Eufy Security Camera Review: Soloing All-Around
Retail Price: $54.99
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Product Specs +
- 2K QHD camera
- Pan and tilt functionality
- Night vision
- 125° FOV
- Human, Pet and Crying detection
- Cloud storage
- Works with Alexa, Google Assistant, HomeKit
For those who are new to the Eufy line of products, Eufy is a part of their parent company, Anker, which is a well known manufacturer of personal electronic products such has headphones and smartphone accessories. This Eufy Security 2k Resolution Solo Camera is an extremely competitive home monitoring camera that is easy to install and user friendly thanks to a thorough companion app. Is it the go to camera for home monitoring? Let’s find out.
The Basics
The Eufy Security camera provides users with a super clear 2K resolution camera sensor that has a wide angle view. On top of that, it has full pan and partial tilt capabilities that give to up 360° of horizontal viewing and up to 96° of vertical viewing. That’s a pretty effective range of motion and things it can capture in a room. However, because of how the camera lens is mounted on the unit, it does not tilt down low enough to view what is near in the foreground on the bottom of the camera.
Even with that limited lower viewing range, this Eufy camera does have the ability to tilt up which is valuable to view what is above in a room. The camera is also equipped with night vision that is excellent in allowing users to see objects clearly in dark environments. The nigh vision kicks in and works just about as well as other cameras on the market. It’ll allow you to clearly determine what is in the frame in a fully dark room. Unfortunately, this camera is strictly meant to be installed indoors as it does not come equipped with a rechargeable battery nor does it feature a weatherproof design. It has to have access to an outlet at all times to function. If you place this indoors to monitor something outdoors, you might be disappointed with the results. Video quality is actually quite sharp with only a minor fisheye distortion from the lens. I found the images to be sharp and clear in both daylight and in night vision. Image quality is the most important thing for a security camera and this one is terrific with QHD quality.
A variety of accessories come in the box including mounting hardware for placement on walls or on the ceiling, as well as a standard USB cable and adapter. Being able to pan and tilt the camera makes this unit very versatile as it allows a single camera in one small area to cover an entire room.
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Friendly App
The Eufy Security camera uses the 'Eufy Security' app, which is available to download on iOS and Android. The app is very easy to use which is a big proponent to a successful home monitoring system. I’ve operated many security camera apps in the past and many of the off brand names have been finicky and slow to interact with. When you buy a Eufy camera, you do get the name brand quality that goes does have investment into the app infrastructure. Initial set up to link the camera with the app is very seamless thanks to the straightforward step-by-step instructions on the screen. A non-tech savvy senior citizen could even set this up. Once the camera has been added to your account, the live view video footage loads extremely quick to monitor. Even when using mobile data outside of a home's Wi-Fi internet connection, the video loads up very quickly to the app. It is virtually instant during my review period. I do live in Orange County, California with a heavy LTE and 5G infrastructure, so your mileage may vary depending on where you live and how well your cellular reception is. Regardless of that, the app has good synergy that allows users to quickly view what is occurring without seeing that dreaded 'loading' or 'buffering' screen that many smart camera apps suffer from due to poor integration. This is extremely important for home monitoring purposes as seconds have huge implications when dealing with a fire or a burglary.
Storage Flexibility
There is a lot of flexibility that users are provided with this security camera in terms of storage options. Users can decide to record videos locally via inserting a microSD card. Cloud storage of videos is also available to purchase through a subscription basis with what I consider low pricing. If you already have other Eufy products, than you’re more likely to already be invested in their subscription plans.
Not opting for any of these options just allows users to open live viewing on the app. When viewing a picture on the app, it is also possible to take snapshots of the current view or to then start recording the scene. The screenshots and videos will then be stored onto the local storage of the mobile device. Other camera features include motion and sound detection with automatic object tracking when it detects motion. It can even supposedly track when someone is crying. I haven’t been able to cry on demand to test this out, but if it works right, I think this will be beneficial for parents. Whatever is happening when you aren’t physically around is never missed. I found it to be pretty decent in actually picking up the motion of things and then following it. There is also the ability to turn on two-way communication, which allows users to jump in to hear the camera's surrounding environment as well as being able to speak and have the user's voice project from the camera's speakers. The sound from the speaker is crystal clear with no distortion and low latency.
Like most modern smart cameras, this Eufy camera supports integration with smart home technology systems like Apple HomeKit, Amazon Alexa, and of course Google Assistant. If you pair this camera is a compatible smart display, you can probably have a solid home security monitoring space in every room of the house.
Worth It?
The Eufy Security camera, like the word security implies, provides users with a peace of mind. The camera is an all-around useful security device to have in a home or office space. With its user friendly interface, combined with its versatility, its many standardized features, and pan and tilt capabilities, this Eufy camera is the complete package. The only limiting aspect is that it can only be installed indoors when many competitors are transitioning to a universal all-purpose shell. However, opting to combine multiple cameras around your home will allow for complete coverage of the space so you’ll never miss anything. A camera like this takes care of an entire room by itself. There’s value there for sure.
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Ben
The complex integration of buildings and automobiles always intrigued Ben. So much so that he dedicated his life to further his knowledge of technological development in building design. Whether he’s on a job site with new homes or in a studio designing a home, Ben understands the smarts required inside a home.