Maria Diaz/ZDNET
– “Is it a person?”
– “No, Eufy, that garden chair on the terrace is not a person, as I have already told you ten times today! It doesn’t matter, we both know that you will ask Question again in two minutes…”
Here is the conversation I could have on a daily basis with this device.
Eufy’s Floodlight Cam E340, which I tested last week, is one of four new surveillance cameras the company has launched recently. It is equipped with an ultra-wide lens and a telephoto lens to capture more distant subjects. And this camera works so hard! Sometimes even too much. Let me explain.
The Eufy Security Floodlight Cam E340 has two purposes
First of all, know that the Eufy Security Floodlight Cam E340 has two purposes. A wide angle records video in 3K resolution, while a telephoto camera records in 2K resolution and can capture details up to 15 meters away.
To test the Eufy Floodlight Camera E340, I replaced one of the floodlights in my garden, which was in an ideal position for surveillance. My husband and I turn on these spotlights every time we take the dog out in the evening or take a walk to that side of the yard where the grill is.
We had already installed a Wyze Cam and another on the long side of the yard, but until the Eufy Floodlight E340 came along, we hadn’t found a real solution to cover the entire space .
A time-lapse video showing how the Eufy Security Floodlight Cam E340 tracks movement. Maria Diaz/ZDNET
This projector camera can record 24/24 and 7/7
Installing the Floodlight Camera E340 was as easy as replacing an outdoor light fixture. Especially since we installed it with the already existing wiring. Because the camera requires a wired installation to work: you will need to run electrical cables to the desired location.
Once the camera was installed, the rest of the installation process was done through the Eufy Security app. We already have a Eufy HomeBase 3 (or HomeBase S380) at home, which serves as local storage and hub for this camera.
Since it’s powered by electricity and can be configured with expandable storage, this floodlight camera can record 24/7, although you can also choose to only record events. Recordings can be stored on the HomeBase 3 or on a microSD card with a maximum capacity of 128 GB. With the HomeBase you can expand the SSD support up to 16 TB, which is huge in storage.
The HomeBase 3 is the latest smart home hub for Eufy security devices. Maria Diaz/ZDNET
A good level of coverage and image quality
The most impressive feature of this camera, by far, is the level of coverage and image quality. Our garden extends into the forest, which can be dark at night. But even though the camera is installed on the second floor and more than 30 feet from the fence, one can still clearly see details in wooded areas, regardless of the time of day.
Day or night, I can see if a squirrel is wandering along the fence or if a deer is wandering in the woods, and I expect a similar level of detail if there ever is an intruder in the distance. The camera tracks movement very well, keeping subjects in frame as they move to different areas, which is essential for a large garden.
Maria Diaz/ZDNET
The only downside to the Floodlight Cam E340, which I’ve already alluded to, is that it emits far too many false alerts for human detection. The HomeBase 3 uses artificial intelligence not only to detect humans, but also to learn to recognize people and detect vehicles, pets and other moving objects.
Beware of false detections
The Floodlight Cam E340 unit I tested mistakenly detects a human on our deck and on a path every two minutes even though no one is there; It’s amazing if you believe in ghosts! The excessive number of alerts has been such that I’ve noticed a noticeable drop in battery life on my iPhone and Apple Watch… And I’m sure my elderly neighbors don’t appreciate that the human detection alarm goes off at 7:15 a.m. on a Saturday morning.
My husband, ever the optimist, thinks that this is not a problem in itself: it would be enough to train the system to recognize what a “person” is. I think there should be a better solution than waiting for the camera to improve on its own.
Notifications (left) of detecting a person every two minutes and a screenshot of the detected person (right). Maria Diaz/ZDNET
I attempted to resolve the issue by reporting these erroneous human detections via the Eufy Security app. More effective, I have since reduced the sensitivity of the motion detection function: now there is approximately one false alarm every hour instead of every two minutes. That’s a big difference.
New firmware is coming
There is also an option to temporarily silence notifications while still recording events, but that defeats the purpose of a surveillance camera, right?
This does not appear to be an issue with the HomeBase, as it is the only camera in all of our Eufy home products that behaves this way. On the bright side, this issue can be fixed with a firmware update. So, it’s not a major concern for me. It’s not very pleasant, but it’s not a problem that can’t be fixed by making a few adjustments.
ZDNET Buying Tips for Eufy Floodlight Cam E340
My experience with the Eufy Security Floodlight Cam E340 was generally positive. I enjoy seeing my garden in 3K resolution and getting stunning detail at such a great distance. The 2,000 lumens brightness alone rivals some of the best-selling PAR38 bulbs, and it can be set to mood lighting on a schedule or automatically from dusk to dawn.
At $230, you get what you pay for with a system where you’ll never have to pay monthly subscription fees or have to recharge or replace batteries. It further includes a duo of high-resolution cameras for motion tracking. If you don’t want to spend more on the HomeBase 3, you can still add up to 128GB of storage to the camera on a microSD card.
If Eufy Security can solve the one problem with false human detection alerts, the Floodlight Cam E340 will be the best outdoor security camera I’ve ever tested, bar none.
Source: “ZDNet.com”