Imou has equipped its small camera with a 2 megapixel sensor and optics offering a viewing angle of 114° diagonally (97° horizontally). To maintain effective surveillance, even in the dark, it can also rely on infrared vision and color night vision, using a projector. The user can choose to activate one or the other, or let the camera switch between the two depending on the activity. We will also add that an HDR mode is also planned for the day, and that Imou offers several image definitions: 1920 x 1080, 1280 x 720 and 640 x 480 pixels. In the context of recordings, the intermediate definition is however not offered, and we will add that the latter does not respect the correct ratio and stretches the image in height.
To reflect the image quality of the Versa and situate it in the market, we decided to pit it against the Tapo C320WS from TP-Link. It is undoubtedly its most serious rival. Slightly more expensive, it can also be installed outdoors and indoors, and is among the best quality/price ratios in our comparison.
By day
Despite its 2-megapixel sensor, Imou’s small camera compares to the Tapo, which has a 4-megapixel sensor, and offers acceptable image quality. There are a little less clear contours, but the level of detail is essentially the same. It is more the exposure that is lacking.
By opting for a higher brightness, the Versa may lose some elements in the bright areas, notably the features drawn by the cheeks of the first face in our portrait column. On the other hand, it offers better readability in dark areas, but the TP-Link camera offers a better balance.
By night
In the dark, and with its infrared vision, the Versa once again defends itself very well. We even find more details on its images than on those of the Tapo, which however always does a little better in terms of sharpness and exposure.
Thanks to its small projector, Imou’s camera manages to reveal all the colors of our test scene plunged into darkness. It gains in precision and manages to reveal slightly finer details than with its infrared vision, but burns the bright areas.
In any case, you should not rely too much on this color night vision to identify intruders in the distance. The Versa’s small projector lacks a bit of power to allow it to deliver great image quality with more depth.
Facial features stand out better with infrared vision, which makes it possible to identify an individual fairly easily up to 4 meters away. This is still a little less than the 5 meters reached with the Tapo, whose better defined sensor allows you to zoom in more in the image, but it is a completely honorable result.
The Imou camera was also particularly sensitive, managing to detect activity at the other end of our 10-meter-long lab. To limit alerts, human form detection is proposed, and it is also very efficient with a range evaluated at 8 meters in our Lab, against 6 m for the Tapo.
Note, however, that in the event of repeated alerts, the Versa seems to lose responsiveness. It is also not the most reactive either when it is necessary to activate its night vision, since no less than 8 seconds are necessary for it.
