PACKAGING | UNBOXING

It’s important to note early on, that the E1 differs from the G2H Pro and G3 in one significant way; it does not contain a Zigbee hub. This might seem odd to some, but many Aqara customers will almost certainly already have a hub, and if they’ve also purchased one of the aforementioned cameras, they have yet another hub. So whilst it might seem prudent to include one anyway, I think it’s safe to say that offering a camera without a hub, primarily to keep costs down, is a good move. If someone wanted a hub and camera to start things off, then the G2H Pro and the G3 are there for you.

The packaging, just like other recent products, features the camera on the front with both Apple Home and Amazon Alexa logos, and although the Google Home logo is missing, it should work on that platform too. Once Matter supports cameras, the packaging will no doubt be sporting that logo too. SmartThings is not mentioned as far as this camera goes.

One side lists five features or selling points of the camera, which strangely don’t set the E1 apart from, say, the G3, even though there are some to be talked about;

• 2K and Pan/tilt support
• Local automations
• HomeKit Secure Video
• Person detection and tracking
• Micro SD and NAS storage
• Night Vision

I have to take issue with the second point (local automations), as this does not seem to be the case, at least not 100% of the time, as I’ll show you later.

What is offered by the E1 is support for WiFi 6, and an included ceiling mount, neither of which is provided by the G3. Also note the Bluetooth logo, which is primarily used for a new feature from Aqara called EasyPair, which is supposed to make the process of adding the camera to your smart home easier (it didn’t in my case). I suspect this is also designed with Matter in mind in the future for commissioning.

The inside of the box also shows you how to mount the camera to a surface if you wish to do so, which is what I did in this case.

The package contains the camera itself, the aforementioned ceiling mount, a couple of screws and rawl plugs for the mount, a manual in a variety of languages, and a USB-A to USB-C cable. The cable itself isn’t especially long, so you may end up sourcing a longer one, like I did.

Visually, the E1 is quite similar to a lot of other cameras out there, many of which either come with the Xiaomi branding or work with the Xioami ecosystem, but then there are only so many ways to design a pan/tilt camera, so I won’t hold that against them. I still think the Eufy pan/tilt, which this is replacing, has the best design. Aside from the pan/tilt section at the top that houses the camera lens, a small microphone, and some seemingly invisible IR LEDs, you have a status LED on the base section. This can be disabled in the Aqara app if you prefer. Both sides of the base house speakers and either side of the rear section are QR codes. One is for Apple Home, while the other is used as part of Aqara’s EasyPair option.

On-device recordings to an SD card is an option – just like the G3 and the G2H/G2H Pro – that is installed via a slot below the camera lens. To access it, you have to slide the camera’s ‘eyeball’ up in order for you to see the SD card slot.

As you can see, the USB-C port on the back is also home to a small ‘Set’ reset button, although be warned that once the USB cable is plugged in, you’re going to struggle to press it with your finger, as there’s very little space. The tip of a pen might be easier, although Aqara states the camera can be reset directly from within the app, which is a new feature for their cameras. The underside of the E1 has four little rubber feet, along with slots that correspond with clips on the mounting plate.

It’s good to see a USB-C Cable used here, although that was already the case with the G3. Even though the G2H Pro came after the G3, Aqara stuck with Micro USB for that, as the design was exactly the same as its predecessors, the G2H and G2. I’m always surprised to see when companies still use Micro USB ports or cables in 2023, so I’m happy to see Aqara keep up its commitment to USB-C here. The USB cable comes with a tag containing a QR code for the digital manual, although as the tag is made of paper, it probably won’t last long.

The mounting plate is really easy to fit and in fact, offers two methods by which to fit it; There’s a central thread for mounting the camera to a threaded bolt that might be part of an existing mount (less common I’d say), or you can simply screw the mount to a ceiling via the two holes and provided screws. Luckily for me, the previously mentioned Eufy also uses a mounting plate, and although the design is totally different, the space between two holes is identical to the ones on the Aqara mounting plate, which made things a lot easier when swapping them out.

ADDING TO AQARA HOME | APPLE HOME

Generally speaking, it’s very easy to add a device to Aqara’s app, although the experience for most will be with adding child devices to an Aqara hub. Still, WiFi devices haven’t been an issue for me either, which is why in the case of adding the E1 things became unnecessarily complicated, in my opinion. You can select the device in question, but with Bluetooth 5.2 in the E1, it was automatically picked up by the app, so I went with it.

I followed the onscreen instructions, whereupon I was asked to add my WiFi details. This is where my less-than-stellar understanding of WiFi 6 came up unfortunately, as I conflated WiFi 6 with WiFi 6E, assuming the E1 would work with 6GHz. This is not the case, and even then I don’t have a router with WiFi 6 or 6E anyway, but also assumed that in the absence of either, it would use 5GHz. Unfortunately, it does not offer 5GHz, so this is still going to be a 2.4GHz camera for a lot of people, unlike the G3, which offers 2.4 & 5GHz.

I added my WiFi details upon which it generated a QR code for the E1 camera to scan (the QR code contains the WiFi credentials, but not in the case above – scan it if you want…). This method of adding the camera to your network is nothing new, and I personally find it a bit janky, for want of a better word. If the app has already connected to the camera via Bluetooth, why can’t it just pass those details to the camera without having to use the E1 to scan a code? It also got me wondering why there’s an Aqara QR code on the device if it’s picked up by Bluetooth anyway. All of this was pretty unclear to me.

I was able to get it to pair, and as you can see, it’s still using Bluetooth according to the screen above, which once again begs the question, why was scanning the QR code required? Anyway, it added, but more confusion arose…

Once added, it prompted me to connect the E1 to Apple Home, which was the plan of course. Once I tapped the ‘Connect’ button, it showed me a copy of the HomeKit QR code that exists on the camera itself, along with a claim stating the E1 was already connected to Apple Home, despite me not using the HomeKit QR code at all at this point. A quick but thorough check of the Home app showed it was NOT in fact added to Apple Home… As I said, overly complicated.

I reset the camera, added it directly to Apple Home, and then added it to Aqara, but at this point, it was not in (Bluetooth) pairing mode, so I did it manually, which used Bluetooth to connect it to the app. While this might have been a one-off occurrence, for people less savvy than someone like me who’s used to trying different ways and understanding what’s going on to a large extent, this could be why people end up sending stuff back for a refund. It shouldn’t be this complex.

IN APPLE HOME

Generally speaking, I like Apple Home’s implementation of cameras and their recordings, especially if they’re set to record using HomeKit Secure Video (HSV), but there are limits of course; The Home app and recordings still only record at 1080p. That’s fine for most people, as most cameras on the market still only record in 1080p, but as the E1 records in 2K, I’m hoping the day will come when Apple is able to up HSV and live streaming to 2K as well. The other issue is the lack of any pan/tilt controls. This might not have been an issue maybe 3 years ago, as there were no HomeKit-compatible cameras with this feature, but there must be around half a dozen by now, so this functionality is long overdue. Maybe when Matter implements camera functionality into its framework, we’ll see this option. For now, you still need to rely on the Aqara app in order to control the pan and tilt of the camera, although there are workarounds – to an extent.

As it stands, the E1 in Apple Home is much the same as any other compatible camera, so aside from the features available in HSV (animal, people, vehicle, and package detection, as well as face recognition), there’s nothing to distinguish it from other cameras. HomeKit does a ‘good’ job of evening out the playing field in this regard, so it’s down to the manufacturer to add extra features that are also exposed to HomeKit to make them stand out. Eve’s indoor cam has a proper PIR sensor, for example, and the Logitech Circle View has a light sensor. Where the E1 stands out is via what you get that’s accessible from the Aqara Home app.

IN AQARA HOME

From the main screen of Aqara Home, you can see the E1, although you would need to set it up for this initially. With the full-width panel for the camera, you can tap on the ‘play’ button and see the live stream without leaving the main page. This is one feature I’d like to see in Apple Home, instead of the snapshot every ten seconds. Going into the E1’s interface fully, you get initial access to the pan/tilt controls. The reaction times for the camera in relation to the control are delayed, which is frustrating, but is in my experience, the same for all pan/tilt cameras. The three tabs at the bottom offer access to the aforementioned pan/tilt controls, and the timeline, which you’ll only see if you have an SD card installed, or opt for one of Aqara’s paid plans. You can scroll through the recordings, and select the date, as well as zoom in for finer shuffling between recording instances. The other thing Aqara offers on all its cameras is that when using an installed SD card to record footage, you can record either only when motion (or a human) is detected, or simply set it to record continuously, although with the latter, if you want to keep your footage for an extended period of time, you should try and install the maximum size allowed – 512GB.

The ‘Advanced’ button gives you access to Human Tracking, which is simply activated or deactivated when pressing the icon. This is where the  E1 differs from the G3, which offers both human and pet tracking, as well as detection for both, although tracking can’t be active for both humans and pets simultaneously. The E1 only offers human tracking and human detection.

To the other side of the pan/tilt control, you also have a ‘Pre-defined Positions’ option, which in addition to having preset positions for the camera (leftmost, rightmost, uppermost etc) allows you to set your own positions, which can then be used in scenes and automations. So for example, in my case, I could have it so that if someone opens the door between certain hours of the day, the camera can pan to a specific position I’d set up to look in that area. I could even go further, with it doing a series of different functions, like returning to a previous position after a set amount of time or even playing a custom audio file to greet someone as they enter the home.

Because I’m using the Aqara A100 Zigbee Smart Lock, I could even have the E1 play specific audio depending on who uses their fingerprint, passcode or NFC card to enter the home, and even play a different custom audio file when people are leaving as opposed to arriving.

If you create an automation with the E1 as the trigger device, it’s limited to the following functions as triggers; Turns on, Turns off, Is on, Is off, Motion detected, Person detected. This is still not bad considering the Apple Home app doesn’t allow you to use cameras in automations as trigger devices beyond what is detected by the built-in motion sensor, whilst Aqara can trigger automations on the camera’s state and when a person is detected, not just when motion is detected.

The power of Aqara automations comes into its own when the E1 is used in the THEN section of an automation, with options to activate or deactivate pretty much all the features of the camera, from major things like enabling or disabling motion tracking, or privacy mode, to smaller details, like turning the status LED on/off, or even calibrating the pan/tilt feature.

This is one of the reasons why it’s great to have a series of devices in one category from Aqara, as the extensive array of automations that come into play is pretty impressive. However, there is something that does bother me, which I alluded to at the start regarding local automations; I’ve set up a few of them with the E1 since having it, and in all the automation instances, the app shows that the automations are ‘cloud-based’,  not local. This ordinarily shouldn’t matter, but if for any reason your access to the internet is cut, the automations won’t run, whereas they would if they were local. The issue here is that Aqara is claiming something that to me doesn’t appear to be the case. I’ll be asking my contact at Aqara about this in case there’s something I’m not doing right or an option isn’t enabled, but I’ve got plenty of automations within the Aqara app that do run locally, so it’s a mystery really.

The E1 isn’t short on options, which is something I’ve since come to expect from many of Aqara’s products, so on the main settings page, you have access to how the camera appears on its device card in the app, as well as its name. You can Factory Restore it directly within the app, there’s access to HomeKit, WiFi, Firmware and automation information, all from this one page.

Settings for the camera’s various functions are compartmentalised to make the E1’s features more accessible, with sections for the camera, pan/tilt, detection, security, and more. In the camera section, you can adjust a lot, with additional submenus for things like video settings, Privacy, language options, overall volume, as well as SD card recording options and even custom ringtones/audio, which is a feature first introduced with the M1S 2nd gen, and from there the G3, and G2H Pro. This allows you to upload your own recordings, which can then be used in scenes and automations. The E1 also gives you the option to set the power frequency to match the camera. So, if you live in places like North America, the electricity supply runs at 60Hz, whilst Europe uses 50Hz. Having the E1 set to 50Hz when you’re running on 60Hz, will likely cause your lights to show a strobing effect via the camera stream, so setting the right option here can avoid such issues.

PRIVACY

The E1 has a privacy function, although, unlike some pan/tilt cameras, the lens doesn’t roll the lens back into its housing. Instead, it turns the camera to face in the opposite way (usually a wall) to its normal position, but additionally, it turns off the built-in microphone for more complete privacy.

