EZVIZ C3A + solar

Dolby

Dolby

Honorary Master
Joined
Jan 31, 2005
Messages
39,231
Reaction score
6,201
I've been an EZVIZ user for a while and I've bought a few C3S cameras a few years back for outside, as well as an older model internal EZVIZ for when I'm away. At the same time, I bought the EZVIZ A1 hub, PIR and door sensor - and although I know EZVIZ aren't huge into IoT, the little ecosytem isn't too bad. That said though, the cameras are the main the main thing and the value you get with them is pretty decent - with great optics, night vision, motion capture / schedule etc.

Anyhow - I needed another camera for the back of my house and now that the C3S is an old model, I had to start looking around for alternatives ... and came across the C3A wire free camera. As I've used another brand of wire-free camera before, and was impressed, I thought I'd get this C3A + optional solar panel. I'm still playing with location (hence the solar wire lying lose) - but this thing has not dropped a single percent on the battery so far!

EZVIZ claim 3 months average battery life, but I'm almost sure that with this solar panel I'm never going to need to charge thing. Also very cool is the fact that the camera has a built-in PIR, rather than relying on pixel changes for motion - so it should be more accurate. I'll update this thread periodically with how the battery lasts, as well as the motion accuracy on it.

If there is anyone that is concerned about a 'standard' install and running power cables / plug points, maybe take a look at this model - or at least keep an eye on this thread.

761548
 
My C3A has been charged twice (the latest about two weeks ago) since August. So I get about 2 months out of it.

Brilliant little cam. I'm considering getting another one and the hub.
 
Hamster said:
Brilliant little cam. I'm considering getting another one and the hub.
Click to expand...

What us the benefit of the hub, as opposed to connecting direct to WiFi?
Sounds like some type of WiFi extender - or is there another benefit?

EDIT - looks like I personally won't benefit, as the siren isn't big issue for me, and neither is WiFi coverage

W2D Wire-Free Camera Base Station is the gate-way for C3A wire-free Cameras to extend both wire-less coverage and extra battery life of wire-free camera. The base station can access up to 6 C3A cameras. Built-in siren can be triggered by PIR motion detections on C3A camera, together with an instant alert on your phone.
 
Last edited:
They say it will increase the lifespan of the batteries.

It does have a battery and gsm backup so will continue working during load shedding.

That's ^ the sales pitch. I'm hoping it will improve managing multiple cameras :p
 
Hamster said:
They say it will increase the lifespan of the batteries.

It does have a battery and gsm backup so will continue working during load shedding.

That's ^ the sales pitch. I'm hoping it will improve managing multiple cameras :p
Click to expand...
Lol.

Let me know!
 
Considering it works with a PIR, does it detect motion throughout the entire image only or can you select/deselect specific areas?
 
riscbroker said:
Considering it works with a PIR, does it detect motion throughout the entire image only or can you select/deselect specific areas?
Click to expand...

I used to be able to but it looks like the option was either removed or moved somewhere I cannot find it.
 
riscbroker said:
There is reference to a 'Customized Alert Area' about 3/4 of the way down this page, under Specifications. I suppose it could be obsolete specs....
Click to expand...

Nice find - thanks.

I'll try find out from side as well.

But I'm wondering how you can custom the area of a PIR?

One thing I did note though, was recording time doesn't seem to be long enough ...
 
So the EZVIZ cameras seem to connect to Hik-Connect app - no issues at all.

I can only see a few features over and above the EZVIZ (signal level / displaying more than 4 feeds on a screen / tablet mode / traffic stats ) - but I can't see anything with motion toggles. Though one cool thing is sharing - you can actually share a clip over WhatsaApp and other platforms with ease!

Another thing is one can download the EZVIZ Studio to your desktop and by changing the config file here >>> https://support.ezvizlife.com/faq/171 - you can get advanced settings for you camera. I can change the recording time, toggle WDR/HDR mode and many other things I don't quite understand yet..
 
Last edited:
@Hamster As you're the only other person I know with one :

If you alarm notifications are OFF - do you still get recorded footage? It seems that if they're OFF, it turns off notifications and recording ... which is irritating.

My C3S and C2Mini, alarm notifications turn off just the notifications - everything is still recording for review.
 
Dolby said:
If you alarm notifications are OFF - do you still get recorded footage?
Click to expand...

I've never really taken a good look at it but I have a micro SD slotted and there is a timeline at the bottom I can use to look for video a few hours back.
 
Hamster said:
I've never really taken a good look at it but I have a micro SD slotted and there is a timeline at the bottom I can use to look for video a few hours back.
Click to expand...

And while that is happening, no phone notifications ?
 
Dolby said:
And while that is happening, no phone notifications ?
Click to expand...

OK, I checked and it seems it only records when motion is detected. When motion detecting is off, the video is not recorded. Probably got to do with this model being battery operated and going into a sleep mode.

Maybe it's not just when motion is detected but also when you open the app to take a look at the live view? I'll have to test more when I get a chance.
 
Hamster said:
OK, I checked and it seems it only records when motion is detected. When motion detecting is off, the video is not recorded. Probably got to do with this model being battery operated and going into a sleep mode.

Maybe it's not just when motion is detected but also when you open the app to take a look at the live view? I'll have to test more when I get a chance.
Click to expand...

Thanks.

Yea that's not a great solution.

I see there's an auto-hibernate mode - so I'll play with that as well
 
Suppose a better solution would be the Husky Air. Only reason I didn't get that instead was because of power issues. But definitely a better outside solution.
 
I installed the same C3A and solar yesterday and have a few queries you guys might have figured out already.

First up, does the solar panel need to sit in the direct sun to get a charge? The area I’m set up is a kind of blind spot but gets the morning sun direct onto the panel until about 1pm. I set up yesterday and the battery this morning was sitting at 76%. I looked now and it’s 77% after a morning of bright direct sun. I thought it would be up to 100 by now but maybe I’ve down something wrong.

The other thing is that the PIR seems to detect movement a lot. The cam points down my driveway and I’m watching all the notifications and nothing is happening most of the time?

I’m wondering if I’m set up too high up. I’m set up under the gutter on a double storey pointing at a 45 degree and back down the drive. I set too high sensitivity and it beeps every few minutes, medium sensitivity and it hardly beeps at all but it doesn’t cover half the drive?

Hmm. Any advice welcome.
 
Apart from the sensitivity, can you set up customized motion detection area/s with this camera? Might help when fine-tuning what you want to detect.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X