Via a Loka (Lokar? Loco? A Forum Moderator!) post I’ve found mention that the original Cam (well, V2) uses 850nm and the Cam Pan (often called Pan Cam?) uses 940nm for the infra red light.
I’ve seen info elsewhere saying either cam sees both frequencies and it doesn’t matter. “Lokar” seemed to be saying getting the right external IR light/wavelength for the right camera is essential.
Links to the Univivi mountable with 6 lamps look good for the outside, but they do seem to be all 850nm (and no, I don’t know what nm means - yet). The 940nm lights seem less, uh, wide angle? Maybe more “shotgun” as in aiming??
Anyhoo… I’m thinking I want to use my Cam Pan because stationary it does have a 120 degree wide angle (Cam V2 has 110, not a huge diff).
So. Wyze on the inside of glass. IR light off, night vision on, outdoor IR that comes on at night and supposedly bears and coyote and mountain lions won’t be bothered. Or thieving humans. Mosquitos yes - but we are not fond of them! (Thieving humans either.) Motion recording on…
Univivi 850nm okay?
Thanks for any help!
I think you were trying to reference @Loki, a forum moderator that has talked quite a bit about this subject. The Pan cam uses 940nm lights, but 850nm should work too. May even work better. Just will be more visible to passing people (slight glow). My thoughts, anyway.
Thanks, Newshound! Good advice, and yes - Loki! I guess I was too lazy to open another tab in the browser and simply get it right.
There is a youtube video or two where the claim is that 850nm (nanometers!) does work better overall for cams… I will try to find some comparisons, though. Slight glow to people walking on a road above our hillside might be a non-issue since that’s close to 300 feet away. ? But for critters that we do want strolling along in the middle of the night? Have to find out if the 940nm is better because a slight glow might keep them away…
You can get an idea of the glow by taking a V2 into a dark room, setting the camera face up towards the ceiling, and turning on the IR lights. Once your eyes adjust, you will see what I am talking about.
I say face up towards ceiling because if there is anything in frame that reflects IR light they will auto-dim, and not look as bright.
If you only have a Pan cam, then it won’t show you what 850nm looks like. 940nm is further away from visible light, so those lights will be much dimmer to you.
Thanks. I’ll be able to try seeing how 850 and 940 look because I have both cams. Will have to wait about a week, though, until we get to Yosemite where the cams live in the cabin…
Cameras are usually not sensitive to both 850 and 940 nano meter ranges at the same time.
I will try a test tonight. But a great little article about the differences can be read here.
I have 2 of the Univivi IR lights which illuminate both V2 and Pans and they work well for both. Well made,low power draw and good dispersion of light - no spotlight effect but a good wide angle.
Univivi Infrared Illuminator, 850nm 6 LEDs 90 Degree Wide Angle IR Illuminator for Night Vision,Waterproof LED Infrared Light for IP Camera,CCTV Security Camera https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01G6K407Q/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_MalKDbVP8HQK7
Also have a nice and cheap one for use when I needed a spotlight effect. Added a little silicon around the edges to it just in case.
JC Infrared Illuminator 4 Led High Power LED IR Array Illuminator IR Lamp Wide Angle for Night Vision CCTV and IP Camera https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D73XM24/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_YclKDbMPQZDAW
I don’t recall exactly what I said about this a while back. I may have thought that getting an emitter that matches the wavelength of the camera’s LED light was important. Based on the test that I will show below, I do not (now) think that is true.
Test setup: A Pan Cam with a V2 cam sitting on top of it. Four images: two each for each camera, one each with only the Pan’s LEDs turned on, and one each with only the V2’s LEDs turned on. Test done in a dark room. (With both LEDs off, the camera images were virtually black.)
Here are the images:
Pan Sensor, Pan’s LEDs:
Pan Sensor, V2’s LEDs:
V2’s Sensor, Pan’s LEDs:
V2’s Sensor, V2’s LEDs:
As you can see, both types of LED illuminate both camera’s sensors just fine. Comparing the same LED type between the two cameras, there’s not much difference. Comparing between the LED types with the same camera’s sensor, it seems the V2’s are perhaps stronger/brighter.
Conclusion: Either IR emitter should work fine with either camera. The 940nm emitter will be less (or not) visible to humans looking at it. The 850nm emitter may provide a stronger/brighter illumination.
I would say based on the testing already done the Wyze cameras do respond to both wavelengths.
In general human sight tops out at the 700 nm range but we can detect into the 800’s although usually very dimly. 900 and above is not visible to humans at all. But the 940nm led’s will not illuminate as far or as broadly as the 850nm led’s all else being equal.
It’s a little weird to see my Deebot robo vac on the Wyze cameras as they clearly show the Deebots “headlights” which we can’t perceive at all. But only when Nightvision is on of course.
I’ve been thinking about this, stacking a V2 on a pan so I could rotate 2 views at once 
I guess that could give you a greater vertical span without having to tilt the Pan, but otherwise, I don’t really see the value.