@Pantheist but I’m only considering buying because I finally have a house I can use this in. But since it was $2 cheaper, I’m wondering if I should just wait. I feel like buying during this test could mean I’m signaling higher Meh prices are okay…
@broccoliboy21 Yeah, but, um, I have the same house as the one I was in the first time they sold the low res ones, and I’m still happy with the single cam I bought. If you sold a new one for $10 less than that one, I still likely wouldn’t buy because, well…
FYI a newer generation cam is on sale at 1080p…
Ironically I just bought it and meh does this!
Amazon has the Foscam R2 1080p Wireless IP Security Camera w/ Pan, Tilt & Zoom for a low $59.99 Free Shipping after Coupon Code: "R248HOUR"
Via techbargains
@craigcush I think I found an answer. In fact the R2 is better all around from what I am seeing. Better night vision, better zoom, higher SRP pricepoint, etc. Thanks @craigcrush!
@craigcush sheer coincidence I bought the R2 1080p an hour before this sale. I missed same promo last week on techbargains so if it’s gone keep checking them. I have a three year old 18910 mounted outside under a eve that still works at 480. R2 will replace and add clarity and motion detection.
I got the FI9831P (the 960P non-zoom one) from previous sale. Works pretty good most of the time but crashes/freezes if you got it connected to the NVR and at the same time trying to access the stream from web or mobile app.
Thanks for telling us all the options the software has as well as what operating systems (browsers) it works with. As a mac user, it makes the difference between buying it and not.
I checked the Foscam YouTube page for confirmation. Works on Mac but only the newer HD cams. The older ones need IE for configuration.
Is it part of the test if you realize the name of the company if FoSCAM? If it worked outdoors I might be tempted but not so much since ya’ll are saying it is for indoor use only.
/image indoors only no outdoors
@wew When was that? Obviously before my time here - but can we petition to get that back? I like free stuff! Well, certain free stuff - only if it is good free stuff.
@WTFsunshine lol! this is meh! it was never decent free stuff! well, I don’t wanna hurt anyone’s feelings saying that. Hey sunshine, I’m sorta free. wanna hang?
No more Foscam cameras for me. The last one I got (a C1) required a propriety plug-in to use it. You couldn’t even login to configure it without it. Had to pay return shipping and restocking to return it to Newegg and good riddance. And the refurb FI8906W I got on Morningsave had the wrong power supply. I had to contact them three times and get Meh involved to finally get one shipped.
In your experiment words you didn’t acknowledge the most likely confounding factor, that people who want inexpensive cameras already bought the refurb ones, and they’re still working, so even if they would have preferred a new one more than $2 worth they’re not going to buy one now because they already have all the camera they wanted.
If you don’t firewall these don’t point them at anything you don’t want the internet to see. And the official app forces the 960p model into cropped 720p which is dumb. Yeah, I bought another one.
@AlbanyJones it isn’t the wifi part that potentially exposes you to the “globe” - wired network cameras will do that very nicely if you also have them improperly exposed to the Internet.
If you were offering refurbs now I’d go for one, but had to settle for a new one instead . Only just thought of a use for one of these – to look into my (detached) garage and see if the door is open. We’d been scouring the intertubes for instructions we could understand, with parts we could figure out how to acquire, for building a little remote indicator light for the status of the door, when in a flash of brilliance my husband thought: “Wait, no – what we need is a webcam!”
And I said: “those go on sale now and then – I’ll get us one. Honey, you’re a M…F…'ing genius!”. And so it has come to pass.
@tmdowling actually, they make very simple wireless garage door open alerters. There’s a box for the garage and a box for inside the house. I believe the indoor box lights up when your door is open.
Seems like I even saw one OEM integrated into a garage door opener system.
'Need to find one for my neighbor who worries the same issue.
Who filled out the spec sheet for these pieces? The row for Plugnplay has ‘X’ and ‘Yes’ for options. Software features has ‘X’ and blank. WTF, I ask of ye, does the ‘X’ mean then?
@OllieJones Thanks for that link – it gives some perspective on the matter. (Now to try to figure out what it all means…)
[Sidenote: Think I could be prosecuted for giving the finger to the NSA from my own living room? I’d imagine they have about the same sense of humor the IRS does.]