IN USE

In general, Aqara devices do the job they’re designed to do and do them well. The Aqara camera is no exception and has been a solid piece of equipment in the month or so that I’ve had it. It’s predictable but in a good way! The question as to whether Aqara needs another indoor camera is only something for those who already have the G2H/G2H Pro or the G3, as it’s always good to have a few options, of which all three have their strengths. It doesn’t have a hub built-in, but then I already have more Aqara hubs than I need, so this is a welcome change that also happens to bring the price down, whilst also offering some of the features of the G3 – 2K recording, Pan/Tilt to name but two. With WiFi 6, you’re going to get a more secure connection and hopefully better speed, as long as you have a WiFi 6 router of course.

The downsides for me are the lack of a 5GHz connection, and the automations not being local when they’re supposed to be. The latter is probably more important, so I hope this is addressed somehow.

All in all, this is solid, and I’d recommend it over the G2H Pro – if you don’t need an Aqara Zigbee hub – although if money isn’t a massive issue, I’d probably recommend the G3 more, simply because it has all the bells and whistles – IR blaster, 5GHz WiFi etc.

What’s really missing from the company’s lineup now is outdoor cameras, and if you’re reading this hoping for such a thing, you should be seeing a couple of options in 2024. Can’t say more for the time being though!

The post Aqara Camera E1 (review) appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

PACKAGING

I always admire it when companies go out of their way to present their product with nicely designed and thought out packaging. I know it doesn’t make much difference to the product, but it shows the company sees the bigger picture and takes some measure of pride in the perception of the company. So, with the packaging, it’s just this, and it really feels like you’re opening a sort of special gift box.

Everything you need to know in terms of the basics is presented on the back, including features and compatibility. It’s important to note that whilst it works with HomeKit, and Amazon Alexa, it doesn’t work with Google Home for some reason. Because of a built-in RF915MHz radio, the camera can also work with the company’s sensors, like their occupancy sensor and motion/door sensor. They won’t be exposed to HomeKit via the camera, however.

the camera itself has a quite unique look to it when you first open the packaging, which includes a detachable stand that allows it to simply stand on a shelf or be wall-mounted. The camera can’t be mounted upside down, however.

The first clue you get that this is really well made is actually the stand. It feels like a really expensive, well-tooled paperweight (in the positive sense for once…). The top of the stand has a pivoting nub that sits really tight into one of two sockets on the camera, with the nub being able to pivot in the vertical plane only, so the camera is always facing forwards. The rear recess that the stand affixes to can pivot in the horizontal plane to a limited extent. The base of the stand has a slot to hold onto a provided screw (and rawl plug) fitted into a wall. To complete the set of contents is a 3m/10ft power cable with moulded plug and coaxial power adaptor, along with a user manual and separate installation guide (both in English and French) for mounting the camera.

THE SMARTCAMERA

As I mentioned before, the camera has a rather unique look to it, with a black, glass-like front and a pill-shaped section housing the camera, with a woven material surround that is home to a really excellent speaker. At the top are two holes that are home to two near-field mics. These are used for picking up audio of course, but because the camera has Amazon’s voice assistant built-in, these are designed to pick up voice requests and commands really well. Although not pictured, in the space between the two mics, are five RGB LEDs that change colour when Alexa is used. There are also 3 IR LEDs for night vision, and a single LED to indicate the state of the camera, which can be turned off.

Whilst the front is black, the rest of the body is magnolia and is quite deep. There’s nothing wrong with that at all, and just adds to the quality feel of the product. The top of the camera has two touch buttons, one for activating the voice assistant manually, and one to mute it, so your voice can’t be heard (at least in theory…). The base of the camera is home to one of the two recesses for the stand to affix to. The rear of the camera houses the second of these recesses, along with a HomeKit QR code, the power socket, and some grilles for heat ventilation, I assume.

SET UP – THE ECOBEE APP

Ecobee seems to place a lot of emphasis on security, at least with the camera, so when you set up a free Ecobee account and choose your device, you’ll be taken through securing it.

You create a password, as standard, but then you’re asked to set things up to get a verification code, which uses either an SMS to your phone or via an authentication app.

With the verification code received, two-factor authentication is complete, which then provides you with a ‘recovery code’. Aside from that, you then go through the process of adding the camera to your home network, either via HomeKit or via Ecobee’s own ecosystem. Once added to HomeKit, you can go through a few more settings depending on how and where the camera is used (as a baby monitor, or if it’s pointing out of a window etc.).

IN THE HOME APP/HOMEKIT

The Ecobee SmartCamera isn’t really any different to many other HomeKit compatible cameras, with only the live feed and a motion sensor exposed, so there’s very little to talk about in this respect, other than the fact that it can connect to the 5GHz band on your home network, meaning, generally speaking, the camera loads up reasonably fast.

IN THE ECOBEE APP

As you could probably have guessed, you get more control over the camera in the Ecobee app, although this is mainly down to control over the pan, tilt, and zoom settings. all of these controls can be done intuitively, directly on the live feed screen, but you also get a dedicated control surface if preferred.

For the tracking feature, you should watch the accompanying video to get an idea of how well it works when tracking motion whilst panning and zooming, as its a bit of a feat to have got it to work so well, even if the actual pan/zoom is an optical illusion of sorts.

By this, I mean that the camera has a large 180º FoV, and essentially ‘digitally’ zooms in on the tracked subject, with the camera moving the FoV in a sort of ‘pan & scan’ way to make it seem like the camera lens is moving, even if it isn’t.

You also get access to monitoring and motion events, although these are just snapshots, not video recordings. If you want recordings via the app, you’ll need to pay for an Ecobee plan. Still, it’s nice to have these snapshots as reference. Monitoring is specifically for when a person is detected, whereas motion detects any other form of movement.

There are a ton of settings in the app, like detection settings, activity zones, smart focus, and motion sensitivity. Access to WiFi settings and Amazon Alexa are also found here.

You also have settings for your account, which as demonstrated above, shows that your account is protected, even if you’re signed in. The audio settings page outlines the functionality of the microphones, and how they work with Alexa.

There are many more options for the camera if you have other Ecobee products that you want to work together, and if you have a paid service with Ecobee, you get even more, although personally, as I have HomeKit Secure Video, this is more than enough for me.

WRAPPING UP

I actually bought this camera ages ago, when the price first came down from around US$160 to roughly US$120, which was also around the time that Ecobee wisely added HSV to the camera’s functionality, which so far, Arlo is still resisting tooth and nail. It does make you wonder that, for example, if Arlo’s features are that good, they should be confident enough in offering consumers the option to use their paid service or HSV. I think it’s clear they aren’t as confident, based on their stance, so I’m glad that Ecobee decided to swallow their pride and offer the choice. I’m glad they did, as it’s an excellent camera, and the speaker/mics are really some of the best I’ve heard in a camera, which also includes the Homam 64GB from Zorachka. The image quality is decent enough if not amazing, and it suffers from pixelation when tracking moving objects, as other cameras do until it stabilises.

What really impresses me is that it can pan/tilt/zoom all without relying on an internal motor. the system works really well, and it should mean that there’s at least one less mechanical part inside to go wrong, which is always a worry with mechanical PTZ cameras. The addition of the built-in Alexa voice assistant isn’t something I use, but if you do, then I can’t see a problem with it, and only a benefit.

Aesthetically, I really like the individual look of it. It’s so refreshing to see a design that isn’t so obvious or lazy in terms of how a camera should look. As I’ve stated previously, the build quality is really very impressive, so with good looks, solid manufacture, some interesting functions, and a decent price tag, it’s a rather undervalued camera in my opinion.

The post Ecobee SmartCamera (review) appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

USPs: 100% privacy: HomeKit Secure Video I Dimmable floodlight I Rich notifications I People/pet/vehicle detection I Package detection I 157° field of view with night vision

Designed exclusively for HomeKit Secure Video.

When you view the video stream from your Eve Outdoor Cam while out and about, you communicate back to base directly over an end-to-end encrypted connection. Your camera’s live stream never reaches the cloud – not even the iCloud. You choose what and when you want to record – Apple TV or HomePod then take over the task of analyzing in the privacy of your own four walls whether it’s a person, pet, vehicle, or package in the picture.

The happenings are only recorded, encrypted, and stored in your iCloud once your recording criteria are met. And only your personal devices have the key to unlocking these recordings.

Get instant, rich notifications.

Receive notifications on your iPhone the moment motion is detected, and keep your home safe from intruders. That way you can take immediate action if there’s an unwanted visitor and record evidence at the same time. And by leveraging your home hub’s facial recognition capabilities, you’ll be notified when people you’ve tagged in the Photos app enter the field of view so you know exactly who’s at your door.

Customize notifications and recordings.

Choose when you want to be notified and if you want to make recordings whenever something is up or only if people, pets, vehicles, or packages are detected. The video footage is analyzed securely in your home by your home hub, not in any cloud. Recordings are saved for ten days in your iCloud and then deleted automatically. If you want to hold on to a recording, you have the option to save it permanently.

Two-way communication.

Not at home, and the courier wants to know where to drop the delivery? No problem! With the built-in microphone and speaker, you can say where to put your package.

Your dependable first line of defence.

With a wide 157° field of view and night vision, Eve Outdoor Cam keeps a close eye on everything day and night – and in pin-sharp detail with HD live video streaming and recording. Thanks to a dedicated motion sensor, Eve Outdoor Cam won’t bother you with reacting to leaves blowing in the wind, small animals, and other events that don’t require your attention.

Turn night into day.

Eve Outdoor Cam turns on the built-in floodlight automatically the moment the motion sensor detects activity. Set if, when, and for how long you want the dimmable floodlight to illuminate the space, and use the Eve app to turn on the light boost when you want it to shine extra-bright.

HomeKit Secure Video requires iCloud+.

HomeKit Secure Video requires iCloud+ (not included). iCloud+ with 50 GB storage supports one camera, iCloud+ with 200 GB storage supports up to five cameras, and iCloud+ with 2 TB storage supports an unlimited number of cameras.

The post Eve Outdoor Cam appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

If you’re going to spend a ton of money on a product, you tend to expect it to be beautifully presented, and this is exactly the case with the packaging – a large, sturdy, but understated carton, with merely the logo on the top, the camera name Homam and 64GB on the sides, with specs on the base. There’s no HomeKit logo as such, which is a bit odd, but I can assure you this is a fully HomeKit certified product.

Upon opening the box, you see the camera itself, which we’ll come back to in a bit, surrounded by a card, which features a QR code on the back allowing you fast access to the Homam app, which isn’t required, if you want it purely for HomeKit use, but is highly recommended for several reasons, as I’ll outline later.

With the card removed, we see the first of two layers – the camera (again) and a magnetic stand. Removing this layer reveals a USB-C cable (3m / 9.8ft in length) as well as a small envelope with some paperwork. There’s also a small box containing some TDK branded ferrite rings, and below these are another wallet containing the parts required for wall mounting the camera, along with a power adaptor.

As with the packaging, each piece of this ensemble comes across as very well made, with the camera and base made with anodised aluminium, and pretty much everything else slickly branded and all in black.

THE PARTS

Starting with the camera itself, you tend to forget how cheap and potentially fragile many of the mainly plastic cameras feel until you get your hands on something a lot more durable, in this case, using anodised aluminium. It really feels like you could lob this at a professional baseball player and not worry about any damage to the camera (please, don’t try this…). If you’re used to the millimetre-precision design of an iMac for example, this will feel very familiar. I personally think this is one of the most beautifully designed cameras I’ve seen so far, and I’ve seen a few. The large ‘eye’ which takes up roughly 25% of the ‘ball’ uses tinted glass (actually plastic), so it’s not easy to see the lens, and in fact, in my tests, you can’t even detect the eight IR LEDs used for night vision.

The tinted cover is reduced to a band that stylishly encircles the rest of the camera. Other than the lens portion, the front is home to two pill-shaped recessed speakers that are designed to work in stereo. Around the back, you get a cutaway section that is home to a reset hole and the USB-C port for powering the camera.

