Crime is booming, so it seems. You hear stories of break-ins almost every day, especially if you are not from the best part of town. You can lock your door and close the windows, but what else can you do? Right! Security cameras! With the BlitzWolf BW-SHC1, you are able to monitor your house, even if you are not home. Will you trust this camera with your house?
Introduction & Specifications
Cameras are a must at my house. I want my front and back door covered at all times and be able to have a look at the living room for our cats. There are expensive cameras out there, but why not trust the brand that amazed me numerous times? BlitzWolf is a brand that delivers quality products, like the BlitzWolf BW-FYE7. Can BlitzWolf deliver a good working security camera too? Looking at the specifications, I think this might be a camera that will guard my house now.
Specifications: | |
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Brand: | BlitzWolf |
Model: | BW-SHC1 |
Color: | White |
Connection Methods: | Scan QR code, WiFi Direct connection or Hotspot connection |
Rotation Angle: | Horizontal 355°+ Vertical 110°+ 80° Lens |
Pixels: | 1080p High Profile |
Audio Compression: | G.711a/G.722.1/G.726/MP2L2/PCM/AAC |
Image Enhancement: | Digital Wide Dynamic 3D Noise Reduction |
Wireless Encryption: | WEP/WPA/WPA2 Encryption |
Supported Protocols: | TCP/IP,DHCP,WPS |
Charging Port: | Micro USB Port |
Power Input: | USB 5V 1.0A ± 10% |
Total Power Consumption: | 5.0W MAX |
Wireless Standard: | 2.4 GHz ~ 2.4835 GHz IEEE802.11b/g/n |
Supported Platform: | Android/iOS |
Storage Function: | Support Max 64G SD Card & Tuya Cloud Storage |
Working Temperature: | -10℃~40℃ |
Working Humidity: | ≤95% |
Infrared Distance: | 8-10m |
Two-way Audio Delay: | 1-2s |
Unboxing
Again, like the BlitzWolf BW-WA1 for example, we see the same colors and simple design of the package. The white with the green colors and no picture of the product on the front. Minimal specifications on the back and that’s it! Inside we find the camera, the setup guide, and the charger. Also, there is a wall-mount kit in there. With this kit, you can easily place it on the ceiling or on a wall and still look around your living room.
Hardware & Design
The design is different if we compare it to a “normal” security camera like the ZS GX1 for example. Of course, we have the round camera head, but in this case, the body or the foot of the camera is longer. It’s up to you if you like it or not, but I think it is not ugly but rather unique.
At the bottom, we have the reset button and the power supply. Here you need to plug in the power cable, which is also in the box. If you turn the camera all the way up, you will uncover the SD card slot. Besides that, you can clearly see the microphone near the lens and the red indicator LED. Above the lens, we find the photo-resistor which will decide if the IR LEDs need to be activated.
Don’t miss a thing in your house. The BlitzWolf BW-SHC1 can move around 355° horizontal and 111° vertical. The default view of the lens is 80°.
Have a look inside your house while you are away with the BlitzWolf BW-SHC1. Click Here to get yours!
Camera Lens
A good camera lens is essential for a security camera. The BlitzWolf BW-SHC1 can rotate 355° horizontally and 110° vertically, which is great. Is the lens good enough? The lens has a fixed focal length of 3.6mm, which offers up to 10 meters of night vision too, which is important for a security camera. The resolution of the BlitzWolf BW-SHC1 is 1080p, which is just great seen the price of this camera.
Software
Good software is essential for me. You want to have a smooth-running application and multi-product support in there. There is an app from BlitzWolf, but I highly recommend Smart Life. The looks are the same, the functionality is the same, but with Smart Life, you can add other products too. If you want, you can download and us the BlitzWolf app, but I made this review using the Smart Life app.
Smart Life App
The Smart Life app is a great app if you want to run different kinds of smart products in a single user interface. TP-Link has its own app, Xiaomi has its own app and other brands created their own apps too. With Smart Life, you are able to bundle some of the less known products together and control them all from one app, which is great.
