The Bosma CapsuleCam ($159) is a small form factor home security camera that boasts a 162-degree wide-angle lens, color night video, and local storage for motion-triggered footage.
It's easy to install and performed reasonably well in our tests, but its color night video quality was less than stellar and it's missing a few of the features that you get with our Editors' Choice, the iSmartAlarm iCamera Keep Pro.
Design and Features
Standing 3.2 inches high and 2 inches wide, the aptly named CapsuleCam looks more like a cross between R2D2 and one of Gru's minions than a home security camera.
The white, pint-sized 1080p camera captures video at a 25fps and has a wide 162-degree field of view.
As with the Reolink Argus 2, it uses a Sony Starlight CMOS sensor to provide color video in almost any lighting condition, and it also uses infrared LED technology to provide black-and-white night vision when there's not enough light for color.
The CapsuleCam uses an 802.11n radio to connect to your 2.4GHz Wi-Fi network.
It also has a motion sensor, a microphone, and a speaker for two-way audio, but does not offer sound detection.
Recorded video is stored locally using the microSD card slot located on the right side of the camera, and there's a reset bottom on the bottom.
The camera supports SD media of up to 32GB.
If you lift the camera up slightly from its base, you can tilt it forward and backward to give it an extra inch of height.
The mobile app (available for Android and iOS) opens to a Devices screen that shows a list of all installed Bosma cameras.
Tap the still image to initiate a live stream with buttons on the bottom for taking a snapshot, manual recording, two-way audio, muting the speaker, adjusting brightness and contrast, and flipping the image to landscape (full-screen) mode.
At the top of this screen is a button for inviting users to view live and recorded video, and a gear icon that takes you to a settings screen where you can turn recording on and off and have the camera record full time or only when motion is detected.
Here you can also enable the Starlight sensor for color night video or leave it disabled for black-and-white night video, turn motion alerts on and off, and configure Wi-Fi settings.
Back at the Devices screen, you can use the Library button to view all video recorded to the microSD card and use the Settings button to change profile information such as your username and password.
To add new cameras, tap the plus icon in the upper right corner.
The CapsuleCam is a standalone camera, meaning it doesn't work with other smart home devices or support IFTTT applets that allow it to interact with other IFTTT-enabled devices, like our Editors' Choice, the iCamera Keep Pro does.
Moreover, it doesn't support Amazon voice commands that let you view video on an Amazon Echo Show (or other compatible product) like you can with the Canary All-In-One Home Security Device.
Installation and Performance
To install the CapsuleCam, I started by downloading the mobile app and creating an account.
Once I responded to the verification email, I tapped the plus button on the Devices screen to add the camera.
I plugged in the camera and waited a second or two for the LED to blink blue, then tapped Next.
I scanned the QR code on the base, selected an LED state (slow blinking blue, solid blue, fast blinking blue), then went to my phone's Wi-Fi settings and connected to the camera.
I returned to the app, selected my home Wi-Fi SSID, entered my Wi-Fi password, and was connected within 30 seconds.
I gave the camera a name and the installation was complete.
The CapsuleCam delivered sharp, colorful 1080p daytime video in testing, but as is the case with most wide-angle cameras, barrel distortion was evident.
Still, the camera provided a nice view of my entire living room compared with the more narrow view I saw with the Wyze Cam V2 and Momentum Corir cameras, both of which have a 110-degree field of view.
As with the Reolink Argus 2 camera, color night video appeared too dark in low-lighting conditions, which means you'll have to keep a nearby lamp on to take advantage of this feature.
You're better off turning it off and viewing video in black-and-white, which appeared relatively sharp and showed good contrast.
Motion detection was solid, with only a few false alerts due to passing cars and other minor movements with the sensitivity set to medium.
Switching to low sensitivity eliminated all false alerts.
Two-way audio was clean and adequately loud, and recorded video looked every bit as sharp and colorful as the live feed.
Conclusions
If you're in the market for a moderately priced home security camera but don't want to be saddled with monthly cloud storage fees, the Bosma CapsuleCam is worth a look.
Although its color night video was a bit too dark in our tests, it delivered sharp 1080p video with vibrant colors during the day and crisp black-and-white imagery at night.
It lacks support for things like Alexa voice commands, and it doesn't work with other devices, either directly or via IFTTT applets.
For that, you'll want to check out our Editors' Choice for indoor home security cameras, the iSmartAlarm iCamera Keep Pro.
Pros
Easy to install.
Sharp 1080p video.
Color night video.
Local video storage.
Wide-angle lens.
View More
Cons
Doesn't interact with other smart home devices.
Lacks support for IFTTT applets and Alexa voice commands.
Color night video requires adequate lighting.
Some barrel distortion.
View More
The Bottom Line
The Bosma CapsuleCam is a 1080p smart home security camera with a wide-angle lens and a microSD card slot for local video storage.
