Review of the EufyCam3 in the UAE
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From the old times of building fencing, and employing security guards to barricaded doors, we have used different means to protect our loved ones and properties. But in modern times and technology, personal home security has become accessible and affordable for consumers. We have various companies like eufy which provide with the Smart Home Security Solutions.
eufy is part of Anker Innovations and claims to be one of the leading and most trusted consumer electronics brands in America as mentioned on the website. Anker is a Chinese electronics brand owned by Anker Innovations based in Shenzhen, Guangdong.
eufy brand builds easy-to-use smart home devices, laser-guided robotic vacuum cleaners to wireless security systems. eufy has sent their latest security camera system for review called eufyCam3 which is quite unique and maybe a game changer in terms of connectivity and charging the cameras.
The Review
The eufyCam3 comes in 4 colored printed box which has the image of the product with the mention of “Wireless free Security Camera with 4K Ultra HD and Solar Power” boldly written on the box. It also mentions the “BonicMind AI and Free No Monthly Fee” on the box. When you open the box, you will find the eufyCam3 cameras and Homebase3 devices with cables and accessories required to fix the unit at your home.
I have reviewed the eufyCam 2C 2-Cam Kit in the past and was impressed with the device sent to me for review in May 2020.
CLICK Here to see the review
The eufyCam3 cameras come with a white ABS piano finish body with a solar panel on the top of the devices and 4K cameras. It has a pin-hole screw at the back of the device which helps to secure the product on the required outdoor wall. The front side of each camera has a black piano finish with the 4K camera with dual LED lights and sensors. The cameras are IP67 certified so it is Dust and waterproof and nothing to worry about in harsh dusty weather or rainy day.
The cameras are connected wirelessly with the Hombase3 unit which we can say is the consumer’s personal server which stores the images and video footage captured by the cameras. The Homebase3 comes with 16GB built-in storage and has an expandable slot if the consumer wants to increase the storage size. If you do plan on adding a 2.5-inch HDD or SDD to the HomeBase 3 for additional video storage, the magnetic top of the HomeBase 3 lifts easily off making installing an external hard drive to the device quite simple. You can pull out a tray, insert your hard drive, screw it in, and then put everything back together after removing just one screw.
The Homebase 3 has to be powered 24/7 to the power socket and connected to the internet via Ethernet LAN. The eufyCam3 Homebase3 connectivity has to be created with the help of the eufy App which can be found on the Google App store and Apple Store. Download the app, follow the procedure and connect with the Homebase3 and followed by connecting with the eufyCam3 cameras. The process is quite simple and can be done with ease. Via the app, you can upgrade the firmware of the devices which includes the cameras. The app is quite easy to use and has various options from providing admin rights to multiple users to notifications, set-up perimeters of the surrounding coverage areas, and including the quality of the images and videos. You have the option to record in various quality which includes 4K. If you keep the image and video quality as HD, so will have more internal storage space on the Homebase3. If your storage gets filled up on Homebase3 you have erased the data and reused the storage or as mentioned add additional storage in the expansion slot in the Homebase3. The Homebase3 is a rectangular vertically designed white piano finish with grey color on the top side and bottom side of the device that has a small LED indicator on the front and LAN port, USB port, Sync button, and power port on the back. There is also a sync button on each of the camera units. You can keep the cameras close by while the setup is going on. Once the setup is done, you can take the cameras to the required designation and check the connectivity via the app. Make sure the Wi-Fi connectivity is secured between the Homebase3 and the cameras, if there is a very weak signal or no signal then you have to change the position of the cameras or shift the homebase3 closer to the cameras. With a single Homebase, you can connect multiple eufy products like indoor cameras, a doorbell camera, floodlight, and other eufy devices which you can find in the add device list. EufyCam3 works with Alexa and Google.
Once the set-up is done. You can now control the cameras which have 135 degrees field view and can work even during night time and has Color Night Vision by which you get colored images instead of old black & black infrared vision. The sensors on the cameras pick up any movement in the designated area. With the help of BonicMind AI built-in software, you can avoid false alerts as the AI recognizes the family members or the regular people coming to the house. The software has pet detection and can identify changes in light and change the camera from daylight mode to night mode if the environment is dark. With time, the machine learning technology will be able to notify you when your child gets home from school, a parcel has been delivered nearby, or an unrecognized figure is loitering around at night. Homebase also categorizes the faces that it records so you can search for a specific person within the eufy security app. The cameras have intruder alerts which include LED lights and a siren to deter intruders. The cameras have built-in two-way communication by which you speak to the person and also capture audio of the surrounding.
The cameras come with a 13,400mAh battery which can last almost a year and the solar panel on the top of the cameras can add more recharged battery life to the cameras. So we could say unlimited, continuous power supply to the cameras. So don’t have to charge the cameras when it gets drained.
Compared with previous Eufy security cameras, the EufyCam 3 feels slightly faster to load the live stream (though this may be due to the improved Homebase 3). The Android and iOS apps worked well for me, and they are easy to navigate. The only persistent glitch I experienced was a failure to display the number of new unwatched videos under each camera, but the alerts came through correctly. There is support for Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, and it also seems much improved. It took less than five seconds to load the live stream on my Nest Hub.
As feature-packed and accomplished as the EufyCam 3 is, there are limitations, so it’s not for everyone. Without fast internet (above 100 Mbps), you may find streaming 4K and video playback problematic, and the lack of comprehensive backward compatibility with older Eufy devices or continuous recording is disappointing. If you don’t mind using the cloud and paying a monthly subscription, then it could your favorite outdoor security camera right now, and they are slightly quicker to respond to motion and offer richer notifications.
But the best feature here is face recognition, and it’s rare to find a camera with this capability on a device without a subscription. It’s not perfect, but I’m finding it very useful so far. I’m keen to see how much further it improves over time. The EufyCam 3 is an obvious choice if you prefer local storage, and the built-in solar panel is an undeniably smart touch.
What impressed me compared to eufyCam2C new eufyCam3 is the battery both the camera units come with a built-in battery but eufyCam2C has to charge, after 180days and eufyCam3 has, have a built-in solar panel which charges the built-in battery with 2hours of direct sunlight which is quite impressive. So no need to worry about the battery getting drained in the new eufyCam3 device.
Conclusion
The eufyCam3 is the best Home Wireless Security Camera system come across so far in all my review. The 4K cameras with 8X zoom and day and night capture, and face detection. The BonicMind AI helps to avoid false alerts and provides notification of loved ones when they are reaching home. The cameras intrude LED light and siren alerts and two-way communication with the camera. The Homebase3 has 16GB internal storage and has an expandable slot to add a 2.5HDD or SDD drive. The best feature is the addition of the Solar Panel on the camera which provides the additional benefit of recharging the 13,400mAh battery on the camera.
It is a perfect buy for the consumer with villas and houses that require security around their house perimeter. The IP67-certified cameras make the cameras suitable for outdoor usage.
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