Eufy EufyCam S4 Review

Introduction

A security camera is only good if it captures the bit of footage that’s important to you. To maximise those chances, the Eufy EufyCam S4 has three cameras: a fixed wide-angle 4K model that works like a regular model, and dual 2K cameras attached to a pan-and-tilt body that tracks subjects and can be set to point somewhere else. In effect, it’s like having two cameras in one.  

Clever AI detection, no ongoing fees and a decent app make this a great choice for those who want the best quality – although it is quite expensive.

Design and Installation

• Quite bulky
• Flexible solar panel installation

The Eufy EufyCam S4 can be bought in three versions. There are two kits, which consist of the required HomeBase S380 and then either two cameras (£549) or four cameras (£949). Or, if you already have a Homebase S380 (or want to buy it separately), you can buy an add-on camera for £249. 

The HomeBase S380 gives you localised storage, with 16GB built-in and a 2.5-inch HDD/SSD slot if you want to add more. And, you get some additional features, including facial recognition and cross-camera tracking, where footage from multiple cameras will be included in one video clip.

As the S4 connects to the HomeBase via a direct Wi-Fi connection, it has to be within range. For most homes, if you want a camera at the front and back, you’ll most likely need to place the HomeBase in the middle of your home.

With dual cameras, the EufyCam S4 is quite a chunky bit of kit, with a rechargeable battery at the back of it attached to the same mount. This mount can be wall-mountable or attached to a ceiling if you’ve got an overhang.

Follow the instructions in the app to get the right mounting height, so that the fixed camera covers the area that you want. Mounting position is a little less important for the movable camera, as it has a full 360° area of coverage and tilt operation.

Although battery-powered, the EufyCam S4 ships with a solar panel. This can either be placed on top of the camera, or you can attach the solar mount where you get the best sun coverage. That’s handy for me, as my kitchen is north-facing and doesn’t get direct sunlight, but I can position the solar panel on the fence to catch the last sunlight of the day.

Once connected and ready to go, the EufyCam S4 is managed via the Eufy app.

Features

• Multiple activity zones
• Integrated object detection
• No subscription fees

Open the Eufy app, and the first thing you’ll notice is that the preview thumbnail shows views from both of the cameras.

Tap this and you move into the live view, which similarly shows the feed from both the fixed and pan-and-tilt cameras. Here, you can switch between the movable camera lenses (1x and 3x zoom) and use the pan-tilt tools to move the movable camera around to focus on the detail.

There’s a mode to switch to a single camera view, which puts the app full screen. In this mode you can switch between the fixed and movable cameras. 

This is the only way that I could find to directly record video at the fixed camera’s 4K resolution, as the default setting is to record on both the fixed and motion cameras, combining the feeds into one video, but at a lower overall resolution.

With previous Eufy pan-and-tilt cameras, such as the Eufy Floodlight Camera E340, you could choose to record with dual cameras (zoom and wide angle), or just the single camera.

I presume the change here is that, with the EufyCam S4, there are three cameras – fixed (one) and movable (two) – and Eufy wants to show footage from both components so you don’t miss anything. 

That makes sense in a way, although I would like an option to up the recording resolution to maximum.

As well as moving the pan and tilt camera on demand, there’s an option to set preset positions, including a default that the camera returns to. That’s useful, as the movable camera can be set to cover one area, while the fixed camera points in a different direction.

To cut down on the number of notifications you get, there are some options you can turn on, including Activity Zones, which can be set individually for both cameras. Then, the fixed camera can have its sensitivity adjusted, and the detection range on the movable camera can be adjusted in 1m steps between 2m and 7m.

To really cut down on alerts, the EufyCam S4 can use object detection with facial recognition (Human Recognise, as it’s called in the app), Human, Vehicle, Pet and All Other Motion. Each option can be set with your choice of record, notify or ignore.

By setting my camera up properly, I really reduced the number of notifications that I got, while getting the alerts and recordings I wanted. Generally, the detection works very well, although I did get some false positives. I’ve got a Maine Coon cat, and he can be detected as a person if he jumps up the fence near the camera.

The two cameras can also work together. Turn on AI Tracking and if motion is detected, the movable camera will automatically track the object and zoom in on it, giving more detail. The app says that “if the device loses the tracking target, it will not return to the preset position”, although that seems to be wrong, as the movable camera returns to its default position five seconds after losing a target.

At night, the camera can record in full colour using its spotlights, which turn on automatically when motion is detected. Cleverly, both the fixed and movable cameras have spotlights built in.

If you don’t want the bright lights, then you can choose to shoot in black and white using IR to light up. Unless there’s a good reason to do this, I’d stick with the spotlights.

Footage is saved locally to the HomeBase S380, and is viewable in the Events section of the app. This is a simple thumbnail view of all recorded events, with one page per day of footage. You can filter by event type and camera, and any clips you view can be saved directly to your phone.

This section of the app is basic and simple, but not quite as easy to use as the Timeline view on Ring cameras, where you can quickly swipe through recent events.

Performance

• Slightly compressed footage
• Excellent tracking
• Clear night footage

Footage is recorded at 2688 x 3040, which slightly compresses the two feeds and means that you don’t get the 4K resolution of the fixed camera and are closer to the 2K resolution that the moveable camera’s sensors record at.

It’s an improved situation over previous Eufy cameras, where the dual view mode really killed image quality. Here, I’d say a slight reduction in image quality to capture more is worth it.

With both cameras taking in the same view, you can see that the fixed camera shoots slightly more detailed footage and the colours are a bit richer.

Having two cameras together does mean that you get more detail. Gentle tracking and clever zooming means that during the day the EufyCam S4 avoids motion blur and captured wide-angle detail, plus zoomed in footage that shows more of what’s going on, such as a close-up of my face.

As the motion continues, the movable camera proves its use. In the shot above, the motion camera swung around and caught me going into my office; footage that a fixed camera would have missed.

At night, with spotlights on, the EufyCam S4 can capture video in full colour. There is more motion blur to the footage, but the dual cameras come into play. As you can see below, the fixed camera showed a blurred image, but the motion camera zoomed in to show my face in detail.

If you want to use IR, then the footage isn’t bad. There’s more softness to it, and you lose all colour, but the combination of fixed and movable cameras made it easier to find a still frame with plenty of detail in it.

Should you buy it?

FAQs