@rjquillin You are fortunate – on my chromebook I can only see 2 and 3/4 of the four columns in the comparison chart, and no scrollbar. Figured it’s not worth the trouble to play around with the browser settings to correct this.
@KDemo When we lived in Virginia my Daddy worked for the government in D.C. He was in Vietnam and has never talked about it but he made sure we went to all of the monuments and especially this one to teach us about honor, service and the price many paid (and still do). This was the only place where I was still and not running around like the little child I was. Except they had to hold me back because I wanted to go shake the hand of the soldier who had to march back and forth even in bad weather. Watching them change guard is always breathtaking. I miss my hometown but I also missed this video so thank you for reposting it.
The real experiment is how people like their ethernet ports labeled. Depending on which model you buy, it’ll be labeled in English, labeled with an abstract symbol, or not labeled at all.
Choose wisely.
And just for the record, I’m not buying any of them.
Does anyone know if I can cancel my order? Don’t think it will work at the distance I needed from inside a metal building and I don’t want to run a cable.
Thanks!
Foscam sucks! I also am done with meh! Selling camera that does not run on 5ghz. I get that I am not techy but you should not dump this stuff on people claiming easy setup. Not happy with this purchase!
Researchers at F-Secure documented 18 vulnerabilities that the manufacturer has yet to fix despite being alerted to them several months ago. All of the flaws were confirmed in a camera marketed under the Opticam i5 HD brand. A smaller number of the vulnerabilities were also found in the Foscam C2. The report said the weaknesses are likely to exist in many other camera models Foscam manufactures and sells under other brand names.
Even if these Foscam cameras are better prepared for the world than the ones described, it sounds like they’re pretty clueless about security. I wouldn’t expose them to the internet if I could help it.
Specs
Specs that all four have in common:
What’s in the Box?
1x Camera
1x Mount
1x Mounting hardware
1x Power adapter
1x Ethernet cable
Pictures
Pile of cameras
FI8910W Black
FI8910W White
FI8910W Black back
F19821P Black
F19821P White
F19821P Black back
FI9826P Black
FI9826P White
FI9826P Black back
FI9831P Black
FI9831P White
FI9831P Black back
Stuff in a box
Beep boop
Price Comparison
FI8910W: $44.95 (used) at Amazon
FI9831P: $69.63 at Amazon
FI9821P: $61.76 at Amazon
FI9826P: $159.99 at Amazon
Warranty
1 Year Foscam
Estimated Delivery
Monday, Oct 30 - Wednesday, Nov 1
Nice, lots of options.
But do they have led lanterns???
I expect you’re really testing market saturation this time. How many of these things can one person use?
@sammydog01 if they were outdoor cameras I’d probably get another one, but i have two already, and realistically for me, that’s enough.
Funny, I was thinking the last pic would be something resembling R2D2. I wonder if his camera is 480p or better…
@tmwest87 his camera was 3d
You call this shit benign?
Biggest factor is probably that most people who really want one bought one in the previous sale. Better test if you had both options at the same time.
@Pantheist but I’m only considering buying because I finally have a house I can use this in. But since it was $2 cheaper, I’m wondering if I should just wait. I feel like buying during this test could mean I’m signaling higher Meh prices are okay…
@broccoliboy21 But the $2 isn’t just a higher price, you’re getting a slightly different product. New versus refurbished.
@broccoliboy21 Yeah, but, um, I have the same house as the one I was in the first time they sold the low res ones, and I’m still happy with the single cam I bought. If you sold a new one for $10 less than that one, I still likely wouldn’t buy because, well…
/giphy diminishing returns
FYI a newer generation cam is on sale at 1080p…
Ironically I just bought it and meh does this!
Amazon has the Foscam R2 1080p Wireless IP Security Camera w/ Pan, Tilt & Zoom for a low $59.99 Free Shipping after Coupon Code: "R248HOUR"
Via techbargains
@craigcush oh jeez. Now I have a dilemma. But I want to encourage their hypothesis.
@craigcush Thanks! Promo code only works for the black version, not white.
@craigcush Which is better: 960p with 3X optical zoom OR 1080p with 8X digital zoom?
@craigcush Thanks for the tip…so to speak.
@craigcush Seems no limit on $20 R2 discount at Amazon. Comparison between R2 vs 9826P?..having trouble finding!
