I’m actually almost glad this wasn’t a bag, I was going for my 18k bells wet dream when the turnover came, and I’d have been disappointed to have missed it trying for the bag and probably miss that too! rains over now though.
@KathyHestir Yeah I think the “wireless” just refers to the fact that it can join your wifi network, but you’d still need to plug it in to power, and I think some have the ability to hardwire (ethernet) into your network…so there are definitely wires involved on most wireless devices.
@hih934 As long as you’re smart about it, you should be fine. Upgrade firmware, change default username, password, and ports. If you’re really worried, put it on an intranet-only network.
Bought one the last time it came up and have been waiting for a second one. Love it! Now I can watch my whole house be empty instead of just half of it! SOOOOO much fun watching nothing happen! Now I just need an outdoor one so I can watch nothing happen in my driveway!!!
@mile_high_me I have one looking at a cat door. I wanted to see how our 70 pound dog got in the room. Yeah, she just squeezed her ass in there and couldn’t get back out.
@medz we have to keep our dog in a kennel while we are at work because he literally ate the house ( ok not all of it!) while we were at work so I don’t even get to watch him do stupid stuff during the day.
@mile_high_me ours tries to eat her way out of the kennel. Cuts her gums up. We tried a bathroom and she chewed the door frame. Now we let her wander most the house and she does good.
@DRBARBER if you use as a baby monitor you are going to want an audio only monitor to work with it. That way you can listen at all times and just pull up the video feed when you need it
@DRBARBER I purchased the FI9826P last time they had it here and I couldn’t be happier. I use it for a baby monitor. Picture is great. The zoom is a bit overkill, i could’ve gotten by without it. I have a cheap audio monitor for audio only. I also have it tied in to my blueiris system and I can enable/disable push notifications to my phone when baby moves. Then I have an ipad running the foscam software that I put on the counter and run it while baby is napping for a live feed. The two way audio works too.
I went through several different cameras before finally deciding that this one had all the features and “easy” functionality that I required. So I decided to buy 2 more of the eventual 6 I planned to install. Sadly, I did not have time to install the second two cameras until well after the return policy had expired. I say sadly as the second two cameras I received are a different version of the same camera! The differences are serious enough that they should have different model #’s in my book, thus my Buyer Beware review title!
The first one I received was a Version 2 and the second 2 were version 1’s. And based on the ancient firmware in the second 2 cams (one needed 3 rounds of firmware upgrades to catch up!) these were also probably repacks of some type and not even new merchandise… I would totally dog this review with one star for the Foscam rip-off swap out, but I was an idiot and didn’t check the boxes of the second two cameras when I received them, so I am accepting the blame… But be warned!
The Version 2 cam has MUCH newer firmware available (and is thus, in theory, safer.) It also has additional features from the Version 1 cams. I don’t know all of them, but the 2 main ones that I am REALLY missing is that the V2 can send push alerts to your iPhone via the Foscam program if you have it set up for motion or sound detection alarms. The V1’s don’t support motion phone push alerts (although you can email yourself an alert) and the V1’s also don’t support audio alerts (alarms) at all! [I would have returned the V1’s immediately if I had known…]
Interestingly, however, the V1 cams have a better picture and have MUCH better night vision than the V2 does. One of the ways you can spot the difference between the two versions is that on the V2 the IR LED’s are covered by a semitransparent cover and you can’t see the IR LED’s on the front, and on the V1’s you can see them. I suspect that this cover is why the night vision on the V2 is worse than the V1. (I uploaded a pic of the two types side by side.)
When I say the night vision is worse, yes I do mean that the V2 is not as bright in night vision mode, but the difference does not stop there. I placed a V1 and a V2 in the EXACT same spot (by my router as you need to upgrade the firmware via Ethernet) and changing nothing else in the environment, both the V1’s gave me a color picture, but the V2 decided the lighting was not bright enough and switched to Black & White night vision only mode. I was curious, so I went into the settings and manually turned off the Auto IR mode on the V2 and it then gave me the same color picture as the V1’s did in Auto mode… (Yes I had all three cams set to the same settings and had auto-night-vision enabled on all, and all had the latest firmware.)
So it is kind of a tradeoff… The V1 has a better picture and works better in the dark. It also seems to pan slightly faster (in fast mode) than the V2. But the V2 has more features, more up to date firmware, and looks a tad better due to the LED cover. I frankly wish I could have a V1 with the V2 feature set as I don’t care about the IR cover and care more that the picture is better on the V1’s (not significantly but noticeably.)
Also, FYI, if you get a V1, download the software from the Foscam web site manually. If your V1 has new enough firmware loaded in it to have the feature, using the “download the latest firmware” button in the camera management system downloaded v118 and I got v119 when I downloaded it manually from Foscam. One of my V1’s was so old that the only way to get the firmware software was Foscam’s web site, and when I was done I noticed that the V1 I did manually had newer software than the V1 I upgraded with the button, so I did the other V1 with the manual firmware. No clue what the difference is, if any.
