Smart home security cameras are one of the most sought-after items for the modern smart home – and with good reason! The safety and security of our homes, as well as the ones that live in them, are of utmost importance. In your search for a good security cam, one brand you might consider, is Eufy.
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If you’re thinking of purchasing a Eufy cam, you may wonder; how long do they record? Will it catch what I need it to? After all, it’s no good to have a camera if it doesn’t record long enough to catch the footage you actually need!
To find out if Eufy is the camera for you, first, it’s good to consider what Eufy cams are and see if they'll be a good fit for you and your home.
What are Eufy Cams?
Eufy is just one of several brands of smart home cameras on the market today. In addition to a comprehensive line of other smart home products, their most popular items are their smart home cameras. These come in a variety of indoor and outdoor options, including their line of Video Doorbells. They even have a Dog Camera to keep an eye on your pooch when you’re not around!
They work by connecting to the 2.4 GHz band of Wi-Fi, which in turn connects you to the Eufy app. In the app is where you’ll make and change your camera’s settings, as well as view any recorded videos.
You can also connect your Eufy cams to Amazon’s Alexa so that you can view videos and create routines with your Eufy cams, right from the Alexa app or your Amazon Echo. They also work with Apple HomeKit, as well as the Apple watch!
These smart cams give you many options for securing your home, such as choosing Motion Zones so it only detects and records motion in certain areas. You can also customize your notification settings so that you’re alerted how you want to be when anything is amiss in or around your home.
In the case of the Eufy Cam Pan and 2K tilt, your camera not only detects motion but can follow it as well. It will follow the source of motion until it’s either out of the line of vision or stops. This can be particularly useful if you’re trying to keep an eye on mischievous pets – as well as suspicious characters snooping around your home.
All of the outdoor Eufy cams are weather-proof, giving them the ability to stand up to less-than-ideal weather conditions such as harsh temperatures and heavy rain – all while recording the footage you need.
So now that we’re acquainted with what Eufy can do, how do they actually store your videos?
How Do Eufy Cams Store Video?
Most smart home cameras usually store video in the Cloud. There are some who do this with or without the purchase of a Cloud subscription. Companies like Ring, however, only store videos to the cloud with a subscription, such as Ring’s various Protect plans (or locally – but again, with a subscription). This can be annoying to users because now, after purchasing pricey cameras, now have to shell out extra money just to use their cameras as intended.
Eufy, however, does things a little differently. Their cameras have gained popularity because similar to Wyze Cams, they can record and store video locally, as opposed to only on the cloud. They do this by means of a microSD card.
With the integrated microSD slot included on most Eufy cams, you can use a microSD card up to 128 GB. With the Video Doorbell, however, there is no microSD slot. It does, however, come with 4 GB of built-in internal storage so that your recorded videos are stored.
Local storage means access to your recorded videos, even if the internet is down or the connection is spotty. Many people also prefer local over cloud storage for security reasons. Unfortunately, one of the downsides of cloud storage is its potential to be hacked.
Though with secure encryption, this is rare, it does remain a slight possibility. This isn’t a concern when it comes to local storage.
If you’re concerned about your camera not recording anymore once it reaches the microSD’s capacity, not to worry. The camera will automatically delete the oldest recording as it runs out of space. If you want to keep certain recordings, however, you will need to store them separately by downloading them to your mobile device.
How Long Can Eufy Cams Record?
Eufy cams offer what most would consider pretty average recording lengths. In the Eufy app's settings, you can set them to record to the maximum time, which is 120 seconds (2 minutes). But for the battery-models, the recording length can be as low as 20 seconds (this is covered more in the next section).
Side note: in addition to average recording lengths, Eufy devices are sometimes criticized for having below average recording quality – due to a fairly low bitrate. This doesn't affect every user, but it can be a problem worth bearing in mind.
Eufy cams don’t require their subscription plan, so no extra fees are required to achieve this recording length. Even if you were to purchase their cloud subscription plan, the maximum recording length is still the same.
What about continuous recording? It appears that only Eufy cams that can be plugged in, such as the Eufy Cam 2K and other Indoor Eufy cams, have the ability to record continuously.
This may be due, in part, to the power source. Battery-powered cameras will only record motion-detected events, because if they were to continuously record, the battery would die very quickly. Fortunately, though, Eufy has come up with a solution to this albeit slight problem – Working Mode.
What is Eufy's Working Mode?
Some of Eufy's cameras, namely, the battery-operated versions, have an option to help you extend battery life while still getting the footage you need to protect your home. They've dubbed it Working Mode.
This mode only applies to the following cameras:
- eufyCam 2Pro
- eufyCam 2C Pro
- eufyCam2
- eufyCam 2C
- eufyCam
- eufyCam E
There are three options available within this mode:
- Optimal Battery Life – the max recording time is 20 seconds.
- Optimal Surveillance – the max recording time is 60 seconds.
- Customize Recording – the max recording time is 120 seconds
The first, and default setting, is for Optimal Battery Life. This maximizes your battery life, up to a year even, by reducing the amount of footage recorded. The maximum recording time in this setting is 20 seconds.
This is particularly helpful for high-traffic areas like street-facing locations, and areas in the home where there's often a lot of movement. After all, you don't want to be notified every time someone passes by on the way to the restroom!
The next option available within Working mode is Optimal Surveillance. This helps you even more, by striking a balance between recording footage and maintaining good battery life. Videos are longer, up to 60 seconds. The system prioritizes what to record, but does so in a way that maintains good battery life. This is a popular option with many users.
The last option is Customize Recording. This allows you to choose how long your videos are and at what intervals the camera checks for and records motion. Within this option, it may be possible to extend recordings past 120 seconds.
In fact, it's even possible for the camera to constantly detect and record motion a.k.a. continuous recording. However, the downside is that, depending on how you decide to set up your options, your battery will drain faster, requiring more frequent recharges.
Smart Cameras With Similar Recording Lengths
Eufy cameras don’t exactly go below or above the norms of smart home cameras, so there are many brands that can measure up with similar recording lengths.
For one, Ring cameras offer similar recording time frames. In the Ring app's video settings, you have the option of setting your recording length to anywhere from 15 seconds, up to 120 seconds.
Wyze cameras, without a plan, typically record for only about 12 seconds. If you get the Cam Plus cloud subscription plan, however, you can achieve recording lengths up to 120 seconds – sometimes even longer! Wyze actually outshines much of the competition in this regard. However, you will need the Cam Plus plan in order to achieve these longer recording lengths.
Another contender is Arlo. Their smart cameras can record anywhere from 10 seconds to 120 seconds as well.
In the smart home sector, except for more sophisticated camera models, the general max recording time is typically 120 seconds, or 2 minutes, per motion-detected event. This usually gives the user enough footage to determine what caused the motion event, as well as the purpose for it. Should the motion continue past 2 minutes, once the camera has timed out, it will usually start up again as it continues to detect motion.
Whether it’s the delivery man bringing a package, or a nefarious individual sneaking onto your property, those 2 minutes can show you a lot.
Getting the Footage You Need
With recording lengths comparable to many other smart camera brands, you, fortunately, don’t sacrifice anything by using Eufy. In fact, Eufy may be one of your best bets when it comes to smart home security cameras.
Especially with the efficient and customizable Working Mode, they offer all of the convenient features you’d expect from a smart home camera, without the extra cost of needing a subscription plan. They do everything you want and catch all the footage you need.
