Wyze Cam Pan V3 Review — Surveillance on a budget

DIY home security is an increasingly crowded consumer space, including Wyze, which is a recent entrant into the Aussie market. We recently reviewed the Wyze Cam V3 and V3 Pro, and now taking a look at the Wyze Cam Pan V3.

Like other cameras that we’ve recently reviewed from Wyze, it’s a really cost-effective solution to your security needs. I like that Wyze isn’t pretending its cameras are something they’re not; they’re offering excellent value for money and a solid feature set.

So what is the Cam Pan V3?

Clearly, it’s a security camera that offers a bit more by way of capacity to monitor your home. It’s a sub $70.00 option and honestly, at that price, if you’re shopping in this price range, you can likely forgive any shortcomings. Perhaps the biggest of which (again, remember the price) is that it’s only offering 1080p video, but that is more than enough to see good details and observe the behaviour of those who are on your property.

One of the cost savings made on the build of the Cam Pan V3 is the fact it doesn’t have a spotlight function. There are infrared LEDs, though, which give some decent (but not brilliant) vision after dark.

Moving past the video quality, it’s physically about the size of two Wyze Cam V3 Pros attached to each other, and there’s a great reason for this. One of those blocks houses the power intake and motor for the pan and tilt functions. The Cam Pan V3 can rotate through a full 360-degrees and is capable of tilting 180 degrees.

It’s weatherproof with an IP65 rating, so it should survive anything short of ongoing torrential rain directly impacting the device.

As mentioned, the video quality is 1080p with a variable frame rate for day and night — 20 and 15 fps, respectively — recording; something noticeable at night is that there is a slight jitter to the video if the target is moving quickly. Another of the great features of the Cam Pan V3 is the local storage option with support for up to 256GB MicroSD storage.

Unboxing and set up

There’s not a lot to go through here that we don’t do on any camera review. The box contents give everything you need it to in order to set up your camera. The main thing to mention here is that the base station mount is simple: 2 screws into wood or masonry, and you’re set. There’s plenty of choice around any home as to where or how you mount the camera.

The same goes for the app, particularly as I recently reviewed the Wyze Cam V3 and V3 Pro, where the process was outlined. Suffice to say; you just need to scan and follow the on-screen instructions.

I really want manufacturers like Wyze to provide a power cable that’s sufficiently lengthy to be useful outdoors, but they do have accessories you can buy that cover this need.

Cool features: Pan and Tilt

The pan and tilt functions are smooth and feed into perhaps the best features of the device. One thing I believe is extremely impressive with the pan and tilt function is just how quiet the motor is. I used the camera outdoors during testing and, despite knowing it was there and actively listening for it, could not identify the motor noise above the other noise in the neighbourhood.

Motion tracking: This is a feature you can turn on or off as you wish but does expand the capability to provide a wider field of coverage across your property. Remember, though, if you’re covering a corner of a building with a panning camera, you’re leaving big blind spots for chunks of time.

Waypoints: Another pretty cool feature that the Pan Cam V3 has is to track through waypoints. You can manually set these so the camera continually scans between them, pausing at each briefly.

Privacy Mode: This is the first pan and tilt camera I’ve seen that uses its own chassis to engage privacy mode. The camera rotates around and points directly at the device’s base to prevent the camera from “seeing” anything.

This is perhaps the first time I’ve not thought too much about the location to install the camera at. For a few reasons, primarily the versatility and coverage it can offer with the pan and tilt features. But you’ll still need to have a bit of a think about it to ensure:

• The camera is in a position that minimises the risk of people tampering with it
• You’re maximising the visibility that the camera gives you

Video Quality and Recording

You’ve got a number of settings within the app, including the ability to increase or decrease the stream quality to your device, switch to privacy mode or change your detection settings.

The recording will go to the cloud if you have a subscription or, if you choose to record locally, to your installed memory card. The downside to anyone who has seen high-resolution security camera video in the past is that this is a 1080p camera, so it will lack some of that fine detail you’d otherwise see.

Remember, though; this is a camera that’s less than 70 bucks!

Despite the relatively low video quality, provided the camera isn’t actively tracking something; the quality is pretty good and very usable for identifying unwanted visitors. I found that the video got a significant amount of blur if it was tracking movement, likely due to the relatively low frame rate it captures video at.

Is the Wyze Cam Pan V3 a worthwhile investment?

The short answer is yes, but with some caveats because of the earlier mentioned “lower than average” specs. There are plenty of features, and the Cam Pan V3 will work well for many homes. But the problem is it won’t be a good stand-alone option; unless you’re using it indoors.

Connection to smart homes is easy enough; the video quality is more than adequate to detect and observe approaching visitors. The Wyze cameras have advantages in their ease of mounting and small footprint, making them pretty discrete.

That, coupled with the pricing, makes them attractive and easy to recommend as an entry-level or value-for-money offering.

While I wouldn’t recommend the Pan Cam V3 as a first stand-alone camera, you can do it and build your camera system around it over time. The app enables you to do this and

Wyze as a brand is quickly becoming one of my entry-level recommendations to friends and family. The hardware is solid, and provides great value and reliable quality video.

If you’re interested in exploring the Wyze Cam Pan V3, you can it out on the Wyze Website, or pick one up from the Amazon Store for AU$69.99