Speaking of USB, I would really quite shocked to see a Micro-USB port on such a beautiful device, and I’m not disappointed to see that not only does the camera have a USB-C port, but so does the power supply that comes with it, hence the USB-C cable coming with USB-C plugs on both ends. The cable itself even feels premium and is longer than the typical 2m cable length you tend to get with other cameras.

The plug itself looks stylish but other than the branding, is really just a USB plug, albeit with a USB-C port. As this is primarily sold in North America at present, the plug is the standard two-pin, Type A variety (non-polarised).

As the camera is capable of being placed just about anywhere indoors, it comes with a matching stand. it’s angled for use if the camera needs to point forward or down, and is magnetic, although I’m informed they use neodymium magnets, which are some of the strongest and longest-lasting of magnets apparently. the camera clamps onto the base with enough force that you’re left in no doubt that this camera will stay put without any trouble. The centre of the stand is designed to allow the USB-C cable to pass underneath the camera itself, depending on how it’s placed. The underside has a small rubberised section so that when it’s placed on a flat surface it gives a little grip as well as avoids any potential scratches to the surface it’s placed on. In the centre of the base is a recess to allow the camera to line up with the mounting plate.

The mounting kit comprises a circular plate that has a raised ‘nub’ that lines up with the aforementioned recess of the base of the camera stand and can be screwed into place using the two screws and rawl plugs provided, or by using the double-sided adhesive on the back of the plate. This plate once again matches the camera and the base, and is magnetic.

One thing I’ve certainly not seen included with a camera until now is a pack of ferrite rings. The packaging states that these simply clip around the USB-C cable, to exclude any potential radio noise interference. The rings have TDK branding on them, the company that you may well remember made decent audio cassettes back in the day!

The final pieces include a branded microfibre cleaning cloth, to get rid of those nasty fingerprints, and a small envelope that contained some paperwork and a few stickers. That’s the contents out of the way, now let’s have a see what this camera is capable of, but just before we do, I think it’s important to list all the specs for this camera, so as to in some way give you a better idea of why there might be a premium price tag for this device;

Specifications

SETUP IN THE HOMAM APP

As far as I’m aware, the Homam uses what appears to be a pretty secure system for setting up the camera via Bluetooth (hear me out…). In essence, the phone and camera are paired directly to each using an anonymous account that requires no signing in or entering of a password. We’ll come back to this shortly.

You get a request for your location as is standard but isn’t required. You then begin the process of connecting the camera to your network, which can be either the 2.4GHz or 5.0 GHz band. Your phone doesn’t need to be on the same network for this to work, although it’ll be better if you are. You then simply add your network details to the app, and it’ll begin the process.

The camera will begin connecting, and once successful, will allow you to use the basic camera functions, but not all of the features. To access all features (that you don’t get access to in HomeKit anyway), you need to convert the anonymous account into a full (but free) account. When you add your email address as part of the setup, you’ll receive a six-digit code to complete the process.

This section is quite important, as even though the camera and phone are paired to each other, with the anonymous account, you are still able to factory reset the phone and pair it again, which is not what you want if it’s stolen. To prevent this, once set up, the full account basically turns off the Bluetooth signal so that it can’t be detected for pairing by any other device. Additionally, once the camera is added to a full account, the only way to factory reset the camera is to remove it from this account. If the camera happens to fall into the wrong hands after this is all set up, the camera can be reset, but it won’t be detected, as the Bluetooth signal is still off, which prevents any subsequent pairing to take place. This also means that any footage recorded onto the camera’s built-in storage, can’t be accessed either. Pretty cool huh?

With a full account set up, you then not only get access to all the features, which we’ll look into in a bit, but you also get access to a few extra settings. These include adding other members for access to the camera feed, along with setting your location for location-based functionality, status LED settings, erasing the video archive, unpairing, and HomeKit pairing.

At this point, it should be pointed out that none of this is necessary if you only want to use it in HomeKit. Even though you can get the 8-digit HomeKit code once you’ve created an account, it’s not needed, as the Homam includes an NFC chip for fast pairing (assuming your phone has NFC built-in). To get into pairing mode in HomeKit you simply rotate the camera so it’s upside down and it will then be in pairing mode with NFC activated. I really don’t recommend you use it solely in HomeKit, any more than I’d recommend the Aqara G3, as you’ll be missing out not only on the security features outlined earlier but on some other unique features that I’ll go into a bit later.

I won’t bother to show all the screenshots for the HomeKit setup side of things, as it’s all pretty standard stuff you’ll have seen many times before if you’ve added any HomeKit devices to the Home app.

THE HOMAM APP

The Homam app gives you four distinct modes – View, Nanny, Guard, and Capture. The first of these is…

View mode

which gives you a larger view of the camera although it doesn’t give you the whole image, so in order to see parts of the view on the left or right, you need to move the screen with your finger, almost like manual panning, if you will. All four modes include an option to view the live stream or past recordings in high (HQ) or low (LQ) quality. You also have a ‘live’ button, that simply takes you to the live feed if you’ve been watching previously recorded footage.

On the subject of recording, the Homam records at 1080p, and regardless of whether you view the live or recorded stream in HQ or LQ it always records at 1080p. The timeline features two separate indicators for motion and sound. The top section shows waves that increase in intensity relative to the amount of motion. Below that is a separate audio timeline, so even if you can’t see what might be going on if it’s out of camera shot, you can still ‘see’ evidence of something via the audio timeline if it’s picked up by the stereo microphones.

Each of the modes allows you to zoom in digitally up to 8 times, whether it’s a record or live.

Nanny mode

As you might have gathered, Nanny mode is designed more for keeping an eye on your children or toddlers. In this instance, the live window covers the whole of the camera’s view. The difference in Nanny mode is that it gives you two specific features, the first of which is ‘Audio Monitor’. The icon looks like a speaker and once activated allows you to monitor sound picked up by the camera, even when the app is minimised and running in the background.

The second icon that looks like a crawling baby, is for a feature called ‘Sensitive detection’ which ramps up motion detection so that the smallest of movements is registered.

Guard mode

Like Nanny mode, Guard mode gives you the whole of the camera’s FoV but offers two different extra features. The first of these is ‘Intelligent detection’. Once activated, the Homam app will begin sending you notifications when motion is detected. However, this is where the Homam starts to use its built-in AI functionality. With most cameras, when notifications are turned on, you’ll start getting message after message when any form of motion is detected. With Homam and intelligent detection, you’ll only get notifications from things that the AI considers worthy of bothering you with, so the camera will detect faces, your pets and people, but once the AI determines who it detects are regulars – i.e. members of the family or people living in your home, it won’t feel the need to inform you every time they walk into the Homam’s FoV. If, on the other hand, it detects unusual movement or a face that it doesn’t recognise, you’ll start to receive push notifications letting you know immediately that something is out of the ordinary. With this feature turned off, you simply don’t get any notifications.

the second option can only be activated if the aforementioned intelligent detection is active, which is for geofencing. With this option, you will still get notifications, but only when you’re not home, that is to say when you’re out of range of the camera for a connection via your network. With this turned off, you will get notifications regardless of your location.

Capture mode

This last mode allows you to view the live stream or recordings like all the other modes, but in addition, you have two separate buttons for capturing images and video. If you’re viewing the live stream, you just have to hold down the ‘Shutter’ icon and it’ll begin recording the live footage, storing it on your phone’s camera roll once you let go of the button. You can also scrub back through the timeline, select an event and do the same, so clips can be grabbed from any point you like, not just when the camera happened to record something, as the camera records 24/7.

The second icon that looks like a camera, is for grabbing a screenshot as opposed to a video clip, this too can be used with the live stream or from recordings in the timeline.

At this point, it’s good to mention that the camera has a built-in eMMC chip that records all the time on a rolling recording basis. The chip is capable of 64GB of recording, hence the product name, which should give you approximately 36 hours of recordings. Whilst this chip isn’t able to be removed, it has a much higher resistance to failure compared to a standard removable SD card. This also means that footage can’t just be taken by anyone without access to an account that’s tied to the camera.

One oddity with all of these modes is that the microphone icon at the bottom can’t be used for simple two-way audio, even though it is available via HomeKit. In the case of the Homam app, you press and hold the mic icon, and say what you want to say, then release the button so the audio message can be sent to the camera, which is then heard a few seconds later by whoever is at the other end.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE BUILT-IN

One aspect of the Homam that in some ways is harder to quantify, is the built-in artificial intelligence feature. This functions mostly for the benefit of motion detection, but it goes a little further than in how and when it notifies you of such things. In Guard Mode, the Homam uses on-device AI to discern between humans, pets, faces and more. All of this happens in the background without any intervention from the user.

One of the main uses for this is, of course, with regards to motion detection. The concept the company developed for this is so that instead of getting constant notifications every time something happens, you only get notifications when something is out of the ordinary, or a face isn’t recognised, for example. You won’t keep getting notifications when someone walks into the room if you already know them, or if one person walks into the room followed by another person.

Homam has several scenarios in which it can discern what is of interest, and what is happening, and decide on whether you need to be notified, based on a variety of factors. For example, Homam’s AI has scripts that can detect parties, meetings, children playing, or the sudden appearance of a new face, amongst others.

These features all work in the background and as such can’t be adjusted.

IMAGE QUALITY

I’ve taken a series of screenshots directly from the Home app, as I feel that best represents where consumers will generally see these. I chose to compare the Homam to one of my favourite cameras, the Aqara G3, and one of the cheapest feature-rich cameras, the Eufy Solo IndoorCam P24.  In this first trio of images, I directed the cameras at the window to see how well each would cope with the wide range of brightness levels. They all do fine, but in my mind, the Homam edges them out with marginally more details seen through the window.

This next set of images was taken with low-level colour mood lighting, involving light strips, colour bulbs and lamps set to a couple of different colours. The Homam once again takes the crown with a more balanced image, whereas the other two cameras have blown out the cove lighting to the point where the colour of the strip is not discernable.

These next three were taken in the evening, with indoor lighting on. All three look fine, with the exception of the cove lighting, once again getting blown out, whilst the Homam can better cope with the contrast.

The next set is taken with most lights off with only indirect light coming from a door off the corridor. All three do pretty well, and I’m not sure there’s a lot of difference in these examples. However (you knew it was coming, right?), on many occasions I’ve noticed that when it begins to get dark in this area, the Homam managed to retain a colour image when other cameras would switch over to night vision.

These images were taken in the morning, with internal lights on, and some light streaming through the window, although it was a little grey on this particular day. Even with daylight hopefully balancing things out, the cove lighting still appears blown out on the Eufy and the Aqara cameras, and much less so with the Homam. Aside from that, all images seem fairly decent.

This final trio of images was taken in the morning, without any internal lighting. All three tend to do the job, so I wouldn’t have a particular preference in this case aside from the preference for a wider view, which you get with the Homam, although both the Aqara and Eufy have the advantage of being able to pan. The obvious downside to this is that you need to go into their respective apps in order to control them in this manner.

SOUND & MOTION – MICS, SPEAKERS, AND MOTION SENSORS

This is an area that I admittedly haven’t tended to focus on so much in the past. Still, with the specs for the Homam being what they are, testing both the microphone and speaker quality (in a very non-lab environment way) seemed the right thing to. Obviously, I can’t demonstrate this in a written review, so you’ll have to refer to the accompanying video to get a better idea of how each camera fared. Still, I can tell you that of the three, the Homam did very well, unsurprisingly, with a much cleaner and more detailed sound than either the Aqara G3 or the Eufy P24. The results were less obvious with the microphone tests, but what was apparent was that the Homam’s microphones picked up more ambient sound than the others. Whether that’s a good thing or not is relative I guess.

As regards motion sensors within cameras, as they generally tend to be based on pixel-level changes in the image, I don’t usually regard them as equals to PIR sensors. Still, if you have a camera with one built-in, it can be of use in certain circumstances, and so I did a couple of tests, the results of which you can once again see in the accompanying video. In my tests, I had the lights set to colour mood lighting as per the images seen earlier, with the trigger event happening at the end of the corridor, so essentially as far as possible from all three cameras for this test. In this instance, the Homam only just edged out the Aqara G3, with the Eufy coming in last in terms of response time. The second test involved all lights off in the evening, so as dark as you could get, basically. In this case, probably due to the Homam’s superior optics, it detected movement a lot faster than the other two, with the Aqara coming last in this instance.

