Affordable smart security cameras are quite a few dozen these days, with thousands available in places like Amazon for up to $ 20. However, low-cost options usually have some pretty important trade-offs, such as awful image quality, janky application experiences, or security issues that can send you millions of lives a day. However, things are changing, with companies including the smart arm of the house Wyze and Anker, eufy, leading a new tax with cost-effective options that do not miss the important things.

eufy, in particular, appeared by the end of the day, with the company launching some of my completely wireless outdoor cameras and video sound in recent months. They have also continuously improved their offerings by adding features such as the free Apple HomeKit through firmware updates. The latest versions of eufy, Indoor Cam Pan 2K and Indoor Cam 2K, are both as you would expect, designed for large interiors and both come at an incredibly low price.

I spent the last two weeks with Indoor Cam Pan 2K and was thrown away by the sheer amount of features, image quality and attention to detail that come with a $ 50 camera. Motorized panel and tilt, custom movement areas and a subscription-free local storage option make this room searchable. Although eufy has failed to deliver on its promise of HomeKit support at launch, this camera is definitely worth playing the betting game if you're on the market, it's just as good.

Fully loaded

eufy 2K Cam Inner Panel: features

Physically, the eufy Indoor Cam Pan 2K takes the form of a traditional wedge-shaped camera with a soft, white, round design, resembling a dome for its frame, with a portion of a black lens in the shape of a circle. Most of the exterior of the room can move in any direction through an integrated motor, which provides a complete 360-degree appearance of the room in which it is located. The camera does not rotate physically freely, although instead it relies on a series of movements that turn the camera all the way in one direction before moving back to cover the other.

Based on the camera, there is a small circular LED indicator, which is set to solid blue when turned on and toggles between red and blue when motion is detected. There is also a small speaker area on the base that allows two-way audio to be used in combination with a built-in microphone and can produce a siren sound to deter intruders when motion is detected or manually.

At the back is a micro-USB port that is used to power the camera and a small setup button, which is used during the pairing process and to perform a factory reset. On the lens portion of the camera, there is a micro-SD card slot, which is rather smart, exposed only when the camera is turned off or when you manually tilt it up. The micro-SD card allows local storage on the device for videos and supports cards up to 128 GB, but one is not included with the camera.

The design of the rooms allows simple placement on a shelf or table, and eufy includes a box mounting plate. The mounting plate allows the room to attach to walls and ceilings with only a few screws included, but it should be noted that installing it on a wall will look somewhat inconvenient because the room does not pivot from the base. While the camera operates in this position, eufy sells an optional accessory mount that positions the camera upright if desired.

As its name suggests, the eufy camera is capable of transmitting and recording videos in 2K HD resolution. The camera offers a wide field of view of 125 degrees and includes eight infrared LEDs for night vision that can cover up to 32.8 meters away. The integrated motor allows the camera to track the movement in front of it, but does not magnify, based on an 8x digital zoom that must be manually activated with a tip in the eufy Security application.

The eufy camera connects directly to home networks via 2.4ghz Wi-Fi, without a separate dedicated hub. Once connected, it can be connected to voice assistants such as Alexa Amazon and Google Assistant, but Indoor Cam Pan 2K doesn't work with the Apple HomeKit at the moment (more on that later). Connected features in the eufy Security application include zoom and tilt remotes, manual recording, two-way audio activation, and more.

In addition to local recording, the camera can connect to an attached storage network for continuous recording, as well as a cloud-based subscription option directly from eufy. A 30-day cloud service is included with the camera and can be activated without entering credit card information, and once expired, plans start at $ 2.99 per month for a room. Cloud plans provide 14 days of rolling video storage, but the materials can be saved for archiving purposes directly through the app on the phone storage of devices and tablets. eufy also offers a web portal for viewing through a browser, which includes a live view and a timeline of events, but to use it you need the Adobe plug-in Adobe, which is simply absurd these days and ages.

Smooth and silent

eufy 2K Cam Inner Panel: What I like

Setting up the camera is relatively painless, the whole process of downloading the eufy Security app, creating an account and adding it through a series of easy-to-understand prompts. A few steps in the process, the app will instruct users to scan a QR code at the bottom of the camera, then follow it by pressing and holding the setup button around the back. Even when creating an account and logging out, the setup should only take about 10 minutes or less.

Once paired, I like how controls are available for all camera functions while watching a live stream, and only more advanced settings, such as setting activity zones, are buried in a separate menu. The panel and tilt of the camera are easy with the dedicated button similar to the control board, and activating other motorized options, such as 360-degree viewing, are just a single tap away. Tracking the camera works as an advertisement, but I've noticed that it's not fast enough to keep up with someone walking fast or running past it.

