The Eufy Cameras are some of the most popular smart cameras and smart doorbells. And the Eufy range of smart cameras are available for sale in Australia. I picked up a few of the cameras in the Eufy range to see how well they performed compared to other smart cameras.
My Eufy Camera Review
I setup a Eufy indoor and outdoor cam as part of this review. To test them out I’m using the Eufy app on an iPhone as well as the Apple Home app.
What I like about the Eufy Camera
No Subscription Required
Eufy Cameras don’t require any subscription to access the full range of features. Many other smart camera brands including Nest and Ring require you to pay for a subscription to access many of the features.
Instead of recording to the cloud. The Eufy Cameras can record to the Eufy Home Base. This basestation contains a hard drive and connects to your wifi network. All Eufy cameras including indoor, outdoor and doorbells can then record directly to it. There are no ongoing costs. Once you’ve bought the system thats all you need to pay.
Accurate Event Notifications
The Eufy App can notify you when an event is detected on the camera. This could be a pet, person or package. I’ve found the event notifications to be fairly accurate. You can also setup zones so that you only receive notifications if motion is detected in certain parts of the video frame.
HomeKit Secure Video Support
If you use Apple’s HomeKit then the Eufy camera is a great option as it’s one of the few smart cameras available in Australia that supports HomeKit secure video. This is Apple’s alternative to Google’s Nest Subscription and Amazon’s Ring Protect. However unlike those options, Apple’s offering is privacy focused and not even Apple can view your recordings stored in the cloud.
The other advantage of HomeKit Secure Video is the video feed from your Eufy cams will show up in your Apple Home app. This means you don’t need to use the Eufy App. And of course these feeds and event recordings will be available across all your Apple Devices.
One really neat feature of HomeKit secure video is I can set it up so that Eufy cameras can’t be viewed and stop recording when any family members are home. This is something that Apple does really well.
Micro-SD Card and Built in Storage Support
If you want a 24/7 recording, then a number of cameras in the Eufy Range support micro-sd cards. Most smart cameras don’t offer 24/7 recording. Google Nest does on some wired cameras (and you need an expensive subscription). Most smart camera’s don’t because streaming that amount of video over Wifi uses a lot of bandwidth. The encoding process also generates lots of heat, and small cameras can run into issues with 24/7 recording.
By putting a Micro-SD card in the camera you can still create a 24/7 recording and it doesn’t use up all your Wifi’s bandwidth.
The Eufy SoloCam Solar Outdoor Camera has built in storage.
Excellent Battery Life
Eufy sells both Wired and Wireless Cameras. The EufyCam 2 Pro is a wireless outdoor camera that has a claimed battery life of 365 days. While I haven’t been able to verify this, I do know it has a pretty massive battery inside which is much bigger than many competitor cameras.
What I Don’t Like about the Eufy Cameras
No Off Button or Privacy Shield
On the Eufy Indoor Cam 2k (the indoor smart camera I use), there is no privacy shield or off button. You can tilt it down, but it doesn’t cut the recording like it does on the Circle Indoor Smart Camera. I rely on Apple’s HomeKit Secure Video to cut the recording and streaming whenever I’m home, but I would like a hardware option for extra privacy.
The Best Eufy Cameras Available in Australia
These are some of the best Eufy Camera’s available in Australia for 2023:
Eufy Indoor 2k
The Eufy Indoor 2k smart camera is perfect for home security or just monitoring your pets. Eufy does have built in person and pet detection and I can confirm it works well. It has a 125 degree viewing angle which I find can cover most rooms when placed in a corner. It also has night vision And the 2k video is nice and clear. It also has two way audio, live video and micro-sd storage.
You don’t need a Homebase to use the Eufy Indoor 2k. The Eufy 2k is compatible with Apple HomeKit, Google Assistant and Alexa.
It’s my top pick of Eufy’s indoor cameras.
EufyCam Pro 2
If you’re looking for an excellent outdoor security camera that doesn’t require a subscription the EufyCam Pro 2 is an excellent choice. It has 2k resolution and a 365 day battery. It has 16gb of built in storage and requires the HomeBase 2. There is two-way audio, live streaming, night vision support and it’s also weatherproof with a IP67 rating.
The video quality is excellent and the night vision is particularly clear.
EufyCam 3
Just launched in Australia is the brand new EufyCam 3. It’s a pretty major upgrade over the already excellent EufyCam Pro 2. Although I haven’t managed to test it out myself.
The main differences include the addition of a solar panel that can charge the internal battery. If placed in the right position you might never need to charge the battery again as it only requires a limited amount of daily sunlight to charge.
The EufyCam 3 also has better even detection thanks to what Eufy is calling AI Learning. This camera can now detect faces (it can now tell if someone is a stranger) and also has vehicle and pet detection. All of this AI learning is done locally and doesn’t require a cloud subscription.
Right now the EufyCam 3 is only compatible with the HomeBase 3. But they said there will be wider compatibility by December 2023.
It’s quite a bit more expensive than the EufyCam 2 and I’m not sure whether it’s worth the added cost right now.
Eufy Doorbell 2k
The Eufy 2k Doorbell is one of the best smart doorbell cameras in Australia. It has many of the same features of the Ring Doorbell and Google Nest but without needing a monthly subscription. It makes a great Ring Alternative.
It has some of the best video quality of any smart doorbell. Eufy also sells the Eufy Duel which is an upgraded version of the 2k featuring 2 cameras. This gives a massive field of view and supports package detection.
