EufyCam S3 Professional Equipment evaluate: Native storage means no subscription

Greatest Costs In the present day: EufyCam S3 Professional 2-camera Equipment

Cloud subscriptions that lock your safety digital camera footage behind a month-to-month charge are a irritating actuality for owners. The EufyCam S3 Professional 2-Cam Equipment presents a means out. With 4K video decision, good AI detection, and photo voltaic panels built-in into the 2 cameras, it delivers top-shelf efficiency with out roping you right into a fee plan.

Eufy does supply cloud storage as an choice, however the cameras on this providing retailer their recordings domestically on Eufy’s HomeBase 3 hub—a NAS field (network-attached storage), basically—enhancing your privateness whereas saving you cash on subscription charges.

Design and options

The EufyCam S3 Professional cameras have a bullet-style physique with a white end and a black face. Every digital camera has a photo voltaic panel on prime, neatly built-in into the design quite than bolted on as an afterthought. It’s a clear, practical look that matches whether or not you’re mounting them on brick, siding, wooden, or stucco.

The cameras are strongly protected against the weather, boasting a score of IP67. Our IP code information tells meaning the cameras can’t solely stand up to a blast from a strain washer (from an inexpensive distance), however they will even stand up to being submersed in as much as three ft of water for as much as half-hour.

Michael Ansaldo/Foundry

The S3 Professional system is full of critical {hardware}. Every digital camera captures video in 4K Extremely HD decision (that’s 3840 x 2160 pixels), delivering crisp element that makes it straightforward to identify faces, license plates, and different essential options. A 135-degree area of view supplies large protection with out the heavy barrel distortion you typically get from wide-angle lenses. At night time, Eufy’s MaxColor Imaginative and prescient know-how kicks in, delivering full-color night time imaginative and prescient with no need brilliant, battery-draining spotlights. As a substitute, the cameras depend on a bigger sensor and wider f/1.0 aperture to tug in sufficient gentle naturally.

Powering the system is Eufy’s SolarPlus 2.0 know-how. The cameras use a 13,000mAh battery that Eufy says will preserve them operating for as much as a 12 months on a single cost with simply an hour of direct daylight a day. To present owners much more flexibility relating to mounting the cameras, Eufy presents exterior photo voltaic panels for $29.99 every. You possibly can add one and place it for the most effective solar publicity even when your supreme digital camera placement is in everlasting shade.

For movement detection, the S3 Professional pairs radar sensing with standard passive infrared (PIR) to higher separate actual threats from transferring branches or passing vehicles. AI-powered recognition additionally kinds movement occasions into classes—individuals, automobiles, pets, and faces—so that you’re not continuously bombarded with pointless notifications. You can even create privateness zones to dam out elements of the body you don’t need recorded, which is useful in case your cameras overlook a neighbor’s property.

Michael Ansaldo/Foundry

The audio options are simply as robust. Two-way audio enables you to hear and communicate by the cameras, with built-in AI noise discount that helps voices come by clearly even from 20 to 25 ft away. If it is advisable scare somebody off, every digital camera additionally comes geared up with a 100dB siren and customizable voice warnings.

Footage is saved domestically on the included Eufy HomeBase 3, which has 16GB of built-in storage. That’s not rather a lot, however it may be simply expanded as much as 16TB by plugging in an inside 2.5-inch SATA laborious drive or SSD. A single HomeBase 3 can host as much as 16 Eufy cameras, together with most Eufy video doorbells and floodlight cameras. And whereas Eufy doesn’t but have a strong dwelling safety platform past its cameras, its NAS field may also monitor Eufy’s movement and door/window sensors. Native storage means no cloud charges, no obligatory subscriptions, and no dependence on third-party servers on your knowledge.

The HomeBase 3 has twin USB-A ports in again that you should use to cost the cameras and to again up its inside storage. If you’d like one other layer of backup safety, you may join an non-compulsory cloud backup service: Eufy’s cloud plans, which begin at $0.99 for the primary month and $3.99/month after that for a single machine. A $13.99/month Plus Plan covers all units and shops movies for 30 days.

The S3 Professional works with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple HomeKit, together with HomeKit Safe Video. There’s a small tradeoff to utilizing HomeKit, nonetheless; video decision will get capped at 1080p as an alternative of 4K. It’s a limitation that received’t matter to everybody, but it surely’s value figuring out up entrance.

Setup and efficiency

Getting the EufyCam S3 Professional system up and operating is about as straightforward because it will get. The cameras include all the things you want, together with sturdy wall mounts and clear directions that stroll you thru every step. Merely plug the HomeBase 3 into your router, scan a QR code on the underside with the Eufy Safety app, and comply with the prompts to finish the connection. You then press the sync button on every digital camera to pair it to the HomeBase. As soon as paired, the HomeBase manages video storage, powers the AI options, and acts because the brains behind the entire setup.

Michael Brown/Foundry

In daylight, the S3 Professional’s video high quality stands out. Footage is sharp and vibrant, with colours that look pure as an alternative of overly boosted. Particulars like faces, clothes, and license plates keep clear even while you zoom in. Movement detection additionally works properly proper out of the field (though you may regulate sensitivity to tailor detection to your liking). The mix of radar and infrared sensing does a very good job of catching actual exercise whereas ignoring typical false alarms like tree branches or passing shadows.

Picture high quality holds up impressively after darkish. Footage stays in coloration even when streetlights or porch lights are scarce, making it a lot simpler to select particulars like clothes coloration, automobile fashions, or faces that may blur collectively in a regular black-and-white feed. You don’t have to squint at muddy pictures or guess what you’re seeing—what’s recorded at night time seems nearly as sharp and recognizable as daytime footage.

Michael Brown/Foundry

Utilizing the Eufy Safety app is clean and intuitive. Dwell feeds, recordings, and settings are straightforward to seek out, and you’ll bounce between cameras rapidly. Notifications arrive promptly and embrace brief AI-powered summaries, so you may inform at a look whether or not it’s an individual at your door or simply your neighbor’s cat wandering by.

This evaluate is a part of TechHive’s in-depth protection of the finest dwelling safety cameras.

Battery life and photo voltaic charging are additionally robust factors. As soon as put in, the cameras maintain their cost steadily, with the built-in panels simply topping off the battery. Placement nonetheless issues—put the cameras the place they’ll get good gentle publicity—however should you can’t, the exterior photo voltaic panel is value contemplating.

Do you have to purchase the EufyCam S3 Professional 2-Cam Equipment?

At $549.99, the eufyCam S3 Professional 2-Cam Equipment presents a compelling package deal for these in search of high-quality dwelling safety with out recurring charges. In case you’re on the lookout for a dependable, high-quality dwelling safety answer that places you accountable for your knowledge and prices, the EufyCam S3 Professional 2-Cam Equipment is a simple advice. It’s the most effective choices on the market for patrons who need premium options with out getting locked into month-to-month charges.