud storage. If you haven’t added any local storage, the device will record a 12-second clip when it detects motion and stores it in the cloud. The disadvantage of this method is that if something happens on the 14th second, you won’t be able to catch it. Plus, there’s another disadvantage to security cameras with local storage. Should a thief or intruder steal the device, you won’t have anything but the 12-second footage on the cloud. On the upside, the Wyze Cam v2 offers you both local and cloud storage for 14 days completely free for you to try the best of both worlds.
App Support and Third-Party Integrations
App integration is a must for devices like security cameras, and the Cloud Cam is no different. Though the Cloud Cam has an app, it’s not as popular as the Alexa app. Instead, it uses an app called Cloud Cam. With it, you can watch the live feed, set the camera’s sensitivity, or set up the geofence. Quite naturally, you can also watch the live feed on Alexa-enabled devices like the Echo devices and Fire TV. On the other hand, the Wyze Cam also offers Alexa compatibility, meaning you can watch the feed via Alexa-enabled devices. However, the app’s interface is a tad complicated and needs work.
Verdict? Well …
If you are simply looking for an entry-level security camera, the Wyze Cam V2 is the perfect camera, to begin with. You get all the essential features like night vision, motion tracking, and functional two-way audio. Plus, the fact that it’s small, you can perch it up anywhere. And at the same time, it won’t look out of place. More importantly, the storage features are really great. The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.
