eufy SoloCam S340 Review. A Solar Security Camera That Runs Itself

If you’ve been looking for a set-it-and-forget-it outdoor security camera, the eufy SoloCam S340 is worth a serious look. At $259.99 CAD MSRP (it’s on sale right now for 27% off at $189.99), it’s just over mid-range pricing, but there’s a lot going on here for the price.

Setup

Installation is dead easy. The solar panel can mount directly above the camera or separately, which is handy if your camera placement doesn’t get great sun exposure. The whole thing is wire-free, so you’re not running cables through walls.

Camera Quality

The S340 uses a dual-lens setup which consists of a wide-angle 3K lens and a 2K telephoto lens. This gives you both the big picture and the ability to zoom in on details like faces or license plates from up to 50 feet away. The 8x hybrid zoom works well, and the 135-degree field of view covers a solid area. Colour night vision is also solid, with an f/1.6 aperture letting in more light after dark than most cameras in this class.

In terms of design, this camera is a bit boxy so it lets everyone know that it’s a security camera. It’s not going to blend into surroundings. That can be a good thing for your home security.

Pan, Tilt, and Tracking

This is one of the highlights as the camera covers a full 360 degrees horizontally and 70 degrees vertically, so there are basically no blind spots. The automatic tracking feature feels like it’s out of a spy movie. It locks onto a subject and follows them, panning, tilting, and zooming as needed. It works better than expected

Power

Two hours of direct sunlight per day is enough to keep it running continuously. In practice, once it’s up it really does just run without you thinking about it. The Eufy app shows you a section on how daily solar charging is going. The camera battery has remained at 100% with the solar panel. This opens up a whole new world of possibilities for your home security.

According to eufy, the battery in the S340 can last three months on its own. It remains to be seen how this will fare in the fall and winter when we don’t get a lot of sun.

Storage and Subscriptions

No subscription needed, which is a big deal. The camera has 8GB of built-in local storage and handles its own motion, human, and vehicle detection on-device. It also works with our older HomeBase 2 to store clips (16GB of storage in the base versus 8GB inside the camera). This setup offloads the data, saving camera processing power and stretching the battery even further. Upgrading to the newer HomeBase 3 brings advanced facial recognition tracking, which we’ll look into later.

Notifications and Other Features

Push notifications are good and sometimes maybe a little too good at first. You’ll want to spend a few minutes adjusting the sensitivity and activity zones, but once dialled in it’s not overwhelming. The built-in spotlight, siren, and two-way audio round things out nicely.

App settings let you select if you want just a text alert first, then a thumbnail, or you can opt for just text. Click through and you’ll see the clip the camera recorded. There is no 24/7 continuous recording, so you won’t get a scrollable timeline like you would from a Nest subscription.

Yes, you can disable the exterior LED, so anyone walking by won’t even know the camera is on.

The Bottom Line

The eufy SoloCam S340 is a well-rounded outdoor security camera that covers all the bases without nickel-and-diming you on subscriptions. It’s easy to keep track of the kids playing in the backyard as it can pan and tilt, versus a static camera. The solar power, automatic tracking, and dual-lens setup make it stand out from the competition at this price point. You can get it on sale right now for $189.99 on Amazon.ca, and even bundles are on discounted at the moment.