Review of the Eufy 2K Pan and Tilt, a great camera at a great price

Setting up a video surveillance system is easier than ever with HomeKit Secure Video, and also very cheap without us doing it with the very interesting 2K Pan and Tilt camera from Eufy that we analyze in this article with video.

Design and specifications

Eufy was not complicated when deciding on the design of this camera, which doesn’t have to be bad either. At the end, a security camera should look like it, because part of its mission is to deter any possible threat. Its conventional design includes the basic elements of any camera: a status LED, rear speaker, microUSB connector and reset button, as well as the movable lens and rotating head that allow the camera to move through the cameras. vertical and horizontal axes, automatically or manually using the app.

The box includes the charger and the microUSB cable, and the base to be able to place it on the ceiling, with a standard thread that we can use to place it on a wall (using an adapter not included). We can place the camera vertically on any surface or inverted on the ceiling, it cannot be placed horizontally. Connection to our WiFi network is via the 2.4 GHz network, and it does not have a built-in battery, so it will always be necessary to have a plug nearby. Another detail to take into account is that it is not designed for outdoor use, so choose a place well protected from direct sun, rain and cold if you want to place it outdoors. outside the house, or directly inside.

We are facing a camera with 2K resolution i.e. twice FullHD, although if we use it with HomeKit Secure Video it will be limited to FullHD (HomeKit stuff). The image quality is very good, with a viewing angle of 125 degrees, which may seem narrow, but we can not forget that it’s a motorized camera, so it largely compensates for this lack of viewing angle. Of course, it includes night vision, a microphone to listen to whatever is happening on the other side, and a speaker so you can talk through it, in addition to a manual or automatic alarm. Storage can be done directly in a microSD card (up to 128 GB) either in the cloud, or in HomeKit Secure Video, or in the cloud service that Eufy offers us (the only payment service that we will find in this camera).

Eufy Security, an excellent application.

A security camera is nothing without a good app to go with it, and here Eufy has done a great job offering an app (link) with very advanced options that other services charge as a monthly fee, and that Eufy offers completely free with the purchase of your camera. Facial recognition, artificial intelligence that can distinguish humans or animals, change of state depending on your location (inside or outside the house), detection of calls, activity zones, monitoring of movements… There’s really nothing I’m missing. Eufy only charges for cloud storage which is completely optional as you can opt for local storage via microSD.

What surprised me when testing the camera is that it even gives you the feature of recording a sound that will automatically be played when it detects an animal entering an area you set. Imagine getting tired of your dog getting on the couch because when the camera detects him, he will automatically play your audio by ordering him to get off the couch. I would like to see the dog’s face. Camera control is full from the app, allows us to control the movement, even the panning thanks to its horizontal rotation of 360º. The smart notifications and alert system work great, I haven’t had any false alerts since using it.

HomeKit Secure Video

There are so many options that Eufy Security gives us that you can almost forget about compatibility with HomeKit Secure Video. This Apple service reminds us that offers single camera storage for the 200 GB plan and up to 5 cameras for the 2 TB plan, video storage that will not count towards your space limit. In addition to cloud storage, Apple offers us smart location-based notifications on all of its compatible cameras, intelligent detection of humans, animals or vehicles, facial recognition, activity zones … most of the functions I told you about previously in the Eufy app. But with HomeKit Secure Video we don’t care about the camera and the brand, we can combine different cameras from different brands, while in the Eufy app we can only manage compatible Eufy cameras. In addition, integration with all Apple devices is total from the Home app.

With HomeKit Secure Video we lose control of the camera movement, but since we can continue to maintain the Eufy Security app, this is also not a major issue. To add the camera to HomeKit, we must first configure it with Eufy Security then, from the app itself, push it to HomeKit. The maintenance of both applications is perfectly possible and also the most recommended, so we keep the best of both services.

Editor’s Opinion

Eufy has bet very heavily on its security cameras, and it does so by offering an excellent hardware-software package at a great price, and without any type of monthly fee to take advantage of the most advanced security options. Compatibility with HomeKit Secure Video is also a bonus for those who want to use Apple’s home automation platform. And I saved the best for last: a price of 49.99 $ on Amazon (link)