review
Anker eufyCam E 1080p Surveillance Camera: 12-month battery life & NAS Support
Tuesday, March 12, 2019
infrared leds on either side of the lens with status led on bottom
You can have all the recorded videos from a specific camera saved to a NAS as long as your NAS supports RTSP (Real Time Streaming Protocol) protocol and, as long as the eufyCam E camera is operating (i.e. when watching a live stream or when the camera is recording after detecting an event). If the camera is in standby mode, no video streams are saved to NAS.
If your NAS supports RTSP, all you need to do is enable NAS RTSP Stream from the eufy Security app and select a specific camera that you want to stream to. Having NAS is not required for eufyCam E to operate but they come handy to have because the eufyCam E cameras are high resolution/high-definition cameras using 1920 x 1080 pixels so the size of the storage data will be high.
sync/alarm button to manually connect to the cameras and turn off alarm siren
The Homebase E that comes with the eufyCam E includes two cameras but can support up to 16 cameras. If you are serious about surveillance recording, you'll most likely get more than two eufyCam E cameras so it's a good idea looking into Network Video Recorders (NVRs) instead of NAS because NAS devices require that you have a licence for each connected camera. Most NAS vendors offer free licenses for up to two cameras so if you want to add a third or fourth eufyCam E camera later on, you would need to purchase extra licences.
indoor eufyCam E day time footage
With an NVR system no licences are required; however, NVRs operate based on number of channels so if you where to buy an 8-channel NVR for 8 eufyCam E cameras and later want to add two more cameras you would have buy another NVR system.
indoor eufyCam E night time footage
With a NAS, you only have to buy new licenses which may workout cheaper. Overall, NAS systems have an edge over NVR systems because of the file management and sharing capabilities of a NAS and its private secure cloud based environment.
day time footage outdoors
night time footage outdoors
The eufyCam E camera lenses really do a good job at delivering a sharp picture thanks to the built-in Sony Exmor sensor and large f2.2 aperture, which is the same aperture you get with the Huawei Mate 20 Pro and iPhone XS phones. The Sony A5000 camera uses a Sony Exmor sensor.
2 way talk speaker holes
As far as smart features, the eufyCam E Homebase E doesn't include AI facial recognition but does include notifications for motion events and other neat features like 2-way talk and 9-meter motion detection range. To enable 2-way talk, you simply press and hold the microphone icon on the eufy app. The other icons you see on the above image are start/stop video recording, screenshot capture, 2-way talk, and mute volume.
When motion is detected, you receive a prompt alert to your smartphone with a video clip of what the camera saw by whatever triggered the camera's motion detection as it happened. The motion detection is pretty accurate but accuracy depends on the size, angle and speed of the subject.
The two-way talk feature means you could use the eufyCam E as a 2-way talk baby monitor as this feature turns the eufyCam into essentially a two way radio like a walkie-talkie.
EufyCam E's two way communication is clear but since it uses wireless, instead of radio frequency you get some delay the further the cameras are from the Homebase E unit.
foam rubber base
reset button pinhole
Luckily, the microSD card slot on the Homebase E unit supports Class 10 microSD cards up to 128GB so a card of this size would able to store for a whole year for 80 videos a day, lasting 30 seconds each. The Homebase E unit measures 13cm tall, 13cm long and 6cm thick, and weighs 343 grams (20 grams less than the camera).
From left to right, the buttons/ports on the Homebase E unit include refresh button, DC input, PowerIQ USB port, RJ45 Ethernet port and microSD card slot. You can recharge the eufyCam E cameras via the Homebase E unit and a mains electrical socket.
neat way to fast charge your phone too
On the back of the Homebase E unit there is an Anker PowerIQ USB port which delivers fast charging when using the included 1.5 meter long charging cable which is an AWM Style 2725 30V VW-1 USB Type A to microUSB cable.
magnetic mount weighs 34 grams
Two types of wall mounts are included in the box, both of which make it easy to position the cameras on any vertical surface thanks to the foam-rubber backing on the mounts.
screw-in mount weighs 62 grams
You get a 1.8-inch dome by 1.3-inch tall magnetic base and a 2.3-inch-tall screw-in base that has a 2.1-inch-square bottom. The hardware for mounting the cameras is also included.
The eufy Security app doesn't have a feature that allows you to reset the unit back to factory settings but you can delete all data from the eufyCam by removing it from the app and uninstalling the app from your phone. Alternatively, you can simply format the micro SD card from the eufy Security app.
The eufyCam E surveillance camera system doesn't currently support Google Assistant but supports Alexa AI voice assistant with Amazon devices like the Echo Show smart speaker and screen and the Fire TV digital media player so you can ask Alexa to pull up a live stream from those devices to see what’s happening.
If you are looking for a live streaming home security camera that you can use outdoor too, the eufyCam E is worth a second look because of its IP65 rating so it can handle all weather and temperature changes between -4°F (-20°C) and 122°F (50°C).
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