EufyCam 2C Pro: Review: 2K HDR Video No Subscription
Having a security camera outside brings you a sense of safety and peace of mind. It could alert you of possible threats and at the same time ensure that everything on your doorstep is all good and okay. Moreover, wouldn’t it be also more amazing if you could be able to respond as well? With the technology continuously being innovated, all of these are possible. In fact, one brand that many people trust and rely on in terms of security cameras is Eufy Security.
Eufy Security offers a wide range of outdoor wireless security cameras for quite a long time now and they have been consistent with their products especially on the battery life and video quality. In fact, one of the their newest model the 2C Pro is another top-notch outdoor video camera which many homeowners would definitely love and trust. It comes with 2K HDR video and has amazing and useful bonus features.
Eufycam 2C Pro Overview
Features
- Supports Alexa, Google, HomeKit Secure Video
- Spotlight and siren
- 2-way talk
- Night vision, 8 LEDs
- Mounting hardware
- Local storage on Homebase or NAS
- IP67 water resistance
The EufyCam 2C Pro comes in options of one, two or four packs with required base station. They are wireless type of cameras which use battery and wireless connection to its base station to communicate and record video. Keep in mind that the base station is required as they do not connect to the WiFi network automatically. Moreover, they also use radio signal to the HomeBase2 which means you would need to pair it with it. Moreover, you could configure your HomeBase2 on your WiFi which would definitely transform it to wireless repeater for cameras. It could also provide you better signal as well.
Furthermore, the HomeBase2 works as local storage for your video recordings which means you could go back to a certain time and view the event. This also means you would not need to subscribe to cloud function which most high end competitors require. Furthermore, Eufy supports using RTSP instead of local NAS.
2C comes with spotlights and sirens which could make its battery life shorter. Though this is the case, the eufycam 2 comes with larger casing which means it could house a bigger battery. The 2C’s battery could last up to 6 months in smaller body and the Pro model, on the other hand comes with a 2K camera resolution.
The Eufycam includes mounting brackets for the cameras, crews and wall plugs. They also have drilling templates, international power adapters and USB and Ethernet cables their package.
The cameras could be charged by folding back the weather seal over the port on the bottom and connecting the micro USB cable. The cameras itself is easy to put down for easy charging.
Installation and Setup
Setting up EufyCam is easy and pretty much straightforward. Keep in mind that you will have to plug your HomeBase2 to your router. You could also use Ethernet cable. Once you are able to establish network connection, then, everything else will be simple. Turn on the base station. Once done, it will go into discovery mode and it will wait for eufy app. Hence, it is necessary for you to also install the Eufy Security app. Ensure that you have signed an account and then add a new device on the app itself which would trigger the discovery of the HomeBase2.
The app allows you to configure your devices and at the same time it allows you to enable the cloud services which allows you to get notifications on your smart phone. It also allows you to access recorded video stored on the HomeBase2.
Once your HomeBase2 has been connected online. You will now have to pair your cameras to it. To do this, you will have to hold the sync button found on your camera and on your HomeBase2. Once done, you would receive a voice prompt to notify you if the process has been a success or a failure.
Keep in mind that you will also have to fine tune your motion detection preferences. You could do this by adjusting the sensitivity and setting up the activity and privacy zones. Its battery life comes with settings as well which allows you to optimize it.
How Does It Stack Up?
Video Quality
Upon testing the EufyCam, we could say that we found the video quality really impressive. In fact, the eufyCam 2C Pro has one of the best video qualities. It could be used both in day and night as well. Its image is smooth and sharp. Moreover, it has an infrared night vision which allows you to see even at night. You could also switch it to color night vision which definitely enhances the video during the night.
Audio Quality
Aside from the video quality being great, it is surprising to find out that the audio is not as good as its video. Though the audio of eufyCam could capture sounds at a reasonable distance, its encoding is not that great. Its audio is low quality and sometimes it is difficult to understand anyone speaking.
Motion Detection Performance
The motion detection performance is another great feature of eufyCam. It comes with a sensitivity up to a maximum of 7 points. Its default sensitivity score is 5 which is just perfectly right. It comes with responsive notifications as well.
Aside from motion sensitivity, the eufyCam allows its users to set up activity and privacy zones. Privacy zones are areas which the camera or the frame that would be blocked/blacked out. This would prevent you from capturing anything you would not want to be captured on video.
Video Playback
What is amazing with this feature is that you could playback using the camera thumbnail. As soon as you tap on the thumbnail, it would stream within a second or two. Keep in mind however that once you have played the video, you will be not be able to scrub through the video clip. However, you could tap to point further to jump ahead. Furthermore, by tapping into the recorded video count, you will be able to navigate to HomeBase2 recordings where you could tap list of date stamped thumbnail and you will be able to view any video.
HomeKit Secure Video Performance
Integrating the eufyCam 2C Pro with HomeKit is the star and key in terms of performance. The reason behind this is due to its camera system is based on its HomeBase2 which support HomeKit Secure Video. Keep in mind, to be able to use this, you will have to ensure that the HomeBase 2 is certified.
Setup
You could pair your HomeBase2 to your HomeKit directly. In fact, you would not need to even download the eufy security app at all. All you need to do is to plug in and power up the HomeBase2 then, scan the HomeKit QR code on the base. Once you have paired your HomeKit and HomeBase2, you could now pair your cameras to your HomeBase2.
You could also switch to WiFi through the use of your eufy security app. Hence, you will have to install the app and once you have signed up with an account, your app will automatically detect your devices. Keep in mind that there are some settings which are disabled on HomeKit paired device.
Motion Detection Performance
When it comes with Eufy Security and HomeKit, the key issue that we have found is the motion sensitivity as they are sensitive. Though you might find this amazing, unfortunately, it is dependent on Eufy’s AI filtering and record limits. However, with HomeKit, it would take quite a bit longer for additional motion to make sure that it would be able to capture the event. To solve this, all you have to do is to use activity zones of your HomeKit.
Conclusion
We hope that through this article, you were able to find useful information about Eufycam. Let us know what you think and do not forget to leave a comment.
