Baseus Security S2 Outdoor Camera 4K Review

Solar security cameras usually come in two forms: those with a built-in solar panel, and those that use a separate panel you install somewhere near the camera. But the Baseus Security S2 looks at the status quo and proposes a third option: automatic solar tracking. Naturally, I absolutely had to try this unique solar camera to see if its panel can deliver on the promise of always having the best angle for solar charging.

Not only did the Baseus Security S2 handle solar charging like a champ, but it also boasted excellent daytime video quality—even if nighttime performance struggled at distance. Let's dig into a few reasons you might like the S2.

Normally, I'd start with video quality, but it's not the Baseus Security S2's best asset. That honor goes to the built-in solar panel's sun-powered tracking feature. This is possible because the S2 has a small motor that rotates the top-mounted solar panel. Most folks will likely opt for the automatic tracking mode, but you can also adjust the angle manually.

For example, auto-tracking is less important if the camera lens faces east or west, since you can angle the solar panel toward the south for a "good enough" setting most of the time. However, a north- or south-facing lens makes tracking the sun throughout the day more important.

Anyone who's ever used a solar security camera knows that finding the right position for your solar panel often means making compromises to ensure effective charging. For typical solar cams with built-in panels, this means mounting the camera in a place that consistently sees sunlight, ideally a south-facing wall—east- and west-facing walls are less optimal, but still yield decent results.

However, north-facing walls are more challenging because your house (and its overhangs) entirely block direct sun. This can even affect where you point your camera, so it's a delicate balance between security and charging.

This is less of an issue for cameras with separate panels—like the Reolink Argus 4 Pro—since the panel can go in a better position while allowing the camera to focus where needed.

The Baseus Security S2 faces the same obstacles, but may be more suitable for indirect charging than other brands. In my experience, it charges well enough in indirect sunlight. However, I still recommend as much direct light as possible.

While it's too soon to report on the reliability of the auto-tracking motor, it's an additional failure point that other cameras lack. That said, if the motor were to fail, you can reposition the panel by hand.

Although the Baseus Security S2's 4K video quality looks great compared to 2K and 1080p security cameras, the lens, sensor, and frame rate are optimized for surveillance, not cinema. This is true of all security cameras, so expectations of pixel-perfect images are secondary to a camera's ability to capture crucial identifying details, like facial features and clothing. Under this definition, the Baseus Security S2 produces excellent video quality, though not nearly as good as that of the EufyCam 3.

Daytime video quality is particularly striking, with good color, contrast, and brightness. Subjects within 15 or 20 feet of the camera feature a lot of detail, though there's some minor artifacting that can reduce quality when you zoom in on people farther away. A low frame rate (15 FPS) further degrades video quality during heavy motion.

At night, you can expect similarly crisp infrared night vision details near the camera, as long as the subject isn't moving very much. Fast-moving subjects tend to get lost in overexposure because the camera doesn't adapt quickly enough.

Similarly, I saw a fair amount of noise and graininess in the nighttime videos and still images that made the camera less reliable as the distance increased. This is disappointing because a major strength of 4K video is the ability to zoom in on distant details.

Overall, I'd characterize the Baseus Security S2's video quality as competent, mostly because the close-up quality helps balance out some of the distance issues. The less you have to zoom, the better.

Baseus Security relies exclusively on local video storage, a rare exception, as other local-storage security camera brands increasingly push cloud storage subscriptions. There are two major benefits to local storage: price and privacy.

Even if you buy the largest microSD card the Baseus S2 supports (512GB), you're looking at roughly $90 to $150 in lifetime storage costs per camera. In contrast, Arlo's cheapest cloud storage plan is roughly $96 per year for a single camera.

Local video storage is also great for keeping your surveillance data off corporate servers. (Baseus Security still uses servers for remote access and mobile app controls, but not camera streams.)

The trade-off with local storage is greater vulnerability to theft—especially on cameras that use microSD cards as opposed to base stations or network video recorders (NVRs). If an intruder steals or destroys your camera, the footage may go with it since there's no cloud backup. Fortunately, you can deter theft by installing the camera in a location that requires a ladder to access.

Both storage options have benefits and drawbacks—one isn't inherently better than the other—so choose the best fit for your needs.

The Baseus Security S2—and other Baseus cameras—support the Amazon Alexa and Google Home smart home platforms. While you can view live video feeds and use two-way audio through these integrations, the bulk of camera controls and settings are exclusive to the Baseus Security app. Still, I always appreciate the option to preview camera feeds in my Google Home app.

While daytime tests are straightforward, nighttime testing involves cycling between infrared, spotlight, and no-light recording to see how well the camera's sensor handles each. Naturally, I verified that the camera charges via its solar panel.

Lastly, I checked the brand's online support resources to ensure they explain the basics and provide solutions for a few common issues. (It passed with flying colors.)

Read our full methodology page.

The Baseus Security S2 holds its own against other solar security cameras, especially in terms of easy controls and helpful solar charging tools. The biggest highlight is definitely the auto-tracking solar panel, which is a thoughtful feature that addresses a common issue with solar cams.

While I still give the EufyCam 3 the edge in terms of overall 4K video fidelity, Baseus keeps up well, though I wish there wasn't as much noise in nighttime recordings.

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