You can never have too much security at home, and protecting it is now essential whether you live in a detached house or in a flat. Today we are presenting a product that lets you make your home a safe place: Eufy Security's battery-powered cameras, and in particular the eufyCam 3C.
The eufyCam 3C is the upgrade to the eufyCam 2C: it has improved hardware inside, but works in the same way. The battery is still rated for 180 days of use (which, after using them intensively, is absolutely not true, but I'll explain in more detail below). The Cam 3C also has a resolution of up to 4K, which gives excellent visibility both by day and by night. There is also an improved spotlight.
Installation
Installation is very simple. First you need to set up the HomeBase 3, powering it and giving it access to your internet network.
Once the HomeBase 3 is installed, you can add the cameras from the eufy security app. When you add the cameras, a guided procedure makes installing them easy.
You'll have everything installed in under 5 minutes.
All that remains is the physical installation of the cameras: drill 2 holes in the wall (5 or 6 mm bit), insert the supplied wall plugs and screw in the bracket onto which you will then fit the camera.
HomeBase 3
The HomeBase is the brain of your security system and the siren that alerts you to any break-ins. It lets you keep all your videos stored inside it, without having to sign up for annoying monthly fees. HomeBase 3 has about 16 GB of built-in memory. It also offers the option of expanding the local storage. The local 4K security camera system handles your data in a specific way, and it is protected by military-grade encryption. The internal memory can be expanded up to 16 TB of data with an HDD or SSD (not included, of course).
The real novelty of this HomeBase 3 (compared with the 2) is that it brings Artificial Intelligence features. Thanks to these features it can recognise people's faces, pets and cars, and avoid triggering alarms when it is one of those registered on the system. The feature is still being developed, and I have seen it improve day by day.
The only downside is that some eufy security products are not yet compatible with the HomeBase 3. We will have to wait for future updates. For example, I can't pair my SmartDrop with the HomeBase 3, and I still have to use the HomeBase 2.
eufyCam 3C
The cameras are small and easy to control from the app.
The first thing to do once they are installed is to set up motion detection and power management.
Motion detection
Here we can manage the camera's sensitivity and the types of detection: people using AI, presence, vehicle, pet and, finally, all motion. The most important thing is to set the activity zones, so that the alarm doesn't go off at unwanted times because of "useless" movements. My advice is to avoid pointing the camera at plants that can move in the wind, lights that come on at night, and roads outside your home, since these can occasionally set off your alarm's siren and wake you in a panic in the middle of the night.
Power management
Here it is important to choose the right setting for the way you use it. I have always used the "optimal battery life" option. It gives me the information I need for my use, namely a 20-second recording from the moment it detects motion, and it ensures longer battery life. In this mode the battery will last about 130 days after being charged to 100%.
Daytime vision
The view from the camera during the day is high quality. Thanks to the 4K resolution you can even zoom in while filming without losing detail. Local videos are recorded at 3840 × 2160 with an overall bit rate of 1893 kb/s using HEVC. A recording of about 9 seconds takes up only 1.9 MB.
Night vision
Whether we use night vision or the spotlight (light), the footage is excellent. The built-in spotlight gives off enough light to record in colour even at night. However, to save camera battery, I prefer to use black-and-white night vision.
Conclusion
This camera is certainly one of the best options on the market for anyone who wants a reliable security system without having to pay monthly subscriptions.
Easy installation and even simpler use are what make these cameras stand out. The price is certainly not the cheapest, but having tried several systems, I can say I feel able to recommend this product to anyone (for both indoor and outdoor use). Reliability is very high and it works almost perfectly (I rarely get cases where no movement turns into an alarm going off).
Thanks to this product I feel safe at home and I'm more at ease, being able to check the cameras at any time from my smartphone.
You can buy the product for about €500 on Amazon.it
Eufy Security S300 eufyCam 3C
Translated from the Italian original. Read in Italian
