The IMILAB brand already has a relatively wide range of different security cameras in its portfolio. Whether it is indoor, outdoor, flashlight or wired. Currently, the interior cameras are being joined by a novelty that we have just tested, IMILAB C22.
While the predecessor of this model, the IMILAB C21 camera worked only with the IMILAB application, the novelty returns to the better functioning and verified Xiaomi Home application. In the review, we will look at the image quality and the individual options that the camera offers.
Where to buy IMILAB C22?
The interior camera IMILAB C22 is on sale on the well-known online marketplace Aliexpress.com. We also have advantageous introductory coupons for you, which will reduce the selling price even lower. Delivery from China will take 15-20 days.
IMILAB C22
AliExpress Standard Shipping
AliExpress Standard Shipping
Duty free shipping via Aliexpress Standard Shipping
Aliexpress Standard Shipping is available for this product. It is the most convenient method of delivery, which takes place without customs duties and in most cases is delivered by a courier company. Delivery time is usually 10-20 days.
AliExpress Standard Shipping
AliExpress Standard Shipping
Duty free shipping via Aliexpress Standard Shipping
Aliexpress Standard Shipping is available for this product. It is the most convenient method of delivery, which takes place without customs duties and in most cases is delivered by a courier company. Delivery time is usually 10-20 days.
Technical specifications
| Model | IMILAB C22 (CMSXJ60A) |
|---|---|
| Resolution | 5 Mpx / 3K (2880 x 1620 px) |
| dimensions | 108 x 76 x 76 mm |
| Weight | 239 g |
| Color | white / black |
| Connection | 6 WiFi |
| Clone | f / 2.0 |
| Night vision range | 10m |
| MicroSD card | max 64 GB |
| power supply | 5V / 2A |
Packaging without adapter
The IMILAB C22 camera is sold in a small box with dimensions of 9.2 x 15 x 8.2 cm. After opening, the upper part contains the power USB / micro-USB cable, user manual and accessories for mounting on the wall using a plastic, round holder.
Compared to last year's IMILAB C21 model, this time we are missing a power adapter in the package. The IMILAB brand thus went in a similar direction as some smartphone manufacturers, where the charging adapter is also missing.
Since the camera, unlike smartphones, needs constant power from the mains, we perceive this step rather negatively. Under the accessories is the camera itself in silo and protective cardboard.
A pleasant bonus is the two-year warranty, which is indicated on a small card in the package.
Design and quality of workmanship
In our case, we had a black camera available, but you can also buy a classic white one. In terms of design, it is not visibly different from its predecessor or other similar cameras from different brands.
The entire camera is made of plastic and consists of a base and a rotating head that houses the lens. The base contains a micro-USB port for power, while the camera head has a speaker, an LED and a slot for a microSD card. The camera rotates in both horizontal and vertical directions.
We personally like the black design very much. The camera looks elegant and in terms of quality, it is standard. The plastic body isn't particularly durable as the camera is expected to be placed in the same place most of the time.
Return to Xiaomi Home
After the IMILAB Home application caused a wave of criticism rather than praise, the manufacturer decided to return to the proven Xiaomi Home application. Unlike the C22 version, the new IMILAB C21 can only be paired with Xiaomi Home. You would look for it in vain in the IMILAB Home application.
Pairing is simple and fast. Just scan the QR code on the bottom of the camera and all other steps are already very intuitive and the app will guide you through them. They consist of connecting the camera's WiFi network to the home WiFi network.
WiFi support is new in version 6.
Application environment
On the initial screen of the application, we see individual devices, depending on which room we have added them to. After clicking on the C22 camera, we will see a live image transmission with several basic elements of control and settings.
The first button at the bottom of the image is to switch to sleep mode, the second is to turn sounds on or off, the third is to set the image quality (auto / 480p / 3K) and the last is to switch to full screen mode.
Below the image preview, we have another four buttons, among which there is two-way audio transmission, taking a photo, recording a video and displaying the directional, control buttons for rotating the camera.
At the bottom, there is still quick access to space monitoring settings, playback of recorded videos and file management.
