We recently put the new security cameras by Baseus to the test, and while there were a few aspects that could be improved, they clearly demonstrated significant potential. Baseus is back with impressive innovations, featuring enhanced cameras and solar-powered capabilities. Dive into our comprehensive review of the Baseus Security S1 Pro Outdoor Cameras and discover our full insights.
Design
The initial impression out of the box makes one thing readily evident: solar panels. The solar array is immediately found flanking the entire length of the top portion of each S1 Pro camera. It’s not a huge knock, but I was surprised by how prevalent the amount of surface area covered was. Honestly, it’s probably a good thing, allowing for maximum solar absorption to keep the cameras charged.
Other than the new power systems, the S1 Pro cameras have an impressive array of lenses and sensors. There’s an 8x digital zoom telephoto lens. This is capable of up to 65 feet of zooming. To the right of this is a 100-lumen spotlight with color night vision for up to 26 feet. Next, you will see a proximity IR sensor with 120 degrees of motion detection. Finally, there’s a wide-angle lens with 3K clarity and a 120-degree field of view.
Setup
Getting the cameras installed and synced with the Baseus Security app is pretty straightforward. This process is pretty much identical to our N1 Outdoor cameras review. The included toolkit has a mounting bracket and appropriate screws to get the S1 Pro cameras positioned around your home. Judging from the hardware, you can also simply use the N1 installation points to upgrade to the S1 Pro if you are moving from the previous generation and not starting from scratch.
The same is true for the app experience. Once you get the cameras charged up for an initial charge, you are just a few steps away from having the system up. You get a nice wizard to walk you through adding both the Home station and the S1 Pro cameras. Afterward, you should see your cameras in the app’s main feed with live views a click away.
Notifications and performance
I’m happy to report that the S1 Pro cameras from Baseus seem to have a better Wi-Fi range when compared to the N1 series. I was unable to add a second camera in the eave of my home previously due to it dropping connection to the base station, but the S1 Pro held a consistent signal that allowed this with no issues.
Notifications have been solid as well. You have a few controls to configure how and what kind of motion you want to ping your connected phone, but overall I’ve found these interactions to be pretty good. I still get a few motion notifications that drop me into the home view of the app instead of the live view, but it’s not a major issue.
One knock has to be mentioned here, though. The time between opening a notification and getting a live view of your cameras is terribly slow. Like painstakingly so. Many times it freezes the feed completely, and you’re better off force closing the app and then reopening the live feed from the app home view. Baseus needs to focus on optimizing the transition here to make this acceptable.
Internal storage of the home station shouldn’t be an issue either. This NAS-like design comes with 16GB of storage onboard but can be expanded with a removable 2.5-inch SSD bay. The expansion is capped at a massive 16TB of storage, so it’s safe to say if you need to add hard drive space later, it’s as large as your wallet will allow.
The hardware combination lends itself to dual fields of view via the app. You get a “zoomed-in look” and a wide view. This has been a great way to get two views of my side gate and yard. The zoomed-in view at the bottom of the feed shows a maximum view of just my gate. Conversely, the wide view shows me most of my yard and sidewalk on the same side of the house.
Battery life
Thankfully, this is just a small line of don’t worry about it. Once you give the Baseus S1 Pro cameras a charge out of the box, solar takes over from there. I’ve found the units stay well above a minimum tank while taking in rays from the sun during the day. Even on cloudy days, the solar panels still get enough juice that having to plug these guys into power outlets seems unnecessary.
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Products with this distinction deserve to be on your short list of purchase candidates.
Final Thoughts
I was fairly impressed with the first experience from Baseus security cameras with my previous reviews, but the new S1 Pro camera kit adds to the positive vibes. The additional cameras and sensors, along with onboard solar power, give the company a true contender here.
The Baseus S1 Pro Security dual camera kit will set you back a pretty hefty initial investment. At $430, it’s far from an impulse purchase. Despite the cost, I think the performance, set-and-forget battery, and peace of mind are well worth it. Hit the link below to add the S1 Pro cameras to your cart.
Price Update: Baseus has enlisted a holiday season sale price of $300 for the kit at both links below.
Purchase the Baseus Security S1 Pro Dual Camera from Baseus
Purchase the Baseus Security S1 Pro Dual Camera from Amazon
