And guess what? The Wyze Cam v3 is an affordable home security camera and is almost in the same price bracket. So which one should you choose for your home security? Should you go with the old Wyze Cam Pan, or should you pick up the snazzy new Wyze Cam? Well, that’s what we will find in this post as we compare the Wyze Cam Pan with the Wyze Cam v3 and find which is the better home security camera. Since it’s going to be a log post, let’s jump straight in, shall we?
Features That Matter
Design
The Wyze Cam has one of the simplest designs and measures just 5.0 x 2.2 x 2.2-inches. The lens is at the top, while the LED lights are at the bottom. Meanwhile, the body is housed on top of a motorized base. And it’s this base that can rotate all the way around. As noted earlier, the Wyze Cam can pan a full 360-degree and can even tilt 93-degree vertically. The Cam Pan runs on continuous power and has a USB power port is at the back, along with the slots for microSD card slot, mic, and a speaker for two-way audio. Since it’s a dedicated indoor camera, the Cam Pan doesn’t have any IP rating. It has a stable design and holds its ground, and doesn’t tip over easily. Unlike the cylindrical shape of the Wyze Cam Pan, the Wyze Cam v3 is shaped like a cube. It’s small, and the lens covers most of its surface. If we talk numbers, it measures just around 2.05 x 2 x 2.3-inches. Unlike the one above, the Cam v3 is not just an indoor camera. Instead, it comes with an IP65 rating which protects it against dust and rain. This means you can also use it as an outdoor camera, and this is a huge plus. Like the one above, it has a slot for a microSD card, Type-A USB, and a micro USB port. When it comes to the weight of both the cameras, the Cam Pan weighs 249g while the Cam v3 weighs 98.8g. Naturally, the lightweight nature of the Cam v3 makes it incredibly easy to move it around. However, it has its downsides as well. For example, it’s easy to knock it off the ground easily, especially if it is not mounted well.
Features That Matter
The Cam Pan bundles pretty much all the essential features in a security camera. You get a 1080p video along with a 360-degree pan and a 120-degree FoV. Besides that, it packs in the basic sensors such as motion sensor, Smoke and CO alarm, two-way audio, and lets you see the live stream on your phone. It supports both local storage and free cloud storage. The former lets you store the footage on the SD card and supports up to 32 GB. So naturally, you will have to get yourself a high-speed SD card and a card reader should you want to go over all the footage on your laptop later. More importantly, the companion app lets you pan and tilt the camera remotely, which is a big plus since you can see the whole room in a few swipes. Finally, the night vision is highly effective, and you can see up to 30 feet. The Cam v3 supports most of the above features, such as rolling video recording and free cloud storage. The former means lets you enable continuous recording when you insert an SD card. That way, you can go back and look at footage before they are written over. However, if you want to rely more on cloud storage, the good news is that it also records 12 minutes long video footage whenever the camera sensors are triggered. The only limitation is that the recording is not continuous, and there is a 5-minute cooldown period between each recording. Naturally, the cooldown period can pose a risk in some scenarios. Apart from that, it comes with the usual features like sound monitoring, smoke monitoring, among others. And the companion app lets you control the sensitivity of these sensors. So if you do not want the camera going off when a harmless moth wanders in front of it, you can do so. Both the cameras support person detection and vehicle detection. However, you’ll need the Wyze Cam Plus subscription. This subscription service removes the limitation on the video length.
Performance
Wyze security cameras are incredibly easy to install, and that’s a huge plus. You’ll need to follow the setup process on the screen or the app, and the odds are that the setup will be over in a few minutes. That said, the Cam Pan delivers impressive performance for the price. The videos are clear and crisp. More importantly, the 120-degree FoV and the 360-degree pan combination means you can view the whole room without flexing any muscles. For the price, the night view vision is clear and well-lit. In addition, the infrared lights let you have a good look at what’s in front of the lens. Though the FHD video is sharp, it’s not as smooth as per the folks at PC Mag. On the upside, the companion does a good job recording when the motion sensors are triggered. The same holds for the sound alerts as well. The Cam Pan supports two-way audio, which you can use to talk or scare away potential intruders. On the other hand, the Wyze Cam v3 works as an indoor camera and an outdoor camera. The video is clear and crisp, and you easily make out people’s faces. However, fast-moving objects or persons are a little challenging for this cube-shaped camera. For example, if a person is running across your courtyard or your dog is happily hopping towards the camera, it delivers somewhat blurry and oversaturated video footage. Though it doesn’t have the 360-degree advantage of the Pan Cam, the 130-degree FoV is enough to gauge the scene in front of the camera. Unfortunately, as you may have already guessed, you can’t physically rotate the camera. In comparison, the Wyze Cam v3 delivers excellent night vision. It has the dual advantage of visible and invisible infrared lights. And depending on the ambient lighting, it provides a mix of colored night vision and B/W night vision. However, the camera is not as efficient as its counterpart above when it comes to sound detection. As per the folks at Tech Radar, the Cam v3 failed to pick up noises such as people chatting next to it even when the sensitivity was at max. Instead, it only picked up deep voices. Naturally, this can be an issue, especially if you plan to use the Cam v3 as an outdoor camera.
Storage or Subscription
The Wyze Cam Pan is an older camera (and an affordable one) and doesn’t have person detection out of the box. However, the company made a few updates to this security camera, and now, it comes with the said feature. However, there’s a slight catch. This feature is only accessible if you have subscribed to the Wyze Cam Plus subscription service. The Cam Plus costs around $1.99 per camera per month. Like the one above, the Cam v3 also has a few features that are locked away under the Cam Plus subscription. The cost is the same as the one above and unlocks vehicle, animal, and package detection features.
Which Camera Should You Pick
But when it comes to the differences, the biggest highlight is that the Cam Pan offers you a 360-degree view. So you can pan the camera around, which is a huge plus if you have a pet at home. In comparison, the Wyze Cam v3 delivers excellent video, especially in low-light conditions. In addition, the video is less noisy, and the details are not lost even when you pan the camera. Given that both the cameras have almost the same price tag, we’d say to opt for the one that delivers better video. And the weatherproof feature adds to its versatility. 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.