Speaking of the motorized part, I was really surprised at how quiet it is moving. Before being configured, I fully expected the engine to make its presence known when in use, but this is not the case. You will most likely struggle to hear it, even in a quiet room right next to it. However, the engine is not only quiet, but it is also incredibly smooth when you turn in both directions, and the remote commands sent through the application run in a second, which is just as impressive.

However, the engine is not only quiet, but it is also incredibly smooth when you turn in both directions, and the remote commands sent through the application run in a second, which is just as impressive.

In terms of privacy, the engine also allows the camera to rotate so that it looks automatically when the camera is turned off in the app, which is definitely a nice touch. Like many, I have concerns about having a room inside the house, so I can simply turn it on when I go out and not have to worry about a potential feed. alive. The same goes for registration, because I appreciate the eufy provision of local recordings on a micro-SD card, and the subscription to its cloud service is completely optional and is not something suggested every time you open the application.

I also like that eufy doesn't require a cloud subscription to enable "premium" features like other manufacturers. Simply purchasing the camera gives you access to moving activity areas, which can include multiple areas, as well as image analysis, notifications, and sound detection. Image analysis works on the device to determine what is happening in front of the cameras to limit notifications of sins and prevent recordings from occurring when something like a pet happens. The same goes for sound detection, which allows the camera to notify owners only if it hears things like a crying child, which is incredibly attentive.

Turning to image quality, the eufy Indoor Cam Pan 2K offers fantastic detailed images, both day and night, but just looking at it through my iPhone, I can't say for sure that the camera really produces 2K images. By default, the camera uses adaptive quality for streaming and 2K for recording, but I found that it doesn't even match the Circle View quality recently launched by Logitech or ecobee SmartCamera at least for well-lit areas. The night vision is a slightly different story, because I prefer the image on the camera eufy to the others, and in both cases, I prefer the field of view of the camera of 125 degrees. Regardless, for the price, the quality of the Indoor Cam Pan 2K image is certainly good enough for most scenarios.

Marketing mistake

eufy 2K Cam interior panel: What I do not like

When it comes to finding bugs with eufy Indoor Cam Pan 2K, there just aren't too many things to find, at least on the hardware side of things. Sure I could point out that it's based on a micro-USB cable for power, but the other end of the cable is USB-A, which actually makes it quite convenient. I could mention again that although it can be mounted on the wall right out of the box, using the included hardware makes the camera stay out because it will not be in an upright position. In the end, the camera is only for indoor use, which is a kind of bummer, because the panel and its tilt seem only made for outdoor applications, but the name of the camera makes it clear.

So what keeps eufy Indoor Cam Pan 2K from being perfect? Well, it comes to customers without support for the Apple HomeKit. Normally, I would refrain from connecting a product if a company only announces its intention to support HomeKit at some point after shipment, but eufy made the mistake of advertising the camera as compatible during its campaign. preorder. To make matters worse, eufy includes a reference to HomeKit support right in the box in its feature list, which will only create confusion and disappointment.

However, not everything is hopeless, as eufy continued to add HomeKit support to its eufy Cam 2 and 2C lines after the initial release, and the company now has beta firmware available that allows those who want to take a little risk. instability. Eufy also recently announced that the delay will give the company time to implement HomeKit Secure Video and aims for a general launch in mid-July.

I've been running beta firmware on the camera since I started testing, and while I've seen a few cases where the camera goes completely unanswered in the Home app, it seems to be very close to a real version. I’ll also mention that the beta also includes support for HomeKit Secure Video, which is huge for a camera at such a low price because it gives you access to secure cloud storage using your existing iCloud storage plan. HomeKit also offers an extra layer of privacy, with the ability to lock the camera to local access only using a secure HomeKit router.

Almost perfect

eufy 2K Cam Inner Panel: Bottom line

4.5
of 5

Finally, even with the wrong HomeKit marketing mistake, the eufy Indoor Cam Pan 2K is almost as close to perfection as you can get for the category. This incredible room has so many features for so little money that I can easily say that it should be goto option for almost everyone. Striking 2K HD views, local storage option, surprisingly good night vision, motorized panning / tilting and outstanding reliability, eufy Indoor Cam Pan 2K has it all. Support Alexa for Amazon and Google Assistant and you clearly have a compelling room.

Once HomeKit makes its way to the table, it will add even more value to the room whose price is slightly two to three times lower than active HomeKit competitors. However, with all things HomeKit, however, you should never buy a product based on a promise, especially if you rely only on the Apple platform. In this case, however, this room is so good and so accessible that it makes it worth the risk. However, for those who do not use HomeKit, what are you waiting for?