IN DAY TO DAY USE

I have to say that this camera has impressed me greatly from the get-go, but should I be surprised given the price? Probably not. Putting the price to one side, the experience from the presentation, to setting it up, and using the app in both HomeKit and its own app, especially, has been as fuss-free as I could wish for, and something I wish I could say for some of my even less complicated devices. That’s not to say there isn’t room for improvements, which I’m hoping are forthcoming at some point. For example, it would be nice to be able to have detection zones, that you already get in much cheaper cameras, but then that’s already available in HSV, so maybe it’s not necessary, assuming you use HSV. The fact that two-way audio is available via HomeKit but not via Homam is also a bit strange, so hopefully, that’s something else that can be addressed.

Of course, US$399.00 is way more than the asking price of pretty much all HomeKit cameras on the market, some of which include things like Zigbee hubs, or 2K and 4K recording, none of which is offered by the Homam, so why the high price point? Well, if you’re an avid Apple user, you may have been asked the same kinds of questions as to why you pay a premium for an iMac over a seemingly cheaper PC, with the same specs. The answer is in the details for such devices, and in some ways, this is the case for the Homam, although the disparity between the price of this camera and others is probably a lot larger than when comparing a PC to a Mac. I’m not here to justify the price, and Zorachka is within its rights to charge what they deem fit, just like I stated in my previous review of the Thinka Z-Wave Gateway, with regards to the asking price. A product like this is an unnecessary commodity, unlike gas, water or electricity, and as such, if you don’t like the price, buy one of the many cheaper options. Ultimately whether this camera is a success (it may already have sold many for all I know) or not is going to be determined by the consumer, and whether they deem the generally superior specs are worth the asking price. Only you can answer that, but in my case, as I’m not ever flush with cash these days, I personally couldn’t justify the price, no matter how good the camera is, however, that’s just based on my own set of circumstances and has nothing to do with the actual quality of the product.

Full disclosure: Zorachka provided HomeKit News with the Homam 64GB Smart Camera for the purpose of this review. No other compensation was made, requested or has not in any way influenced our opinion of this product.

The post Zorachka Homam 64GB Smart Camera (review) appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

The ​proprietary ​video protocol used in the Homam 64GB dramatically decreases the required network bandwidth without loss of quality. A unique network system finds the shortest path between the phone and Homam and connects them directly to the local network. Fast response, very little buffering, and long life of storage achieved by the proprietary video file system.

Specifications

Wireless interfaces

• Wi-Fi – Dual Band (2.4/5GHz) IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
• Bluetooth – 5.0
• NFC – NCI 1.0; supports NFCIP-1 and NFCIP-2, ISO/IEC 14443, ISO/IEC 15693, MIFARE Classic IC-based card and FeliCa card

The post Zorachka Homam 64GB Smart Camera appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

Features

• Pan and tilt functions, and 120° viewing angle
• It can be safely stored in iCloud to help you back up videos
• Detect all actions and warn you immediately
• Built-in infrared LED

Specifications:

• Input type: Micro USB
• Other features: HomeKit compatible, HomeKit secure video recording
• Internet connection: Need to connect to the Internet
• Connection: wireless
• Power supply: external power supply
• Height: 10.8 cm / 4.25 inches
• Length: 9.1 cm / 3.6 inches
• Width: 9.1 cm / 3.6 inches
• Weight: 202 g / 7.1 oz

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the product in question is the new Aqara G3 Camera Hub, which you could consider a ‘Pro’ version of the G2H, due to the many additions we’ll delve into later, although that would be a bit unfair to the G2H, which I consider to be one of the better HomeKit cameras out there.

Note: It’s only fair to point out that at the time of writing, the G3 was only released in Mainland China, and was not available in other territories, although as with many of their other products, like the Aqara M2 and M1S that were recently released in the US, the G3 has now been released ‘internationally’ – currently The US, Canada, and France.

When it comes to either news or reviews, the goal has always been to be straightforward with what I like and don’t like, and this review will be no exception. That being said, I’ve found it hard to find any major flaws, only minor ones that can probably be ironed out with firmware updates. so, if you want to see what all the fuss is about, read on…

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The packaging for the G3 is sturdy enough, and shows off many of the main features of the camera, albeit in Chinese, although I’ll warn you, there are many more features than can be listed on a box even of this size. On one side is the very welcome sight of the HomeKit logo, and I’ve heard that the G3 will also work with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa once it’s released internationally – not that I care about that too much, to be honest!

The box states that it has a 360º Field of View thanks to its pan and tilt functionality, has a built-in Zigbee 3.0 hub, which has become the standard for Aqara hubs now, and has built-in AI functionality, courtesy of a special chip. Like the Aqara Hub M2 and the Aqara P3, the G3 also features an IR transceiver, for controlling devices that come with an infrared remote (not too many these days though). It has night vision, because why wouldn’t it (?), and can record in 2K (2304 x 1296px) to an SD Card via an SD card slot. If you’re familiar with HomeKit and HomeKit Secure Video (HSV), you’ll know that it’s currently restricted to 1080p, so if you want 2K recordings, having an Aqara account for use with the G3 is the way to go.

There’s not a lot in the box – a USB-A to USB-C power cable, with accompanying power supply (Type A, non-polarised in this case), the G3 itself, and the sparse manual. The manual doesn’t come with a HomeKit code, so the only instance of this will be found permanently printed on the base of the G3.

Speaking of the base, you may notice that there’s no mounting plate like the one found with the G2H. It’s an odd omission in some ways, but unlike the G2H, the G3 can only be placed stood upright or suspended upside down, and given that the G3 is heavier than the G2H, a magnetic plate is probably not strong enough to hold it in place. Instead of a plate, the G3 comes with a standard quarter-inch thread, much like you would find on cameras and tripods. I still think they should have included a mounting plate, but I guess this gives the consumer more scope to use a mount of their own choice.

THE CAMERA

Onto the G3 itself, and I have to say it’s an odd-looking shape, but one that I’ve quickly come to get used to. Where the G2H was compared to a Minion from the animated film series ‘Despicable Me’, the G3 is probably more akin to Eve from the ‘Wall-E’ animated film, but only slightly. the top half (or the ‘head’) is all camera and sensors, whilst the lower section (the ‘body’) is just home to a status ring – which we’ll touch on more later – and the Aqara logo, rather subtly printed at the bottom. The sides offer nothing at all, and the rear is home to the speaker grille, and the power port, which is yet another example of the USB-C power supply finally being deployed, following on from the Onvis C3, and the Vocolinc Opto. I really hope I don’t see any further products with a Micro USB port…

Back to the main section, and unlike many cameras, the lens for the G3 is off-centre. The other side makes space for a light sensor to control night vision. On the extreme right and left are microphones, that alongside being used in 2-way audio scenarios, are also deployed to detect abnormal sound. In my cursory tests, it would seem that two mics are indeed better than one, with playback of recordings really picking up audio very well, with playback equally as clear.

The G3 has a sleep mode, which when activated, rolls the camera back into the recess of the camera’s shell (like an eyeball I guess). This reveals the SD card slot that allows you to have on-device recordings. The SD card slot can accept SD cards up to 128GB, which is four times the official memory size permitted for the G2H, at only 32GB. When in sleep mode, the company have gone and added some ‘sleeping eyes’ to the camera. It’s sort of cute, and ends up making the SD card slot appear as an open mouth – hopefully, it won’t dribble when it’s asleep…

It should be noted that for the camera to retract this way, the G3 has to be off in both the Home app and the Aqara app. Whilst turning the camera off in the Home app stops the live stream, the live stream and G3-based recordings will continue in the Aqara app, and vice versa.

To give you the basics when it comes to the G3, here are some features and specs;

• Compatible with HomeKit & HomeKit Secure video
• Zigbee 3.0 hub built-in (also exposed to HomeKit)
• HomeKit security system with all four modes exposed (Off, Away, Home, Night)
• Micro SD card slot for on-device recording (accessible via Aqara app when signed in)
• Infrared night vision
• USB-C power supply
• 2K recording quality (SD card)
• Built-in Infrared transceiver (acts as an IR remote)
• Privacy mode (camera recesses into body of the camera)
• A.I. Chip for Facial recognition, gesture recognition, human and pet detection
• Motion and abnormal noise detection
• Separate Human and Pet tracking
• Associated Events tags
• Preset and consumer-defined camera positions
• Dimensions: 123 x 85 x 67mm (H, W, D)
• Connection: 2.4 & 5.0GHz WiFi bands IEEE 802.11 b/g/n/a/ac
• Field of View: 360º (H) via Pan & tilt functionality and 45º (V) (static FoV – 110º – horizontal plane)
• Weight: 251g
• Camera: 3mp sensor
• Audio: Dual microphones
• Power consumption: 10W (max) – 5v/2A
• Functional temperature range: -10ºC ~ +40ºC

STATUS LIGHT

As with practically all HomeKit cameras that are HSV compatible, the G3 comes with a front-facing LED in the form of a ring, and as standard will appear blue in normal operation, changing to red when the live stream is being viewed and/or recording is occurring, via either the Apple Home or Aqara Home apps. However, this ring also serves as a multi-function button;

• Three quick presses sends the hub within the G3 into Pairing mode, allowing you to manually add compatible ‘Child Devices’ (switches, buttons sensors etc), whereupon the LED ring will flash purple
• A five-second long-press activates video calling mode, which essentially sends a push notification from the Aqara app to all account holders for this camera.

If you have Gesture Identification active (more on this later), the LED ring will turn green for approximately one second to acknowledge the gesture has been recognised. Pressing the button results in a physical click sensation (and click sound), so it’s not a touch-capacitive button. You can also disable the LED ring if you prefer, although it may still light up in Pairing mode or when gestures are recognised.

THE CAMERA

Note: The images above are screengrabs from the Home app

Whether it’s just having a new camera or having experienced cameras with older technology, I’m not sure, but when I first saw the live-stream images from the G3, I was mightily impressed. The tone seems balanced, and there wasn’t too much ‘blow out’ from bright lighting, although I wasn’t expecting an HDR-like image. You can see from the images above taken in the daytime, with and without indoor lighting, the image look fairly good.

It’s much the same with the images above, taken in the evening – one with inside lighting on, with the other using night vision. What I’ve found over time with night vision for most cameras, is to get the best results, make sure there’s nothing too large close up to the camera itself, if possible, otherwise that article will get blown out, resulting in the background receiving less light. The image above has a desk lamp in the bottom right corner, which has affected the night vision a little, but I’ve included it here, to show you a typical night vision image, as opposed to an image under totally perfect conditions. The darkest areas suffer from grainy image quality, but I’ve seen this on almost all of my other cameras, so to get the best out of the night vision image, ensure nothing gets too close to the lens if possible.

I also took screenshots from the G3 using both the Apple Home app and the Aqara Home app. They’re pretty close, although the Aqara app does produce a slightly sharper image. This could be the result of software applying a filter to sharpen edges, but there’s not a lot in it, especially when you’re viewing the image on your iPhone. The Aqara app has three modes in which to view the live stream – Auto, HD, and Full HD. These options are also available with the G2H, which are 720p for HD, and 1080p for Full HD. For the G3, as it’s capable of 2K, HD equates to 720p (1280 x 720), and Full HD equates to 2K (2304 x 1296). Auto mode on the G3 is adaptive but has a minimum resolution of 640 x 360).

The G3 has a 110º FoV at any one time, with the camera rotating a total of 340º in the horizontal, and 45º in the vertical (30º up and 15º down), but as the camera already has a 110º FoV, the full 360º is more than covered in the horizontal plane, with some overlap.

