Shelly’s new $50 security camera watches your home without a subscription

is a senior reporter who’s been covering and reviewing the latest gadgets and tech since 2006, but has loved all things electronic since he was a kid.

After launching a budget-friendly flood sensor last month with impressive battery life, Shelly announced a new $49.99 security camera today that can be used without any additional subscription fees – although that’s still an option if you want to expand its capabilities.

The Shelly Camera will be available soon from the company’s online store and other resellers in black or white. Although competitors like Wyze have released 2K security cameras for $40, Shelly’s first camera is limited to 1080P with a wide field of view that stretches 110 degrees horizontally and 70 degrees vertically with night vision capabilities. But there’s no battery, so during installation you’ll also need to route a USB-C cable to deliver power.

When used without a subscription plan the camera can live stream video over Wi-Fi to various devices, capture events locally to a microSD card, and trigger smart home automations through other Shelly devices such as turning on a floodlight when movement is detected. If you do opt to pay for a subscription you’ll gain access to cloud recording as well as smart object detection that can distinguish between people, pets, and vehicles so alerts and automations can be customized for specific scenarios.

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