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The vast majority of our reviews come from verified purchases. Reviews from customers may include My Best Buy members, employees, and Tech Insider Network members (as tagged). Select reviewers may receive discounted products, promotional considerations or entries into drawings for honest, helpful reviews.

• Rated 5 out of 5 stars

  Wireless, Solar, and Secure

  • Tech Insider Network Member
  • Top 1000 Contributor

  A few years ago, I got a professional security camera system installed. This system only allowed me to review recorded footage when I was in front of the TV, which displayed DVR camera recordings. And then there came the issue that I had never thought about before, which was, what happens when there’s no power to record? This dilemma arose when the city had to cut power to my street for several hours over a two-week period. I have a positive history with the Eufy brand, but I hadn’t seen anything from them that could be a potential replacement for my wired cameras. Then I discovered the EufyCam S4. Set-Up: Installing the S4 Cam is pretty simple. Make sure you charge the camera before installing it. Then, be sure you know where you want to place the camera. Yes, you can uninstall the mount and move it elsewhere if you desire, but I can’t imagine anyone wanting to do that several times. Also, you’re going to need to download the Eufy app and create an account if you don’t have one already. Syncing the camera to the app is really fast and easy. You can choose to mount the solar charging panel away from the camera, or you can mount the panel on top of it. I chose to mount it to the top due to where I installed it. My camera battery reached full charge within a couple of hours, and then it only took me about 15 or 20 minutes to have it all up and running. Performance: The picture quality was excellent, which I typically expect from Eufy. The upper stationary lenses are 4K while the lower, rotating/swivel camera lenses are 2K. The camera movement is responsive when you’re interacting with them via the app. There are a lot of features to play around with when it comes to customization. There’s AI tracking, key area monitoring, alarms, spot light, among a list of others. And let me warn you about the alarm… It’s LOUD. I tested the 30-second sequence, and I turned it off because I didn’t want to falsely attract attention. I was also impressed with the Zoom feature(s). With other cameras, when I had zoomed in, the quality suffered, and it would become grainy. On this camera, I used the 8x zoom, and it was still clear. And finally, the last praise I have to offer this Eufy camera is that it’s solar-powered! I don’t have to worry about removing a battery to charge every two months, I do not have to be concerned about running a power cord to this camera, and I don’t have to worry if and when the power goes out because this camera will continue recording. Safety Matters: If you’ve been on the fence about getting a security camera to protect your property or to monitor the happenings in your backyard, then I really recommend this S4 Cam. It’s easy to install and easy to operate. And best of all, it's all accessible in the palm of your hand.

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  Posted 1 month ago by Acadius

• Rated 2 out of 5 stars

  Battery drains extremely fast!

  • Incentivized
  • Verified Purchaser

  I am very disappointed with this product. I was REALLY excited for this. The battery drains EXTREMELY fast as in 40% in a matter of days. See photo below. Solar charging cannot keep up.

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  Posted 2 weeks ago by Avincento