CAMERA CONTROLS IN THE AQARA APP

As pan and tilt control is still not available in HomeKit (neither the Home app nor third-party apps), for the G3, this type of control is confined to the Aqara app. On the main page of the G3, you have a central controller to pan and tilt the G3, which is straightforward enough. To the right of this, is a button for infrared control, which we’ll look at later, and to the left is a button marked ‘Concerned Position’ which we’ll go into in the next paragraph. If you click on the Playback button on the bottom, you can access recorded events via the timeline. If you activate an option called ‘Associated Event Labels’, you’ll also see different lines of colour that represent different types of events – pet detection, human detection, facial recognition, and so on. The little ‘pin’ icon above the timeline allows you to filter these event labels, so if you only want to look for ‘pet detection’ events, it’s much easier to sift through them. More on Associated Events later.

As with the G2H, you can record events to the SD card – if installed – independently of any use of HSV in the Home app.  You can record either based only on motion events, record continuously, or not record at all of course.

In the advanced tab, amongst other things, you get a ‘Cruise’ option. This simply allows the camera to automatically scan its field of view using the pan controls. There’s more to this than you’d think, however…

In the preceding paragraph, I mentioned the ‘concerned Positions’ option. This allows you to direct the camera at standard preset points – leftmost, rightmost, topmost, bottommost, and centremost (yes, these are all real words…). As these labels would imply, selecting them allows the camera to look at the topmost view it’s capable of. Leftmost and Rightmost, simply go to the furthest point the pan motor will take the camera, which would basically have you looking at roughly the same location, so I’m not sure these are of that much help. Bottommost is the lowest the camera can go in the vertical field, and centremost, sets the camera to the central position.

Still, in addition to these preset locations, you can add your own – simply move the camera to the desired point, and click the ‘concerned Position’ button, followed by the plus icon. You can then name this particular position. As you can see above, I can name my custom position. In the second image, I created a ‘position’ called ‘Sofa’.

This is already a great feature that is leaps and bounds ahead of the functionality of the Eufy Pan & tilt camera (now rebranded as the Eufy SoloCam P24), but Aqara takes this a couple of stages further still; These specific locations – whether preset or custom – can be used in automations and scenes (in the Aqara app). Imagine your Aqara door sensor is triggered – you can then turn the camera towards the door, and if you want, add further actions, like turn on Facial recognition, for example…

As if that wasn’t enough, these positions can be used with the ‘cruise’ option, so your ‘custom’ Cruise automation can go to specific positions of your choosing. Better still, within the Cruise option, you can even choose the length of time the camera pauses at each position – astounding!!

RECOGNITION, DETECTION AND TRACKING

On the main screen for the G3, as we’ve already seen, there are some basic controls for the pan & tilt feature, but if you click on the ‘Advanced’ tab, you get into the area where some options for both identification and tracking can be enabled or disabled. What is a bit odd, is that basic motion detection, which is an available option, is buried in a sub-menu via the ‘More’ button. This is a bit strange, but there are other functions that are a bit hard to find, so I won’t dwell on it now. The options available directly are Human Tracking, Dog & Cat Tracking, Cruise (which we’ve already touched upon), Face Identification, and Gesture Identification.

I also previously mentioned Associated Events labels or tags, and in the section above, you can activate any or all of these and apply specific colours to them, which is reflected in the recordings and detection timeline.

It should be noted that there’s a limit to what types of identification and tracking can occur at the same time. So you can’t have Face and Gesture Identification at the same time, and you can’t have Human and Pet Tracking at the same time, which sort of makes sense, but you can have Face Identification, Human Detection, Pet Detection, Motion Detection, and Abnormal Sound detection all running at the same time.

So as you may gather by now, the options available with the G3 can get a little overwhelming, some of which are located in more than one place, and some that can be at times misunderstood. Just remember that Human Detection and Pet detection are not the same as Human Tracking and Pet Tracking!

So, going back to G3 and options for Identification and Tracking, which applies to humans and pets; as stated in the previous paragraph, the G3 is capable of identifying between people and pets, and tracking them separately (usually just cats and dogs, so apologies if you have a pet tortoise…). Additionally, there’s Face identification, which can be put to use in automations where a certain face can activate further certain scenes or automations.

Going back to basic Motion detection, and you can see from the images above that you have the ability to set regions where motion is or isn’t detected, although this may work against its efficient functionality if the camera is pointing in an area different to where these regions are set. You can set the detection sensitivity to one of three levels (low, medium or high), and you can also set the time periods for when motion detection is active, as well as the detection period – 15 seconds, 30 seconds, or 1 minute. You can also activate push notifications if you wish, which can be applied to any or all of the types of detection, with the exception of Gesture detection.

Gesture Detection needs a section all by itself in some ways, but we’ll start off with a simple explanation, and the options available for when it’s activated. Gesture recognition allows the user to use their hands to trigger various scenes or automations. There are currently only five separate gestures that the G3 can recognise, but it may be that more can be added as time goes on.

Aside from the options you also get with the other types of detection, Gesture recognition gives you the choice of either having just gestures recognised, or have gestures recognised on the condition that a face is detected too.

When it is activated, you’ll get a warning that turning it on, will disable other forms of identification – Face recognition, Human detection, and pet detection, but not tracking options. With Gesture Identification, to clarify, although Face Identification is disabled, when Gesture recognition is activated, in order for the Gesture recognition option to work only when there’s also a face present, this works because it’s identifying a ‘face’ not a specific person’s face, which is a small but important distinction.

Having tested both Facial and Gesture recognition for a few weeks now, although I can say they both definitely work, and there are some adjustments to be made, which I’m sure there will be. I found that there are many factors that can render these options less than reliable, like a face in a bit of shadow, or in some cases, if someone happens to reach for something with their hand outstretched, the G3 can see that as a gesture. This is where things like gestures being active based on the time of day, or only when a face is detected, can help to limit unwanted triggers, so more testing is required. Still, it’s something new and exciting that can work ‘hand in hand’ (pun intended) with voice control and sensor-based automations.

FACIAL RECOGNITION

In this day and age, privacy is paramount, and it’s no surprise that any company coming from Mainland China is subject to suspicion by some in one form or another. I’m not here to defend any company, including Aqara, on the merits of privacy, so it’s really down to the individual as to how they deal with the issue, if it is an issue in the first place for them. With the G3 having facial recognition abilities, you do have to decide if this kind of thing is a good fit for you and your stand on privacy. If you’re ok with it, then the Aqara app makes it clear how it works and how to add a face so that you can make use of such functionality.

You can either add a face from your photo library or take a photo there and then, which then gets ‘uploaded’ – which, during this process, is less than clear as to where the pictures are uploaded to, so I reiterate, if this is not something you want to use based on your privacy settings, then don’t use it. I’ve spoken to a representative from Aqara on this, and have been told that, at present, when faces are used for facial recognition on the Chinese version (currently the only version) of the G3, the images are first uploaded to Aqara’s cloud servers, so that they can then sent to multiple G3s (assuming you have more than one), which in essence, allows all cameras to be synced with regards to the faces stored. The advantage is that uploading an image only needs to be done only once, regardless of how many cameras you have. If you are concerned about your images being uploaded, you do have the option to remove the images from the cloud server, once they’ve been populated to all relevant cameras. The G3 can store up to 20 individual faces. If you wish to remove faces directly from the G3 itself, you need to do a factory reset, which will remove all images. When the G3 is released in the US and EU, Aqara have said that the servers that will store any images for forwarding onto the G3 camera, will be GDPR compliant, with servers for other territories following the relevant privacy rules. In the case of this review, bear in mind the camera I’m using is from Mainland China, so it’s a fair assumption that there will be additional T&Cs to approve before you’re able to upload faces to wherever they’re stored.

INFRARED CAPABILITIES

If you already own the Aqara Hub M2 or the Aqara P3 AC Companion, you will be familiar with the IR capabilities found in the G3, as they’re basically the same. The main difference, if it’s of any use, is that due to the G3 being able to aim itself in all manner of directions via the pan/tilt option, it can reach places that previously might be less accessible. In my case (which is demonstrated in the video for the G3) the G3 is placed on the same wall as the living room TV, and facing the same direction, so because of that, the IR signal reaching the TV could be a bit ‘hit and miss’. With the G3 being able to pivot to face the TV (you could describe it as a sideways look), the success rate for the signal from the G3 to the TV becomes 100%.

For those without an M2 or P3, the IR functionality allows the G3 to control devices that usually come with an IR remote, so the G3 not only replaces said remotes but essentially allows these remotes and the devices they control, to become smart to an extent. The specific controls of a particular device can be added to scenes and automations too (in the Aqara app), and although these devices are not recognised by HomeKit as such, you can still use Siri Shortcuts to control these scenes and automations. You could even string a whole series of automations and scenes together, that would involve face and gesture recognition, IR control and more. One simple example;

• I walk into the living room, the camera recognises my face and enables gesture recognition
• I show a gesture to the G3 that tells it to turn the Aqara light strip to Blue at 50%
• It then turns to the TV and turns it on using IR control
• A second scene selects the HBO channel, once again using IR control
• The G3 then disables gesture recognition so I don’t accidentally trigger another scene or automation

This can all be done based on the time of day too, so if you only want it to do any or certain portions of this automation between the hours of 7 – 10pm, that’s easy to achieve.

ALARM MODES

Since the original introduction of the M2 and M1S in Mainland China, the four separate alarm modes have been available in HomeKit, with the original Aqara hub (M1) only affording ‘Away’ and ‘Off’ modes. The G3 also features all four alarm modes – Off, Night, Away, Home. The good news is that if you happen to own an M2, M1S, P3, or even the new E1 USB Stick hub, these alarm modes will sync across all of them. The G2H will also sync with these, although as the alarm part of the G2H is not exposed to HomeKit, you won’t see it in the Home app.

It’s still the case that you can only use Aqara sensors and devices to trigger the alarms, which have to be set in the Aqara app, so you only get control of these modes within HomeKit. You can use these modes in HomeKit automations though, so it’s still of massive use.

SPEAKER, AUDIO, VIDEO CALLS

On the subject of alarms, although the speaker on the G3 is decent, it’s still not quite as loud as the M1 or M1S. This is partially due to the fact that the speaker is both larger and upfront on these hubs, compared to the G3 that has its smaller speaker on the rear. It’s still louder than the M2 by a long way though.

What I have found is that the speaker is quite clear when it comes to voices, by which I mean when you might address someone from your phone through the G3. The voice is clear, with no hint of audio breaking up (although this depends on your connection of course), and of a decent volume. you’re never going to get full-spectrum audio quality, with deep bass, but it’s quite clear I’ve found.

The G2H has a function that allows a person in front of the camera to record a short video message, that then gets ‘pushed’ to the account holder(s) to view. The G3 takes a slightly different approach, and instead of leaving a message, the person in front of the camera can simply call the account holder. To do this the person making the ‘call’ presses and holds the LED ring for five seconds, upon which a push notification is sent to the account holder’s phone (as seen above). The recipient of the call just has to tap on the notification and the G3 will open the Aqara app directly to the live stream to see who’s calling. Whilst you can have a two-way call with the person and can see who it is, they can’t see you. I’m not sure if this is of much use, but for someone who doesn’t have their phone handy (however unlikely that would be in this day and age), it’s an extra function that may be of use if you wanted to use it.

THE G3 AND HOMEKIT

Aside from mentioning the alarm functionality earlier, I’ve not really talked about the HomeKit side of things, and whilst the G3 clearly is HomeKit compatible, due to some of the restrictions within the Home app, and HomeKit generally, the G3 really isn’t anything particularly special on the Home/HomeKit side of things. That’s not to say it’s not a good or great camera first and foremost, because I think it really is (!), but it is somewhat neutered by HomeKit, as are any cameras (or indeed other HomeKit compatible devices) that have functionality outside of the realms of the HomeKit framework.

As you can see in the first screenshot, the G3 exposes the Alarm/security system as a separate device, with its own tile. The camera has its own screen too of course. I’ve connected an Aqara mini switch to the G3’s hub, which you can see is the last tile in the first image. Even though the G3 is a hub/gateway/bridge, it doesn’t show up as such in the ‘hubs & bridges’ section of the Home app. The reason for this is that the G3 is a multifunctioning device, unlike the M1S, the M2 and the E1 that you can see amongst the hub listed in the second screenshot, and so for whatever reason, it doesn’t show up as a hub in the normal sense. This is also the case with the G2H, which is also a combined hub and camera. Likewise, I also have the Aqara P3 AC Companion, and because that’s identified as a hub and an AC controller, it’s not purely a hub. You can check the hub status of the G3 though, simply by going into the settings for any child device connected to it. The Aqara mini switch is connected to the G3, and the third screenshot shows the G3 as its hub, although it’s listed/identified as the alarm.

