The EufyCam S3 Professional system reveals that you may have unbelievable options and efficiency with none ongoing prices. Capturing high-quality 4K footage in full shade throughout the day and evening, there are few cameras that may prime these for pure picture high quality. Add in native storage, object detection and facial recognition, and self-charging by way of photo voltaic panels and these cameras are the last word alternative for many who don’t need subscription charges.
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Glorious 4K video high quality -
Highly effective evening imaginative and prescient with adaptive spotlights -
Native storage
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Costly -
HomeKit limits decision to 1080p
EufyCam S3 Professional: Introduction
- Sort: Out of doors safety digicam with built-in photo voltaic
- Connectivity: 2.4GHz Wi-Fi
- Ecosystems: Amazon Alexa, Apple House, Google House
The EufyCam S330 was among the finest safety cameras going, and the EufyCam S3 Professional is the pure evolution, fine-tuning among the points with the unique whereas boosting nighttime recording.
At $550 / £499 for a twin pack system – which is what I’ve had on check for this assessment – the S3 Professional goes up towards the Arlo Professional 5 and is definitely a good whack greater than the likes of the Reolink Argus 4 Professional.
Nonetheless, with no month-to-month subscription charges, this is among the highest safety digicam setups for many who don’t wish to pay month-to-month.
Design and set up
- Wall mounts offered
- Requires the HomeBase S380
- Further photo voltaic panel within the field
The EufyCam S3 Professional ships in a field with nonetheless many cameras you need (two to 4 packs, plus add-ons accessible) and the required HomeBase S380, very similar to its predecessor did.
The bodily cameras look similar to the outdated ones, too. Chunky and lengthy, they’ve a photo voltaic panel on prime, which is designed to maintain the digicam’s battery topped up with out having to cost it by way of the USB-C port manually.
This time round, Eufy has elevated the scale of the photo voltaic panel, so much less daylight is required to cost the battery.
After all, some daylight is required and that’s the place the unique system had a difficulty, as you actually needed to place them in particular places to maximise charging potential.
This time round, Eufy gives an exterior photo voltaic panel within the field, with its personal wall-mount, as you’d get with the likes of the Reolink Argus Observe.
In the event you want it, you’ll be able to place the digicam the place you need after which run the charging cable to the exterior photo voltaic panel that may be positioned within the solar.
In my backyard, for instance, the backyard room faces south, so will get quite a lot of solar, however the kitchen will get no direct daylight. Utilizing the exterior photo voltaic panel, I might place a digicam on the kitchen’s exterior wall and cost it by way of the photo voltaic panel.
Set up is simple with wall mounts within the field, which have a ball joint to offer quite a lot of motion, in order that the EufyCam S3 Professional cameras can cowl the realm you need them to.
Though the cameras use Wi-Fi, they’ve to hook up with the HomeBase S380 slightly than your Wi-Fi community. The profit is that you’ve a devoted hub, with its personal central storage, so if somebody steals a digicam, you continue to have the footage.
The draw back of the system is that the HomeBase must be inside wi-fi vary of the cameras, so positioning it may be difficult. I can’t discover a place in my dwelling the place I can get protection for a digicam behind the backyard and for one on the entrance of the home.
Given how good mesh methods are, it could be higher if the cameras might use common Wi-Fi and discuss to the HomeBase over that.
Options
- HomeKit appropriate
- Upgradeable storage
- AI face and object detection
As soon as linked, the cameras begin recording footage to the HomeBase’s built-in 16GB of storage.
With 4K footage that 16GB gained’t final an enormous period of time, so chances are you’ll wish to improve the HomeBase with a 2.5-inch arduous disk or SSD.
The Eufy Safety app is used for management, and it’s a reasonably respectable little bit of software program, and residential to the corporate’s different merchandise, together with the Eufy Floodlight Digicam E340 and the Eufy SoloCam S340.
Contained in the app, every digicam will get its personal thumbnail, which you’ll be able to faucet to get the dwell view, and begin a two-way discuss if you wish to scare off a burglar.
For probably the most half, the EufyCam S3 Professional cameras can be left to their gadgets, recording footage when movement is detected.
