As technology gets more powerful and affordable, we’re seeing some great ways to get into home surveillance without spending a fortune. We’ve checked out plenty of Wyze’s products in the past, but today we have the Abode Cam 2. Coming in at $35, it can stand alone or be combined with other Abode products for a complete home surveillance system. So let’s dive in and take a look at the Abode Cam 2.
Abode Cam 2 is the latest addition to Abode’s offerings of easy DIY home security products. It works as a stand-alone or can be tied into a larger system with one of two different gateways. For this review, we’re looking at the camera by itself, but when tied into a full system, Abode offers a DIY full-featured home surveillance system that can use professional monitoring when enabled with the pro subscription plan.
Out of the box
Opening up the package, we first see the camera with its attached adjustable mount. Also included are a USB power charger and a micro-USB to USB-A cable. Lastly, we have the manual for the camera.
Design
Everything about the Abode Cam 2, even the unboxing experience, seems very reminiscent of Wyze. The Abode Cam 2, though, is a bit smaller than the Wyze Cam 3, making it more discrete.
The built-in stand lets the camera move around to be mounted in a variety of positions, but I think the stand on the Wyze Cam v3 is a little more versatile. I was still able to put the Adobe Cam 2 where I wanted and get the angles I wanted, but the stand doesn’t seem to be as flexible.
Abode Cam 2: Video
Another feature of the Wyze Cam V3 that I’ve grown accustomed to is the magnetic base that makes placement even more versatile.
On the back of the camera is a status light, micro-USB port, reset button, and a speaker.
With an IP65 rating, the Abode Cam 2 is able to be mounted inside or outside and you don’t need to worry about it getting wet. This is right in line with the competition.
Setup
Getting the Abode Cam 2 up and running is very simple. Just make sure you have the app, navigate to devices, and tap the plus button in the upper right. Then add your Wi-Fi details, power on the Cam 2, and push the reset button, then scan the QR code with the camera. Then name your camera, update firmware, and you should be up and running.
Video quality
The 1080p video signal coming from the Abode Cam 2 is pretty standard for this price point. One missing feature, though, is that you can’t zoom in on live or recorded video. You can share and download clips to view them on a larger device, but the double-tap to zoom is a feature that I use frequently on my iPhone 8 with the Wyze Cam v3 and app. With the camera often in my kids’ rooms, it’s easy to zoom in and check if they’re asleep, and that was something I missed when using the Abode Cam 2.
Low-light and night vision
Abode Cam 2 also performs well at night with a low-light mode and night vision mode. In most of my testing, the camera swapped over to the night vision mode after dark, but I don’t have many street lights near my home to keep the outdoors illuminated.
Notifications + motion detection
Abode Cam 2 will send notifications for any motion detected in the room. Diving into the menus, a detection zone can be set if the camera is picking up movement from an area that isn’t desirable. While not as robust as the detection zone customization in the Wyze app, this can be essential to dialing in the performance of your camera.
With a Standard or Pro subscription plan, the Abode Cam 2 can also be enabled with a Beta smart detect feature that will detect people and send a notification. In my experience, this feature worked really well. For most of my testing, I had the camera in my kids’ room to keep an eye on when they were getting up in the morning. Knowing that the notification was a person rather than my cat or some random movement was convenient.
The standard plan starts at about $6/month, while the Pro version will cost $20/month but also offers professional home monitoring. So if you want to ensure that your home is watched after even when you’re not able to respond to notifications, this plan adds some ease of mind.
Notifications
One major upgrade over the Wyze cameras is the speed at which notifications will pop up on your phone. With the Wyze cameras, it takes maybe 20 seconds or so for a motion notification to pop up, but with the Abode, it’s much faster. This by itself might be a reason to choose the Abode camera over a Wyze.
Abode Cam 2: storage options
As far as storage, without a subscription plan, you won’t have access to any recorded footage. The app will only display a live feed. The standard plan will add 24/7 recording with storage for 10 days of video in the app. You cannot add an SD card for local storage like the Wyze cams.
This is something else that sets it apart from the Wyze Cam V3 that can record video continuously to an SD card without a subscription plan, though a card must be purchased separately.
With the standard plan, you can enable 24/7 recording for up to 10 days with a timeline of events that is easy to navigate in the app.
Electronicsforward’ Take
For the price point, it’s hard not to compare the Abode Cam 2 directly to the Wyze Cams. For me as a stand-alone camera, the Wyze Cam V3 does more of what I’m looking for. But, if you’re looking to add to an existing Abode security system or really value the quickest notification time possible, then the Abode Cam 2 will work well for you, and I don’t think you’ll be disappointed for the $35 price tag.
Buy Abode Cam 2
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