Outdoor/Weatherproof Wyze Cam

Get this thing out, guys! Wyze outdoor camera ought to have been released before Smart Sense because Wyze is first a smart home camera company. I live in Saskatchewan, Canada and would be happy to test it in -50 °C

I had a thought the other day. Why are we being asked to help identify vehicles in the beta program, for indoor cameras?

From a more security minded perspective…

  • would like POE as an option as it is far more reliable power source (without all the tradeoffs being made when using batteries e.g partial / incomplete motion detection recording due to sleep wakeup issues)

  • wifi at current tech is still not as stable as wired as convenient as it may be.

  • also for a significant number of location placements, it will be better to not have the inconvenience of changing batteries. Also true when gifting wyze cams to some elderly folks who may have some challenges with climbing up ladders safely.

Interview folks who have had intruders break into their homes & you will have a much clearer sense of what the priorities are. Else unfortunately it’ll just be a fun camera.

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probably because they’re “indoor” cameras but a lot of people seem to use them outdoors (with some type of case to protect the camera) anyway.

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I have my two v2 cameras placed inside in inconspicuous windows pointing out into yard, including street/driveway. I would very much like to expand my detection zone and limit event notifications to when a person is detected, as opposed to drive-by vehicles.

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Agree - PoE a must for outdoor cams.

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Perhaps for your applications, I need a camera I can put out on a trail to monitor movement.

I’m sorry, we don’t have much of an update yet. We are still working on the hardware and it’s not in testing yet. We’re making progress but this is a difficult product to develop so it’s a bit of a slog.

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The battery situation can be alleviated by also including a power in socket that can be powered from a plug in transformer. That works for both indoor and outdoor solutions without too much change to the cameras.

I agree POE would be nice, but then again, cost aside, how many people who are Wyze customers are Wyze customers because they wanted a cheap simple solution? Just playing devils advocate here. Maybe the anwser might be 2 versions - a standard cam on wifi and an advanced cam on poe. The issue as I see it with poe is it puts Wyze up against Dahua and Hikvision etc, unless Wyze can provide the same quality for substantially less money, in which case they’re entering a new market.

The big issues I see for Wyze atm are reliability (of Wifi connection) and image quality. The recent video posted by a user in another thread was very “smudged” and of comparatively poor quality. (Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP) - #634 by DeanSmith). The 1st step to getting above the other cheap priced competition is going to be to get the quality approaching main steam cctv products whilst maintaining the low price point. It’s difficult to say the cause of the smudging in those examples, but it looks very much like the compression. I’m guessing either the bit rate was very very low (by CCTV stanadards) or the encoding settings / algorithm was poor. Either way, it needs addressing, as something like a camera is judged by it’s image quality and whilst price always plays a part, ultimately, people will place weight to the image because without a clear image, you have no evidence.

For an outdoor cam, even a higher MP sensor might be nice, although the issues here are night performance. The reason I favour more MP is simply because distance to the lens can be an issue with an outside camera and again that affects recognisably and thus the usefulness of the camera.

However, at the budget end, I think it may be near impossible for Wyze to get a hold of a higher MP sensor that’s also good in low light. Even the commercial guys such as Dahua are only just about to launch these as new product lines. The defacto quality standard is still the 2mp “Starvis” sensors.

I ended up getting a different outdoor camera. My dad used the 3rd party cover and the IR was not good at all. Maybe I’ll look into wyze outdoor when it officially comes out but I needed something trust worthy. I’d definitely would be a beta tester for the product if/when it comes out. I still have a few places that need a camera setup. I love all the indoor wyze cameras I have!!

As this seems to have become a bit of a volunteer beta testing thread on the side, I’ll throw my hat in there as well.

I have a drive that would benefit from a couple of cameras as well as other places, and is security lit quite brightly (6 x 10W LED flood evenly spaced from both sides) so represents a good test for any camera switching from night mode to day as it’s dark to stadium lit. Without the lighting activated which is sensor controlled, it’s a very dark area with a footpath at the side, so represents a challenge at night for visability and a challenge in the day for recognition out to the side.

If interested you can count me in as well for beta testing, as I’d love to give an outdoor cam a trial run, especially if it’s an improved picture, as my site is a challenge for day night switching and differing lighting conditions.

Why would they change it to forum-based volunteers who manaully post that they want to be in it when they do their actual testing by having people physically sign up for beta testing through specific links and groups? That wouldn’t make sense.

Just because a few people make random offers to anyone listening to test stuff doesn’t mean the thread is now a “volunteer for beta testing thread” :man_shrugging:

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TBH I’m new here, I don’t know how things work on here. Others were saying they were willing so I thought I’d indicate a willingness as well. Not trying to hijack the thread into anything else, just following others lead.

In fact I’ve just found the sign up form. Wyze doesn’t allow hardware testers outside of the US. Pity as I would have been prepared to pay the postage as well as test in exchange for being able to keep the camera / receive the final version if hardware different.

@jeffbotas - I have the exact same experience/situation with my existing Lorex system. It has great camera quality and frame rate (which I think gets overlooked as higher frame rate needed for external cams), but software is abysmal and motion detection is even worse.

FYI - I am using PoE for my WYZE cams using the parts below, so if the outdoor cams so don’t have PoE when released it isn’t a deal breaker. However, I still think wired ethernet is more critical for external cams due to the fact that some people may have trouble getting reliable wireless outside. I actually think this is why some people seem to have trouble with their existing WYZE cams and event recording because video obviously requires reliable connection which can be tricky with wireless.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07QPRVM51/
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075G2PM17/

Setup for 4 cams for less than $60 including the 4 port switch! The switch also comes in higher port densities for a relatively cheap cost. I suppose you could also use your existing CCTV DVR PoE switch but I didn’t try that.

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POE would be nice for longer range but I would also want battery capability. Something that is rechargable and replaceable.

Any new updates on outdoor cam?

I realize I’m late to this party, but I’ll throw my $.02 anyhow. The reason I don’t use any of the battery powered outdoor cameras is because of the delay between PIR detection and recording. Many comments I’ve read describe seeing someone’s backside as they walk away from a front door. I need the same pre-post record performance from all cams, and am willing to run power where needed to make that happen, in spite of living on acreage and having to run 110VAC or construct a solar solution for outbuildings as needed. One example, if a coyote or bobcat takes a baby goat, it will happen in a few seconds!

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I love my Wyzecam pans, I have 2 of them, but right now we have a situation at our house with some unwelcome guests who live in our back yard in a trailer. We have multiple issues with them and would love to be able to have a camera that can be placed anywhere without cords and is safe from the elements so we can monitor what goes on when we are in the house late at night or away from home for a period of time.
They know abou the wyzecam pans, so we can’t set them outside without someone noticing and disabling them, plus it’s just not safe because it’s so hot and we have frequent storms here in GA.
At times like this a wireless camera that could be placed anywhere would be so handy.
Is this something that has been considered? Just curious.

All I can tell ya is, I don’t have that problem with my PIR battery powered outdoor cameras

Yeah I agree mine work great. You definitely have to play with where to put them and on what angle. Motion coming straight at the camera is a challenge need to get it crossing from the side best you can or straight at close range.