Wyze Bulb Cam Turns Ordinary Porch Sockets Into Always Ready Outdoor Security

Anyone who has tried to place a security camera near a porch or side door already knows the usual hurdles. Power outlets sit too far away, solar panels need clear sky and still require occasional charging, and running new wiring through siding or brick means calling an electrician. Wyze Bulb Cam (2-Pack), priced at $69.96 today (was $96), sidesteps all of that by combining an 800 lumen LED light with a 2K camera inside a single unit that screws straight into a standard E26 socket.

Installation takes just a minute or two; simply replace the existing light bulb with the Bulb Cam and twist it into place like any other light fixture. It has a telescoping rod that extends approximately 1.2 inches to clear the bottom of most regular sconces and lanterns. Once the light is turned on, the device will appear in the Wyze app following a simple Bluetooth connecting process that does not even require a QR code scan. At that point, you can look at the live view, configure your detecting zones, and even schedule when the light turns on. Because it pulls power directly from the socket, the camera will continue to function as long as the wall switch is turned on.

The Bulb Cam’s video comes from its 2K sensor, which delivers 2304 by 1296 resolution at 20 frames per second during the day and 15 frames per second at nite, and the lens has a fairly wide field of view, 166 degrees diagonally or 144 degrees wide, which is ideal for monitoring your front walkway and a good chunk of your driveway from a single porch light.

The camera also handles dynamic range quite well, which means it can deal with both bright highlights and dark shadows in the same photo. It also has color nite vision and infrared, as well as a built-in siren capable of reaching 95 decibels at close range; however, make sure you’re not directly next to it when it goes off. Of course, there’s two-way audio, so you can communicate with whoever’s on the other end using the app.

Adjusting the thing is a little more manual; you can spin and tilt the camera head by hand once it’s screwed in, but that’s about it. There is no motorized pan or tilt, so if you wish to alter the view later, you will have to go outside and make the changes yourself. On the plus side, this keeps the design simple and the price low, even if it means the camera will not track anyone as they walk around the yard.

Local recording is handled in one of two ways: either it runs continuously to a microSD card you supply, which can be up to 256 GB in size, or it is configured to record when motion is detected. In either case, no membership is necessary to access basic features such as live watching, motion alerts, light control, and device recording. If you want more advanced capabilities, such as cloud storage or more detailed notifications that inform you what’s going on, you’ll have to pay for one of the optional cloud packages.

On the other hand, the same app can connect to up to five other Wyze Accessory Bulbs, which can be programd to brighten or dim together on a schedule or when motion is detected. And both the main unit and the accessory bulbs create 3000K warm light that can be dimmed via the app. The Bulb Cam is weather sealed to IP65 standards, which means it can withstand light rain or dust when used outdoors. It draws roughly 15 watts, operates within normal working temperatures ranging from below freezing to over 120 degrees Fahrenheit, and transmits via 2.4 GHz WiFi.