Wyze Cam Pan v3 Security Camera

A un excelente precio adquirí esta cámara panorámica para interiores y exteriores (IP65), Full HD 1080 p, con detección de sonido y movimiento, color night vision, configurable para IFTTT, Amazon y Android. Muy recomendable y el color negro la hace diferente a las de la competencia.

Muy buenas cámaras, fácil de usar

 PROS:
-Price
-Ease of use
-Overall Quality
-App / features

CONS:
-A.I. detection needs improvement.
-Sound when moving
-Video Quality when camera moves

PROS
I just want to start off by saying that for the price, these are EXCELLENT cameras. I have 3 Wyze Pan Cam V3’s so far and have plans to purchase more for my mother’s house in the near future.
Starting off with price, these are pretty inexpensive units, considering the amount of features packed into them. There are certainly much higher quality units out there, but the cost will increase dramatically for them as well. In my opinion, you get far more than you pay for with the Pan Cam V3 making them well worth their low cost.
It does not get much easier to get going than it is with these guys. Just plug in the included usb cable to the included wall adapter, download the app and after just a few minutes of setup, you’re up and running. The camera can be used indoors or outdoors. If using indoors, find your suitable location, plug it in and go. The camera is very quiet when panning, to anyone in the room with it. I will say though, that when watching back recorded videos, you can definitely hear the movement, which I was surprised to find. More on this in the CONS section.
The build quality of the camera is good. It does not feel cheaply made at all (especially considering the low price point). Overall video quality is good as well, but there are some slight issues I have run into when panning (see the CONS section for details). Audio quality is good as well. I can make out voices and have conversations with anyone outside when needed, so the 2 way audio works well in that regard.
The app has a TON of options. You can go basic or really dive into them for more control if you choose. I like that you have this flexibility. You can set various sensitivity options for detection events, event recording, alarm settings, notifications, etc. Some features are paid only features, but at the most basic level, as long as you have an SD Card (not included) installed you will be able to go back and watch videos of saved events.

CONS
A.I. options are available within the app for this camera and I would say that this is the biggest opportunity for improvement. The A.I. options allow you to select event triggers for things like cars, people, pets, package detection, etc. In my experience, cars have been detected as pets, pets as cars, pets as packages and so on. The A.I. in this respect has a ways to go still. I have also experienced the camera get confused and just “staring” at the wall next to where it is mounted. It detected shadow movement from sun/trees and locked in on it for hours at times. It took me a while of playing with detection settings to get past this for the most part, but it will still occasionally happen from time to time. The app does have the option for you to give feedback on what was in the detection event, such as people, animals, cars, etc. I presume this will help them improve the detection as time goes on, so this is promising.
The other big issue I have is with the “waypoints” You can select them based on where you want the camera to stop when it is in “pan and scan” mode. I have mine at the center of my house lengthwise. I have a waypoint that covers from the left end of the house to the center, then a 2nd that covers from the center to the right end of the house. You can adjust these waypoints up, down left and right as needed to get the best coverage to suit your needs. NICE! The issue I have found though, is that over time, these waypoints can wander so to speak. I can have them set and check a few weeks later and the camera’s left most point will be further to the left that where it was set for example. Or I can set at a specific height, and later the camera angle is higher or lower than where I had set it. A minor annoyance, as you have to go back in and re-set your waypoints, but it’s enough to be worth mentioning. Again though, for the price point this is definitely something I am ok dealing with.
My other issues are with video and audio when panning. When you pan, you can audibly hear (in recorded video, not in person) the camera moving on one camera it sounds like a woodpecker, lol. A minor annoyance again, as I am really more interested in the video from these, not the audio but again, I thought it’s worth mentioning. Video quality, when panning also goes blurry. Once the pan stops, the video clears within a second or so. Something I also thought worth mentioning for those considering these cameras, but I once again restate that for myself, given the price point I can deal with this minor annoyance.

Overall, despite the minor gripes listed here, I absolutely love these cameras. I have 3 so far and will definitely be adding more to the collection for sure. If you’re looking for inexpensive, good quality cameras for some additional peace of mind, these are absolutely worth every penny!