@craigcush I think I found an answer. In fact the R2 is better all around from what I am seeing. Better night vision, better zoom, higher SRP pricepoint, etc. Thanks @craigcrush!
@craigcush Thx for the tip. Just bought it on Amazon.
@donrull Here’s a comparison article: Foscam FI9831P vs FI9826PB vs R2 vs Dropcam Pro vs Nest Cam
@craigcush sheer coincidence I bought the R2 1080p an hour before this sale. I missed same promo last week on techbargains so if it’s gone keep checking them. I have a three year old 18910 mounted outside under a eve that still works at 480. R2 will replace and add clarity and motion detection.
(Three days ago)
Him: You should get a camera like the one I have.
Me: Or two cameras!
Him: Or just one. They’re expensive.
Me: Nah, they’re like $30 each.
Him: They’re more than that. More like $80.
Me: Well, meh has them on sale sometimes.
SO SMUG RN MEH
@gyozilla we had a cat that did that. Inside. With absolutely no dogs in sight to provoke it. It was a crazy cat.
The 480P model has terrible terrible wifi reception. Only works within about 15 feet of the router.
Cam"ER meh"-can you picture that ??
Already have a pair of these from a Fuko, not a Fuku. Irony?
I got the FI9831P (the 960P non-zoom one) from previous sale. Works pretty good most of the time but crashes/freezes if you got it connected to the NVR and at the same time trying to access the stream from web or mobile app.
Oh and it also talks.
Thanks for telling us all the options the software has as well as what operating systems (browsers) it works with. As a mac user, it makes the difference between buying it and not.
I checked the Foscam YouTube page for confirmation. Works on Mac but only the newer HD cams. The older ones need IE for configuration.
@buckleyup4lolz doesn’t it go without saying that Mac owners can afford real security systems?
How can I see the feed when I’m away from home?
@ESQuireTech
/giphy eyes
@ESQuireTech I use the tinyCam app to watch the feed on my android phone (Moto Nexus 6).
Still trying to figure out how to connect without having the insteon hub
@tightwad you’ll need to reconfigure your router for that.
The jokes on you, Meh. I didn’t buy a refurbished one before, and I don’t want to buy a new one now, but I just might, to mess up your experiment.
/giphy evil laugh
@sligett That’ll show 'em!
Is it part of the test if you realize the name of the company if FoSCAM? If it worked outdoors I might be tempted but not so much since ya’ll are saying it is for indoor use only.
/image indoors only no outdoors
Remember when we used to get free shit here?
@wew When was that? Obviously before my time here - but can we petition to get that back? I like free stuff! Well, certain free stuff - only if it is good free stuff.
@WTFsunshine lol! this is meh! it was never decent free stuff! well, I don’t wanna hurt anyone’s feelings saying that. Hey sunshine, I’m sorta free. wanna hang?
@wew I lost my socks so quickly.
@wew Anytime wew
Darn it! Wouldn’t let me edit to get rid of the image! That image is way wrong. Sorry about that.
No more Foscam cameras for me. The last one I got (a C1) required a propriety plug-in to use it. You couldn’t even login to configure it without it. Had to pay return shipping and restocking to return it to Newegg and good riddance. And the refurb FI8906W I got on Morningsave had the wrong power supply. I had to contact them three times and get Meh involved to finally get one shipped.
@LankHairdoo I detest proprietary stuff. There’s only one place where I happily accept it - our Apple mobile gear.
In your experiment words you didn’t acknowledge the most likely confounding factor, that people who want inexpensive cameras already bought the refurb ones, and they’re still working, so even if they would have preferred a new one more than $2 worth they’re not going to buy one now because they already have all the camera they wanted.
If they were the 9821/9831EP models, I’d bite. My next IP cams have to be PoE capable.
If you don’t firewall these don’t point them at anything you don’t want the internet to see. And the official app forces the 960p model into cropped 720p which is dumb. Yeah, I bought another one.
@Jetlag That had always kept me from buying wifi cams. The strange unexplained transmissions to ip addresses across the globe.
@AlbanyJones it isn’t the wifi part that potentially exposes you to the “globe” - wired network cameras will do that very nicely if you also have them improperly exposed to the Internet.
