Tom's Guide Verdict
Just like the original Wyze Cam, the Wyze Cam OG delivers on the promise of video quality, fast performance for under $25. However, it’s a pretty no-frills device, so you may want to step up to the Wyze Cam v3, which isn’t all that much more expensive, but has better video capabilities.
Pros
- +
Costs less than $25
- +
Good video quality
- +
Cloud and local storage
Cons
- -
Spotlight isn’t very bright
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Camera resolution: 1080p 20 fps day/15 fps night
Field of view: 121.4 degrees
Size: 1.9 in x 1.9 in x 1.9 inches
Spotlight brightness: 2 spotlights at 40 lumens
WI-Fi: 802.11 b/g/n wifi connection @2.4GHz
Wyze’s security camera lineup continues to grow, with the company adding devices like the $40 Wyze Cam Pan v3 and the $94 Wyze Cam Floodlight. But with the expansion of Wyze’s lineup, we’ve also seen the prices creep upward to match more advanced features.
With the Wyze Cam OG, the company is going back to its roots by releasing a basic security camera at an affordable price. For about three weeks, I tested the Wyze Cam OG, a $24 camera with 2-way audio, 1080p video, improved performance, and IP65 weatherproofing.
The result? Basic is sometimes better. Let me explain, and show you how it stacks up to some of the best home security cameras.
Wyze Cam OG review: Price and availability
The Wyze Cam OG is available to purchase directly from Wyze for $23.99 for one camera, or you buy a 2-pack for a slight discount at $45.98. Another bundle option is to pick up the Wyze Cam OG and the Wyze Cam OG Telephoto for $55.99. The Telephoto version on its own is priced at $33.99, saving you a little under $2 when you bundle it.
Alternatively, the Cam OG is available through Amazon for $29.98.
Wyze Cam OG review: Design
Going by just the name, it’d be logical to assume the Wyze Cam OG uses the same design as the Wyze Cam. At least that’s what I assumed when I first read it, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Indeed, it retains the perfectly square housing and matte white material, but that’s about where the similarities stop. A black circle is centered on the front of the camera’s housing, where you’ll find the camera lens. Above the lens are two spotlights with a total output of 40 lumens. Just below the lens is a status light, letting whoever’s nearby know when the camera is active and recording.
On the bottom of the camera’s housing, you’ll find the reset/setup button and a microSD card slot, both of which are covered in what feels like silicone.
The backside of the housing has a speaker grille, along with a pigtail for the power cord to connect to. Yes, that means you’ll need to install the camera near an outlet — you’re not going to find a battery-powered camera for under $25.
The housing has an IP65 rating for dust and water resistance, with Wyze claiming it’s weatherproof.
Instead of a built-in stand, the Cam OG has a stand that attaches via a thread on the bottom of the camera. The stand is adjustable so you can point the camera where you want. The base of the stand has a mounting plate that you can use to attach the to a wall or other flat surface.
If you look closely, you’ll notice there’s a small removable insert on the top of the camera. If you buy the Cam OG on its own, that insert isn’t of any value. But if you buy the Cam OG and the Cam OG Telephoto along with the Stack Kit bundle, you’ll get a short stand that slides right into that insert, allowing you to stack the cameras. It’s a clever way of making it easy to mount two cameras in one spot, even if they’re pointed in different directions.
There’s nothing noteworthy about the overall design of the Cam OG, but there doesn’t have to be, especially at this price point. It looks like a security camera, and that’s more than enough.
Wyze Cam OG review: Video quality and features
The Wyze Cam OG isn’t going to blow you away when it comes to its camera specifications. It offers a humble 1080p video quality, recording at 20 fps day or 15 fps night. The $54 Wyze Cam v3 Pro — atop our list of the best home security cameras — records 2K video, but at the same refresh rates.
And the clips look surprisingly good. There’s minimal pixelation and choppiness when there’s movement, such as someone walking across the camera’s field of view. That’s mostly due to the lower frame rates the Cam OG records at. If I had to complain about anything when it comes to video quality, it’s that clips can be overexposed and oversaturated. That said, it doesn’t prevent you from seeing what exactly is going on in the video.
Those stats are similar to what the original Wyze Cam offered, but where the OG improves upon the experience is with its Color Night Vision ability. That means instead of seeing a black-and-white video feed at night, you’ll see a full-color video clip, but only when the spotlight is enabled, which is something you have to turn on in the settings manually. Otherwise, you’ll get a black-and-white clip; so make sure you turn it on.
The spotlight itself isn’t very bright at 40 lumens. It’s just bright enough to light up whatever’s directly in front of the camera, and that’s about it. As a point of reference, the Wyze Cam v3 Pro has a spotlight brightness of 70 lumens — also not very bright — and the Ring Spotlight Cam puts out 750 lumens, more than 10x what the Cam OG is capable of. In other words, don’t expect it to blanket your porch in light.
Wyze touts that the Cam OG is 50% faster to load a livestream of the camera and 3x faster for motion notifications than other Wyze Cams. And while there’s no way for me to scientifically measure its improved performance, I can say that it at least feels like the live feed is loading faster in the Wyze app on iPhone and Android, and push alerts for motion or event triggers are arriving in a timely manner. Is it 50% or 3x faster? I can’t say.
Wyze Cam OG review: Video storage
As is the case with all Wyze cameras, you have two options for storage. You can use a microSD card with up to 256GB of storage to store continuous recordings, which is a feature I personally have always had in my nice-to-have column.
However, we recently had a horrible storm that dropped tennis ball sized hail while we weren’t home. I was frustrated that none of my security cameras captured any of the hail, until I remembered that the Wyze Cam OG was set up and continuously recording. The end result? Six minutes worth of video of the storm.
In addition to saving recordings on a microSD card, you can sign up for Wyze’s subscription service, Cam Plus. The standard price is $2.99 per month for a single camera, and gives you 14 days worth of cloud recording, and smart alerts for people, packages, vehicles and pets. You also gain access to Wyze Web View to stream the camera via Wyze’s website on your computer, along with the ability to fast-forward clips. That’s a bit cheaper than competing security camera cloud storage plans, though the video history is half that of other companies.
Without a Cam Plus subscription, the Cam OG will have a five-minute delay between recording motion triggered snapshots, not video clips.
Wyze Cam OG review: Verdict
The Wyze Cam OG is a no frills home security camera that does exactly what it promises. For under $25 you get a 1080p camera that’s built for indoor or outdoor use, and has advanced features like pets, people and package tracking.
If you’re looking for a security camera that’s as affordable as it is capable, the Wyze Cam OG fits that mold. Or if you're comfortable spending a bit more, the Wyze Cam v3 is a worthy upgrade that adds better low-light recording thanks to its Starlight Sensor built specifically for night time recording.
