Many of us today are seeking a solution to home security, here I’ll be reviewing a camera from EzViz, parent-owned by Hikvision who are a major player within the global security market and have been since 2001.

The China based company manufacture a number of security devices such as cameras, alarms and sensors and my review is based on one of their cameras, the C2C Mini O.

What does the C2C Mini O do?

The Mini O is a very small, very nice looking Wi-Fi enabled camera with the ability to record footage that can be both cloud-based (subscription required) and/or via SD Card storage (purchased separately and installed within each individual camera).

Like most of the cameras available in today’s market it boasts the following features:

• wide-angle 720p lens
• infrared for night-vision recording
• auto-switching between day and night-vision
• live streaming and alerts
• two-way audio

EZVIZ Mini O C2C Indoor Camera with WiFi

I feel EzViz have built the Mini O around simplicity, the camera is very small in size and very unobtrusive but packs a powerful punch when compared to the bigger players within the market such as Nest. While the body of this camera is plastic, the build feels very good.

Packaged within the box is the Camera, Mains Adapter with accompanied Micro USB Cable and Metal Plates for magnetic use should you wish to install it onto a metal area.

Within the smartphone app there is the ability to create a ‘Motion Detection Area’ and pick exactly where in the cameras view you wish to be alerted of an intruder. This particular setting is ok, I feel it requires some tweaking as I was still sent alerts in areas I had not selected but I like the feature and with improvement can be a very useful tool.

You can also change the sensitivity of the motion detection to the level you are happy with, as well as change the notification sound from Intensive to Soft or Mute.

How easy are they to setup?

Very easy!

After downloading the app (I am using an iPhone, EzViz have their own designated iOS app) I was prompted to create a login, after which I was then prompted to install my first device.

First you scan the QR code, the app detects your device and then you are prompted to connect it to your Wi-Fi network. Within a matter of minutes your camera shows within the app with a live view.

What’s the connectivity?

EzViz have IFTTT capability and I tested this using the designated IFTTT app, I was able to trigger a Philips Hue light to turn on if motion was detected.

Connectivity like this provides the user with many more features to be enabled such as

‘Turn on Sleep Mode when I arrive home’ and ‘Turn your camera off when you leave home’.

These applets were presented when I logged into IFTTT as it recognised I had the EzViz app installed.

The Mini O is also Alexa enabled.

How much does it cost?

The Mini O retails on Amazon for £39.55.

When you consider this price it’s extremely affordable and on the lower end in comparison to it’s competitors.

What’s it like living with it?

It’s a very good camera, it does exactly what it’s expected to do. The app is good, has the required settings and more.

However I feel the UI could do with updating and simplifying as people who may not be tech savvy may struggle with the settings. That said you do get a very solid package for the price.

Footage can be downloaded to your phones picture folder and takes just a couple of minutes to process and you can also view footage via their desktop application for anyone who prefers a laptop or PC view.

For cloud storage, there are four options; two for 7-days and two for 30-days, billed monthly or annually. The costs are:

• 7-days, monthly: £4.99
• 7-days, annually: £49.99
• 30-days, monthly: £9.99
• 30-days, annually: £99.99

One thing I like about the camera setting is the date and time are visible on screen so when footage is stored it’s automatically written into the image. Some market competitors do not have this feature and EzViz have included this which, in my opinion, is a very good decision on their part.

What are our final thoughts?

This is a great camera, especially for the low price!

Anyone looking for security that is simple to set up, has many features available to tailor the experience and does not want to break their wallet I would recommend the Mini O. If you require a camera that has the ability to connect to other third-party apps, this could be the one for you.

As you can expect from Smart Home Geeks this article will be updated when more features become available.

For more information visit: https://www.ezvizlife.com/uk

Review by David Camilleri for Smart Home Geeks.

One of the most frustrating and restrictive elements of security cameras are the required wires. Moobox is a first of its kind a totally wire free HD Camera!

It came to life via indiegogo where it raised $17,723 – 1,023% of its goal!

What does Moobox do?

Moobox is slightly different to other WiFi Cameras, it has been built around simplicity and just working without complications.

The manufacturer’s own another successful WiFi camera company and surveyed their users to see what they wanted most from a new product. Interestingly 65% stated they wanted a simple solution and 78% wanted a battery powered camera. They took this research and developed Moobox.

Moobox Pro Wire-Free 1080p Hd Home Security Camera System

Moobox is a completely wire free HD camera. It has its own hub that has internal memory of 16GB as well as 7 day free cloud backup storage. This means no extra subscription is required.

The camera connects to the Hub via its own 2.4GhZ network.

The camera is designed to run on its internal battery. The battery lasts 3-4 months depending on usage and temperatures.This is super impressive as it only takes 3 hours to fully charge!!

You can also use a power cable if preferred but then why would you buy a wire free camera?!

The camera comes with a magnetic ball mount again giving great freedom as to where you can position it.

The camera boasts all the features you would expect:

• PIR sensor – to capture events
• 120’ lens view
• Two way audio
• Live streaming and alert
• Night vision

The Camera is viewed via its app, it cannot be viewed on PC.

How easy is it to setup?

Setup was easy!

1. Plug the hub into the power as well as plugging into the router.

NOTE: The setup instructions only refer to plugging into the router however after checking on their website we discovered you can connect it to WiFi removing the need for it to be near your router, article here . Giving even more freedom where you can put it. As we mentioned Moobox communicates to its hub via its own 2GHz WiFi  so the camera needs to be in range, so not too far from the hub.

2. Press the large button on the hub for 2 seconds then the  button on the camera. Both lights flash blue and then turn green to show the sync was successful.

3. Once the two are synced you scan the QR code to add the hub to the app.

Installing the camera was easy, it comes with 3M pads as well as screws and raw plugs to attach the ball mount to any surface. However the camera does not lock into the mount, it’s only held magnetically, so anyone can pull it down. That said they would be recorded and saved on the hub and in the cloud.

Family sharing is done via one account – removing the need to remember multiple logins.

What’s the connectivity?

At present Moobox does not connect to any other smart home tech, like Alexa or IFTTT.
This again was decided by surveying their existing users, only 18% wanted this feature.

However they do plan on integrating it at some point but do not have any timescales yet. By their own admission they would rather focus on their app and hardware before looking at 3rd parties.

How much does Moobox cost?

£119.98 direct from Amazon

What’s it like living with Moobox?

It’s a great Camera, its very handy not having to worry about wires and power where you want to use it. The quality of the pictures is impressive – even in low light and night time it gives a clear picture.

The app is easy to use, it has two main views Cams and Events. You can also choose if you want to view from hub storage or cloud storage. Each event can also be exported and saved to your phone storage.

When the motion sensor is enabled you receive push notifications to let you know motion has been detected. This is then saved in the app.

Some features are missing from the app, but we understand this is by design and not everyone is as geeky as us and wants all the bells and whistles.

The app has also not been optimised for iPhone X resulting in a few options and buttons overlapping. However lots of household name apps still are not optimised so they are not the only one!

What are our final thoughts?

This is a good camera, it’s great not having wires!

If you are looking for a simple camera that just works and records motion locally as well as the cloud this could well be the one for you.

If you are looking for a security camera that does more and connects to your other smart home tech Moobox isn’t right for you.

As always we will update this review as and when new features are released.