Eufy SoloCam E40 Review – Is the SoloCam as good as the eufyCam 2C?

I have been a big fan of the Eufy security cameras and doorbells ever since I reviewed the eufyCam E back in early 2019. Then the Eufy Doorbell and eufyCam 2C have been two of my main recommendations in recent years for a doorbell and battery camera.

I always attributed the excellent battery life of the eufyCam series to the use of a home base, but now Eufy has launched the SoloCam range, which connects via WiFi and requires no home base at all. They claim up to 4-month of battery with the E40, so you don’t lose much compared to the 2C.

However, is the overall performance as good?

SoloCam S40 vs SoloCam L20 vs SoloCam E40 vs SoloCam E20 Specification

	SoloCam S40	SoloCam L20	SoloCam E40	SoloCam E20
MSRP	$199.99 / £199	$149.99 / £149.99	$129.99 / £120	$99.99 / £99.99
Resolution	2K	1080p	2K	1080p
Night Vision	Color Night Vision	Color Night Vision	Infrared Night Vision	Infrared Night Vision
Spotlight Brightness (Adjustable)	600 lumens	600 lumens	/	/
Colour Temperature (Adjustable)	4000K—6000K	4000K—6000K	/	/
Battery Life	Solar Power and Built-In Battery Combine for Near-Endless Power	4 Months	4 Months	4 Months
Local Storage	8GB emmc, 2 Months of Storage	8GB emmc, 2 Months of Storage	8GB emmc, 2 Months of Storage	8GB emmc, 2 Months of Storage
Two-Way Audio	√	√	√	√
AI Person Detection	√	√	√	√
Voice Assistant	Alexa & Google Home Assistant	Alexa & Google Home Assistant	Alexa & Google Home Assistant	Alexa & Google Home Assistant
Weatherproof	IP67	IP67	IP65	IP65

The E40 sits in the middle of the SoloCam range, you get better resolution than the L20, but you miss out on the spotlight and colour night vision.

The SoloCam S40 is perhaps the most interesting camera of the range, 2K with a spotlight and colour night vision, all while being battery powered. It extends the battery via a built-in solar panel. Though I doubt it will extend the battery massively in the UK in winter.

Set-Up / Installation

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Set up is pretty much standard for most devices like this. Your phone will need to be connected to a 2.4Ghz WiFi network. You then provide the WiFi password and show a QR code to the camera. Everything was set up within a minute or so.

For WiFi, I have an access point which is located in the downstairs room from where the SoloCam E40 and it states I have a great WiFi connection. It, therefore, picks up WiFi much easier than my Ring Doorbell. However, depending on your WiFi set-up, it is possible you could get a better range with the eufyCam which use a base station.

During the set up you will be asked about your prefered power option. The optimal battery option will limit the clip lengths to 20 seconds while optimal surveillance goes up to 60 seconds. For this review, I opted for the best surveillance to make sure I captured some decent footage for the samples.

The physical mount is the same as most battery cameras, so for me, I reused the mount for the Eufy 2C that was on the front of my house.

Performance – Night and day time recordings

In hindsight, the location of this camera is sub optimate for surveillance. It is too high up to be able to capture much-identifying footage about anyone entering my property.

Similarly, when someone comes through the gate, they quickly pass through the surveillance area, which means my clips tend to be quite short. It’s not a major issue for me, as I have numerous other cameras surveilling further down the path. It does mean the sample footage is a bit short, though.

Apart from my placement, the quality of the footage is good enough.

Motion Detection

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Motion detection appears to be excellent. I have it set to human only with the default sensitivity, and there are no scenarios I am aware of where it has missed someone.

Human detection may have become the norm now, but it is still amazing how much a difference it makes compared to the old-style motion detection, which would constantly trigger with trees, shadows, rain and pretty much anything.

You can optimise the detection, both with motion zones and also sensitivity. You can also optionally set it to all motion. In this scenario, it will only detect humans during the day but all motion at night.

Oddly there is no option for vehicles, whereas competing brands such as Reolink offer this.

Battery

Battery life has performed much better than expected. I deliberately pointed my camera so it sees my property, not the footpath outside of it, so I haven’t even needed to use motion zones. I only have around 5 to 10 events per day, and the battery life seems to be going down by about 1% per day.  

So I could hopefully do three months, and that’s with optimal surveillance, but my clips tend to be quite short.

Price and Alternatives

The Eufy SoloCam E40 is priced at £120 while the cheaper E20 is £100, both of these are regularly discounted.

For battery-powered cameras that connect via WiFi, the Reolink Argus range is likely your best bet. The Argus 3 sells for about £90 RRP but with regular discounts (20% off voucher currently available). The Argus 3 Pro is £95 and 5% off available. I found the battery life is nowhere near as good as the Reolink cameras, however, they can all supplement the battery with a reasonably large solar panel which they sell for just £25.

If you need more than one camera, then either the Eufy 2C or 2C Pro make more sense. You have better battery life and a spotlight with colour night recordings. The only issue here will be if you have a very large house and the cameras are located far apart. I’ve been able to use mine with one in a shed and the other on my on the other end of my moderately large property.

Overall

The Eufy SoloCam E40 is excellent, doing exactly what you expect it to. Battery life is excellent, and video quality is good as far as battery cameras go.

Personally, I’d opt for one of the 2C models, with the 2C being around £90 per camera in a two-pack or 2C Pro £150 per camera. You get better battery life and the added spotlight for improved surveillance. However, if you specifically need one camera or perhaps can’t locate a home base in a logical place to run two cameras that are far apart, then the SoloCam E40 makes a lot of sense.

For an RRP of £119.99 it is a bit of a bargain, and it has been as low as £83 and has regularly dropped to between £95 and £100.

Overall, the Eufy range of cameras continues to be my prefered solution for wireless battery-powered cameras. They are all priced competitively, perform well and have the benefit of no additional subscription costs.

Last update on 2024-12-03 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API