Egg-form Pan Tilt IMOU Ranger 2 camera is what we have today for a review. And our mission is to unbox it, unveil its specifications, evaluate the image quality, and compare it to its direct competitor, represented by the Ezviz C6CN, cause you know this is Hikvision’s consumer brand and IMOU is Dahua’s. I’ll tell you about a feature it has, then activate it and show you how it operates in real-time.
The Appearance / The Box Contents
It’s regular with the box contents here.
- Cute-looking egg-shaped IMOU Ranger 2 camera;
- Power supply;
- MicroUSB power cable;
- Quick start guide;
- Screws and anchors;
- Mounting plate;
- Mounting sticker;
And yet, the best spot to install cameras of this type is on the ceiling, and that is why you have these mounting elements. The exact camera is quite small, about 10 centimeters or 4.1 inches tall, and actually feels good in my hand. I definitely like this design and its proportions. So, this is a pan and tilt-enabled camera; thus, we have a rotating 355° upper part and 0 to 80° vertical tilt. The exact camera module delivers a 1080p image and has a 115° view angle, which is nice. On body we have a little LED, informing us of a device status, little mic hole, and we tilt it up we’ll uncover a reset button and a MicroSD card input, and what I like about an IMOU 2019 devices is that they all come with 256 gigs MicroSD capacity support, that exempts us of a cloud storage fees.
Also, IMOU fitted in here an RJ-45 LAN input for fans of a wired connection, and well, a higher stability. The speaker, MicroUSB, power cable input, and QR code. And I suppose IMOU aims for a parents' audience, because additionally, you can get an orange or a black silicone cover. Yeah, it definitely makes it look more cozy and kid-friendly, but is a “kid-friendly” term is applicable to a home security camera? As a baby walkie-talkie? Yeah definitely. But in some sense, it makes it look like a toy, and it may attract some extra attention, though it depends on the installation location. Below you see a video for you to evaluate a video quality with your own eyes in compare to the EZviz C6CN during daytime.
The first thing you can notice is a difference in the view angle, which is a wider 115° for Ranger, and 94° for C6CN. Except that, the footage taken from Ranger looks more natural due to a 30 FPS recording rate, while Ezviz works in 20 FPS only. The exact image, well, such a slight difference this time, unlike our previous reviews, where Ezviz was delivering way better colors against IMOU, and this time I like the IMOU version more than Ezviz.
The Feature Set
IMOU Ranger 2 Wi-fi Pan-Tilt Camera
As mentioned earlier, a 1080p lens, able to record in 30 FPS, is what we have here. Average, yes, I know, but imagine how much space it will take for a recording in 4K. And about a space, 2019 IMOU devices are all stocked with a HEVC (High efficiency video coding) H.265 that cuts in half the size of an old 264 and saves more quality. The supported MicroSD capacity here is 256 GB, and in combination with an H.265 coding and motion-triggered recording, I think it will hold out for quite a long period, but don’t expect it to hold out a month of continuous recording.
So, a 2-way audio, owing to a speaker and microphone, able to detect abnormal noises, thus we conclude it has some sound volume meter in there, which is cool to have, on a pair with a siren noise coming from the rear part to scare those intruders out. The infrared sensor allows the camera to spot motion, and then Ranger 2 can track its subject thanks to a pan-tilt body to keep an intruder in the middle of a scene. And that infrared allows us to see clearly at night as far as 10 meters or 33 ft. away from the camera. Here's a video recorded from an IMOU Ranger 2 and Ezviz C6CN at night
The night view distance rate is identical for both devices and is 10 meters or 33 ft., but regarding the image… well, you can see, there’s much more light for Ezviz, but it’s not natural at all. The details are blurry, colors are too much inverted, there are no such issues in an IMOU version, and combined with 30 fps, it looks way better over Ezviz, and I’m really surprised by that fact.
Full Review / Demonstration
Conclusion
I think this IMOU Cue 2 is quite a good pick due to some tiny but in the same time important things like a siren and abnormal sound detection, especially the High Efficiency H.265 coding support and privacy mask and this cozy design, I’ve listed a lot of them today – IMOU Ranger 2 is a great pick. And I was surprised it did way better than Ezviz in a video test, both in day and night modes.