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See your home from every angle | Cheap WiFi home surveillance cameras
What do you have to remember when buying a home camera?
What cameras were tested?
Testing ground
Mi Home Xiaomi Security Camera 360
EzViz C6NC (CS-CV246-A0-1C2WFR)
Hikvision HWC-P120-D/W
Summary and conclusions

Watch your home in full-scale

How much do you really have to pay for a home surveillance camera to meet your expectations? I guess each of us is asking ourselves this question, that's why we have checked a few WiFi PTZ cameras in the 100-300 PLN price range. We tested 3 different PTZ cameras from different price ranges. The following guide will probably help you to buy the right WiFi cameras for home monitoring.

What do you have to remember when buying a home camera?

We tested very cheap equipment, which costs less than 300 PLN, so the image quality is obviously not as good as for 4k cameras.
The quality is also adequate to the price. The tested cameras are only suitable for indoor use and are made of plastic.
All PTZ cameras support 2.4GHz (802.11b/g/n)
Nowadays an efficient mobile application is more important than access via a web browser.
We tested cameras typically for home monitoring, with the easiest and most intuitive dedicated application provided by the manufacturer. Support for external solutions is not an option.

What cameras were tested?

As mentioned before, we tested 3 cameras from the 100-300 PLN price range:

Testing ground

The room where we tested the cameras had dimensions of about 3x4 meters and standard lighting. All the cameras were set in the same place, regardless of parameters and adjustment possibilities, while the recordings were recorded at about the same time of day. Of course the recordings were recorded on the mobile application. We tested the cameras during day, dusk and night. We also checked what kind of image close-ups we get (Zoom x1; Zoom x2). We wanted to check the image quality, color depth and, as you can see, details during zooming (day and night).

Mi Home Xiaomi Security Camera 360

Resolution: Full HD 1080p
Camera type: IP
Matrix: 2 Mpix
Memory: up to 64GB Micro-SD
Functions: Motion detection, Night Vision
Recording resolution: FHD 1080p
Connectivity: 2.4GHz Wi-Fi
Lens: 3.9mm / F2.1
Line view: 100.4°
Built-in microphone:Yes

Mi Home - Mobile application

PROS:

A very user-friendly application
Documents (e.g. terms and conditions) and policy in Polish
A clear, legible and very detailed picture

CONS:

No Ethernet connection
Slow to get to the camera view in mobile application
The mobile application requires access to the microphone

EzViz C6NC (CS-CV246-A0-1C2WFR)

Resolution: U-HD, HD, 22fps
Camera type: IP
Matrix: 2 Mpix
Memory: up to 256GB Micro-SD
Functions: Motion detection, Night Vision
Recording resolution: U-HD, HD
Connectivity: 2.4GHz Wi-Fi
Lens: 4.0mm / F2.2
Line: 82° / 94°
Built-in microphone: Yes

EzViz - Mobile application

PROS:

Fingerprint login service
Ethernet connection
Fast image acquisition via remote connection

CONS:

With no permission to share your GPS location (geographical coordinates), you cannot properly connect the camera
Documents like the Privacy Policy are in English, a person who does not know the language may have a problem with it
The camera cannot be powered via PoE
The camera image is as if behind a "soft fog" despite a clean lens

Hikvision HWC-P120-D/W

Resolution: Full HD 1080p
Camera type: IP
Matrix: 2 Mpix
Memory: up to 256GB Micro-SD/SHDC/SDXC
Functions: Motion detection, Night Vision
Recording resolution: FHD 1080p
Connectivity: 2.4GHz Wi-Fi
Lens: 2.0mm / F2.0
Line view: 160°
Built-in microphone:Yes

Hik-Connect - Mobile application

PROS:

Connection to the Ethernet network
Password complexity level required
Fingerprint login service
Wide image and viewing range
Fast mobile application

CONS:

Lack of PoE support
Documents like the Privacy Policy are in English, a person who does not know the language may have a problem with it
The application does not detect the model after scanning the QR code, and the application cannot select such a camera from the list
In the process of first run, it was not possible to connect the camera via WiFi
Slow camera rotation

Summary and conclusions

All tested Wifi cameras of course had their strengths and weaknesses. Those that didn't have great image quality during zooming were helped by other features - a fast mobile application or the ability to connect to an Ethernet network. In our test we used only indoor cameras, but during Home Office this is extremely necessary. Of course, cameras of this type do not have to be used only for monitoring the house. It is also great for remote teaching, or for video conferences with our friends or family. Generally speaking, when choosing a suitable pivoting WiFi camera you should be guided by the image quality, both during the day and at night. You should also take into account the quality of illumination at night, and this is extremely important for our safety. And most importantly, mobile application. After all, each of us is most interested in the mobile preview of our monitoring system. Some applications allow you to provide push notifications, which repeatedly contain a few seconds' recording of the event. And of course price! In our test we chose cameras from a similar price range, so you can easily compare cameras in terms of price - quality.
In summary. Choosing the right WiFi PTZ cameras we leave to you, Dear Readers. We hope the comparison of cameras we prepared will help you to choose the right equipment. I'll just add that each of the tested cameras has worked very well, both in terms of image quality and functionality of the mobile application. Of course, there are many more WiFi cameras on the market, so we invite you to read further publications on www.batna24.com.

Author:
Leszek Błaszczyk

Call us at (+48) 34 361 04 48 or write to [email protected]

Products from the article

Xiaomi Mi Home Security Camera 360 1080p MJSXJ05CM | IP Camera | 2,4GHz WiFi, FullHD, 1080p, 360° rotation

30,64 GBP

with VAT

Hikvision HWC-P120-D/W | IP Camera | PTZ 360, Wi-Fi, 2.0 Mpix, Full HD, Hik-Connect

55,34 GBP

with VAT

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Watch your home in full-scale

What do you have to remember when buying a home camera?

What cameras were tested?

Testing ground

Mi Home Xiaomi Security Camera 360

Mi Home - Mobile application

EzViz C6NC (CS-CV246-A0-1C2WFR)

EzViz - Mobile application

Hikvision HWC-P120-D/W

Hik-Connect - Mobile application

Summary and conclusions

Products from the article