Regular viewers may recall, back in August 2022 I reviewed Sonoff’s Cam Slim, described as an FHD Smart Security Camera, a neat little job I’ve since called Cat Cam as it watches our cat litter tray. It’s worked perfectly and talks to Home Assistant – that’s how I use it.
So how will the new Cam Slim Gen2 compare. I received this in the post just now – let’s take a look. I planned to make a short video outside before realising I’d need my phone (the video camera) to set up the Cam Slim (not my best idea).
So, here’s the camera plugged into any old USB supply – ready to go. I’m not seeing any lights – that’s a worry. Anyway – eWeLink APP – scan – there’s a QR code on the side of the camera.
Add Device- WiFi Smart Security Camera – model CAM-S2
Does that mean it’s doing something? The setup confirms there’s a LED indicator on the top but I’m seeing nothing on the camera. Let’s dive in and ADD DEVICE…
Power on the device…. (so it didn’t actually see the camera then? Next… PRESS THE LONG RESET FOR 5 SECONDS (that’ the tiny button on the left)…
NOPE – it doesn’t like my USB-C Quick-charge supply – next – try a normal USB supply..
That works – CAM SLIM 2 now up and running – and the fIRST thing I noticed was none of the usual JPEG compression artifacts typical of cheap cameras – and no delays – just like using a webcam – however – as I don’t have any storage in there yet, no video either.
Should I stick a microSD in there or go all-in and open up Home Assistant on my PC? Well, firstly l have to turn on RTSP to get a LAN address and enable remote use – done – no problem – one button press in the APP.
rtsp://rtsp:xxxxxxx@192.168.1.170:554/av_stream/ch0
Ok, image straight from VLC – no problem.. I should fix the IP to be sure…
And it just so happens that the original camera has stopped working in HA today – no idea why – but simply putting in the entity into HA for the new camera.. up it pops. For reasons beyond me, Sonoff have chosen to continue to allow only 2.4Ghz WiFi – but the output seems fine.
Rebooted – erm IP address is on auto – can’t switch to manual – that’s odd… However – original cat cam has come back on – and after a reboot the SD card is functioning normally – and it is showing the size correctly at 128GB.