Security cameras with solar charging are nothing new, but Baseus has taken a different tack. The Baseus S1 Pro Outdoor Dual Camera 3K is not just wireless and solar-powered, it also skips subscription fees altogether and packs some clever tech.
Tired of Monthly Fees? So Are We.
At DRN, we are always grumbling in the group chat about subscriptions costs of tech. How many you need and how hard it is to justify them all?
The S1 Pro? Zero subscriptions. Baseus does not even offer it as an option.
Everything’s included out of the box. All features unlocked and footage is stored locally, not in the cloud. No paywalls. No freemium teasers.
First Impressions: Integrated Solar Tracking and Dual-Lens Design
The S1 Pro is a bullet-style outdoor camera with something you don’t see every day: a solar panel integrated directly into the top of the unit, no external wiring needed.
But this isn’t just any panel, it tracks the sun automatically to maximise energy collection. The panel has 40 degrees of rotation to either side to follow the sun.
It is a dual-lens setup: telephoto + wide-angle in one compact unit. More on that shortly.
These cameras are not direct-to-WiFi. You need to pair them with the included Baseus HomeStation which acts as the central hub.
Setup and App Walkthrough
To kick things off you will need the Baseus app, a Baseus account, a power outlet, and access to your router. The HomeStation connects via LAN for the initial setup, but can switch to WiFi afterwards if you want to be untethered.
Setup is guided, voice-prompted just enough to point you in the right direction (mercifully at normal volume), and fairly straightforward.
Getting everything working together requires you to add firstly the HomeStation, then each camera to your Baseus app. The cameras are not pre-paired to the HomeStation.
It is worth nothing that both of my cameras failed to bind to the HomeStation the first time before pairing successfully on the second try.
Because the solar panel is fixed to the camera unit, mounting location is critical. You will want a spot that gets some solid daytime sun exposure. The wizard in the app walks you through optimal angles and mounting positions.
Local Storage That Actually Makes Sense
Out of the box the HomeStation includes 16GB of built-in eMMC storage. Baseus claims it is enough for about three months of clips. But hidden beneath the lid is the real gem: a 2.5″ SATA drive bay, supporting up to a 16TB drive.
I dropped in a 256GB SSD from an old laptop, but if you have a spindle drive, it will work too. You will need a screwdriver to complete the job, but that adds a layer of security. It is not something someone can yank out quickly.
Honestly, this is brilliant. SATA storage is cheaper, faster and more reliable than microSD. A clear win.
Camera Hardware and Real-World Use
The squarish business end of the Baseus S1 Pro sports four elements, it includes:
- 8x telephoto lens (45° FoV)
- wide-angle lens (120° FoV)
- LED spotlight
- Sensor module
Why two lenses? Because context matters. You get the wide shot and a zoomed-in view simultaneously. Sure, you could zoom digitally but ask any photographer: optical beats digital every time. Just to cover the bases, there is up to 8x digital zoom in the S1 Pro as well.
Having the telephoto lens though, also means you really need to position the camera just right to focus on the area of interest.
For a laugh, I mounted one of the cameras down the side of the house covering the teenager’s window. It opens up to the side of the house which nothing much happens except for weeds growing (not that kind!). But the lighting, or lack of at night, make it a good position to try this.
I also popped the second unit on a tree to cover my yard. It is a pretty boring area of my place but if it does get exciting, I absolutely want to know about it.
Baseus claims crystal clear visuals with 3K HD graphics, and in broad daylight, it certainly is doing the job.
The sensor does a good job with the footage with excellent clarity. You are not going to use it to enter a photography competition but the colours are pretty true to life. Both the telephoto and the wide angle lenses delivers solid results.
But what about at night? Without the 100 lumen spotlight on, the image quality is still quite good. There is clarity particularly with the telephoto lens. However, and this is not a fault of the camera, how you position the camera and how much of the IR is bouncing off solid objects close to the unit will greatly affect the footage.
With the LED kicking in, it does a decent job lighting up the scene from close to mid-range. Again, if the light is bouncing off a wall near by, the image quality will suffer.
