Installing a camera in your home is a big responsibility, because it captures not just when someone trespasses, but everything. I could start showing you cameras if I had butter behind my ears or was paranoid. But there are more benefits than drawbacks, believe me! Here's the camera roundup to help you make the best choice.
Cameras are divided into two main groups, indoor and outdoor. A outdoor cameras can of course be used indoors, but not vice versa. Outdoor cameras are prepared for the elements, while indoor cameras do not. The main differences are water resistance and protection against extreme temperatures.
Outdoor camera
There are currently two outdoor cameras officially in circulation in Hungary. The two are basically the same, only one of them available in a set, while the other is just the camera. However, the camera cannot be used separately, only together with the indoor unit!
Mi Wireless Outdoor Security Camera 1080p
The Xiaomi's only outdoor available today its camera is incredibly advanced, meeting all your expectations, both in terms of image quality and functionality. As its name suggests, its resolution is no secret: FullHD, the 1080p resolution that can capture movies day and night. Thanks to the huge aperture of f/2.1, it's not only pin-sharp during the day, but also at night in zero light. With its night vision function, it can easily see up to 7 metres with a 130º field of view, so it can monitor a huge area. Speaking of observation. The camera's software can detect the human figure, unexpected temperature changes or any unusual movement. These will of course be notified to your phone via the Xiaomi Home app.
Protection
When it comes to the outdoors, it should also be remembered that it can withstand extreme temperatures of between -20º and +50º. It can also withstand inclement weather thanks to its IP65 dust and water resistance. Plus even a protection feature, if you move the camera, you'll also get a notification on your phone so you'll know if someone or something is messing with it. Plus, the camera has a built-in battery that gives you up to 90 days of battery life.
The indoor unit, as I wrote earlier, is essential for camera for the operation of. The predecessors didn't require any special equipment, they just connected to your own router. This raised security concerns, as not everyone used the cloud service, where recordings were not stored locally but on Xiaomi servers. Back in the day, you had to insert a MicroSD card into the camera and you could watch it back over the network. In fact, some of them didn't even have a battery, they had to be wired in.
Benefits
So this indoor unit has it all, connected to the camera and takes care of everything you need. It provides a secure network, stores recordings, connects to the internet and even offers cloud services. It connects directly to your router via an Ethernet socket, eliminating Wi-Fi vulnerabilities and providing a more secure connection. The unit also provides several options for storing recordings. The MicroSD card that plugs into the unit can hold up to 32GB, which is enough to store enough recordings to keep track of what you've seen for up to 7 hours. But if you need more than that, you can use almost any external flash drive via the USB connection, with 1 TB of material fitting around 4.5 days.
Indoor cameras
Fixed camera
Indoor cameras are a more complex issue, but we can also include the outdoor one above, as it is not compulsory to install it outside the building. Indoor cameras can also be divided into two groups. The fixed and the movable. Fixed cameras, such as Mi Camera 2K Magnetic Mount, are the simplest and require little attention to install. The term means that once installed, it only looks in that direction, and later you can only manually adjust the desired viewing area. The great advantage of the above camera is that the camera module is attached to the fixed pedestal by magnetism. So no fixing is required to keep it in place and it is very easy to reposition.
Movable camera
The other group is much larger, with cameras that you can control remotely which way to look. This is done by tiny electric motors and we can do it ourselves in the Xiaomi Home app. The most affordable at the moment is a smart camera that can be controlled by Mi 360º Home Security Camera 1080p can also do this, but what distinguishes it from other cameras is that its resolution is "only" FullHD, not 2K. The next step up, with a catchy name, Mi 360º Home Security Camera 2K. As their name suggests, you can look around 360º with the cameras, both horizontally and vertically. So there will be no blind spots in your home, you can see everything they reach.
Image quality
In addition to the increased resolution, the image sensor has also been greatly improved. A Mi Camera 2K Magnetic Mount and the Mi 360º Home Security Camera 1080p in night mode, only black and white colours are recorded. A Mi 360º Home Security Camera 2K on the contrary, it can capture colour images not only in daylight, but also at night! This family includes Mi 360º Home Security Camera 2K Pro which is even better than the 2K version!
