Curious about the nifty tricks of the Zorachka Homam Smart Camera? You're in good company. In the world of wireless cameras, many rely on cloud storage to tell apart people from pets, create motion-detection zones, and follow movements. But hang tight—there's a twist. Constantly sending raw video to the cloud might just perk up some privacy concerns.
Recently Eufy had a glitch where users could see the camera feeds from other people’s homes, which highlights the problem.
Zorachka is looking to change all that with their privacy-first Homam Smart Camera. Check out our video review below and read on!
Note: Zorachka provided me with a free sample of the product for the purposes of this review.
The Homam 64GB is an indoor camera designed for home and business use. With features like embedded storage, HDR video technology, built-in chip encryption, and low-light performance, it can be used as a security camera, baby monitor, or pet cam.
- No monthly fees
- Onboard storage of 64GB for up to 36 hours of high-definition content
- Built-in hardware encryption offline sharing and storage of pairing keys and passwords
Within its body are a speaker and microphone to pair the HQ videos with audio. The anodized aluminum body and magnetic stand allow flexibility in adjusting the angle and freedom to attach it to any magnetic surface. There are also mounting screws for other surfaces.
Since it offers embedded storage for videos of almost 36+ hours, the Homam 64GB comes with no additional monthly subscription charges.
- Built-in encryption ensures your privacy needs are adequately addressed. All encryption keys are stored only on the camera and your phone, not on the internet.
- Onboard storage means you can go through continuous video streams without missing huge chunks.
- All features are unlocked, and you don’t need cloud storage, so monthly fees are non-existent (at least on all the current features).
- High-definition video output using High Dynamic Range.
- The camera has good night vision, which is made better by machine learning algorithms.
- Hardware encryption ensures your passwords are secure from hackers targeting Wi-Fi firewalls.
- Price is always subjective, especially when it is listed as a drawback, but the Zorachka Homam 64GB camera is a little pricier than its competitors.
- For some users, AI notifications might become interruptive in their daily routine. In addition, there is no way to tweak the motion sensitivity.
- Camera is not waterproof and should not be used outside
- Resolution is a little lower than competitor’s wireless cameras
- No way to switch off the camera without unplugging it
Privacy by Design
One of the chief marketing points of Zorachka’s Homam 64GB is its privacy considerations. Instead of transmitting the original video feed to the cloud, like a lot of wireless security cameras, the Homam 64GB uses its built-in hardware encryption to share an encrypted output.
An encryption key is generated when you pair your phone with the camera. This key is stored on the camera and shared with your phone via Bluetooth. So the cloud gets an encrypted feed.
No Monthly Fees
Once you buy the device, all features are unlocked, and you won’t need to pay recurring monthly fees.
Since the feed is stored on the device, you can access it without using up cloud space which means all the storage fees vanish. In addition, there are no fees to unlock features such as pet/child detection. In short, you pay once for the camera and get all services for free.
Resolution
Unlike generic security cameras, the Homam 64GB records in full HD at 5 megapixels or 1080p resolution.
Furthermore, the camera also provides High Dynamic Range (HDR), which refers to a more nuanced luminosity spectrum. HDR helps with either too bright or too dark backgrounds, so your videos won’t be affected by sunlight from windows.
In addition, HDR also offers better contrast ratios and deeper blacks. As you can probably guess, HDR is more of a TV feature, and to see it displayed on a security camera box is nice.
Field of View
The camera is more like an ultra-wide GoPro camera when it comes to the field of view and distortion. Homam covers a view of almost 160º (depending on where you place it), which is at least equal to most of its competitors in this price range.
However, HDR and 7-glass displays bring the wild field of view into their own. Most ultra-wide cameras suffer from distortion or bright/dark regions on the edges of their video output. There are a multitude of reasons for this concerning optics and luminosity.
However, Homam’s High Dynamic Range and 7-glass system cover for the lighting inconsistency on the edges, giving a video output with the same contrast and color depth on its borders as in the center.
Storage
There is 64GB of storage onboard the camera, storing up to 36 hours of a high-quality continuous stream. Many smart home cameras start recording when they detect motion, which is great for saving up on space, but since there is no cloud usage for the Homam, it records continuous video.
This constant video storage is also helpful if you’re trying to figure out what happened before visible motion on the screen. In addition, if you encounter a heartwarming candid moment, you can go back and look at it without interruptions.
The storage is accessible via an internet link to your phone.
AI Notifications
Homam’s motion and sound sensors work with machine learning algorithms to switch between different modes and provide notifications to you, depending on these modes.
For example, if you’re away, the guard mode turns on and will notify you if there is an activity on your camera.
We should probably tell you that these notifications will modify themselves if you keep ignoring them, so you won’t be continuously disturbed by reports that you rarely pay attention to (in fairness, your phone does this and not the camera).
Timeline
If you’ve already spent resources on storing long consistent feeds, why not work out a timeline representation for your customers?
Well, Zorachka doesn’t disappoint. Since you have 36 hours of HD video (more if you use lower quality), the entire feed is presented in a timeline interface on your app. So you can browse through the past days to see if you skipped anything.
Build Quality
They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but the last thing you want to do is get a camera that is right in your face all the time and ruins the entire vibe of your living space.
Zorachka’s camera and its mount have a sleek, minimalistic design that’s easy on the eye and can blend in with most environments. The camera’s mount can be attached via screws or magnets, while the camera fits on the mount seamlessly by magnetic attraction.
The product has a sturdy magnetic aluminum body which is much better than the plastic equivalent of other cameras.
Night Vision
In complete darkness, the video is illuminated by 8 small IR LEDs inside the external lens of the camera.
Zorachka claims that its machine learning algorithms turn these LEDs on and off at precise moments, so that motion capture does not affect the contrast and gradient depth of the video.
This coordinated illumination makes for a much better night output. It is tough to know how much of an effect HDR has on night vision, but the logical assumption would be that it doesn’t hurt to have a more dynamic range of gradient.
Different Modes
The Nanny and Guard modes are built-in, which work with AI to send notifications to your phone. These modes can also be triggered by geo-location, kids detection, or by voice recognition.
Every mode has its own functionality range. For example, while using Nanny mode, you can talk with your kids and get notified if your kids leave or enter the room.
Guard mode offers more stringent activity monitoring, making you aware if there is movement in the wrong parts of the house.
Zorachka Homam Smart Camera: The Verdict
Zorachka’s Homam 64GB camera is worth considering for users who want uninterrupted lengthy video streams and are sick of paying monthly fees.
Its minimalistic and sturdy design, combined with excellent encryption and video quality, make it a good choice for buyers who are willing to reach a little deeper into their pockets.
The Homam 64GB is an indoor camera designed for home and business use. With features like embedded storage, HDR video technology, built-in chip encryption, and low-light performance, it can be used as a security camera, baby monitor, or pet cam.
- No monthly fees
- Onboard storage of 64GB for up to 36 hours of high-definition content
- Built-in hardware encryption offline sharing and storage of pairing keys and passwords