Now i'm running 3 different camera systems at home.
I originally had "Wyze Cam" ordered off amazon, for monitoring my front door from inside and my dog's kennel.
Over the last week, ordered Yi Outdoor cam, more Wyze cam, AND also got Blink XT2 to mount outside the house.
below are Pros and Cons i've found for each.
Wyze cam Pros :
-Cheap. $40 canadian per camera on amazon
-has great monitoring software.
-customizable motion detection,
-Infra Red led so it can do night vision,
-listen and talk via app to camera
-FREE 12 second video clips saved on "cloud" every time it detects something.
-quick notifications when detection happens.
-connect to camera fairly quickly even when you aren't home
Wyze cam Cons :
-need Wifi (obviously) for every one of the camera.
-not rated for outdoor. (need a outdoor casing, and even then, it's not really for outdoors)
-Wifi reception is poor outdoor. extra case needed doesn't help.
-IR bulb not bright enough for actual outdoor use at night.
-need to run power.
Yi outdoor cam, Amazon has 15$ off, so it was $90 per piece.
Pro :
-fairly bright IR bulbs.
-customizable motion detection zone,
-camera also makes beep sound when it detects motion within its view.
-Free 6 second video clips saved on cloud when detecting motion.
-Day time video quality GREAT. (only 110 degree wide lense, but it also corrects so less distortion)
-night vision quality is decent probably thanks to greater IR illumination.
Yi cam Cons :
-app kinda sucks.
-notification to phone speed varies so much. sometimes within few seconds to sometimes longer than 15 -minutes after detection.
-ONLY 6 second clips. otherwise you have to pay.
-requires constant power. (but 3 meter power cord)
Blink XT2. got this on a whim.
this is Amazon's subsidiary.
Pros :
-Battery powered. CORDLESS!!! (supposed to last 2 years. will see) you can literally mount this anywhere you want.
-video quality is GREAT during the day.
-Notification to phone is almost instant.
-it communicates with a hub, so excellent WIFI connection not really required, i think. my camera's have poor WIFI but i have no problem connecting with them. Hub has great WIFI.
-Advanced customizable motion detection
-FREE video clips (configurable on the app, 5 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec) saved on cloud.
-listen and talk via app
Cons :
-Costs higher than Yi or Wyze, but it's one of the cheaper alternatives from big name companies. like, Nest or Ring or Arlo or what have you. Blink runs about 120$ a piece, whereas Nest's cam is $300.
-Weak IR so night vision ain't great.
-Battery powered, so you don't want to stream constantly unless you are prepared to change it's lithium battery all the time
-....it's kinda easy to steal... mounting is really weak, it's a plastic clip.
SUMMARY : each have pros and cons, but i really like Wyze's app, and Blink's outdoor prowess.
both are compatible with Amazon's Alexa as well.
Yi, i like the night vision and the "Beep" it makes when it detects something, but app's not great and it's more pain to install then Blink.
I would go Wyze for indoor and Blink for Outdoor.
