Aqara Camera Comparison

A fixed camera records one designed view continuously. A pan-and-tilt camera can look around a room, follow a subject or move to presets, but its lens can only face one direction at a time. A hub camera can also coordinate Aqara child devices, which may remove the need for a separate hub in a small installation but ties camera placement to hub radio coverage.

E1 is an indoor 2K pan-and-tilt camera with person tracking, two-way audio and invisible 940 nm infrared night vision. It can cover a living room, nursery or pet area from one powered position, and preset viewpoints can make a large room easier to check.

Its privacy mode turns the lens away and powers down the camera mechanism, giving an obvious physical state rather than only hiding the stream in software. That makes it suitable where occupants want a visible off position when they are home.

Recordings can use a microSD card, supported NAS backup and available cloud services. Apple HomeKit Secure Video, Google and Alexa viewing are separate platform routes with their own resolution, recognition and subscription conditions.

G100 is a 2K fixed-view camera with a 140-degree field of view, local person detection and both infrared and spotlight-assisted colour night modes. Its IP65 enclosure allows appropriate outdoor use, while its small base can also sit on a shelf or mount to a wall or ceiling indoors.

It is the clearest choice in this group when RTSP output to compatible local software such as an NVR is part of the plan. It can also record continuously to microSD and use supported NAS backup. RTSP, Aqara Home, Apple Home and other household platforms are different paths; test the exact combination rather than assuming every detection or resolution is shared across them.

A fixed G100 is often better than PTZ for an entrance or corridor because the designed area remains in frame at all times. Place it where a person cannot easily unplug or redirect it, and protect the USB power route even though the camera enclosure itself is weather rated.

G2H Pro combines a fixed 1080p indoor camera with a Zigbee 3.0 hub for compatible Aqara sensors and controls. It is useful in a small flat or room where the camera position is also a good central radio position and a separate hub would add no value.

It has long-standing support for Apple HomeKit Secure Video and Apple Home security-system modes, alongside Aqara Home, Google and Alexa functions. The platform selected for viewing and recording determines which events and history appear in that interface.

Its lower resolution and fixed view are deliberate trade-offs against newer cameras. Choose it for the combined hub role and a stable room view, not because a built-in hub makes it automatically superior to a camera placed at the correct angle.

G3 combines a 2K PTZ camera with an Aqara Zigbee hub and infrared blaster. Local face and gesture recognition can generate Aqara automations without sending each decision to the cloud, while cruise routes and tracking help it inspect more than one part of a room.

The physical privacy shutter closes over the lens, making the off state visible. Its IR blaster can control an air-conditioner, television or fan in the same room, so the camera location must satisfy both field-of-view and IR line-of-sight requirements.

Choose G3 when those combined roles belong in one indoor position. If the camera needs to watch outdoors, use a weather-rated model. If a fixed security view must never pan away, G100 or G5 Pro is the clearer architecture.

G5 Pro is a weather-rated fixed camera for entrances, corridors and perimeter areas. Its large sensor, bright lens and integrated warm spotlight support full-colour low-light imaging, with infrared available when the scene is too dark. Local detection distinguishes people, pets, vehicles, packages and selected security events.

The Wi-Fi and PoE versions solve different infrastructure problems. PoE carries data and power over one Ethernet cable and is usually the better renovation-stage choice for a critical fixed view. The Wi-Fi version still needs protected continuous power and dependable wireless coverage at the mounting point.

It also provides Aqara hub functions, including Zigbee, a Thread border router, Matter controller and bridge. That can improve edge-of-home device coverage, but camera composition should not be compromised simply to make it the only hub.

G350 uses a 4K wide camera and a separate 2.5K telephoto camera on one pan-and-tilt body. The combination provides a broad room view and closer detail without relying only on digital cropping. It can track people or pets and adjust framing as the subject moves.

It is an indoor camera and needs a suitable shelf or mount, dual-band Wi-Fi and USB-C power. Local detections include faces, pets, gestures and selected sounds. It can also operate as an Aqara Zigbee hub, Matter controller and Matter bridge for supported devices.

Choose it where detail across a larger indoor room matters—for example, a living area, nursery or home office—and where occupants accept a camera with a wide range of motion. It is excessive for a narrow fixed doorway and cannot replace an outdoor-rated enclosure.

Define whether the camera records continuously, records only events or provides live viewing. Then decide where recordings must reside: microSD in the camera, supported NAS backup, Aqara cloud/Home Guardian, Apple HomeKit Secure Video or an RTSP-based local recorder where the model supports it.

Each route has different limits, retention, subscription, encryption and outage behaviour. A microSD card can continue locally when internet access fails if the camera remains powered. Remote viewing cannot work without a network path. A cloud clip can survive theft of the camera but depends on service and upload connectivity.

Capacity calculations should use the actual codec, resolution, frame rate and event frequency. Do not promise a fixed number of days from card capacity alone.

Stand at the proposed mounting point and identify the exact area that must be visible, the likely backlight, faces entering the frame and anything that must be excluded. A wider lens sees more but gives fewer pixels to a distant face. A PTZ camera adds flexibility but can be looking away when an event begins.

For indoor spaces, decide when the camera should enter privacy mode and who can reverse it. For exterior views, keep the composition within the property and avoid unnecessary capture of neighbours or common areas. Separate camera administrator accounts from casual household viewing permissions.

Finally, provide an accessible isolation point without making the plug easy for a visitor to remove. A camera, hub and recorder all become unavailable if their shared power or network path fails.