Wyze Upgrades His Popular Pan Cam

Ubiquitous budget smart home company Wyze has launched another new product, the Wyze Cam Pan v2. As the name suggests, this is the second generation of one of Wyze’s first products – the Wyze Cam Pan which debuted three years ago. This new model is available now, costs $ 39.99 (plus $ 9.99 shipping) and adds color night vision, improved motion tracking and a siren to the mix.

There is no change in the form factor, and the Wyze Cam Pan v2 camera looks virtually identical to its (now discontinued) predecessor. This is a wired indoor camera with 1080p HD video and two-way conversation. But its main trick is the ability to pivot on its base and capture a 360-degree view of your house from side to side and a 93-degree view vertically, so you can spot Spiderman as he crawls around. through the skylight. A Pan Scan feature lets you set four custom waypoints that the camera continuously scans, so you kind of get four cameras in one.

Image: Wyze

But the big feature is the introduction of color night vision – powered by a Starlight sensor that debuted in the Wyze Cam v3 indoor / outdoor camera. This adds the ability to see the Full HD 1080p video footage the camera captures at night in color, instead of the grainy black and white of traditional night vision.

Rather than relying on a built-in spotlight for color night vision, the sensor uses any available light to illuminate the scene in a more colorful way. Wyze says he can see in rooms as dark as 0.1 LUX (it’s very dark). If there is not enough light, it can be set to automatically switch to standard black and white night vision.

Another improvement over the original model is a faster processor, which Wyze says allows its motion tracking feature to track movements faster in real time. You can turn this option on or off in the app settings, but when enabled, it will identify a moving object, such as a person or a pet, and follow it automatically. It’s something that makes the original Wyze Cam Pan a great pet monitor, and the new model’s faster processor is probably even better.

Image: Wyze

The two-way talk feature can also help you stay in touch with Fido or Felix while you’re at work or yelling at an intruder. And now there is a siren option, which you can activate in the Wyze app.

The latest novelty is invisible infrared light. Anyone who has ever tried using a security camera as a baby monitor will know why this is essential – the camera face will remain black in a dark room and will not disturb sleeping babies.

Included features which are also on other Wyze cameras are local storage via micro SD card (not included) which allows 24/7 recording, 14 days free cloud storage of event based videos , up to 12 seconds per clip, and the ability to listen for smoke and CO alarms. You can add longer clips and smart alerts for people, pets, vehicles, and packages with a Cam Plus subscription (starts at $ 1.25 per month and you get one month free). All in all, there are a lot of cool specs and features here, in a tiny little camera, all for a pretty low price (although not as low as before – the v1 started at $ 30).

That’s why Wyze is known for low prices for near high-end specs. But in reality, these features don’t always work. And sometimes the ones that were promised don’t materialize (Alexa and Google Assistant integration is on the way, Wyze says). We will come back with an update once we have tested the camera.

But if this is the camera you’ve been waiting for, you might not want to wait any longer. The Wyze Pan Cam v2 is out now and Wyze has had a hard time keeping things in stock lately.