To a large extent, the Home app creates a level playing field for HomeKit cameras (with the exception of the ones that don’t support HSV), and so it’s no surprise that all of the same features you’d see in one camera, are the same as with another, like the G3. The only difference you’d tend to see might be any additional accessories or ‘services’ a particular camera offers, so in the case of the G3, you get the standard pixel-based motion sensor and the previously mentioned security system/alarm. Some cameras might list a separate occupancy sensor for example.

THE G3 AND ZIGBEE 3.0 HUB

I’m going to take a chance and assume that you’re reading this with some knowledge of how Aqara’s Zigbee hubs work, so I won’t go into any great detail, but if you’re new to it all, here the essence of how it works;

Aqara makes Zigbee hubs, and some of their devices in addition to being cameras (G2H, G3) or AC controllers (P3), also contain hubs. These hubs are needed so that Aqaras own products (generally referred to as Child Devices) like switches, sensors and more, are able to function by themselves (e.g. light bulbs) or communicate with other child devices (e.g. smart switches) via automations etc. Think of the hub as a central meeting point where these devices can converse with each other. In addition, these hubs allow you to access your devices when you’re not at home, as the hub is connected to your network, and the internet. The Hubs have one other major role, and that is to expose the devices that are connected to it, to HomeKit. You don’t need to expose them to HomeKit, and you’re quite welcome to have everything run within the Aqara ecosystem, but with exposing these devices to HomeKit, you open up a world where not only can the Aqara child devices talk to each other, but also speak to HomeKit devices by a massive list of other manufacturers, like Eve, Philips Hue, Yeelight, Ikea, Vocolinc, August, Onvis, and many more.

When it comes to Aqara child devices, there is a lot, although some devices are only available in certain regions, like the US Aqara rocker switches, which are only designed to work with US Aqara hubs, for example. The G3 should be able to work with practically all of these devices, with only a handful of these products not actually exposed to HomeKit, due to the HomeKit framework simply not supporting certain device types – like the Aqara Smart Toilet H1, the Smart Bed W1, or the Smart Clothes Drying Rack. These types of devices will still work in the Aqara app though, and to some extent be controlled with Siri using Siri Shortcuts, as the Aqara app is Siri Shortcuts compatible.

WRAP UP

I actually saw initial evidence of this camera almost two years ago now, and at the time it was suggested it was a rejected design for the G2H – how wrong that was! It has taken a while to get to the actual release (In China only at present), but one thing’s for certain that I stated at the start, is that Aqara is not messing around when it comes to churning stuff out at a rapid pace. You might think this would affect quality, and in some cases, it may well do, although I’ve personally not experienced poor build quality at any point so far.

This brings me to the build quality of the G3. Putting it in simple terms, it’s solid. when you hold it in your hand, it doesn’t feel like there are any loose parts, or the seams where it’s put together are barely holding. I also found this with the G2 and G2H, so I was expecting this same high quality, and let’s just say I wasn’t disappointed.

I’ve already stated that I’m quite impressed with the clarity of the image, even if that impression is anecdotal, but what sends this over the top, and not to sound overdramatic, but pretty much trash all other cameras right now, is the sheer amount of functionality the G3 has, allied with the vast amount of customisation that can be achieved – creating automations that tie into the pan/tilt, and IR functionality, for example – opens up a vast amount of opportunities. Add gesture & facial recognition, and pet detection to the mix, and the mind boggles at what complex scenarios you could come up with.

That said, I’m always a bit wary of devices that take on so many roles at once, and with cameras also acting as hubs, there’s the potential for a device becoming practically hobbled when one part of the device’s functionality dies, not to mention all child devices going offline of course. On that basis, I’ve so far avoided using my other camera hubs from being used in this capacity. I have made a slight exception with the G3, as I’ve set up an automation that uses the mini switch to trigger the G3 pan and IR functions in an automation, to turn on a nearby TV, which makes life a bit easier for my elderly mother-in-law.

With the extremely large amount of possibilities the G3 brings to the table, I’ve found it hard to cover all aspects of the camera’s options within the Aqara Home app, but I feel I’ve covered the main parts, which leaves you, the reader, with the fun of finding the extras.

I think it’s fair to say I’m bowled over by this camera, and even though expectations get higher with each new Aqara release, the G3 hasn’t disappointed at all. That’s not to say it’s perfect, and there are a few bugs that beta testers will be tasked with finding for themselves and reporting back on (…not my job), but even the bugs I did find weren’t really of much consequence if I’m honest. The one area that probably needs a bit more polish, is gesture recognition. It works, and I haven’t really noticed any ‘bugs’, but false detection seems to occur occasionally, rather than gestures not being seen, so I’m hoping that can be improved upon.

The one aspect that may concern most people is the issue with facial images for use in Facial Recognition functionality, and I can understand that. However, if privacy is of the utmost importance to you, then maybe having a camera indoors – regardless of whether it has facial recognition or not – should possibly be something you’d have to address initially, although if you are using facial recognition within Apple’s HSV option, then any HSV camera will suffice. Once Aqara provides the ‘fix’ I mentioned before, it should be less of an issue to most people.

At present, the G3 is selling for around RMB800-900 in China, and US$109.99 in the US, not including any discounts. That does make it more expensive than a lot of other HomeKit cameras out there, especially the Eufy indoor cameras, but seriously, the G3 is in a league of its own right now, and even the top-end price of US$110 is still cheaper than some of the bigger names like the Logitech Circle View, or the very overrated Eve Cam, that offer way less (unless you exclusively use it in HomeKit). I personally think it’s worth every penny.

Now I just need about a month to plot the possible ways I can create automations involving ALL the different functions! I’ll see you later…

The post Aqara G3 Camera Hub (review) appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

Whilst more HomeKit compatible devices are always welcome, the HomeKit market saw a massive expansion of cameras becoming available, once companies have managed to include HomeKit Secure Video (HSV) into their functionality. So with the Opto making its debut, is there much room on the bus for another camera? Read on to make up your own mind.

* the T-Guard Smart Lock and the VS1 smart contact sensor being the other two security devices

PACKAGING

Many HomeKit accessory manufacturers have taken on the Apple mantra of less is more to a large degree, and Vocolinc is one such company, with the product being pretty much the only feature on the front of the box. You’ll also note that only the HomeKit logo is present, as this is an Apple HomeKit only product, so there’s no compatibility with Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa, unlike many of their products. The only other Vocolinc devices that aren’t compatible with these other platforms are the T-Guard Smart Lock, and the VS1 contact sensor, both of which use Bluetooth. the Opto is a WiFi device, but it’s still a HomeKit exclusive.

the rear of the box has the obligatory ‘in-situ’ image, and the top of the box has the HomeKit logo along with a ‘Privacy Matters’ badge. This has started to make its appearance on Vocolinc products since the introduction of their updated app, which has a HomeKit only mode, and a ‘full experience’ mode, with the latter allowing Google and Alexa integrations, but does require a Vocolinc account to achieve this. So, with HomeKit mode, you’re not required to set up an account, although only Vocolinc’s devices will show up, not all of your HomeKit devices (with the exception of within automations).

The sides of the box feature details of requirements as well as features of the Opto, many of which reflect the fact that it’s compatible with HSV out of the box. I’ve marked where these HSV features are in the list below;

• 1080P recording at 30fps
• 3-megapixel camera
• End-to-end encrypted video (HSV)
• 10-day, motion-based recording history (HSV)
• Smart Detection – people, pets, vehicles (HSV)
• Notifications with snapshots (HSV)
• 2-way audio
• Night vision up to 19.7ft / 6m
• Pan, tilt and zoom: 350º (H), 117º (V), up to 3 x zoom
• Privacy mode
• 107º field of view
• Uses WiFi 2.4GHz for connection
• 80 x 80 x 110mm / 3.15 x 3.15 x 4.33in (W,D, H)
• Weighs 280g / 9.88oz

The camera can also be mounted upside down from a ceiling, or on the underside of a shelf for example. the Opto comes with a circular attachment that screws into a surface using the included screws and rawl plugs, with the base of the camera screwing into the circular attachment. Handily enough, you also get a small sticker to guide you into making sure you screw the holes at the right distance when preparing to mount the camera. The Vocolinc app allows for the camera’s view to be ‘flipped’ so that you don’t have to look at the live stream upside down if ceiling mounted.

PACKAGE CONTENTS

Aside from the camera and the aforementioned mounting parts, you get a manual with one of two instances of the HomeKit code, a USB power supply, and a 2-metre / 6.56ft USB-A to USB-C power cable…yes USB-C! Apart from the Onvis C3, the Opto is the only other camera I’m aware of so far that uses a USB-C power supply. It’s a small detail, and in reality, doesn’t matter so much, but it makes plugging the cable in just that little bit easier.

THE CAMERA

Onto the camera itself, and the comparisons to the Eufy pan and tilt camera are going to be inevitable, mostly due to the similar overall design, and the fact that both cameras have motorised pan and tilt functionality. Whilst they may look similar, it would be unfair to say they’ve copied the Eufy, as there have been many cameras that are part of the Xiaomi/Mi Home ecosystem that look similar to this (out of necessity you could say) that came out long before the Eufy. It does remind me a little of the Snapchat logo though! The rear of the camera is home to the second of the two instances of the HomeKit code and also houses the speaker and USB-C power connection.

The camera section sports a large light sensor at the top, above the lens, which is central, and a microphone, immediately below the lens. The light sensor is to help the camera switch between night vision and standard colour vision, although, unlike the Logitech Circle View, it’s not exposed to HomeKit.

On the rear of the camera you have the aforementioned speaker, and on the base is a small reset button (labelled RST), with the UB-C power port next to that, and finally, what at first glance appears to be another reset option, of the type that you would stick a SIM pin inside, but actually it houses a small LED (even though the manual does in fact erroneously state that this is the reset button). Now regarding this section, full marks for putting in a USB-C connection, but when it comes to resetting the device, which I did for the purposes of testing the device, there’s very little room to fit your finger in just enough to press this button, so in effect, your finger has to squeeze between the end section of the power cable and the side of the cutout section, which isn’t very comfortable. They could definitely have done with making the cutout at least another 25% wider in my opinion, although hopefully resetting the device is going to be a rare occurrence. The LED will show blue or red, depending on the state of the camera – red for recording and streaming, or blue for just streaming.

This leads us to the placement of the LED indicator. Pretty much all other HomeKit and HSV capable cameras have the indicator LED on the front, so it begs the question as to why Vocolinc decided to put it on the back. Whatever the reasoning, I’m going to offer a suggestion that this is in fact a good place to have the LED; Most people, if they think or know they’re being watched, could be disconcerted by an always-on, visible LED, and so placing it at the back makes sense. Sure, if you’re in charge of the camera, then it would nice to be able to see this LED without having to look behind it, but then the Home app is going to tell you what state it’s in, and given that you can only have a maximum of five cameras recording with a 2TB iCloud account, I think it’s fair to say you’ll probably know which cameras are set to record and/or stream.

When it comes to the panning option, the camera is listed as being able to pan 350º, although due to the 107º field of view, you essentially cover everything around the camera, as there’s a field of view ‘overlap’ from one end of the position of the camera in the horizontal, to the other. I’ve explained it better in the video! the 117º tilt option is decent enough, and if you have the Opto mounted upside down, you get to see the benefit of this, with the camera able to view more from a high position. Operating the pan and tilt is pretty much as you’d expect of a budget camera, with potentially budget parts to make this function work. The pan and tilt can initially be slightly jerky on occasion, but generally, if you’re panning or tilting in one continuous movement, it’s reasonably smooth. If there’s any stutter, it’s more than likely the WiFi connection.

Night vision seemed fine, and nothing out of the ordinary, so there’s nothing special to note in this regard, but it works well. It’s also interesting that while the camera uses four IR LEDs, they don’t seem to be visible, which makes it more subtle than some cameras in this regard.