Review is on 2023-03-12.

Having owned the Wyze Cam V3 as my introduction to the brand – moving to the Pan V3 was almost a natural path. It’s a great camera for a great price. The bulk of the company’s money seems to be made on the subscription side, so the hardware price is sold with minimal markup it seems.

The camera itself – hardware and quality – are not much different from the regular V3. Good picture quality and such. There are 3 primary differences between the Pan and the regular V3.

1 – Panning capability. The camera can turn – not 360 – but almost.
2 – Not magnetic. Must be mounted on the provided base – or similar item that the screw can fit.
3 – Micro USB cable is right angle and not straight.

PANNING
The camera can turn almost in 360 degrees on the base. It has what’s called “waypoints” where 4 areas can be set and the camera will automatically move to each area once selected within the app.

The camera supports time-lapse and motion following.

NOT MAGNETIC
If you wanted something similar to the regular V3 that you could stick somewhere – this won’t do. Based on viewing the Pan V2 – they are similar in terms of the base. This does make some sense since the base can swivel, but it’s something worth noting.

USB CABLE
The regular V3 has lots of cables available that are weatherproof. Finding one for the Pan V3 – and I guess the V2 as well – is very tedious. The right-angle cable needs to sit inside the base of the camera and I’ve not found any extensions that have this feature. If you’re going to purchase a third-party cable, you need to ensure that the micro USB end is about 19mm/0.75in so that it will fit snugly inside the base of the camera. This means you MUST use the original cable. I’ve not seen a similar right-angle cable on Amazon or even on the Wyze website – so there’s no replacement. Another option – which I’ve done – is to buy an extension cable that is compatible with the device. I had a regular USB2.0 extension cable and it didn’t work – guess it doesn’t carry the voltage as well. Waiting on the linked device to arrive and test.

https://a.co/d/3dER0lL

I assume I’ll either have to heat-shrink or tape the connection between the original cable and the extension. If someone else has seen the cable or something that will work – please link it within your review or as a reply to this one. The items below were found on the Wyze forums and linked here to make things easier.

CABLE
https://a.co/d/4ravLGo

TAPE
https://a.co/d/ceonpX3

Additionally – if you’re technically inclined – you could cut the cable and solder it to a different extension. Persons have said in the Wyze forums that it’s only power – no data – so just 2 wires are required. Do that at your own risk.

UPDATE – 2024-01-02
So now. Having had the device for some time, I’ve used and abused it a bit and have more details to add for the review. Both the V3 and the PAN has had some weird issues for me. I’ll get into those individually.

V3 – I recently decided to go on vacation and didn’t want my cat to be left without food. While my current solar setup isn’t 100% – it provides enough power until about 2AM and the area is secure enough that a dead gap isn’t a problem. I really just need the cameras to monitor my cat. So a typical “pspspspspsps” call to get the cat to come around is used along with the name – but strangely, the camera seems to cut out with errors once this is done. Almost like it dies – has some firmware issue – or something. I’m going to test and see if it’s the sound or pitch, but I’ve really not tested voice on any of the cameras for more than a few seconds previously. To get the attention of my cat I need like 1-2 minutes per camera. When the camera goes offline, it needs to be manually power cycled in order to be available again. Since my solar setup dies and comes back, that works out for the V3 somewhat, but it’s concerning that the cameras have a flaw where extended voice or a sound/pitch will cause them to suddenly go offline. You may need to test this with your own cameras to verify.

PAN – the V3 PAN has an even stranger issue. While it seems to share the same issue as above, it also seems to factory reset the device if there’s the audio function usage or even periodic power cuts – which happens based on the solar setup I’ve got going as explained above. Again, this is concerning. I have to climb up on a ladder to physically reset the device and rescan the QR code to have the camera available again. This is very inconvenient.

With those problems in mind, I think WYZE should have an option to “re-add” a camera that’s giving issues. That way any existing configurations including waypoints can be kept and you don’t have to do everything over from scratch – including sharing the camera with family members if you do that.

Again – hopefully this review helps and persons can be aware of potential flaws. Overall – still a great camera and the functions of the PAN are good.