Samsung Wisenet Camera Review

The Samsung Wisenet SmartCam is the best Wisenet has to offer. It’s affordable and has crisp 1080p video quality. The camera employs both sound and motion detection as triggers for capturing video. It’s nice that it’s not wholly reliant on motion since motion detection alone can activate your camera more often.

You can record video in the cloud (plans start at $4.99 a month) or insert a microSD card into the camera to record locally. Even with local recording, you’ll still want to connect this camera to your Wi-Fi network to use the free app. The Wisenet SmartCam app lets you use the camera’s two-way audio and review videos on your phone.

We especially like its wide dynamic range, which makes it easier for the camera to record when there’s inconsistent lighting in a room. This is great for capturing video with the lights on, in natural daylight, and in complete darkness (using night vision LEDs).

Aside from the dynamic lighting, there isn’t much to set the SmartCam apart from other brands. For $99, it’s simply not as advanced as the Google Nest Cam IQ Indoor† (though that costs much more) or even the similarly-priced Ring Stick Up Cam Battery. On the cheaper end of the spectrum, we prefer the Wyze Cam Pan since it has essentially the same tech inside (plus mechanical panning) for a lower price. All of these competitors have excellent smart home capabilities while this Wisenet wireless camera has none.

As a full-fledged baby monitor, the Wisenet BabyView Eco is the most colorful camera on this list. It has a sweet design that looks like it belongs in a nursery or child's playroom.

The bright orange stand isn’t just for looks; it’s actually a flexible wire that you can wrap around other objects (like the edge of the crib) to get the perfect view into your baby’s crib. The flexible stand makes installing the baby monitor a breeze.

The BabyView Eco wirelessly beams its video to a dedicated screen for parents to watch over the kids. Even though there isn’t a mobile app for this baby monitor, we like that the screen frees up your phone for other things.

Using the parent unit, you can talk to your baby, check to see if the nursery is too warm using a built-in thermometer, or play lullabies and white noise to help your baby sleep.

Because baby monitors fit a specific niche, they don’t do well when you compare them with security cameras. This is especially true for the lesser video quality, narrow field of view, and lack of mobile app controls in most baby monitors.

The Samsung Wisenet All-in-One is a good option if you want multiple weatherproof bullet cameras since it comes with four in the box. Now you can watch every square inch of your yard (or at least every door) like a security guard in a heist movie.

The cameras record at a variety of resolutions and framerates, which allows you to make the most of the spacious 1TB hard drive in the DVR. You can view the camera feed on your smartphone, but don’t expect two-way talk like with the SmartCam.

Each camera captures high-def video and has an impressive night vision range up to 82 feet, so you can see to the edge of your property when the sun goes down. You can place the weatherproof cameras either indoors or outdoors, though an outdoor installation is more difficult since you’ll need to run cables inside to the DVR.

A major drawback of the All-in-One is that it uses wired cameras, which makes for a complicated installation process, especially if you insist on hiding every wire. Still, each camera comes with a 60-foot cable to connect to the DVR, offering a lot of flexibility for where you place each unit. You’ll have a similar experience with other CCTV brands, not just the Wisenet system.

The Samsung Wisenet All-in-One costs around $250, which is average for a four-camera CCTV system, but similar systems from Swann (Alexa and Google compatibility) and Foscam (Wi-Fi cameras) are more suitable for most folks.