Ezviz C8W Pro review: A reliable and practical 360-degree surveillance camera
The C8W Pro includes a 3MP sensor that allows it to capture images of up to 2304 x 1296 pixels. To fill the memory card more slowly, it is also possible to choose lower resolutions (1920 x 1080, 1280 x 720 and 768 x 432 pixels).
An associated optical sensor provides an 87-degree horizontal field of view, much less than what can be found on competing models, but generally unmotorized. However, it should be noted that motion detection involves analyzing images from the camera, and thus is limited to the same field of view. This is certainly sufficient in most cases, but it should be taken into account if you are looking to monitor a large area with a small distance, for example.
In addition, the C8W Pro includes infrared LEDs and a projector for shooting in the dark. The first produces images in black and white and the second in color. The projector strength can also be adjusted, but we didn’t find the color settings normally available in the Ezviz, nor in HDR mode.
To report on the image quality of the Ezviz camera, we decided to compare it to Nest Cam (drums) from Google by comparing extracts from similar records from each form.
in a day [juxtapose ids=”1081629,1081631″ alt1=”Ezviz C8W Pro” alt2=”Nest Cam (batterie)” watermark=”yes”][/juxtapose]
Ezviz C8W Pro delivers great image quality. Its sensor manages to capture a fair amount of detail and processing seems to be a little lighter than usual with the Ezviz, which is used to and abuses undersharpening. On the exposure side, too, the balance is surprisingly accurate and allows you to see both the light and dark areas of the image. In short, the Ezviz Camera has nothing to envy Google Camera. Both make it easier to get to know someone during the day.
night [juxtapose ids=”1081633,1081635″ alt1=”Ezviz C8W Pro” alt2=”Nest Cam (batterie)” watermark=”yes”][/juxtapose]
After dark, the C8W Pro’s image loses sharpness when it uses infrared vision. However, the image remains usable, and we can still distinguish the faces of our image column pretty well. Exposure was again well managed, but it must be recognized that Google Camera offers a more detailed image.
However, the trend is reversed by activating the Ezviz Cam’s display device, which, in addition to switching from black and white to color, then reveals our test scene in more detail and then overrides the Nest Cam.
The added value of the C8W Pro mini projector was confirmed in our induction test. Thanks to it, we were able to easily identify a person up to 6 meters in front of the camera, while black and white night vision makes the task difficult at 5 meters. Either way, it’s still better than the 4m measured with the Nest Cam. Note that choosing one or the other does not change the activation time. Either way, the camera takes approximately 6 seconds to detect darkness and activate the infrared LEDs or the projector.
In terms of motion detection, still at night the C8W Pro managed to detect activity all the way to the end of our lab, i.e. at a distance of about 10 metres, but only by keeping its monitor on continuously. We prefer the so-called “smart” setup, in which the monitor turns on as soon as it detects activity using infrared vision, but the range is lower (about 8.5 meters). It’s not huge for an outdoor camera, but it’s still satisfactory. In comparison, the Nest Cam (battery) only sees a tiny meter, down to about 9.5m. Also on the good points, we’ll add that activating the recognition of people – and possibly vehicles, but we obviously haven’t been able to verify this in our lab – doesn’t seem to reduce the range of detection.
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