Image quality
As we already mentioned, the IMILAB EC22 camera offers 5 MPx with a 3K resolution of 2880 x 1620 px. The image quality is very good, especially in good lighting conditions. In poor light or when looking directly in front of a window, the quality deteriorates and underexposed and overexposed areas appear.
Turning on WDR (wide dynamic range) will improve this situation, burnt areas will disappear, but the sharpness will deteriorate slightly and the rendering of colors will also change.
With artificial lighting in the evening, noise can be seen in the video, which is not surprising. Overall, the image quality is one of the better among similar cheap cameras.
Night mode
The IMILAB C22 camera can automatically evaluate when to switch to night mode. There is also the so-called color night mode, thanks to which the camera can maintain a color image under certain lighting conditions before switching to classic black and white.
However, we can turn off the color mode in low light in the settings. The quality of the classic night video is good, although there is also noise here. With moving objects in night mode, the quality is somewhat worse and, for example, a person's face is almost unrecognizable at a greater distance.
You can watch a preview of the night video below:
Space monitoring
The monitoring of the space, the so-called Home surveillance. After activating this function, you will receive notifications about movement in the field of view of the camera.
At low sensitivity, the camera records the movement of larger objects, while at high sensitivity it detects the movement of people, smaller objects or even sounds.
In the settings we can also find the scheduling of this function. Monitoring can be switched on 24 hours a day, or only during the night, only during the day or even during the day nami at the selected time. It's a shame that this time can represent only one continuous time range, so we can't set up monitoring in several time windows during one day.
The alarm interval, i.e. the time between individual notifications, can be 3, 5, 10 or 30 minutes. Push notifications about recorded activity are a matter of course, where we can also choose whether we want to receive notifications for all movements or only smaller, larger or even loud sounds.
If the camera detects movement, it records a 9-second video that is saved even if there is no memory card in the camera, but only for the first three months. Individual alarms also contain information about whether it is a loud sound, movement or a person in the field of vision.
However, this feature is not entirely reliable, as most of our recordings had people on them, but the camera did not always inform us of this. Although she noticed the movement, she could not recognize that there was a person in the video. The camera can also follow a moving person (so-called Human Tracking), but if it moves faster, it does not keep up too much.
In the three-month cloud that everyone gets with the new camera, space monitoring videos from the last 7 days are recorded. Subsequently, the cloud with a 7-day history costs EUR 4.99 per month, or with a 30-day history, EUR 6.99 per month.
If you don't want to pay, we recommend using a MicroSD memory card, thanks to which the possibility of continuous recording becomes available.
AI function of monitoring the selected area
IMILAB C22 also has one AI function, thanks to which the camera should be able to monitor only a certain part of the camera's field of view. We can find this function in the settings, and after turning it on, the application will ask us to mark the quadrilateral area in the image that we want to monitor.
Here we can also set the time interval when the area should be monitored. And how reliable is this feature? Unfortunately, not very good, and we definitely wouldn't rely on this feature. It often sends notifications about movement in the selected area, even if we only approach it, but do not step into it.
Additionally, despite receiving motion detection notifications in the selected area, when we clicked on the notification, we found no motion video in the history.
This function is just a kind of add-on that sends notifications. Simultaneously with it, however, the entire field of view of the camera is also monitored, about which we receive standard notifications about movement.
Sound quality and two-way transmission
Two-way audio transmission is also a great feature, thanks to which we can talk to the person near the camera via the Xiaomi Home application. The sound quality is very good on both sides.
With many cameras, such sound transmission is a stumbling block, but the speaker in the IMILAB C22 camera is good, thanks to which you can hear the spoken word clearly and intelligibly, without tearing.
IMILAB C22: Final evaluation
IMILAB C22 is a relatively affordable indoor camera, but it offers a 3K resolution of 2880 x 1620 px. Image quality is good, although it declines as lighting conditions deteriorate and noise appears. The night mode is also not the best, but it is standard in the given price category.
However, support for WiFi 6 and high-quality two-way audio transmission, which is clear, intelligible and without tearing, will please you. The reliability of monitoring is also good, when the camera informs immediately after recording movement using push notifications. Unfortunately, the AI function of monitoring the selected zone is not very accurate.
Overall, it is a standard interior camera, which does not surprise in any way despite the 3K resolution, but on the other hand, it does not disappoint either.
