There’s no shortage of smart home security systems and companies out there right now, and if you’ve shopped at all, you’ve probably already heard of Wyze. Wyze has set itself apart from the competition by selling serviceable devices at low prices. The Cam Pan v2 is no exception, costing just $50 when you double the cost of Nest’s entry-level cameras. This camera can also rotate 360 degrees, giving it much greater coverage than a single fixed camera. Add that to the intuitive interface, easy setup, and decent image quality, and this camera starts to look very attractive. There are some drawbacks, but nothing major enough to give me second thoughts.
Wise Cam Pan v2
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Wyze Cam Pan v2 is an affordable security camera with powerful features. It offers more camera coverage for less money, making it an easy recommendation for anyone shopping for home security.
- accuracy: 1080p
- Contact: Wifi
- APP COMPATIBILITY: Alexa, Google Assistant, IFTTT
- Night vision: Yes color
- Power source: Wired
- Required axis: no
- Powerful AI detection settings
- Great low-light performance
- Micro sd card slot for local storage
- Very affordable subscription model at $2 per device per month or $15 per year
- Pans and tilts
- Easily download video directly to your phone
- Not weather resistant
- Only supports 2.4GHz WiFi
- The included cable is only 6 feet long
- Motion and motion detection zones cannot be combined.
Design, hardware and what’s in the box
The Cam Pan V2 is a subtle update of the original Pan model, with the exterior practically unchanged. It’s a harmless-looking mass of plastic that spins and records things. It doesn’t look as good as something like the Nest Cam, but it doesn’t have to look pretty to be a good security camera. Inside is Wyze’s new “Starlight” sensor for improved night vision, along with a more powerful processor.
As the name suggests, this camera can pan. With a 360 degree rotation range, and just over 90 degrees of tilt, full room coverage is pretty much guaranteed, and covering multiple rooms is easy. The base has a 1/4″-20 mount (the most common camera mount) and a grip pad on the bottom, giving you the flexibility to mount it long term or place it anywhere close to an outlet.
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The only other things in the box are the 5V wall adapter and the annoyingly short power cord. It’s only 6 feet tall, which severely limits camera placement. Wyze’s wall-mount kit includes a much longer 15-inch cable, but the ability to place the camera more than 6 feet away from an outlet without spending extra money doesn’t seem like an unreasonable expectation. The cable doesn’t plug into the camera, so you can just use a third-party cable, assuming you still have any micro USB cables lying around. While it might be nice to see a USB-C port here, it’s understandable given the price.
There is a MicroSD card slot for local storage. It only supports cards up to 32GB, but Wyze said that limit will be increased in a firmware update by February 15. Having a card slot is absolutely refreshing, since many other companies are skipping this feature to push their own cloud storage subscription.
The Cam Pan v2 features two-way communication, so you can tell your dog to get off the couch no matter where you are. The speaker itself acts as a “mini siren” in case you want to try to scare off intruders. Personally, I think the ‘siren’ function is too quiet, but it’s still better than trying to scare someone by yelling at them through a glorified intercom.
Unlike the cheaper Wyze Cam v3 fixed camera, this model doesn’t have an IP rating. So, this is not the right camera if you need it in the elements. Another problem: It doesn’t support 5GHz Wi-Fi. This is just a deal breaker if you’re unlucky enough to have bad 2.4GHz congestion where you live.
Software, features and video
The main selling point of Pan v2 is of course panning, and there are two ways the app lets you use that. By default, it will move continuously through its full range of motion, stopping for a few seconds at a time. You can also set up to four waypoints for him to stop at, which is useful if you don’t want him looking at the wall half the time. There is also a motion tracking option, allowing the camera to follow any movement it detects. Although the Pan v2 has access to the same motion detection zones as other Wyze cameras, it only works with the camera in still mode. At that point, why not buy cheap, non-motorized Wyze cameras?
Like all of its competitors, Wyze has an optional paid subscription, but it also gives access to some great features for as little as $0 on a pay-what-you-want plan called Cam+ Lite. Obviously, a paid Cam+ subscription gives you a lot of extra ease of use, but it’s not a requirement. Pairing the built-in person detection with a MicroSD card gives you a great experience. You can easily select any recent event in the app, and pull up local recording for it, all without a subscription.
It’s worth noting that the person detection feature was originally a free feature, but was only available as part of a paid subscription when it launched. In addition, the basic plan was obstructed. Initially, you were getting 12-second recordings saved in the cloud for two weeks, but with the introduction of Cam+ Lite, you’ll now only get thumbnails. Although you can still get these features for free, you have to subscribe to get them, rather than getting them out of the box. With all the changes Wyze has made to its subscription model in so short a time, it’s hard to say what you may or may not be getting even in the very near future.
The app is very easy to use and has a lot of options to customize the experience according to your needs. It’s easy to set monitoring schedules, location-based triggers to turn on your cameras when you leave, and more. You can also check any of your cameras on smart displays (Alexa and Assistant) or Chromecast.
A security camera loaded with features will not be useful if… camera Part of it wasn’t good. However, the Pan v2 is no slouch. Wyze promises better low-light performance with its updated starlight sensor, and it delivers well. Between the new sensor and the wide f1.6 aperture on its lens, I got great low-light performance long after the sun went down. Impressively, I was able to see clearly and in full color at 2 a.m. with nothing but moonlight and a streetlamp at the end of my block. If you have no However, the night vision mode works well, and I had no problems seeing entire rooms, as it was completely black in the video above. While a higher resolution would have been nice, 1080 is still good enough to see faces from across the room.
Should you buy it?
probably. If you want to add a smart camera to your home without spending a lot of money, Wyze has a lot to offer. This camera costs only $50, is incredibly easy to set up, and has better low-light performance than any of its competitors. If you want something outdoors, the lack of any weather resistance makes this tolerable.
Buy it if…
- Want more indoor camera coverage for less money
- You want to check on your pets while you are away
Don’t buy it if…
- You want an external camera
- The 2.4GHz band is saturated wherever you are
