Smart reflectors are ideal for watching the outside of your home at night. When the Eufy Floodlight ($ 179.99) detects motion events, illuminates your property with bright LEDs and records 1080p footage. And unlike most competition, it saves that video in local storage rather than in the cloud. That being said, you can't control the lights with your voice and it doesn't work with many third party platforms. If you want a projector that works with HomeKit and many other smart devices, the more expensive Arlo Pro 3 Floodlight ($ 249.99) is a better option and the choice of editors for state-of-the-art outdoor security cameras. If you don't care about voice commands, the much more affordable Wyze Cam Floodlight ($ 84.99) is another winner.

Weather resistant, with storage on board

The Eufy Floodlight uses a weatherproof white IP65 case that measures 9.0 by 11.0 by 7.0 inches (HWD). Both the Wyze Cam Floodlight and the Ezviz LC1C Smart Floodlight Camera have the same waterproof rating.

Two square LEDs stand on the adjustable arms of the device. The lamps are adjustable, extinguish 2,500 lumens each and have a white temperature of 5,000K. Three wires (neutral, hot and ground) come out from behind for power supply. For comparison, the Arlo Pro 3 Floodlight uses 3,000-lumen brighter bulbs.

An adjustable arm just below the lamps supports the whole room. The case houses a 1080p camera that allows a 130-degree vertical field of view and uses infrared LEDs for black-and-white night vision. When you turn on the projectors or if a sufficient amount of ambient light is available, the camera will switch to color vision at night. The assembly also contains a passive infrared motion sensor (PIR); a speaker and a microphone; and an LED indicator. The LED flashes white when the camera detects motion or records an event; remains solid white when in idle but working mode; and flashes red quickly when something triggers the alarm. A 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi radio for connecting to the home network and a 100 dB siren complete the components of the ensemble.

When the Floodlight Camera detects motion, it records a video and sends a push alert. It even uses pre-buffer technology to capture the three seconds of activity that precede the event. It's based on 4GB of eMMC memory and can store up to 14 days of videos (based on a daily average of 30 one-minute clips), but you can't expand storage on your own. However, if you subscribe to the $ 2.99 Eufy basic plan per month, you can keep up to 30 days of storage for one device. The $ 9.99 Plus per month plan allows you to store up to 30 days of recordings for up to 10 devices.

Eufy Floodlight works with Alexa voice commands and routines and Google Assistant, and you can project videos on an Amazon Echo Show or Google Hub device. But it doesn't support the Apple HomeKit platform or IFTTT integrations, it doesn't integrate with other Eufy devices, and you can't control your voice projectors as much as you can with Google Nest Cam With Floodlight.

Application configuration options

Floodlight Cam uses the same Eufy mobile app (available for Android and iOS) as other Eufy devices. Appears on the Devices screen in a panel that displays the last captured image.

Touch the play arrow to launch a live stream from the camera, and rotate the phone to view it in full screen mode. Below the video panel are buttons for turning lights on and off, as well as for manually recording videos, capturing a snapshot, initiating a two-way conversation, and turning off the sound. Touching the icon with the three bars in the lower right corner allows you to access event logs; turn night vision on or off, turn on the siren, and go to the Camera settings menu. The Setup menu is where you turn the camera and the spotlight on or off; configure motion and recording length settings. check the internal storage capacity of the camera and set an alert tone. Here, you can also change Wi-Fi settings, set up a lighting program, adjust the brightness of the spotlight, and set the audio and siren settings.

Easy to install, excellent video quality

The Eufy Floodlight is a wired device, so if you don't feel comfortable working with electrical wiring, you should hire a professional to install it. Installation is quite easy: we started by connecting the device to an internal socket using the attached three-pipe plug. I opened the app, clicked Add device at the bottom of the home screen, and selected Floodlight Camera from the list. The application asked me to scan the QR code, but the device did not have a QR code. As such, I clicked on the No QR code option, selected my country of residence, and made sure my phone was connected to the same Wi-Fi network that I was going to use for the spotlight. I checked that the LED was flashing red and pressed the sync button at the top of the camera until I heard a beep. Then I checked that the LED started flashing white, entered my Wi-Fi password, and waited a few seconds for the device to join my network. I gave the device a name to complete the pairing process. At this point, you can watch a useful installation video, or use the quick start guide instructions to attach your device to your home.

I disconnected the camera, removed the three-wire plug, and removed the body (the projector must be installed directly on a junction box). I turned off the power to my existing device from the electrical panel, removed the old device, and attached the Eufy mounting bracket to the junction box. I connected the three wires to the black, white, and ground wires that came out of the junction box; secured them with wire nuts; and carefully put everything in the box. We fixed the support device using the included mounting hardware and restored the power to the circuit. I checked that the LED was solid white and performed an internet connectivity test to complete the installation.

Eufy Floodlight provided solid video quality in our tests. The video during the day shows rich colors and clear image details, while the black and white night recordings are detailed and well lit. The color video at night is also clear, but the colors aren't as vibrant as what you get with daytime recordings.

Its LEDs glow brightly and illuminate my backyard well. They responded quickly to the motion triggers (as did the powerful 100 dB siren) and followed my lighting program to the end. Video recordings seem as clear as live streaming, and the camera reliably performed Alexa voice commands to stream video to an Amazon Echo Show. The motion sensor worked as intended, and the push alerts arrived instantly.

Good for local storage, but not the best overall

The Eufy Floodlight is more than capable of illuminating your yard or alley at night so you can see what's going on. It is also easy to install, offers color night vision and worked well in our tests. And, unlike most competition, it can store up to 30 days of local recordings, unlike in the cloud. That being said, it doesn't offer all the third-party integrations or high-resolution 2K videos you get with the battery-powered Arlo Pro 3 Floodlight. And if you're looking for a more affordable smart projector and don't need HomeKit support or voice control, Wyze Cam Floodlight is a great value.