Wuuk Pan/Tilt Camera - but without Wuuk software!
Wuuk cameras offer a way to get RTSP feeds, motion detection, notifications, and more, and you can do it without the Wuuk app or other 3rd party software. You just have to make one small change...
Introduction
The Wuuk Pan/Tilt (PT) Wifi camera is a popular indoor-rated wifi camera. Requiring only power from a USB-C cable, you can run a really long cable and place the camera pretty much wherever you need it. I imagine Wuuk offers an app with motion detection, notifications, and more - but that means your camera feeds are always going to the cloud, which puts your data in someone else's hands. Which is why I threw away anything that came in the box that wasn't hardware and installed custom firmware instead. Don't worry, it's easy! Let's take a look at how I use Wuuk cams in my AstropotaPOD as well as for streaming on YouTube, Twitch, and more. Don't worry, no screwdriver required!
Key Specifications
- Brand & Model: WUUK 4MP Indoor Security Camera
- Type: Wifi security camera
- Price Range: about $35
- Key Features:
- 4MP video feed (it's actually 3.6MP - 2560x1440)
- Decent Night Vision
- IR Lights: 8x940nm
- Field of View: 133 degrees diagonal
- Includes a micro-SD slot (very important for what we're about to do to it)
- Capable of running Thingino alternative firmware (and providing ONVIF capabilities)
- Best For: Home and office security, monitoring your astro equipment, and streaming
Design & Build Quality
- Claims to be IP65 but not outdoor rated (see my review of the Wyze Cam V3 if you need that)
- It's a plastic housing but a glass lens
Despite being a good PT camera, the documentation is lacking. I don't know operating temp or why it has an IP65 rating but not considered outdoor rated.
Performance & Features
Probably the best PT camera you'll find for under $40 if you don't need it to be officially outdoor rated. Do the mod that I'll be talking about later in this article, and it becomes a powerhouse of open source features that are constantly being improved upon by an active community and more than 350 people on the Discord server. The hardware is based on the Ingenic System-on-a-Chip (SoC) with a decent amount of memory and processor power. If you run the default firmware and use the basic Wuuk app on your smart device...well, I don't know. I never even installed it. But it claims to offer motion and sound detection, motion zones, recording, and smart-speaker integration. Remember - you're at the whim of Wuuk with that and if they ever change their mind, sell their business, or stop supporting it, it stops being useful.
It lets you get outside their walled garden.
Add the Thingino open source firmware replacement, and you get all of that and more but without having to send your data to Wuuk first, or use their app (or pay for their Pro version). It lets you get outside their walled garden and explore the rest of the world. I've got an article specifically on Thingino, so we'll leave the details for that, but for now, let's just assume that you're going to use Thingino with your Wuuk cams.
Ease of Use
- Even without Thingino, the camera "just works" when you plug it in and use the Wuuk app. With Thingino, there's small extra steps of putting an image on a microSD card, putting that into the camera, booting, and then setting up the wifi via a web page (and then Thingino configuration after that).
- In both Wuuk and Thingino modes, the defaults are usually sufficient, and offer a great balance of daytime and nighttime visibility.
- There's a twist-on 1/4" mounting hole adapter that lets you put it on a standard photographic tripod mount. You can also put it on a wall. No magnetic options included in the box, however.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Pan and tilt have a huge range of motion
- 2.4GHz wifi has good penetration and range
- Has a built-in mic and speaker for two-way audio
- Runs Thingino alternative firmware with a brain-dead simple install
Cons
- It's not really a 4MP image
- Only 1440p, not 2K
- 2.4GHz wifi is older (but still widely available) tech
- Lack of close focus means you can't use it as a birdfeedercam or similar
Who Should Buy This?
- Ideal for anyone with typical home/business security needs or if you want to see in the dark without spotlights
- Best suited for surveillance type applications, but with Thingino firmware, it can be used for streaming as well
Final Verdict
If you don't need an outdoor rated camera and only have $35 to spend, buy this.
Yes, there are other outdoor-rated cameras (see my Wyze Cam V3 article). There are definitely cameras that have better images, zoom lenses, closer focus, etc. But for $35, you can't get a better camera with decent night vision and pan/tilt capabilities. Throw Thingino on it, and you have a full-fledged Linux computer that you control, rather than sending your data up to the cloud. Plus its ONVIF capable so you can integrate it with Home Assistant, Frigate, AgentDVR, VLC, MPV, and more. I bought two of these specifically to run Thingino, and I never even installed the Wuuk app.
For my AstropotaPOD, I have one Wyze aimed at the mount from the inside lip of the POD lid. So as the dome rotates, it always stays aimed at the center where the mount is, but with the interior of the other half of the dome (the part that doesn't open) as the background. This means it never points at the Sun, for instance. I have a second Wyze mounted along the axis of the primary scope, so it sees the night sky where the scope is pointed.
The Wuuk is mounted inside the POD but just mounted to the wall, so that it always aims at the west side of the mount, regardless of how the dome is rotated. With the P/T capability, it can see anything from the ground to the top of the dome in almsot 360 degrees. This way, I can both monitor the scopes and make sure they're not banging into the mount/tripod, and I can also stream those camera feeds to YouTube, Twitch, or the AstropotaPOD Telemetry page for remote viewing. The second Wuuk is with my [/equipment/zwo-seestar-s50) so I can use it to see what the Seestar is doing, or monitor the Seestar during streaming.
In short, I love my Wuuks and I'm happy with them. If you chose to buy them, or something similar, check out the Thingino web site first to make sure that you're getting a compatible camera, and you'll increase your functionality tenfold!
Where to Buy
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, which help support our work at no extra cost to you.
FAQs
-
Q: Will it work with Alexa?
A: It will if you use the Wuuk app, I guess. I don't know; I never tried. -
Q: Is it good for home security?
A: It is if you use the Wuuk app. It's even better if you use Thingino and Home Assistant or AgentDVR -
Q: Can it pan, tilt, or zoom?
A: It can pan (left and right) or tilt (up and down) but there is no zoom