IN THE HOME APP

Due to the way HomeKit works, many of today’s cameras work in the same way and have much the same features for the most part, so it’ll come as no surprise that this is also the case with the Opto, which toes the line in conformity, due to its exclusivity with HomeKit. In the Home app, you get all the usual options when HSV is activated, and as with pretty much all cameras now, it comes with a pixel-based motion sensor that is listed as an ‘accessory’ in the settings section. Even though it only connects to 2.4GHz (I really hoped for 5GHz), it loads up snappily and does what’s expected of it.

As with any camera capable of pan/tilt in HomeKit, these controls are not available in the Home app or any third-party app, except for the app from the relevant company, which in this case would be the Vocolinc app for the Opto, and the Eufy Security app for the Eufy pan and tilt.

In the settings within the Home app, depending on what recording or streaming options you have set for the Opto, you get a variety of extra options. As I have the Opto set to Stream and Allow Recording, I get further options in terms of motion detection, for example. As with many HomeKit cameras, the Opto has a motion sensor built-in, although it’s based on pixels, so it’s not a PIR sensor as such. You can still use this motion sensor in automations though.

Within HSV, you get options to detect any movement, or specific movement, when either people, animals, or vehicles are detected. As this is an Indoor camera, vehicle detection would normally only be relevant if the camera was either aimed outside from a window, or if it was used outdoors, (which is probably not recommended in most circumstances) under some form of cover, like a porch. You also get to choose whether to record audio as well as video.

As part of the suite of functions within HSV, you also have facial recognition, which can be turned on or off. You can also tie it to your Photos app, in order to link detected faces to people already tagged in your photo library. This is optional. Finally, you can create zones for motion to be detected or excluded. In the second image above, I’ve created one motion zone, so anything in that zone will trigger recording, whilst anything outside of that zone is ignored. You can add more than one zone to the camera’s field of vision, and you also have the option to invert the zones, so they act in the opposite manner. It’s worth noting that with the Opto being a pan and tilt camera, any zones you create may not be relevant if the camera has been moved to look at a different areas, via pan and tilt operation.

IN THE VOCOLINC APP

As expected, you get a few extras with the Vocolinc app, the most obvious one being control over the pan, tilt and zoom features. These pan and tilt are controlled with the onscreen circular control on the bottom half of the screen. In my tests, which have been ongoing since late December, I initially found the response when tapping these controls, a bit sluggish, but I’m happy to say that they’re much more responsive now, and on a par, if not marginally better than the response time of the equivalent Eufy controls.

• The first of the five icons, using the HomeKit logo, simply takes you to the live stream in the Home app, so you can watch recordings as well as watch the live stream. You can of course watch the live stream in the Vocolinc app, just not the recordings, which is the same for any camera regarding HSV recordings.
• The second icon allows for control over the mic and speaker.
• The third button allows for control over the zoom level – which can give you from 1.0x up to 3.0x zoom in specific 0.5x stages. This option is a bit odd, as most other cameras allow you to simply use the ‘pinch-to-zoom’ action, much like you’d do with a photo. This isn’t possible in the Vocolinc app, so you have to use the zoom controls for this, but is available in the Home app as standard.
• The fourth icon simply controls the mic status.
• The last icon takes you into full-screen mode
• The controls on the bottom, for pan and tilt, are pretty self-explanatory, with left, right up, and down controls controlling where the camera looks.
• Pressing the ‘talk’ button in the centre elicits an animated graphic to show you the mic on your phone is broadcasting your voice to the camera.

All of the same controls are available in full-screen mode, with a translucent overlay.

In the settings for the Opto, you get a visual timeline of motion events, a line to let you know how long ago the last motion occurred, and a button to reveal a list of motion events. This list will reveal the time and date of the motion event, as well as the duration of the motion event, which should correspond with any recordings via HSV, assuming the camera is using HSV for recording.

As you can mount the camera to a ceiling, you have the simple option to flip the image, but only in the vertical, which is fine as it would look odd to mount such a camera on a wall at 90º. There is one option that I’ve found little use for, although some may need it, and that is the Anti-Flicker option, which allows the camera to operate at 50 or 60Hz. This is designed so that you don’t get a mismatch with lights that can cause flicker or subtle strobing. So if your lights are at 50Hz and the camera is at 60Hz, you may notice these types of artefacts. I’ve got it turned off, as I didn’t notice any issues.

In addition to that, we have what I’d consider a very useful tool that could set Opto apart, which is Privacy mode. This simply recesses the camera lens into the body of the camera, so it’s unable to see anything, and by extension not able to record anything or make a note of any motion events. However, the microphone is still active, but while that may allow you to eavesdrop (‘why’ is your business…) none of the conversations can be recorded, as HSV compatible cameras will only record based on motion events. What makes the Privacy mode possibly more useful is that it can be used in scenes and automations. Now whilst it’s true that you can change the state of a camera on any HSV compatible camera based on someone’s location to one of four options – Off, Detect Activity, Stream, or Stream and Allow Recording (assuming they’ve been added to your ‘Home’), the privacy mode can be used in automations based on a whole variety of factors, in addition to manually turning the privacy mode on and off.

The unfortunate thing is, that all this was possible whilst testing the camera earlier this year. The latest beta update has somehow disabled the Privacy feature in the Vocolinc, so currently, I’m unable to replicate these automations there. However, the good news is that Privacy mode is exposed to most third-party HomeKit apps, including the excellent Eve for HomeKit. The basis of this type of automation is quite easy to achieve as in the Eve app, Privacy mode is exposed as a 0 or 1 option, with 0 being privacy mode off, and 1 being privacy mode on.

You can see in the screenshots above, I’m able to create two individual scenes that have the camera set to privacy mode on, and privacy mode off. I’m then able to utilise these scenes in automations. In the example above, I’m simply using time-based triggers to turn the privacy mode on or off. Now, you can turn the Eufy camera off in HomeKit by simply changing the status from Stream to Off, and whilst it does indeed stop streaming in HomeKit, streaming is still visible in the Eufy app. This also means that whilst the camera is ‘off’ in HomeKit and the Home app, the camera lens has not recessed into the shell of the camera and appears to still be ‘watching’, which indeed it is, in the Eufy app. The only way to fully turn off the Eufy camera is to turn it off in both apps.

Speaking of privacy, the other thing that sets this apart from the Eufy pan and tilt camera is that whilst it’s useful to have the Vocolinc app for controlling the pan/tilt etc, you don’t need to sign up for an account in order to do so. This, as far as I’m aware, is not the case with the Eufy equivalent, and at least was the case when I got my first Eufy Pan/tilt camera – I was unable to add it to HomeKit directly, only via the Eufy app.

On the subject of microphones and 2-way audio, I have to admit that this is one function I tend not to use, as, on most cameras, the sound just isn’t as good as I’d like it. Besides that, I rarely find a use for it and so it’s not something I generally bother testing. I made an exception in this case, and although the sound isn’t anything to write home about, I was genuinely surprised it didn’t have that scratchy tinny sound I normally associate with camera speakers. It should be pointed out that the Opto features 2-way audio as standard in HomeKit, whereas the Eufy does not. What it currently lacks that the Eufy does include, is motion tracking, which also works in HomeKit, even if it has to be enabled in the Eufy app. Whether this is something most people use, I’m not sure, but with an overly active puppy having recently joined the household, I’ve found it useful for my Eufy camera to keep tabs on his running around. I’ve been told this can be achieved with the Opto via a firmware update, so we’ll see if that transpires.

THE OPTO IN USE

Vocolinc sent the Opto camera for me to test back at the start of the year, and so I’ve had plenty of time to get to know this camera and any foibles or issues with it. Initially, the camera was a bit slow to react when I controlled the pan and tilt controls in the Vocolinc app, but this has since been remedied via both firmware updates to the camera, and updates to the app. Aside from that, I haven’t come across any issues. Either the current firmware revision or possibly the latest app update seems to have done something to the functionality of the Privacy mode in the Vocolinc app, but it still works in third-party apps, so not all is lost.

In terms of features, it would seem it has all the basics you’d need, including the aforementioned privacy option, 2-way audio, and no requirement to sign up for an additional account in the Vocolinc account. It would’ve been great if it had an SD card slot for on-device recording, but as that’s a hardware issue, there’s no chance of having such an option currently.

When it comes to pan and tilt, it all works as already outlined, so the only thing lacking is control of this feature within the Home app, but this is something for Apple to enable, not Vocolinc. While some not like it, I do like the fact that the LED status light is on the rear of the camera, but this does depend on personal preferences of course.

Taking all of this into account, and looking at a tantalising price point (under US$50.00 I believe), I think Vocolinc have achieved an above-average first attempt. It certainly provides better value for money than many other cameras at more than twice the price, so it’s hard to complain for the most part. One thing to note is that whilst I generally try not to compare products, in the case of the Opto, it’s a lot more difficult to avoid, knowing that the Eufy camera is the only other pan/tilt camera, and at the same price range, so I think in the interest of you, the reader, it’s expected. All in all, it’s a job well done.

Full disclosure: VOCOlinc provided HomeKit News with the Opto Smart Indoor Camera for the purpose of this review. No other compensation was made, requested or has not in any way influenced our opinion of this product.

The post Vocolinc Opto Smart Indoor Camera (review) appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

Local MicroSD card (FAT32) supports up to 128GB storage. Dual-Band Wi-Fi: The C3 uses both 5GHz and 2.4GHz Wi-Fi connection, enabling high-speed data transport. Setup can be completed in seconds. Two-way audio allows you to talk and listen to family over iPhone and Apple Watch anytime. Notifications & Automation: An iOS notification, with an image preview right at the lock screen, will be sent to you when motion is detected. Set Automations and scenes for smart control with HomeKit enabled devices.

• • Storage: iCloud ( HomeKit Secure Video), MicroSD card (up to 128G)
  • Resolution: 1080p@30fps X4 (1 for iCloud recording, 2 for live streamings, 1 for MicroSD card )
  • CMOS Sensor: IMX Starlight sensor, 2M pixels
  • Wi-Fi: 5GHz and 2.4GHz, 802.11 b/g/n/ac
  • 2-Way Audio
  • Lens FOV: 134°
  • Starlight Night Vision: Auto IR Cut, supreme quality
  • Adapter: Input 100-240VAC, 50/60Hz, 0.2A; Output 5.0VDC, 1.2A, Type C
  • Dimensions(WxDxH): 4.4×3.4×3.1 inch (112x87x80mm)
  • Operation Temperature: 32ºF~104ºF(0~40ºC)
  • Operating Humidity: 10%~90% RH non-condensing
  • Storage Temperature: -4ºF~158ºF(-20ºC~70ºC)
  • Storage Humidity: 5%~90% RH non-condensing

The post Onvis C3 Smart Indoor Camera appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

PACKAGING

The front of the box simply features the camera, along with the some of the standout features, which we’ll get into in a bit, but it’s clearly designed solely for HomeKit, as are the other two Onvis devices previously mentioned. It also states that it works with HomeKit Secure Video (HSV). The rear of the box simply spells out some of the basic requirements, one of which is the Onvis Home app, although it actually isn’t if you don’t want access to the SD Card recording functionality. You’re still going to need the app for firmware updates, like many HomeKit products, however.

The rest of the box is adorned with a plethora of text, boasting the camera’s features and specs, for which we’ll simply list them below;

Specifications:

• Compatible with HomeKit Secure Video
• Onboard local recording to Micro SD Card, up to 128GB
• 2MP IMX Starlight Sensor
• compatible with 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz WiFi
• 2-way audio
• HDR (High Dynamic Range)
• 134º Field of View
• 100-240V AC @ 50/60Hz
• USB > USB-C power socket/cable
• Four separate streams, each capable of 1080p HD video at 30FPS (1 for iCloud, 2 for live stream, 1 for SD card)
• 4-second rolling pre-record to SD card

It all sounds rather impressive in theory, but then no company presents their products as ‘average’ or ‘just ok’, so it’s what matters in my own findings that are important.

