Eufy Security S340 Solocam review: Solar spectacular

The whole point of security cameras is to keep an eye on your home or business. But you know what’s better than one eye? Two eyes. Enter the Eufy Security S340 Solocam, a solar-powered pan-and-tilt security camera with not one, but two cameras that cover a massive 360-degree range.

Perhaps owing to the fact that it has two cameras, the Eufy Security S340 Solocam is pretty big, so if you’re looking for a discreet security camera, this isn’t it. Still, there is something to be said for a rather imposing-looking camera, as simply its presence alone may be enough to put off any would-be intruders.

Before you install the camera mount, make sure you fully charge the camera, download the Eufy Security app and follow the setup instructions. You'll need to access the button at the back of the camera to do this, so it’s best to get it all out of the way before it’s installed in some high, hard-to-reach place.

Although initial setup is a breeze, the same can’t be said for the S340’s installation—but that really only comes down to one pain point. Simply put, the included screws suck. Maybe I got a couple of duds, but they simply wouldn’t fix into the anchors, leaving a very wobbly bracket and, therefore, an insecure camera. I’d recommend opting for screws with a wider thread, which is what I ended up resorting to. With some better screws, it only took me about 10 minutes to install the mount and attach the camera.

In the security camera space, it’s typical to see HD and 2K resolution on offer, but the Eufy S240 goes one better with 3K resolution on the main camera and 2K on the telephoto (zoom) lens. The resulting picture quality is crisp, detailed and dynamic, both during the day and at night. The camera does offer colour night vision, but doing so requires the spotlight to be on during recording which can quickly drain the battery. Still, even in black and white, the nighttime video quality is still great.

As for the telephoto lens, it’s a total game-changer. You know when you’re watching a detective show and they’re looking at some grainy CCTV footage and some grizzled police officer looks at the screen and says, “Enhance”? Well, this camera can actually do that. For my purposes, it’s an easy way to check how my tomatoes are growing. For others, it might be the difference between missing and catching the numberplate of an escaping intruder.

The camera is quick to respond from the Eufy Security app, whether you’re using the pan-and-tilt controls, setting up activity zones, turning on the spotlight, or even sounding the alarm. There’s also a nifty feature called AI Tracking which, when enabled, will follow a person, animal or object as it moves across the area before returning to its default location. If you’re after more advanced AI features like facial recognition and self-learning, you’ll need to fork out for the HomeBase 3.

Although the app is generally very intuitive, it took me far longer than I’d like to admit to figure out one setting in particular. You see, I didn’t want to be notified of every single motion event in the backyard. With an adventurous pup who likes to roam around all day, my phone was blowing up with notifications when the camera was first installed. The problem is, when you open the camera’s settings and turn off motion detection, you’re not only stopping motion notifications—you’re stopping the camera from detecting motion altogether, meaning it no longer records video when motion is detected, which kind of defeats the purpose of the whole thing. Instead, the settings to turn off notifications alone were buried so deep, I needed to turn to Reddit for help. (In case you’re wondering how to do this, navigate to the Security menu on the app’s bottom right, tap the camera, then tap the cog next to each mode and untick ‘notifications’).

The Eufy Security S340 Solocam is a glimpse into the future of smart security devices—entirely self-sustainable power and a focus on even the most minute detail. It’s not completely flawless, and the price will almost certainly be out of reach for many, but we still think it’s one of the best and most exciting security cameras of the year.