Info taken from Amazon. Updated today with details.
For info regarding cables for the PAN - see the link below.
Link removed due to limit.
Review is on 2023-03-12.
Having owned the Wyze Cam V3 as my introduction to the brand - moving to the Pan V3 was almost a natural path. It’s a great camera for a great price. The bulk of the company’s money seems to be made on the subscription side, so the hardware price is sold with minimal markup it seems.
The camera itself - hardware and quality - are not much different from the regular V3. Good picture quality and such. There are 3 primary differences between the Pan and the regular V3.
1 - Panning capability. The camera can turn - not 360 - but almost.
2 - Not magnetic. Must be mounted on the provided base - or similar item that the screw can fit.
3 - Micro USB cable is right angle and not straight.
PANNING
The camera can turn almost in 360 degrees on the base. It has what’s called “waypoints” where 4 areas can be set and the camera will automatically move to each area once selected within the app.
The camera supports time-lapse and motion following.
NOT MAGNETIC
If you wanted something similar to the regular V3 that you could stick somewhere - this won’t do. Based on viewing the Pan V2 - they are similar in terms of the base. This does make some sense since the base can swivel, but it’s something worth noting.
USB CABLE
The regular V3 has lots of cables available that are weatherproof. Finding one for the Pan V3 - and I guess the V2 as well - is very tedious. The right-angle cable needs to sit inside the base of the camera and I’ve not found any extensions that have this feature. If you’re going to purchase a third-party cable, you need to ensure that the micro USB end is about 19mm/0.75in so that it will fit snugly inside the base of the camera. This means you MUST use the original cable. I’ve not seen a similar right-angle cable on Amazon or even on the Wyze website - so there’s no replacement. Another option - which I’ve done - is to buy an extension cable that is compatible with the device. I had a regular USB2.0 extension cable and it didn’t work - guess it doesn’t carry the voltage as well. Waiting on the linked device to arrive and test.
Link removed due to limit.
I assume I’ll either have to heat-shrink or tape the connection between the original cable and the extension. If someone else has seen the cable or something that will work - please link it within your review or as a reply to this one. The items below were found on the Wyze forums and linked here to make things easier.
CABLE
https://a.co/d/4ravLGo
Additionally - if you’re technically inclined - you could cut the cable and solder it to a different extension. Persons have said in the Wyze forums that it’s only power - no data - so just 2 wires are required. Do that at your own risk.
UPDATE - 2024-01-02
So now. Having had the device for some time, I’ve used and abused it a bit and have more details to add for the review. Both the V3 and the PAN has had some weird issues for me. I’ll get into those individually.
V3 - I recently decided to go on vacation and didn’t want my cat to be left without food. While my current solar setup isn’t 100% - it provides enough power until about 2AM and the area is secure enough that a dead gap isn’t a problem. I really just need the cameras to monitor my cat. So a typical “pspspspspsps” call to get the cat to come around is used along with the name - but strangely, the camera seems to cut out with errors once this is done. Almost like it dies - has some firmware issue - or something. I’m going to test and see if it’s the sound or pitch, but I’ve really not tested voice on any of the cameras for more than a few seconds previously. To get the attention of my cat I need like 1-2 minutes per camera. When the camera goes offline, it needs to be manually power cycled in order to be available again. Since my solar setup dies and comes back, that works out for the V3 somewhat, but it’s concerning that the cameras have a flaw where extended voice or a sound/pitch will cause them to suddenly go offline. You may need to test this with your own cameras to verify.
PAN - the V3 PAN has an even stranger issue. While it seems to share the same issue as above, it also seems to factory reset the device if there’s the audio function usage or even periodic power cuts - which happens based on the solar setup I’ve got going as explained above. Again, this is concerning. I have to climb up on a ladder to physically reset the device and rescan the QR code to have the camera available again. This is very inconvenient.
With those problems in mind, I think WYZE should have an option to “re-add” a camera that’s giving issues. That way any existing configurations including waypoints can be kept and you don’t have to do everything over from scratch - including sharing the camera with family members if you do that.
Again - hopefully this review helps and persons can be aware of potential flaws. Overall - still a great camera and the functions of the PAN are good.