EZVIZ C8W Pro 2K review: Pan-and-tilt protection for your home

Price When Reviewed

$149.99

Best Prices Today: EZVIZ C8W Pro 2K

EZVIZ continues to expand its already plentiful home security camera line with the C8W Pro 2K. The C8 series includes a half-dozen similar outdoor pan and tilt cameras, with the most obvious differentiator being price. At $150, the C8W Pro 2K is somewhere in the middle of the pack, but based on our reviews of the C8C and the C8PF, it may be the best of the bunch.

What’s the design of the EZVIZ C8W Pro 2K?

Like the rest of the C8 line, the C8W Pro 2K has an orb-shaped body, which is attached to a mounting apparatus. The bottom half of the camera body rotates up to 340 degrees horizontally and 80 degrees vertically to provide panoramic coverage of anything beneath the camera’s plane. A pigtail attached to the mount splits into a power port and an ethernet port, allowing you to use a wired connection to your router if you can’t or prefer not to use Wi-Fi. The camera is rated IP65 (you can get the details about IP codes here) for dust and water protection and has an operating temperature of -22 degrees F to 140 degrees F.

This review is part of TechHive’s coverage of the best home security cameras, where you’ll find reviews of the competition’s offerings, plus a buyer’s guide to the features you should consider when shopping for this type of product.

The camera supports human and vehicle detection, two-way, talk, auto-tracking, and both black and white (IR enabled) and color (spotlight enabled) night vision. Event-triggered video clips can be stored locally to a microSD card (up to 256GB, not included) or in the cloud. EZVIZ’s cloud service offers multiple subscription plans: three days of storage for $4 per month/$40 per year, seven days of storage for $6 per month/$60 per year, or 30 days of storage for $11 per month/$110 per year. The camera ships with a 7-day free trial of the service.

EZVIZ

How do you set up the EZVIZ C8W Pro 2K?

The camera setup is done through the EZVIZ app. Once you add the camera, you’re prompted to scan the QR code on its body using your phone. The app then walks you through a few more steps to connect to your Wi-Fi. As with all wireless cameras, it’s a good idea to make sure you have a strong network connection from the spot where you want to install the camera before you mount it. If you can’t get a strong signal, you can take advantage of the ethernet connection.

The camera’s mounting apparatus allows you to install the C8W Pro 2K on a wall or underneath your eaves. Screws and anchors are supplied, but if you don’t have convenient access to an outdoor outlet and/or need to use an ethernet connection, you’ll need a drill to create holes for threading these cables back into your home.

The EZVIZ app makes it simple to control the camera’s pan-and-tilt lens via a directional pad and customizable waypoints. The camera’s other functions are also easy to manage, with clearly labeled tools for recording video on demand, taking a screenshot of the live feed, using two-way talk, and capturing a 360-degree picture. There’s also an “alarm” button that can be used to trigger the system’s “Active Defense” mode, which flashes the camera’s spotlight while sounding a siren to deter intruders.

How does person and vehicle detection work on the EZVIZ C8W Pro 2K?

The camera’s various detection features worked well. When auto-tracking is enabled, the camera locks onto the moving object, bound in a red box in the video, and follows it while recording its activity. Human and vehicle detection were generally accurate, and alerts were timely.

My one complaint is that you seemingly can’t be notified of both human and vehicle activity at the same time; selecting one type of detection in the app automatically deselects the other. So when I set the camera up to monitor my driveway, I had to choose whether I wanted to be alerted to cars or people entering the property.

Michael Ansaldo/IDG

How is the EZVIZ C8W Pro 2K’s night vision performance?

Both modes of night vision were capable, providing plenty of illumination—up to 98 feet, according to the camera’s specs—and detail. You have the option of enabling one or the other or using “smart” mode, which defaults to black-and-white and switches to color only when motion is detected so the spotlight isn’t continuously on.

EZVIZ provides the necessary customization options in the app’s settings menu. You can set motion zones to narrow down your detection areas, adjust detection sensitivity, schedule when you want (and don’t want) to receive alerts, enable sleep mode, and more. You can also easily connect the camera to Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, or IFTTT to use with other home devices through the app’s Smart Integrations feature.

Is the EZVIZ C8W Pro 2K worth the cash?

Overall, the C8W Pro 2K is a polished product. The image quality is outstanding, and I experienced very little lag while using the camera over Wi-Fi. The inability to receive alerts for human and vehicle activity at the same time is a bit of a head-scratcher and hopefully that can be fixed in a future update. That’s nitpicking, though, as this is a solid, well-rounded outdoor security camera that should serve any user well.