Mr Bedtime, my Master wants to install a wifi cam in my bedroom for check-ins as part of our dynamic. Any tips or recommendations?
(submitted by: Anonymous)
Ah, something about which I have a few thoughts! I’ve used Wyze cameras for years, but have recently switched to Eufy.
Please note that this is all very specific to my use-case, meaning multiple cameras in multiple girls’ apartments… if I were surveillance-monogamous, my conclusions would be slightly different.
- PRICE: The Eufy cameras are slightly more expensive —you can sometimes score a Wyze for $25, while Eufy’s similar models are usually $35— but the difference isn’t dramatic.
- BASICS: Image quality is similar. Low-light performance is similar. Eufy’s speaker output —for surprising someone with a disembodied “hello, cunt” in the night— seems better, if marginally so.
- HOMEKIT: Eufy’s cams are HomeKit-capable, and Wyze’s aren’t. I’m not taking advantage of that right now, but it’s an important bit of future-proofing for someone who exists within the Apple ecosystem.
- SHARING: On Wyze’s platform, cam sharing is limited… there’s a lot the shared user can’t do. Eufy, OTOH, allows a shared user to have full admin rights, meaning I can set up activity zones and toggle on/off LEDs as if I were the primary account. Much, much better.
- APP: Eufy’s app is significantly more responsive on late-model iOS/iPadOS devices. Wyze’s iOS app is a steaming turd that —despite years of promises— is clearly never going to see a major overhaul. Wyze is tolerable if you only interact with the cameras via a phone or an M1/M2 MacBook, but on the iPad, the app forces you into portrait orientation… which is guaranteed to piss me off every time. Eufy’s app is a better iPadOS citizen in that regard, happily staying in landscape orientation as much as I like. Eufy’s UI is also more coherent, and less obsessed with up-selling me a subscription at every turn. But neither app is as good as it should be, as the only multitasking options for both are to (a) use an M1/M2 Mac, or (b) use Slide Over on the iPad… Split View isn’t possible.
- RECORDING: If you’re going to bypass cloud recording and stick to local SD storage, then Eufy’s the way to go. Wyze won’t allow shared accounts to access a device’s SD card at all. But if you’re going to stick to the cloud, then you have to think about…
- SUBSCRIPTIONS: If you’re going to pay for cloud recording, Wyze is cheaper… $1.99/month/camera vs. $2.99 for Eufy. And Wyze will give you limited event recording on a single camera for free.
It’s all kind of a pain in the ass to manage, but I won’t do any sort of LDR without a camera at this point… the benefits are worth the annoyances. (I can say much the same about the girls themselves.)
UPDATED FOR 2024:
- All the prices for cloud storage have gone up, and there’s not much of a “free” tier left for these devices.
- The speaker on the Wyze Cam OG is garbage compared to the speaker on the Wyze Cam v2. (I’m assuming v3 has a similar speaker design.) The OG has a slightly better picture than the V2 and will do PiP with a second OG cam, but when it comes to my priorities, the non-OG is superior.
- Also, the v3 has a starlight sensor… big upgrade from the v2 and OG.