Most indoor cameras aren’t exactly known for advanced and cutting-edge features. But theEufy Indoor Cam S350breaks that mold, bringing smartphone technology like dual lenses, 4K resolution, and AI to help protect your home. Despite one substantial issue, the camera is a high-quality choice for smart home security.
Eufy Indoor Cam S350
The Eufy Indoor Cam S350 brings the best of both worlds in camera technology. The dual-lens setup features a 4K wide-angle and 2K telephoto option. Combining those two can provide up to an 8x hybrid soon. Pan/tilt capability allows you to take a full 360-degree look at your location. Both lenses provide great image quality in all situations, including in the dark. Thanks to AI features, the camera can automatically pan/tilt to follow humans and pets. Using an optional microSD card, you can locally store video instead of paying for a cloud option.
Dual Lenses, 4K Resolution Provide Great Video Quality
You won’t ever confuse the Indoor Cam S350 with any other indoor security camera. It looks a bit like a miniature WALL-E with its headlining feature—dual camera lenses sprouting out from the top of the slim unit.
Built-in pan/tilt controls allow you to see a full 360-degree view of what’s happening in your home. The vertical pan/tilt is a very nice 75 degrees, which should allow you to literally see from floor to ceiling.
The camera on the left is a 4K wide-angle lens with a 130-degree field of view. On the right is a 2K telephoto lens that provides 3x optical zoom. Optical zoom is substantially better than digital zoom and provides much better image quality. Working together, both cameras will give you an 8x hybrid zoom.
Getting the camera set up as part of your smart home just takes a few minutes. Thankfully, Eufy includes both the camera’s USB cable and power adapter, so you won’t need to look for an extra one around your home or spend more money. After downloading the Eufy security app foriPhoneorAndroid, you’ll walk through a few steps to add the S350.
Another one of the advantages of the model is support for dual-band Wi-Fi 6. That’s something not found on many indoor security cameras. That support should bring top-notch image quality and speed when controlling the camera at home or anywhere else.
In just a few minutes, the camera will be set up and ready to go. For a smart home, the camera supports both Amazon Alexa and Google Home, but not Apple HomeKi. This is definitely disappointing, as many other Eufy cameras offer compatibility with Apple’s smart home platform.
Especially when a camera has such a wide range of features like the S350, the lack of HomeKit support will limit its audience.
On an Amazon Echo Show, or Alexa app, you will need to add the Eufy skill before proceeding. Using the Alexa app or Echo Show, you can pinch to zoom closer into the scene. But note that the pan/tilt functionality isn’t natively supported. To do that, you’ll need to use the Eufy app.
I’ve been using the camera for around two weeks in my living room, and it’s easily provided the best image quality of an indoor camera I’ve ever used. I use it in my living room, which takes up the majority of my house. It’s a rectangular shape and often difficult to see everything that is happening with a traditional indoor camera.
The Indoor Cam S350 takes care of all those issues and more. Many pan/tilt cameras usually have a smaller field-of-view than fixed-lens options. But with the 4K wide-angle lens, I can easily see the large majority of the room without even needing to use the pan/tilt.
When it’s time for pan/tilt, the Eufy app provides a simple joystick option. A simple touch switches from 1x zoom to 3x zoom using the 4K lens.
To get an even closer look, switch to the 3x and then zoom into the image with the usual pinch gesture. You’ll see 8x on the screen when the camera is at its maximum zoom.
The image quality on the 4K lens was spectacular. During the bright day, and even with night vision, I could see the smallest details like the time on my watch and the temperature the thermostat was set to across the room.
When I first started using the camera, I thought there was some kind of dust or other debris on the camera lens causing a small black spot. After a closer inspection of the camera, I realized it was simply an existing nail hole in my wall.
Zooming in, the 2K lens was almost as good. I have no doubt if I placed the camera in a larger room, I could easily be able to zoom in and see exactly what was happening.
Use AI Tracking for People, Pets and Even Crying
While manual control is great, another top-notch feature of the Indoor Cam S350 is a wide variety of AI features, so the camera can automatically pan/tilt and capture what you want.
In the Eufy app, you can select between options to record motion caused by a human, pet, or anything else. And with AI, the camera will automatically pan and tilt to follow the human or furry friend around the room. If you create activity zones, only motion in those zones will start the tracking. When motion stops, the camera will return to its default position.
While I was a bit skeptical about how well the AI would work, it’s a wonderful feature that has worked flawlessly. When the house is empty, both of my dogs usually spend time on couches where the camera is set, and it’s fantastic to see recordings following them up to a cozy space.
The Indoor Cam S350 is also perfect for use as a baby monitor camera. AI noise detection can notify you of crying or other sounds in a nursery. When crying is detected, you can even enable the Round-Look feature to see what is happening in the room.
No Need for a Cloud Storage Subscription
Another drawback when looking for an indoor or outdoor security camera is recorded video. Some manufacturers require you to use cloud storage, with a monthly fee to access recorded video.
But with an optional microSD card, you may store videos locally and not worry about that fee. My only gripe with the Eufy option is that it only supports cards of up to 128GB, while other cameras with local storage can take cards of up to 512GB. That might become an issue if you’re looking to access a large amount of recorded video.
If you’d rather not deal with local storage, Eufy offers one of the most reasonably priced options on the market. The Basic Plan, which covers one device and stores video up to 30 days, is $2.99 monthly. Along with the cost, another downside with cloud storage is that video is only stored at a maximum of 1080p resolution.
With a microSD card, you’re able to record and access full 4K video.
Eufy Indoor Cam S350: An Expensive, But Great Choice for Some Smart Homes
While theIndoor Cam S350is more than twice as expensive as some similar models, its video quality is unmatched. The dual-lens setup along with full pan/tilt and AI tracking will always make sure your home is being watched. And being able to use your own microSD card to store recorded video helps take away extra monthly fees for a cloud option.
While the lack of HomeKit support is disappointing, especially at this price point, anyone who is all-in for Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant should highly consider Eufy’s option to use inside their smart home.