The complete contents of the box include the C3 itself, a manual in English, German, French, Italian, and Spanish, two screws and rawl plugs for affixing it to a ceiling or wall, a USB plug with foldable pins, and a 2m / 6.5ft USB > USB-C cable to power the device.

THE CAMERA

I know you’re thinking, this is an ugly camera, right? Well, yes, it’s not the prettiest camera around for sure, and I’m not going to defend it when compared the beautiful design of the Logitech Circle View, which is a lesson in minimalism all by itself, but then the ‘View’ is almost twice the price, and no local recording option. To be fair to the Logitech offering, it can also be used outdoors and offers a 180º FoV. Yes, it does look a bit like a mix of ET and the large eye you see on those War of The Worlds alien craft. I get it, it’s not a looker. But here’s the thing – it definitely has character, and this wouldn’t look out of place in the Jetson’s household. Still, if this is a security camera, you don’t want it to be seen anyway right, at least not in plain view. I can say that I love great design, and I do admire the look of the D-Link Omna, even three years on, but do I look at it at least once a day? No, I don’t. Taste is a personal thing of course, and so I’m not going to convince anyone on the looks, not that I want to, but it’s fair to play the Devil’s Advocate in this instance. The base of the camera is pretty damn ugly though, I’ll give you that!

The rear of the camera has the downfacing USB-C port, and although it’s a minor plus, I don’t think a day goes by when I haven’t seen someone bemoan manufacturers sticking to Micro USB ports like their lives depended on it, so I for one, am glad to see this. One side of the camera has a pinhole for resetting the device, along with a Micro SD card slot for onboard local recording. The top of the camera has a speaker grille for the tw0-way audio functionality.

The camera is held up by a stem that rests into a balljoint at the top of the rather odd-looking base. This affords the C3 plenty of room for positioning, but by the same token, it’s not so easy to get it so that the camera is totally level. It just takes a bit of adjustment, so it’s not a big deal. As already mentioned, the camera can be wall-mounted using the provided screws, that fit into the two holes on the base of the stand. The underside of the stand has a circle of dense foam to give it a bit of weight, as well as make it less likely to slide around if placed on a shelf, for example. The stand itself does look and feel a bit like an afterthought, to be honest, and doesn’t feel particularly strong, but once it’s in place, I doubt there’s any need to move it.

THE C3 IN HOMEKIT

As you might expect, as this is just like other cameras that are HomeKit and HSV compatible device, it’s going to have most of the same features. In the live view in the Home app, you get the live stream, as well as microphone and speaker icons at the top, along with the settings icon, and the video capture timeline at the bottom, if the camera is set to ‘Stream & Allow Recording’. If this is set up, you also have the option to export recorded footage via the ‘share’ icon above the recording timeline. In iOS13, you also get quick access to any devices that are located in the same room as the camera itself. None of these is unique to the C3, but if you’re new to HomeKit or even HSV, then it’s good to know, all the same. The C3 also has a pixel-based motion sensor, which gets exposed as a separate device. Pretty much every camera has something like this, but in the case where you don’t happen to have a motion sensor, it’s a useful addition, although PIR (Passive Infrared) sensors are usually preferable. The great thing about having a motion sensor built into the camera is that not only will you get a notification when motion is detected, but said notification comes with a thumbnail image of the instance that set the motion off in the first place. Although motion detection zones are coming to iOS14, they aren’t available to iOS13 users at present, so one thing that is quite handy with the C3 at present is its ability to create motion zones within the Onvis Home app, via a grid that divides the image into squares, which you can turn on or off. We’ll show that later, but it’s good that this motion detection customisation is also applied to the motion sensor when in the Home app.

The camera itself pushes out three 1080p streams (two for live streaming and one for HSV, plus a fourth stream for SD card recordings) at 30 frames per second (fps), which goes above the minimum requirement of 24fps. Whilst this may not seem like a large leap, combined with the faster capabilities of the 5.0GHz WiFi, the live stream appears smoother, which is something I already noticed with my D-Link Omna, another camera that also connects to 5.0GHz WiFi. Anecdotal evidence seems to suggest that cameras on the 5.0GHz network launch quicker, although this is just my personal findings. I do wish more cameras had this option, as it’s quite easy for the 2.4GHz space to get clogged up with devices. That being said, whilst the image in daylight and decent artificial light is good, the night vision isn’t so great. It’s not a bad picture, per se, but if you look at the night-vision screengrab above, you can notice a bit of graininess towards the bottom of the door. I’ve mentioned this to Onvis, and they’ve stated that they’re working on a firmware update to address the issue, so hopefully, this will improve to the point where I can remove this ‘negative’ if and when I update this review. Bonus points for anyone who’s able to correctly identify four other HomeKit devices in this picture (five, if you include packaging…).

THE ONVIS HOME APP

I think it’s fair to say that many 3rd party apps for HomeKit devices just aren’t up to the task, whether that’s a confusing interface or simply a badly designed one. I have to say, whilst the Onvis Home app isn’t the worst one I’ve seen (that honour goes to the Etón app), it does lack a bit of polish, and only really serves to be able to view the SD card recordings, and functionalities related to this, as well as for firmware updates.

In the images above, you can see a snapshot of the feed at the bottom of the screen, which refreshes every ten seconds, just as with the Apple Home app. Upon clicking on the preview, you get to see the live feed. Below the feed are icons for two way audio, and muting the sound. At the bottom is a screen that shows previews of the most recently recorded events – events recorded to the SD card, not to HSV. The button says ‘LIVE’, which shows you’re seeing the live feed, but if you press on it, the button will change to show ‘VIDEO’. This will then proceed to play the most recent SD card recording in the large screen area, along with a timeline of recordings. These recordings are broken down into two distinct sections; the previews will only show the recordings made in a one hour slot, so the preview recordings you can see in the timeline in the third screenshot, are from 9-10am only. Above this section, you have the option to choose different time slots, so in the example, above we have 9am (actually 9-10am) and prior to that 5am (actually 5-6am). I’m using a TestFlight version of the Onvis app, and as such it’s slightly unfinished, which is evident from the dates section at the top of the screen which shows Chinese characters for the day of the week (三 representing both the number 3 and Wednesday, in Mandarin) instead of the English equivalent. This should all be fixed by the time the camera goes on sale in the West apparently.

The main settings page for the C3 shows a prominent ‘firmware update’ button at the top. You then have access to the name and room settings for the C3, as well as being able to adjust the individual levels of both the microphone and the speaker. Further down, there are options for the motion sensor, which we’ll go into shortly, an option to rotate the camera view by 180º, in case you want to mount the camera to a ceiling upside down, and further options relating to local SD recordings, and the way in which the image is viewed.

For motion detection, the Onvis Home app allows you to turn on or off certain areas of the camera’s view. This is done by dividing the image into 16 blocks, much like you get with the Aqara G2H, D-Link Omna and others. You also have the ability to set one of three sensitivity levels. Motion detection in the Home app is reflective of what is set in the Onvis app.

For local SD recording options, you have a few interesting options, one of which includes being able to choose whether or not audio is included in the recordings, although this is also available in the Home app as well, but only for HSV recordings. You can also choose a default recording length for your recordings, with the minimum being five seconds, up to a maximum of thirty seconds. In addition, you can even choose the resolution at which the recordings are made. You can choose between;

• 1920 x 1080 (full HD)
• 1280 x 720 (HD)
• 640 x 360
• 480 x 270
• 320 x 180
• 1280 x 960
• 1024 x 768
• 640 x 480 (SD)
• 480 x 360
• 320 x 240

I have to say, that even though I would tend to record to the SD card at full HD, it’s impressive that they’re able to offer so many different options. Such options are designed to maximise recording storage of course, and although I’ve only got a 32gb Micro SD card installed, the C3 is capable of accepting up to 128gb cards. The only current downside is that at present there’s no way of retrieving the locally recorded footage, unless you first remove the SD card, and then plug it into a computer or similar device capable of reading the video contents. I’ve mentioned this omission to Onvis, and they said a feature to download clips to your iPhone’s library is coming in the next planned update.

Going back to aspect ratio options for the camera, there’s a section that allows for the camera to be displayed in three different ways;

The first of the three options is what you might typically see on most cameras; All of the image is captured, but you get lens distortion as a result, with vertical lines bowing towards the edges of the image. The second option attempts to straighten out the bowing whilst bringing slightly more of the image into the frame, but by doing so, stretches the image vertically to fill the 16:9 screen ratio. The third and final image is the default, which fixes the lens distortion to some degree but also keeps the aspect ratio correct and not stretched in the vertical plane. This results in some of the image going off the edge, so you see less. This is the preferred version for me, and the loss of some image on either side is not something I’m concerned about.

PERFORMANCE AND COMPARISONS

I’m writing this in full awareness that not only has the HomeKit and HSV compatible camera market increased substantially in the last 6 months, not least with the arrival of the Eufy indoor 2K cameras, with the abundance of options within their own app, as well as ridiculously low price points, it makes life tricky for a camera that many have already judged to be an ‘also ran’ simply due to its looks. The specs for the C3 are reasonably impressive, so you would think it stands a fighting chance, but pricing seems to be everything in this day and age, so who knows whether the specs really make a difference. As I’ve already stated, I personally don’t think it’s the most attractive looking product, but I really don’t plan on gazing into the lens on a daily basis and have found that I don’t tend to think or notice any of my cameras very often, even if they’re placed in plain sight, so I can’t see this being an issue for me, but it may still be for others.

In terms of how it has performed since I was sent the camera, I’ve been consistently reporting back to Onvis, with any issues – even minor ones – and to their credit, they have issued software or firmware fixes where necessary, albeit belatedly at times. The live-streamed image is fairly comparable to other cameras in the home, which includes the D-Link Omna, Abode Iota, EufyCam 2C, and the Aqara G2H. I do have both of the Eufy 2K Indoor cameras, and a Logitech Circle View here, but have yet to test them to any large extent, so I’ll reserve judgement on those for now.

In terms of how reliable it has been, it has been incredibly fast to load up in the Home app, which I think I can partially put down to it being connected to the 5.0GHz network, although in the Onvis app this isn’t always the case. As already mentioned, I am using a beta version of the app, so things like this are expected, but in the Home app, I’ve yet to have an instance where it has become unresponsive. I’m happy that I can use an SD Card to record events, as I really don’t plan on upgrading to the 2TB iCloud plan at this time, so I’ll end up using the Logitech Circle view as the ‘designated driver’ for HSV, with all the other cameras using their local recording abilities to cover everything else. The app is a bit disappointing, but I was already aware that it wasn’t great, so all that needs fixing is a simple way to access the SD card recordings, as I don’t plan on using the Onvis Home app as my daily driver anytime soon.

When it comes to the price point, currently at just under US$80.00, it’s about half the price of the Logitech Circle View, but double the price of the Eufy 2K Indoor Cam, so we get back to price points over functions again, maybe. The Eufy does have 2K resolution, but then that is irrelevant in HomeKit, as only up to 1080p is supported. The Eufy and the Logitech also only support 2.4GHz, which might not be an issue to some, but certainly makes a difference to me. The forthcoming Eve Cam does also support 2.4 & 5.0GHz WiFi, but the price point still makes it almost double the price. The Eufy does have a much better app, and the camera also has a built-in alarm, which is not the case on both accounts with the C3. The Logitech View has abandoned the need for the Logitech app entirely, it seems.

If I’m not presenting a strong enough argument for the C3, that may simply be because there isn’t enough to sway you, to begin with. My own tentative tests with the Eufy indoor cams haven’t been amazing, to be honest, and it would seem that as of writing this article, some people are less happy about these amazingly priced cameras than they thought they would be, but the image quality is good, so Onvis need to step up to the plate in this regard, even though they’re not far behind. It’s a tough call, and I’ll leave that for you to decide, by weighing up the pros and cons for yourself. If you are interested, then you can get the camera at a limited discount price of only US$72 (regular price US$89.99) directly from Onvis own store (link below). What can be said for sure, is that there are plenty of camera choices in 2020!

Full disclosure: Onvis provided HomeKit News with the Onvis C3 Smart Indoor Camera for the purpose of this review. No other compensation was made or requested and has in no way influenced our opinion of this product.

The post Onvis C3 Smart Indoor Camera (review) appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.