You also have the BlitzWolf Home app, which basically is the same app, but just for BlitzWolf. I would recommend using the Smart Life App as you can add more products from different brands in it, like the Lonsonho Smart Plug.
I’m not going into detail about this app. If you want to know more, download the application and find out yourself. Navigation between the menus and finding what you need is super simple.
How to set up?
I recommend using the Smart Life app, which is available for Android and iOS, to set up the BlitzWolf BW-SHC1. This Smart Life app works with the Tuya Smart Platform, which is widely supported for different brands and products. When you installed the app, sign in or create an account and click the “+” sign in the top right corner of the application. One thing you need to check before proceeding, your smartphone must be on a 2.4GHz WiFi network.
Have a look inside your house while you are away with the BlitzWolf BW-SHC1. Click Here to get yours!
Once that is done, follow the step in the app. At some point, the Smart Life app will show a QR code, which you need to hold in front of the BlitzWolf BW-SHC1 in order to make the connection. Just enter the login details of your network now and proceed to start the camera. If all goes as planned, you should be online and streaming within a minute or two.
Video Quality
Comparing it to the (way more expensive) TP-Link KC110, the video quality is colder, but no less sharp. Seen the price difference, I’m really happy with the quality. A cheaper camera with almost the same quality is great. Here is a video of the video quality of the BlitzWolf BW-SHC1 in day and night time:
Features
A camera can do more than just record what is happening around you. If we look at the BlitzWolf BW-SHC1, you can rotate it almost 360 degrees, you have cloud storage possibilities, an app with a wide range of product support and features on the camera itself. Let’s have a look at some of those.
Have a look inside your house while you are away with the BlitzWolf BW-SHC1. Click Here to get yours!
Cloud Storage/Local Storage
The BlitzWolf BW-SHC1 can take an SD card up to 64GB in it. You have to turn the camera all the way up and the SD card slot will be revealed under the lens. With the SD card, you are able to save the captured video locally, which some people might prefer. You can also take a subscription to Tuya Cloud to save the captured videos in the cloud. You can pay $4.50 per month or $45 per year to use cloud storage. This gives you 14 records and 365 days of storage. Not too pricey at all.
Video Cloud Storage Prices | |
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Trial: | €0.01 |
Basic Plan (Montly): | €3.99 |
Premium Plan (Montly): | €8.99 |
Basic Plan (Annually): | €39.99 |
Premium Plan (Annually): | €89.99 |
Motion Detection / Tracking
You can enter the settings of the camera by tapping on the pencil icon in the top right corner when viewing the footage. Here, you can set motion detection (low, medium, high) sensitivity and other settings. Like if you want an alarm when motion is detected if you want it all day or during scheduled hours.
In the settings, you can turn motion tracking on and off too. In some cases, motion tracking would be very useful. Luckily, this cheaper camera has the option to do that.
Playback
This is a very handy feature which we already saw on the TP-Link KC110. When there is movement seen, the camera will create an event and you are able to look back at the event with just a few clicks. Super easy.
Have a look inside your house while you are away with the BlitzWolf BW-SHC1. Click Here to get yours!
If you want to use the BlitzWolf BW-SHC1 without a cloud storage plan, you have to place an SD card inside, otherwise, this feature will not work at all since it does not have a place to store the events on.
Conclusion
For its price, you can not get a better camera. There are good features on the camera and the cloud storage option is affordable, which is a good thing. The application, Smart Life, is widely supported under a variety of brands so you can easily make your house smart with just one app. The footage is sharp, and it doesn’t matter if it is day or night. When moving the camera, it reacts quick and snappy, which is great. No lag or waiting to see the other side of the room.
The size might be a downside as it is quite big, but other cameras are wider than the BlitzWolf BW-SHC1. This is a camera that will suit the needs of many people who are looking into making their home more secure.