When it comes to outdoor surveillance and security, South Africa offers two big challenges for manufacturers of devices.
The first of these is the weather. The long, hot seasons in the country mix endless hours of direct sunlight only broken up by violent, windy and wet storms. While this country isn’t known for its colder months, these are becoming longer and more viscous too. Then there’s the corrosion and rust present in coastal provinces and the high altitude of Gauteng to deal with.
The second problem is that of size. South Africans love their large gardens whose substantial size can be difficult to properly keep an eye on. Even smaller properties and gardens need the extra digital eyes to cover all the nooks and crannies created by the lush vegetation that we’re lucky enough to have.
Thankfully there is an answer in the form of Artificial Intelligence Internet of Things (AIoT) Smart Cameras from Xiaomi. Avid readers will have already seen our introduction to these devices and our feature on the cameras intended for indoor use so today let’s round things off by looking at the outdoor camera options.
Xiaomi Outdoor Camera AW200
RRP of R899 | Get it from mistore.africa, Takealot, Yuppiechef and Incredible.
The Xiaomi Outdoor Camera AW200 survives the South African outdoors thanks to IP65 water and dust resistance combined with waterproofing around the speaker, microphone and power connectors.
A speaker and microphone may not be what you expect on a security camera, but it opens up so much functionality. Your security camera essentially becomes your intercom so you can speak to people outside of the property – and see them too. These extra pieces of information about who is waiting for you outside isn’t just something nice to have in South Africa, it’s a necessity. The speaker even has other uses such as acting as a siren and playing custom sounds.
For combating the second problem of proper video coverage, the AW200 uses a Full HD (1920X1080) camera to create crisp recording. There’s also a bevy of features such as digital zoom, detail magnification and even full-colour night vision thanks to the enhanced infra-red sensor.
Mount the camera just about anywhere, even on the ceiling, to create an impenetrable vision space that covers every centimetre of your property.
The truth is that the days of huge, blurry security cameras that barely work as a visual deterrent are over as Xiaomi has reinvented the space and packed it all into a compact and stylish body that all costs less than a thousand Rand.
Xiaomi Outdoor Camera AW300
RRP of R1 299 | Get it from mistore.africa, Takealot, Yuppiechef and Incredible.
The Xiaomi Outdoor Camera AW300 increases its weather resistance, bumping up the water and dust resistance to IP66. For hot environments like South Africa Xiaomihas engineered a special circuit design to allow for stable and continuous operation up to 60 degrees Celsius.
The AW300 also improves in the realm of visual clarity, increasing its resolution to 2K (2304X1296). With such a high resolution – and Wide Dynamic Range (WDR) technology – you get the best possible picture for outside surveillance no matter how complex the environment is. Even at night the recordings continue thanks to two built-in, high-power white lights and two infrared lights.
You may notice the return of the sleek white chassis that is common across the Xiaomi Smart Camera range, but this time there is a pair of external WiFi antennas. This gives you a stronger connection over large spaces again making this a great solution for wide spaces which need to be watched over.
No matter which of these two cameras you choose to guard your home, school or work, you can look forward to seamless connectivity through the Mi Home app. You can also look forward to AI human detection which can differentiate between human and non-human movement. The Mi Home App also acts as your way to speak to people outside of the property with the built-in microphone and speakers on these cameras, giving you a high quality video call with them even when you’re not at home.
There are no other camera options that offer you this much utility – and at such great prices – as these devices from Xiaomi.