Somehow, I think Meh experiments go something more like this…
If you were offering refurbs now I’d go for one, but had to settle for a new one instead
. Only just thought of a use for one of these – to look into my (detached) garage and see if the door is open. We’d been scouring the intertubes for instructions we could understand, with parts we could figure out how to acquire, for building a little remote indicator light for the status of the door, when in a flash of brilliance my husband thought: “Wait, no – what we need is a webcam!”
And I said: “those go on sale now and then – I’ll get us one. Honey, you’re a M…F…'ing genius!”. And so it has come to pass.
@tmdowling actually, they make very simple wireless garage door open alerters. There’s a box for the garage and a box for inside the house. I believe the indoor box lights up when your door is open.
Seems like I even saw one OEM integrated into a garage door opener system.
'Need to find one for my neighbor who worries the same issue.
What about outdoors
@janelhurley I guess you could put a shed with a window into your back yard, and then put the cam in there. Technically it would be indoors?
Who filled out the spec sheet for these pieces? The row for Plugnplay has ‘X’ and ‘Yes’ for options. Software features has ‘X’ and blank. WTF, I ask of ye, does the ‘X’ mean then?
@ryanstochastic I wondered the same thing but wasn’t buying so meh.
You guys should get the botnet cybercreeps to subsidize these things. https://www.cvedetails.com/vulnerability-list/vendor_id-12538/Foscam.html
@OllieJones Thanks for that link – it gives some perspective on the matter. (Now to try to figure out what it all means…)
[Sidenote: Think I could be prosecuted for giving the finger to the NSA from my own living room? I’d imagine they have about the same sense of humor the IRS does.]
I take it they’re not waterproof, i.e. not intended for outdoor installation?
Is it only me that is annoyed one has to scroll to see all the specs for the different cams at once?
@rjquillin You are fortunate – on my chromebook I can only see 2 and 3/4 of the four columns in the comparison chart, and no scrollbar. Figured it’s not worth the trouble to play around with the browser settings to correct this.
Thank you for The Unknown Soldier link in today’s teasemail. It’s worth watching, just a moment of reflection.
Reposting it here.
@KDemo When we lived in Virginia my Daddy worked for the government in D.C. He was in Vietnam and has never talked about it but he made sure we went to all of the monuments and especially this one to teach us about honor, service and the price many paid (and still do). This was the only place where I was still and not running around like the little child I was. Except they had to hold me back because I wanted to go shake the hand of the soldier who had to march back and forth even in bad weather. Watching them change guard is always breathtaking. I miss my hometown but I also missed this video so thank you for reposting it.
@WTFsunshine - Your story brought this to mind -
The real experiment is how people like their ethernet ports labeled. Depending on which model you buy, it’ll be labeled in English, labeled with an abstract symbol, or not labeled at all.
Choose wisely.
And just for the record, I’m not buying any of them.
Does anyone know if I can cancel my order? Don’t think it will work at the distance I needed from inside a metal building and I don’t want to run a cable.
Thanks!
@stevo3556 @thumperchick is the person to ask.
@stevo3556 if you realize it within 60 minutes of ordering next time, there will be a cancel order link on the order under the account menu.
@stevo3556 you can, within an hour of ordering. If you still need to cancel, wrote into meh.com/support and I will see if I can catch it for you.
What’s up with all the indoor cameras on the market. I don’t need my wife to be able to see what I’m not doing when she isn’t home.
/giphy predictable-jumbled-drake
Multiple confounding co-variables.
Well, did they sell better?
@sammydog01
Since I don’t understand your question…
Meh me once… shame on shame on you.
Meh me twice… shame on me.
Meh me three times and I will buy your $70 camera.
I bought two from meh and two from Amazon (linked above)…the Amazon ones showed up today…meh, you’re slacking.
@nltownsend843 Nah. Amazon’s just an overachiever.
Foscam sucks! I also am done with meh! Selling camera that does not run on 5ghz. I get that I am not techy but you should not dump this stuff on people claiming easy setup. Not happy with this purchase!
Oof. A new report about major security vulnerabilities in some of Foscam’s cameras: Internet cameras have hard-coded password that can’t be changed.
Even if these Foscam cameras are better prepared for the world than the ones described, it sounds like they’re pretty clueless about security. I wouldn’t expose them to the internet if I could help it.