Imilab EC6 Panorama assessment: Huge protection from a single digicam

Protecting giant areas like entrance yards, driveways, or vast aspect yards usually means juggling a number of cameras and feeds–and apps, if you happen to purchase from a couple of producer. However as customers pile on extra gadgets to cowl each angle, managing all that footage can get cumbersome and costly.

Imilab’s EC6 Panorama 3.5K Wi-Fi Highlight Digital camera goals to resolve that by providing a broad, close to wraparound protection from a single vantage level. It’s constructed to cut back blind spots—and possibly the necessity for a second and even third digicam.

Design and options

The EC6 Panorama is a dome-style digicam with a clear white end, designed to be mounted on a porch, below an eave, or wherever else that offers it a transparent view of a big space. It measures 7.91 inches deep, 7.56 inches excessive, and 5.04 inches vast, so it’s not precisely inconspicuous, however that may work in its favor as a visible deterrent. With an IP66 score, it’s sealed towards mud and might deal with heavy rain or high-pressure water jets, making it well-suited for outside use in uncovered areas. You possibly can learn extra about IP codes on the previous hyperlink.

The digicam’s marquee function is its vast protection. It makes use of twin lenses with an ultra-wide-angle 180-degree area of view to seize broad scenes. It might probably additionally rotate 344 levels and tilt 90 levels to comply with motion throughout practically a whole perimeter. You management the rotation and tilt by the Xiaomi Residence app, which additionally gives 6x digital zoom if you need a better look.

It additionally makes use of AI to establish individuals and automobiles and to create digital fences, with all detection dealt with on the gadget itself—there’s no cloud processing or subscription required. You possibly can filter alerts primarily based on what sort of exercise you need to be notified of, which helps minimize down on false alarms from issues like squirrels or passing headlights.

Video is recorded in 3.5K (3456 × 1944 pixels) decision. The digicam gives full-color evening imaginative and prescient with the assistance of its onboard highlight, or you may change to infrared mode for a extra discreet view in whole darkness. That highlight, together with a built-in siren, provides an additional layer of deterrence when movement is detected.

The EC6 connects over 2.4GHz Wi-Fi, which gives higher vary however is perhaps extra susceptible to interference in congested community environments. If a wi-fi connection doesn’t be just right for you, benefit from the RJ45 port on its energy twine to make a hardwired connection to your community. Two-way audio permits you to converse to guests—or warn off intruders—immediately from the app.

The digicam works with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, supplying you with the choice to regulate it with voice instructions. As soon as paired, you may pull up the dwell feed on a suitable sensible show or work together with the digicam hands-free, which might be helpful when your telephone isn’t inside attain.

Michael Ansaldo/Foundry

Video might be saved domestically on a user-provided microSD card (capacities as much as 256GB are supported) or within the cloud. The latter requires a subscription: $4.49 monthly for 7 days of occasion video historical past or $6.49 monthly for 30 days.

Setup and efficiency

Getting the EC6 Panorama put in was simple. The digicam consists of all the things it’s essential get it mounted and powered up. You’ll must mount it close to an outlet, which limits your placement choices a bit, however as soon as it’s up, it feels strong and safe.

To begin the setup, you’ll press a small reset button hidden behind a protecting tab on the bottom of the digicam. The microSD card slot is situated there too, and also you’ll must take away a few tiny screws to get in there—not tough, however you’ll want a precision Phillips screwdriver to do it; I needed to borrow one from a pc restore package. As soon as that’s achieved, the Xiaomi Residence app walks you thru the Wi-Fi connection course of, which solely took a few minutes in testing.

The Xiaomi Residence app makes it simple to get began. The primary management display screen is clear and easy, with clearly labeled buttons for key capabilities like two-way speak, highlight activation, snapshots, and recording. A easy directional pad enables you to management the digicam’s pan and tilt, and swiping gestures might be enabled from the digicam settings. Most options are simple to search out, although a number of—like auto-tracking and sleep mode—are nonetheless tucked away in submenus. General, it’s a clean, user-friendly expertise that doesn’t require a lot of a studying curve.

Michael Ansaldo/Foundry

The EC6 Panorama delivers wonderful video high quality. Footage is crisp in the course of the day, and at evening the digicam robotically switches to full-color mode when movement is detected, utilizing its highlight to light up the scene. This helps preserve energy whereas nonetheless supplying you with detailed nighttime footage when it issues.

AI movement monitoring works effectively. The digicam follows individuals and automobiles as they transfer by the body, and for essentially the most half, it stays locked on. It’s not excellent—occasionally it overcorrects or drifts off-target—nevertheless it’s quick sufficient to be helpful, particularly if you happen to’re watching occasions in actual time.

This assessment is a part of TechHive’s in-depth protection of one of the best house safety cameras.

Two-way audio labored effectively. I had no hassle listening to individuals on the opposite finish, and my voice got here by clearly once I examined it from the app. It’s greater than sufficient for giving supply directions or yelling at somebody to get off your garden. The highlight and siren additionally kick in with barely any delay—loud and brilliant sufficient to startle, if not outright scare somebody off.

We reviewed Imilab’s dual-2K-camera–the Imilab EC6 Twin–final October and had a equally favorable opinion.

Must you purchase the Imilab EC6 Panorama?

If it’s essential monitor a big space and don’t need to sew collectively protection with a number of cameras, the Imilab EC6 Panorama is a strong guess.

With a avenue value of $169.99, it delivers quite a bit for the value: broad protection, reliable efficiency, and sensible options that usually include higher-end fashions. It’s value a search for anybody trying to simplify their surveillance setup with out sacrificing protection.