eufy Security Floodlight Camera

A floodlight camera replaces an ordinary outdoor light and puts a lens behind it. Two adjustable panels put out 2,500 lumens at 5,000 K, a bright and slightly cool white light, and a 1080p camera sits between them, so the area that lights up is also the area being recorded. The PIR sensor watches a 270° arc, wider than the camera itself sees, which means the lights and the recording usually start before someone is properly in frame.

• What a floodlight camera does that a light cannot
• Built to stay outside
• Storage with nothing to buy
• This one needs an electrician
• If there is no wiring where you want it

It is built to stay outside. The housing is rated IP65 against dust and rain and it is specified down to −20 °C and up to 50 °C. At night it switches to night vision, and a 100 dB siren can be triggered if you want to make a point.

Recordings are kept on 4 GB of encrypted storage built into the unit. There is no card to buy, no base station and no monthly fee. Two-way audio lets you speak to whoever is at the door or in the yard, and the camera works with Amazon Alexa and the Google Assistant.

Before you buy: this is a hardwired product, not a plug-in one. It connects to mains power at the mounting point and needs an existing weatherproof outdoor junction box with live wiring behind it. If you do not already have one there, budget for an electrician. In most places mains wiring is work for a qualified person.

What a floodlight camera does that a light cannot

A floodlight camera replaces an ordinary outdoor light and puts a lens between the panels, so the area that lights up is the area being recorded. Two adjustable panels put out 2,500 lumens at 5,000 K, a bright and slightly cool white, with a 1080p camera between them across a 130 degree view.

The PIR sensor watches a 270 degree arc, wider than the camera itself sees, so the lights and the recording usually start before somebody is properly in frame.

Built to stay outside

The housing is IP65 against dust and rain and specified from minus 20 to 50 degrees C. At night it switches to night vision, in infrared and colour, and a 100 dB siren is there if you want to make a point rather than just record one.

Storage with nothing to buy

Recordings sit on 4 GB of encrypted storage built into the unit. No card, no base station, no monthly fee. Human and face detection run on the camera, and two-way audio lets you speak to whoever is in the yard.

It works with Amazon Alexa and the Google Assistant, on 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi.

This one needs an electrician

The most important line on the page: this is a hardwired product, not a plug-in one. It connects to mains at the mounting point and needs an existing weatherproof outdoor junction box with live wiring behind it.

If there is no such box where you want the light, budget for an electrician to run one before the camera arrives. Mains wiring outdoors is work for a qualified person, and a floodlight camera is heavy enough that the fixing matters too.

If there is no wiring where you want it

Then this is the wrong camera and a battery or solar unit is the right one, because they mount anywhere and charge themselves. Several are in cameras. eufy list this one as the T8420 at eufy.com.