So we already know that the 1080p and the 2K camera is the difference in resolution, everything else is the same. Of course there is a difference in price as well as resolution, but I'll talk about that later.
So let's jump into the world of 2K, because the best cameras only have this high resolution. Now you say there's not much difference between the two, but believe me, there is! It's a more detailed, richer, much better experience. There are two of them, the Mi 360º Home Security Camera 2K and the Pro version.
The two are quite different at a glance, but they are also very different in their characteristics. There is no difference in the quality of the recording, the same resolution, the same colour night mode. However, the vertical angle of view is Pro version 10º more, so you can see more in front of you. 2K image transmission requires high bandwidth, although 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi is also capable, but with 5 GHz support, the Per gives a clearer and faster live image, not to mention remote control. As soon as you rotate the camera, the image rotates almost instantly. On a weaker connection, this can take seconds.
Contact
Speaking of relationships, I should point out that the Camera 2K Pro can act as a Bluetooth Gateway. This means that if you have a Bluetooth-enabled device in your smart home, you don't need to connect your phone to it separately, you can access it via the camera. The best thing about this is that you can access devices remotely, you don't have to be at home!
Communication
By the way! If you're not at home but want to talk to the folks at home, or you want to get your pet to see sense rather than tear up the cushion, these are also good for that. They are two-way communication, so you can see and talk to your family wherever you are in the world. A Pro version it's better at this, too, because it has two microphones, like our phone, one for the main one and one for noise cancellation. With a clearer, more intelligible voice, it's even more fun to use our camera!
For the protection of our families and ourselves, it's not always a good idea to have these cameras recording everything. There may be situations where we need to turn off the recording or the camera itself. Well, you won't need to if you use the Pro version because this camera is able to flip the lens into its own housing, safely obscuring the footage. It won't even accidentally record anything.
Storage
MicroSD
There are several ways to store your recordings. The options already described for the outdoor camera are available in all cameras. Use a MicroSD card, the best possible card, in all devices to prevent data loss. Also, don't forget that a fast card is also necessary for saving 2K video material. It's also more convenient for reviewing footage and copying files.
NAS
Some cameras can also connect to NAS, the network storage unit, to copy existing files securely. So you just copy the footage from the MicroSD card in the camera. Such a camera is the Mi 360º Home Security Camera 1080p, Mi 360º Home Security Camera 2K and the Mi 360º Home Security Camera 2K Pro. Unfortunately, the other cameras are not suitable.
Cloud
Cloud storage is nothing new, I guess everyone uses the Xiaomi and/or Google cloud service, where phone numbers, text messages, pictures, etc. are stored on your phone. But not only for Android, iOS also uses Apple's cloud. Xiaomi offers such an option not only for phones, but also for cameras, with a much larger storage capacity than the local SD card. But it's the same for all your devices! For some it's 3 days, but for most it's 7 days. For example, for Mi Wireless Outdoor Security Camera 1080p Set is only enough for 3 days, while the Mi 360º Home Security Camera 1080p you get 7 days of cloud storage for your recordings.
Conclusion
So we currently have 5 cameras to choose from. If you're looking for an outdoor camera, there's no doubt about it. Mi Wireless Outdoor Security Camera 1080p Set we must choose. We couldn't have a better choice right now, but when the 2K version of this comes out, my opinion will change.
For indoor cameras, we need to consider the choice more seriously. If you don't already have a security camera in your home, I suggest you go for the entry level first. This is the Mi 360º Home Security Camera 1080p. Get to know it, try it, explore the possibilities! Needless to say, you're sure to like it and move on to the next level. Mi 360º Home Security Camera 2K camera, for better quality. But here I have to bring up a cuckoo's egg, the Mi Camera 2K Magnetic Mount camera. As I wrote earlier, it is a fixed camera, but it can do the same as the 2K moving camera, at the same price. If you don't need this feature and find it unnecessary, go for this one.
And then I left it to the end Mi 360º Home Security Camera 2K Pro camera, which I think is the best choice! Not because of its features, but because of its price. It's not so much more expensive than the regular 2K that the difference between the two is not worth it!
Camera prices
The prices listed below are the official resale prices at the time of writing. Please take this into account!