• Rated 5 out of 5 stars

  WIDE-ANGLE 4K + AUTO-TRACKING PTZ 2K CAMERA

  • Tech Insider Network Member
  • Top 25 Contributor

  I have been using Eufy security cameras for several years, including a 2K video doorbell, eufyCam 2 Pro 2K security cameras, eufyCam 3 - 4K Security cameras and eufyCam S3 Pro 4K cameras. Good performance and the advantage of not being required to have a subscription cloud storage account is important to me. The eufyCam S4 camera attracted me because of the PTZ auto-tracking features. Another important consideration is that the S4 easily integrates with my current Eufy ecosystem. My past experience with Eufy cameras has typically been good, although I have experienced some hardware and some software/firmware issues. The eufyCam S4 Solar Security Camera (Model T81721W1) includes the IP-65 rated solar charged 4K camera and a 7”x7” solar panel, which can be remotely mounted using the included USB extension cable if the camera is mounted in a location with insufficient sunlight to maintain the battery charge. My existing S3 Pro cameras with their superior IP-67 rating have survived severe tropical weather. Hopefully the IP-65 rated S4 proves adequate in similar storms. The eufyCam S4 camera can store 32GB of videos internally or up to 256GB with the addition of a microSD card, but it is better to use an S380 HomeBase 3 hub which adds additional AI functionality and very importantly stores the videos inside your home rather than in the camera body which could potentially be removed or destroyed along with the stored video files. The package includes all the necessary camera and solar panel mounting items, including mounting brackets and the screws and plastic plugs. A USB-A to USB-C cable for charging the camera is also included. The eufyCam S4 combines a wide-angle fixed view bullet camera with a pan-tilt-zoom turret. The S4 has a fixed position 4K f/1.6 aperture bullet camera with a 130° field of view and two 2K turret mounted pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) lenses including a 121° FOV wide-angle and 46° FOV telephoto lens with 8x hybrid zoom. Dual technology motion detection includes both radar (up to 40’) and PIR (Passive Infrared, up to 30’). A static wide-angle image is produced by the bullet camera simultaneously with the PTZ turret cameras actively tracking and zooming in on the moving person, animal or vehicle that triggered the recording event. The AI tracking does a good job of framing the subject and keeping it centered while following. Tracking generally performs well but has been somewhat inconsistent. Some visitors are tracked to my front door after passing the camera position, while others do not get followed the full distance. I find that the tracking frequently (but intermittently) tends to lose someone who passes very close to the camera. The motion detection and tracking are very good at acquiring the subject and continuously tracking under most circumstances. There is manual control of pan/tilt during livestreaming, as well as four user-defined preset target locations. The EufyCam S4 has color night video capability in well illuminated locations and also includes white LED “spotlights” which can be selected for color night videos at the expense of additional power consumption and calling attention to the camera. (If you intentionally want to call attention to the camera, there are red and blue flashing LEDs and a built-in siren which can be optionally activated upon motion detection). Unfortunately, the MaxColor Vision feature which significantly elevates the nighttime performance of my eufyCam S3 Pro cameras is not included in the eufyCam S4. MaxColor Vision produces video images which appear as bright as if they were shot during daylight! The lack of MaxColor Vision is a disappointment, since the difference is truly “night and day”! The S4 also has LED IR emitters (3 on the fixed camera & 4 on the PTZ) for night videos in monochrome, infrared mode. One of the appealing attributes which differentiates many Eufy camera models from other brands is that videos can be stored locally on the Eufy HomeBase 3 hub which is equipped with 16GB of built-in eMMC flash memory. No cloud storage account is required with a recurring fee. 16GB of storage will hold many videos before older files will be overwritten by new videos. To store lots of videos for extended periods of time, the HomeBase 3 has a hard-disk slot which will accept any 2.5” hard disk drive (HDD) or solid-state drive (SSD) up to 16TB. Setup of the EufyCam S4 Solar Security Camera System is very simple and straightforward. Initial setup and all device configuration and management functions are accomplished with the Eufy Security smartphone app (Android or iOS). The Eufy Security smartphone app and HomeBase 3 provide step-by-step setup instructions, including audio guidance. The EufyCam S4 features and capabilities are extensive and robust. Well implemented Artificial Intelligence (AI) software with Eufy “Bionic Mind” AI learning, accurately and effectively differentiates humans, animals/pets and vehicles, and supports creation of a Facial Recognition database. Eufy has augmented the motion detection mechanism of the S4 camera by adding radar detection to the passive infrared (PIR) technology. The use of dual-technology motion detection helps reduce false activations for triggers like windblown foliage. Camera features include user-defined motion detection zones, privacy zones (motion exclusion) and detection sensitivity and range settings. I am finding that activity beyond the limits of my carefully defined detection zone is still triggering events. However, if the detection zone is contracted too much, it results in missing events that should have been triggers. Among the important features and options which can be configured are those of motion detection boundaries and sensitivity, video quality, power management, notification options and much more. I like the “Automation” option to activate recording from multiple security cameras when motion is detected on one. Other nice features which are available when an S380 Homebase is used, are “24/7 Smart Snapshots” which creates a quasi-time-lapse record, and a “Cross Camera Tracking” AI feature which stitches together videos from multiple cameras for the same event. In motion activated video mode, there is a latency interval while the camera awakens for video recording, as well as for linked cameras to start recording after the triggered camera. There is also a variable, sometimes lengthy delay for the transmission of the smartphone alerts. Resultantly, some recordings begin too late to capture the initial several seconds of the triggering event, and the phone notification is sometimes delayed even further. The eufyCam S4 camera has a removable 10,000 mAh Li-Ion battery. If options such as “Optimal Surveillance” mode, which allows for clip length up to 60 seconds is used, battery drain is increased. There is also a “Customize Recording” selection for even greater flexibility, but with additional power consumption. The SolarPlus 2.0 technology is claimed to improve solar efficiency to where one hour per day of adequate sun exposure will maintain a full charge, however my experience with the eufyCam S3 Pro cameras which also have SolarPlus 2.0 has not aligned with that claim. However, their integral solar panels are a fraction of the size and power output of the large 7”x7” eufyCam S4 solar panel. So far, the S4 solar panel, despite many camera activations, albeit with plentiful direct sun exposure, is impressively maintaining a nearly or completely full charge on the battery, which in addition to the video camera power demand is also powering PTZ DC servo motors. Live streaming is supported, as well as bidirectional audio via the cameras built-in speaker and microphone. However, it experiences latency, and effective real-time communication can be difficult. Live camera feed also encounters a delay. Eufy cameras communicate with the Homebase on a private 2.4 GHz network, and the Homebase 3 connects to only 2.4 GHz channels of your Wi-Fi network. 5 GHz Wi-Fi is not supported as evidently range is prioritized over bandwidth. Eufy represents utilizing 256 bit AES encryption for both video transmission and storage on the HomeBase 3. However, decryption is apparently a cloud server-based operation along with the thumbnail image creation for activity alert notifications, thus unencrypted data apparently travels on the Internet. The eufyCam S4 has crisp, clear high-resolution 4K video from the fixed camera and the 2K video from the PTZ camera is also clear. This allows enlargement/zooming-in (8x digital zoom via screen pinch), but with loss of detail. Infrared video during hours of darkness is sharp, and the LED IR emitters appear to have good illumination range. The camera also has four white LED “spotlights”, the use of which is selectable in the app. These LEDs allow full-color night videos. The LED lights have good reach. The camera specifications and features are impressive, and integration with the HomeBase 3 and configuration and utilization with the Eufy smartphone app are all very good. I like the eufyCam S4 Camera. EufyCam S4 with Homebase 3 supports integration with other Eufy devices as well as Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple Homekit (limited to 1080p video by Apple). Continuous video recording (rather than motion activated) is supported when the camera is connected full-time to an external power source. A large disk drive will be essential in the HomeBase 3 when serving as an NVR around the clock. Overall, the eufyCam S4 performs very nicely and is an excellent addition to my current eufyCams! The combination of PTZ active tracking of moving subjects along with the wide-angle perspective of the fixed position bullet camera is terrific! This combination bullet camera / PTZ camera provides a lot of surveillance coverage with just one device. It would be great to have another S4 on the rear of my house as well, for better coverage.

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  Posted 1 month ago by Curmudgeon1