To stop too many notifications, the cameras have highly effective choices to cut back the variety of alerts that they generate.
On the primary degree there are exercise zones and movement detection sensitivity, which will help with baseline filtering.
As there’s no radar-based movement detection, as you get with some Ring cameras, you’ll be able to’t filter movement based mostly on vary, so it’s value pointing these cameras away from busy areas, comparable to roads.
With onboard AI on the HomeBase, the cameras might be set to detect your alternative of individuals, automobiles, pets and all different movement.
And, there’s additionally native facial recognition, too. When identified persons are noticed, the video clips are tagged routinely. You need to pay a subscription price to get these options with different cameras.
All clips can be found within the primary but purposeful Occasions part of the app. This reveals clips with thumbnails ordered a page-per-day, and you’ll filter by digicam and occasion sort. Clips might be watched or downloaded.
In the event you do need cloud storage, then HomeKit help is accessible, so you should use HomeKit Safe Video and the detection settings built-in.
There’s an choice to nonetheless report to the Eufy HomeBase, too, so you find yourself with a backup.
This sounds good in apply, however HomeKit is restricted to 1080p, so the digicam is about to this setting. After all, this massively reduces picture high quality and form of removes the purpose of shopping for high-end cameras.
With HomeKit you can also’t toggle when a digicam data. If you’d like this characteristic than the Eufy Safety plugin for HomeBridge is arguably higher.
Within the app, there are modes to pick out when a digicam can and might’t report, and modes might be modified manually, on a schedule or by location.
With Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, you’ll be able to management modes, however disarming requires a voice PIN, so you’ll be able to’t automate the system, comparable to when a wise lock unlocks (once more, you’ll want HomeBridge if you need this type of automation).
The voice assistant help additionally allows you to stream footage from the cameras to a appropriate good show, too.
Efficiency
- Good evening imaginative and prescient
- Excessive-quality 4K video
Because of the 4K decision and high-quality lens, the EufyCam S3 Professional can shoot sensible footage throughout the day.
Cameras cope effectively with direct daylight, and the ensuing footage is sharp and detailed. There’s not a large enchancment on the footage from the older S330 for daylight recording.
Evening efficiency is the place Eufy has actually made a distinction. There are three choices for evening recording. The primary is to make use of the Normal choice, with the digicam’s sensor in a position to seize full color video with very low ambient mild.
Secondly, you should use the digicam’s spotlights to spice up ambient mild. Thirdly, you’ll be able to swap to IR lights and shoot in black and white.
I feel that the second choice is one of the best. With the Normal choice, the digicam’s light-capturing potential is spectacular, however the body fee slows all the way down to the purpose, the place transferring individuals typically look blurred.
Use the 4 LED spotlights and picture high quality improves. Cleverly, the cameras use adaptive spotlights, adjusting them routinely to cut back glare, so that you get full-quality, full-colour nighttime footage that’s virtually pretty much as good because the daytime footage.
Last ideas
The EufyCam S3 Professional shouldn’t be an inexpensive set of cameras, however it’s exceptionally good.
Excessive-quality 4K footage evening and day, and highly effective object detection, all with no ongoing prices, make these the last word system for people who need one of the best and have all the things saved domestically.
How we check
Once we publish our opinions, you’ll be able to relaxation assured that they’re the results of “dwelling with” long run exams.
Good safety cameras normally dwell inside an ecosystem, or a spread of merchandise that – supposedly – all work in concord. Subsequently, it’s unattainable to make use of a safety digicam for every week and ship a verdict.
As a result of we’re testing good dwelling equipment all day, on a regular basis, we all know what issues and the way a selected digicam compares to alternate options that you may additionally be contemplating.
Our opinions are complete, goal and truthful and, in fact, we’re by no means paid on to assessment a tool.
Learn our information on our assessment course of for good safety cameras to study extra.
FAQs
Sure, the EufyCam S3 Professional is designed to face up to varied climate circumstances, together with rain, snow, and excessive temperatures.
No, the EufyCam S3 Professional will solely work with the Homebase S380 (Homebase 3).
Sure, the EufyCam S3 Professional options superior evening imaginative and prescient know-how, permitting you to watch your property even in full darkness.
