RRP £259.99

www.anker.com

Add-on cameras available RRP £139.99

How I love a wireless device when it works! The first thing I noticed unpacking this kit is the shortage of cables, and thus potential complications. The two cameras are really sleek, neat little devices, like little robot buddies ready to protect and inform, they even come precharged, and promise 180 days’ use before recharging. I haven’t had the kit 180 days so I can neither confirm nor deny this. What I can confirm is the evident quality of the kit – the cameras have a great build quality, with an IP67 weatherproof rating, you can tell just by running your fingers over them that it’d take more than a heavy shower to infiltrate the casings. That said, you might only need them for indoor use. I’m not sure whether being white in colour is a positive or a negative – a clearly visible security device can be a deterrent to opportunists, but I also like the the idea of a more stealthy ‘fly on the wall’ system.

The kit is compact, quick and simple to set up, using a QR code, then sync the cameras to your HomeBase, and you’re pretty much good to go, after securing the cameras in your chosen locations using  Linking the HomeBase through your home WiFi makes connection that bit better. As for the HD 1080p cameras, I cannot fault the image quality, more than simply detecting and alerting me to movement, the picture comes through near crystal clear in daylight and using IR (the spotlight is better as a security feature/deterrent in the dark, as it does distort the image quality). You can either livestream or record video, and you have 16GB of storage. Those videos are securely encrypted, meaning only you have access to them, which I found particularly reassuring with the cameras inside my home, especially given the built-in facial recognition feature.

The 2-way audio is as clear as the camera image, handy for responding to welcome visitors and warding off unwelcome intruders, or simply giving them a fright! This couples well with the capacity to customise your area of vision/detection. I’m a trusting person so like to imagine I’d use the cameras to reassure me there are no unwanted people lurking around my house, but the odd unnecessary alert would undoubtedly put the frighteners up me, so I do love the fact the cameras are set to detect human movement, and won’t be so easily alerted by a waving branch or the neighbour’s cat. The Eufy 2C is compatible with Amazon Alexa, which I imagine is a handy feature for a lot of people, but again not something I could test out in our low-tech cottage!

Pros

Great build quality

Superb, clean image quality

Very simple set up

Long battery life

Spotlight

Private encrypted video storage

2-way audio, handy for visitors

AI human detection & facial recognition

Cons

Expensive compared to most items in my home, but no denying it will suit those less frugal!