Review: The Eve Outdoor Floodlight Camera offers HomeKit secure video, privacy-focused video cameras that are on the market. I've been testing the camera for a few months now to see how it works and if it's worth the investment.
Part of the reason this review took so long is because the Eve Camera has some installation caveats . what potential buyers should be aware of. This is a wall-mounted spotlight camera, so it should replace either the outdoor lighting or an existing camera oriented in the same way, unless you are going to install a new electrical connection.
My house has a lot of wide angle cameras, front lights/cameras mounted just below my gutters, moreover, they are located in such a way as to see a large part of the courtyard. Eve's camera cannot be tilted down, so it cannot be mounted down, which is common with security cameras or spotlights. It should be in a straight position, such as where you could put a doorbell camera. There is some tilt so you can adjust the angle, but not enough to replace something like a downward facing ring light camera.
I ended up removing the ring camera which was attached to the wall next to my back door. but I found that the Eve Camera had a smaller base than the Ring so it didn't fit in the space. The base is also too small to fit outside into a typical junction box you might have for another light source or camera, which is a problem if this is the only setup you have. I ended up having to replace and repair the siding to set up the camera and I'm still not sure if it's waterproof. If you're replacing an existing camera, be aware that it may take some extra work to get it to look right, and this is likely to be a problem for many people.
In terms of installation, this is a camera that needs to be connected directly to the junction box. You can do it yourself, but you will need some electrical experience. I hired an electrician to install the camera and he said it was easy enough apart from the size of the base. Please note that the Eve Outdoor Camera is limited to 2.4GHz Wi-Fi, which seems to be outdated.
Once installed, powered on, and connected to HomeKit, the Eve Outdoor Cam works just like any other HomeKit Secure Video&zwnj. ; camera. The video stream is viewed directly in the Home app, but can also be accessed through the Eve app. To use HomeKit Secure Video you need an iCloud+ subscription. The cheapest $1 plan allows you to use one camera, the $2.99/month plan allows you to use five cameras, and the $9.99/month plan allows you to use unlimited cameras, with all plans also including iCloud storage and other iCloud+ features.
The Eve Outdoor Cam offers 1080p video and can record at night in night mode. The quality is acceptable and I can clearly see what's going on in my yard, but 1080p isn't enough to see detail clearly from over 8-10 feet away (I have complaints about all my cameras). During the day the image is not as clear as my Ring cameras in areas with a lot of light and darkness, but at night the image is clearer with less noise than my other cameras.
HomeKit Secure Video has the advantage that it is encrypted, which makes sure that your video stream is not being viewed by someone else. It can only be viewed on your own devices, and the footage is stored in iCloud. Security comes at the expense of usability and I don't think the Eve Outdoor Cam is as easy to use as my ring cameras and doesn't offer the same features and reliability.
There are times when the Eve Outdoor Cam won't record , and this is the problem that I have not been able to identify. It got better with iOS 16, but it still happens. It records whenever motion is detected, and one more thing is that it is motion sensitive. Motion includes falling leaves, so it's permanently disabled unless I use Activity Zones and restrict notifications.
The Home app offers a lot of customization options. You can set the camera to record video only when you are away and broadcast at other times, or it can record both when you are away and when you are at home. It can also be turned off completely in the Home app, and there are options to ignore audio and delete all entries.
You can select the time to record and choose to record all motion or only when people are detected. It also uses face detection and can tell you when certain people appear in the frame. Continuous recording is not possible and footage is saved when motion is detected.
