At a look
Expert’s Rating
Pros
- Sun-tracking photo voltaic panel extends battery life
- Radar-assisted movement detection reduces false alerts
- Subscription-free native storage
Cons
- Limited to 2 motion-detection and two privateness zones
- No cloud backup or NVR choice
Our Verdict
If you possibly can mount it the place it will possibly harvest a gentle provide of daylight, the Baseus Security S2 Outdoor Camera 4K’s monitoring photo voltaic panel makes it one of many few out of doors cameras that may run actually unattended, capturing crisp 4K-resolution video as a bonus.
Price When Reviewed
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Best Pricing Today
Price When Reviewed
$199.99
Best Prices Today: Baseus Security S2 Outdoor Camera 4K
For many households, out of doors cameras are the entrance line of dwelling safety. The units watch over driveways, porches, and backyards, catching exercise that doorbell cameras typically miss. Baseus enters this house with two solar-powered fashions: the S1 Lite, a funds choice with 2K decision that I reviewed in September, and the higher-end mannequin S2 reviewed right here, which is aimed toward consumers who need extra muscle–together with 4K decision.
The Baseus Security S2 Outdoor Camera 4K evaluation is the corporate’s flagship safety digicam, providing sharper video, smarter movement detection, and an uncommon photo voltaic panel that tracks the place of the solar to maintain its battery topped up across the clock.
Design and options
The S2 is greater and heavier than its S1 Lite sibling, measuring 6.5 × 2.8 × 3.0 inches and weighing simply over a pound. The housing is manufactured from polycarbonate with a clear white end, and the photo voltaic floor is connected to its prime (it’s not built-in into the digicam physique itself, as we’ve seen on some competing cameras). Baseus says the panel is coated with ETFE (Ethylene Tetrafluoroethylene), a sturdy fluoropolymer that reinforces UV transmission, so the panel pulls in additional daylight. The digicam boasts an IP67 weatherization ranking—that means it’s utterly dust-tight and that it will possibly stand up to immersion in water for up 30 minutes (don’t miss our IP code decoder to be taught extra about ingress-protection codes). Baseus the digicam has an working temperature vary of -4 levels Fahrenheit to 122 levels F (-20 to 50 C), making it sturdy sufficient for year-round out of doors use.
Its lens and 8-megapixel picture sensor seize video in 4K Ultra HD decision (3840 x 2160 pixels). Its 145-degree area of view is vast sufficient to cowl a driveway or giant portion of a yard, and there’s 8x digital zoom for nearer inspection. Baseus claims you possibly can anticipate usable element out to about 12 meters (39 toes). In the darkish, its built-in highlight helps ship full-color night time imaginative and prescient, whereas its black-and-white night time imaginative and prescient extends visibility even farther.
The Baseus S2’s photo voltaic panel rotates to trace the solar so the battery stays cost across the clock.
Michael Ansaldo/Foundry
Where most funds cameras rely solely on passive infrared (PIR) sensors for movement detection, the Baseus S2 combines PIR with radar detection. Baseus says this twin system cuts false alerts by as a lot as 99 %. On prime of that, the digicam’s onboard AI can distinguish between individuals, autos, pets; there’s facial recognition, too.
The digicam is powered by a 7,800 mAh battery that’s regularly recharged (assuming there’s enough daylight) by an connected photo voltaic panel. This Baseus mannequin differs from equally outfitted cameras in that the panel will rotate as much as 40 levels to both facet of its barrel-shaped enclosure to comply with the solar because it strikes throughout the day. Baseus says this practically doubles its charging effectivity in comparison with a set panel.
Video recordings are saved domestically on a microSD card in capacities as much as 512GB, so there aren’t any subscriptions to fret about. Baseus doesn’t even provide an elective service for storing video within the cloud, however you’ll want to offer your personal microSD card. Baseus makes use of AES + RSA encryption to maintain these recordings safe.
The Baseus S2 is suitable with each Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.
Setup and efficiency
You’ll want the Baseus Security app to arrange the S2. The app will stroll you thru including the digicam to your Wi-Fi community in simply a few minutes, and it’ll then make it easier to discover the optimum set up location by displaying sign energy earlier than you mount it. The cameras comes with the required screws, however you’ll want to offer the screwdriver or a drill.
The digicam shops its video recordings on a user-provided microSD card, which slots into the underside.
Michael Ansaldo/Foundry
Daytime video is crisp, with true 4K decision bringing out particulars that usually blur at decrease resolutions. The 145-degree area of view was greater than sufficient to cowl the entrance gate to my yard. With highlight movement detection enabled, the highlight would kick on when the digicam detected exercise, capturing coloration video supplied there was not less than some ambient lighting. Switch to straightforward black-and-white night time imaginative and prescient and you continue to get clear, detailed video that’s adequate to make out faces and motion, even in near-total darkness.
The twin PIR and radar system stored movement notifications manageable in my testing. The onboard AI did a stable job of distinguishing between individuals, autos, and animals, and you’ll additional stem the alert tide by enabling exercise and privateness zones the place movement might be ignored, though you’re restricted to 2 of every.
The Baseus Security S2 Outdoor Camera 4K’s photo voltaic panel is its standout characteristic. I used to be lucky to have sunny circumstances throughout my testing interval, which enabled the battery to help round the clock operation. When the climate is much less accommodating, you possibly can take the digicam down—it unscrews simply from its mount—and cost it with a user-provided AC adapter and the USB-A to USB-C cable you’ll discover within the field.
The Baseus Security app present digicam controls and mode presets—that make it straightforward to vary how the S2 behaves.
Michael Ansaldo/Foundry
The Baseus Security app is responsive and properly laid out. Live view and replay modes load shortly, and you’ll toggle the highlight, discuss by the digicam, or modify notifications with a few faucets. You additionally get mode presets—Home, Away, Schedule, and Disarmed—that make it straightforward to vary how the digicam behaves, or you possibly can create your personal customized modes if these don’t match. Drawing exercise and privateness zones is easy, and a sensitivity slider makes it straightforward to fine-tune alerts.
Should you purchase the Baseus Security S2 Outdoor Camera 4K?
At $199.99 (discounted to $129.99 on the Baseus web site and simply $99.98 at Amazon on the time of this evaluation), the Baseus S2 is priced within the midrange, nevertheless it affords greater than you often get at these costs. The sun-tracking photo voltaic panel is the obvious differentiator, however its 4K video decision, radar-assisted movement detection, and subscription-free native storage, are all fairly interesting. All that stated, it’s price remembering that with no backup resolution for recorded video (there’s no cloud service, and the digicam doesn’t help ONVIF or any of the opposite protocols that will make it possible to retailer its video recordings on a NAS field or NVR (community video recorder), you’ll lose any forensic proof if a burglar steals the digicam.
If you may give the panel regular daylight, the S2 is an interesting alternative for anybody who desires sharp footage and dependable detection with out one other month-to-month invoice.