Before Xiaomi released its Yi Action camera, their Xiaoyi sub-brand actually makes CCTV cameras. Available officially only in China, the Yi Smart Camera now gets a new Night Vision model that allows better surveillance in the dark.
Best of all, it still retains the same price as the previous model at 149 CNY (about RM90) per piece.
The Yi Smart Camera was introduced late last year as Xiaomi ventures into the smart home space. It’s a tiny round shape little camera that’s powered by microUSB and it connects via WiFi. The front lens is made of glass and it boasts a wide angle of 111 degrees.
It will record videos at HD 720p resolution in 20 fps, which is saved onto the local microSD card. There’s no cloud storage required, thus minimising your broadband usage at home. To take a peek of what’s going on, you can use Xiaomi’s Smart Home app available for both iOS and Android to view the camera in real time as well past recordings which are taken when motion is detected. It even comes with a built-in mic and speaker, so you do get 2 way audio using the app.
With the new Night Vision model, the Yi Smart Camera gets additional 8 units of 940nm Infrared LEDs surrounding the lens. This helps to boost visibility in the dark up to 5 metres. The 940nm type IR lights are said to be less intrusive without any visible light pollution, while maintaining its picture quality in both dark and well lit situations.
The current non-night vision model is now priced at 128CNY (about RM78). If you’re interested, a couple of sellers on 11street are selling the standard Yi Smart Camera between RM109 to RM149.
Xiaoyi Smart Camera Photos