I have USB powered WiFi security cams around the house, including one on my second floor overlooking the street. It’s an 80 year old home so it doesn’t have outdoor power outlets and I didn’t want to drill a hole in the walls to snake a USB cable through to power an external outdoor cam. Instead, I mounted my Wyze cam indoors in my window.
Unfortunately my window mounted cam gets a lot of glare and unwanted reflections. Taking an idea from the world of photography, I wondered if I could somehow attach a polarizing filter to the cam. Polarizer filters restrict the angle of light that enters a lens. This reduces the overall amount of light entering a camera but it also significantly reduces glare and reflections in a photo or footage.
Polarizing filter sheets are available from most photo and camera stores (though there are fewer and fewer of those). I purchased a pack of polarizing filter sheets from the Photography section on Amazon. These are thin square sheets of plastic film that appear tinted.
By placing this film at 90º or 45º to the axis of your camera, you can reduce perceived glare and reflections. Some experimenting is required to get the best results. I cut off a piece of filter just large enough to cover my cam lens then taped it down.
One re-mounted, I found that the film did not entirely remove all of the reflections but it reduced it noticeably. Furthermore shadow areas in the scene were enhanced and the overall scene had greater contrast and detail. The only downside is that it reduces night/low-light performance slightly with more blurs and digitizing of night footage. I think the trade-off is worth it. This 5-minute DIY hack works on any home security cam and also works on car dash cams.
10-PACK POLARISING SHEETS vailable on Amazon through this affiliate link: https://amzn.to/46eRe6i