If you are like me and went to check just how much light the LED throws, I can tell you that it does not look like much in person. But on the app and the boost it gives to the footage is pretty good.
Connectivity and Alerts
The HomeStation handles communications and pushes alerts via Baseus’ NeuraNex platform. You will get motion notifications – all or human-only, plus vehicle detection.
There is two-way audio as well, so you can yell at that guy who keeps stalking your mailbox.
You can set the Baseus security mode for: Away, .Home, Disarmed, Schedule or Customise. This allows you to control whether you are recording, getting notifications, or if the onboard siren will be triggered.
Security and Durability
Data is encrypted and stored with TUV Rheinland EN303645 and CCPA-compliant protocols.
IP67-rated: dustproof and waterproof, even in Melbourne’s lovely winter weather.
Reviewing Footage
Playback is simple. The app lets you:
- Filter by date and time
- Narrow by detection type: motion, human, vehicle, pet
- Select specific cameras
Everything is stored locally and quickly accessible. The app UI here is simple to navigate.
Smart Home Compatibility
The Baseus S1 Pro works with:
- Google Home
- Amazon Alexa
There seems to be no HomeKit or Home Assistant support, which may disappoint the automation die-hards.
What’s Missing?
Here is the big one: no cloud or LAN backup options.
Local-only is great until someone steals the HomeStation. A basic cloud connector to services like Google Drive or Dropbox would have added a nice safety net. I would be happy with a simple SMB connector to a shared network folder.
The HomeStation is 2.4 GHz only for Wi-Fi, which is a little disappointing. I hooked it up into my dedicated 2.4GHz SSID without drama, but I did not test to see how it would go in a mixed mode SSID.
It also supports two privacy zones within the field of view. There is quite a limitation here as the privacy boxes are limited to either a square or rectangle, depending on how you size them. You cannot change the angle or rotate them to suit, say you have a fence line running at an angle to your frame.
Similarly you can create two activity zones, with the same limitations as the privacy zones.
Glitches in the Matrix
I ran into some issues with the Baseus app during the testing phase. For reference I am using version 1.2.1.0 on Android.
I have had the app crash out on me a few times when I was walking around testing potential mounting locations for the cameras.
My suspicion is that it was caused by WiFi coverage. It could be either my phone’s changing networks from WiFi to 5G, or it could be the camera itself losing connection to the HomeStation as at the time, I was still trying to work out where everything needed to go.
The second glitch I have discovered is the night footage. The infra red footage works perfectly fine on Live View. If you trigger the LED the scene will come to life in colour as expected. But if you turn off the LED, the image goes dark. It is like the IR lights did not come back online.
It fixes itself if you leave the Live View and go back in.
I also notice that there can be a bit of a delay when you manually trigger the camera to record footage. I wasn’t really counting, but it has on occasions taken a few seconds before the app response to the command.
Lastly, if you use the in app function to capture a still shot of the image, it always defaults to the portrait split screen view, even if you are in the landscape full screen mode.
Final Thoughts: Smart Solar, Smart Choices
The Baseus S1 Pro Outdoor Dual Camera stands out for its solar tracking, dual-lens setup and zero subscription model.
You do need to be mindful of positioning to make the most of that integrated solar panel.
It is a “less frills” rather than a “no frills” device. There are some compromises such as no colour night vision, and it is connected into a hub rather than connecting straight to your network.
For those who value privacy and local storage, the S1 Pro is definitely a contender.
The dual lens setup is useful if you have specific points of interest that warrants better coverage, such as your mailbox or pedestrian gate. In the example of the mailbox, you could point the telephoto lens at the mailbox for the details, and the wide angle will cover ingress and egress to it.
The Baseus Security S1 Pro Outdoor Dual Camera 3K 2-Cam Kit, also including the Home station, is available on Baseus.com.au, Amazon and Baseus official stores for an RRP of $999, with a EOFY sale price of $599.99 from 9-30 June.
DRN would like to thank Baseus for providing the review unit. Stay tuned because the S2 Outdoor Camera 4K just landed on my desk.