The Bosma CapsuleCam ($159) is a small form factor home security camera that boasts a 162-degree wide-angle lens, color night video, and local storage for motion-triggered footage.
It's easy to install and performed reasonably well in our tests, but its color night video quality was less than stellar and it's missing a few of the features that you get with our Editors' Choice, the iSmartAlarm iCamera Keep Pro.
Design and Features
Standing 3.2 inches high and 2 inches wide, the aptly named CapsuleCam looks more like a cross between R2D2 and one of Gru's minions than a home security camera.
The white, pint-sized 1080p camera captures video at a 25fps and has a wide 162-degree field of view.
As with the Reolink Argus 2, it uses a Sony Starlight CMOS sensor to provide color video in almost any lighting condition, and it also uses infrared LED technology to provide black-and-white night vision when there's not enough light for color.
The CapsuleCam uses an 802.11n radio to connect to your 2.4GHz Wi-Fi network.
It also has a motion sensor, a microphone, and a speaker for two-way audio, but does not offer sound detection.
Recorded video is stored locally using the microSD card slot located on the right side of the camera, and there's a reset bottom on the bottom.
The camera supports SD media of up to 32GB.
If you lift the camera up slightly from its base, you can tilt it forward and backward to give it an extra inch of height.
The mobile app (available for Android and iOS) opens to a Devices screen that shows a list of all installed Bosma cameras.
Tap the still image to initiate a live stream with buttons on the bottom for taking a snapshot, manual recording, two-way audio, muting the speaker, adjusting brightness and contrast, and flipping the image to landscape (full-screen) mode.
At the top of this screen is a button for inviting users to view live and recorded video, and a gear icon that takes you to a settings screen where you can turn recording on and off and have the camera record full time or only when motion is detected.
Here you can also enable the Starlight sensor for color night video or leave it disabled for black-and-white night video, turn motion alerts on and off, and configure Wi-Fi settings.
Back at the Devices screen, you can use the Library button to view all video recorded to the microSD card and use the Settings button to change profile information such as your username and password.
To add new cameras, tap the plus icon in the upper right corner.
The CapsuleCam is a standalone camera, meaning it doesn't work with other smart home devices or support IFTTT applets that allow it to interact with other IFTTT-enabled devices, like our Editors' Choice, the iCamera Keep Pro does.
Moreover, it doesn't support Amazon voice commands that let you view video on an Amazon Echo Show (or other compatible product) like you can with the Canary All-In-One Home Security Device.
Installation and Performance
To install the CapsuleCam, I started by downloading the mobile app and creating an account.
Once I responded to the verification email, I tapped the plus button on the Devices screen to add the camera.
I plugged in the camera and waited a second or two for the LED to blink blue, then tapped Next.
I scanned the QR code on the base, selected an LED state (slow blinking blue, solid blue, fast blinking blue), then went to my phone's Wi-Fi settings and connected to the camera.
I returned to the app, selected my home Wi-Fi SSID, entered my Wi-Fi password, and was connected within 30 seconds.
I gave the camera a name and the installation was complete.
The CapsuleCam delivered sharp, colorful 1080p daytime video in testing, but as is the case with most wide-angle cameras, barrel distortion was evident.
Still, the camera provided a nice view of my entire living room compared with the more narrow view I saw with the Wyze Cam V2 and Momentum Corir cameras, both of which have a 110-degree field of view.
As with the Reolink Argus 2 camera, color night video appeared too dark in low-lighting conditions, which means you'll have to keep a nearby lamp on to take advantage of this feature.
You're better off turning it off and viewing video in black-and-white, which appeared relatively sharp and showed good contrast.
Motion detection was solid, with only a few false alerts due to passing cars and other minor movements with the sensitivity set to medium.
Switching to low sensitivity eliminated all false alerts.
Two-way audio was clean and adequately loud, and recorded video looked every bit as sharp and colorful as the live feed.
Conclusions
If you're in the market for a moderately priced home security camera but don't want to be saddled with monthly cloud storage fees, the Bosma CapsuleCam is worth a look.
Although its color night video was a bit too dark in our tests, it delivered sharp 1080p video with vibrant colors during the day and crisp black-and-white imagery at night.
It lacks support for things like Alexa voice commands, and it doesn't work with other devices, either directly or via IFTTT applets.
For that, you'll want to check out our Editors' Choice for indoor home security cameras, the iSmartAlarm iCamera Keep Pro.
Pros
Easy to install.
Sharp 1080p video.
Color night video.
Local video storage.
Wide-angle lens.
View More
Cons
Doesn't interact with other smart home devices.
Lacks support for IFTTT applets and Alexa voice commands.
Color night video requires adequate lighting.
Some barrel distortion.
View More
The Bottom Line
The Bosma CapsuleCam is a 1080p smart home security camera with a wide-angle lens and a microSD card slot for local video storage.