As for the rest of it, overall I like the cams, I love the zoom feature, the picture is good, the cam was easy to set up (although it was time consuming to do so many firmware upgrades,) and the Foscam software on my iPhone is easy to use and get working outside of your local network. Both the V1 and the V2 were MUCH easier than the Amcrest HD units I tried, BTW.
So Foscam rip-off, out-of-date, repacked, merchandise aside, I am giving them 4 stars anyway…
Ironically, the camera I bought to set up to watch my porch for packages, was taken off of my porch. USPS is at fault for delivering it when it was supposed to be held, but won’t do anything about it because it wasn’t insured. #lame
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
Warranty
1 Year Foscam
Estimated Delivery
Monday, Nov 6 - Tuesday, Nov 7
Going to have to watch this deal.
Umm, no. US support-stranded.
I’m actually almost glad this wasn’t a bag, I was going for my 18k bells wet dream when the turnover came, and I’d have been disappointed to have missed it trying for the bag and probably miss that too! rains over now though.
Are these outdoor or indoor only?
@KathyHestir I was going to ask the same thing. I want outdoor, but these appear to be indoor.
@KathyHestir Not sure, but with an operating humidity maxing out at 80%, that’s a no-go for me sadly. Hit almost 100% this morning.
@KathyHestir Needing outdoor wireless. I’ve noticed while shopping for them in general that some say they are wireless, when in fact there is wiring.
@KathyHestir Yeah I think the “wireless” just refers to the fact that it can join your wifi network, but you’d still need to plug it in to power, and I think some have the ability to hardwire (ethernet) into your network…so there are definitely wires involved on most wireless devices.
1 Megapixel.
Don’t these things have pretty glaring security holes?
@hih934 As long as you’re smart about it, you should be fine. Upgrade firmware, change default username, password, and ports. If you’re really worried, put it on an intranet-only network.
Bought one the last time it came up and have been waiting for a second one. Love it! Now I can watch my whole house be empty instead of just half of it! SOOOOO much fun watching nothing happen! Now I just need an outdoor one so I can watch nothing happen in my driveway!!!
@mile_high_me I have one looking at a cat door. I wanted to see how our 70 pound dog got in the room. Yeah, she just squeezed her ass in there and couldn’t get back out.
@medz we have to keep our dog in a kennel while we are at work because he literally ate the house ( ok not all of it!) while we were at work so I don’t even get to watch him do stupid stuff during the day.
@mile_high_me ours tries to eat her way out of the kennel. Cuts her gums up. We tried a bathroom and she chewed the door frame. Now we let her wander most the house and she does good.
These had widely known security flaws that were only patched about two weeks ago. If you buy these make sure you do the manual firmware update.
/giphy lucrative-flexible-level
Would any of these work well as a baby monitor? Assuming I fixed it so there were no security issues…
@DRBARBER if you use as a baby monitor you are going to want an audio only monitor to work with it. That way you can listen at all times and just pull up the video feed when you need it
@hafner Ahh yes…that makes sense. Thanks!
@DRBARBER I purchased the FI9826P last time they had it here and I couldn’t be happier. I use it for a baby monitor. Picture is great. The zoom is a bit overkill, i could’ve gotten by without it. I have a cheap audio monitor for audio only. I also have it tied in to my blueiris system and I can enable/disable push notifications to my phone when baby moves. Then I have an ipad running the foscam software that I put on the counter and run it while baby is napping for a live feed. The two way audio works too.
@brochenzo I didn’t end up pulling the trigger, but thanks for the info! I’ll keep an eye out for them elsewhere.
anyone know if these are version 1 or 2 models?
this review made me wonder…
I went through several different cameras before finally deciding that this one had all the features and “easy” functionality that I required. So I decided to buy 2 more of the eventual 6 I planned to install. Sadly, I did not have time to install the second two cameras until well after the return policy had expired. I say sadly as the second two cameras I received are a different version of the same camera! The differences are serious enough that they should have different model #’s in my book, thus my Buyer Beware review title!
The first one I received was a Version 2 and the second 2 were version 1’s. And based on the ancient firmware in the second 2 cams (one needed 3 rounds of firmware upgrades to catch up!) these were also probably repacks of some type and not even new merchandise… I would totally dog this review with one star for the Foscam rip-off swap out, but I was an idiot and didn’t check the boxes of the second two cameras when I received them, so I am accepting the blame… But be warned!
The Version 2 cam has MUCH newer firmware available (and is thus, in theory, safer.) It also has additional features from the Version 1 cams. I don’t know all of them, but the 2 main ones that I am REALLY missing is that the V2 can send push alerts to your iPhone via the Foscam program if you have it set up for motion or sound detection alarms. The V1’s don’t support motion phone push alerts (although you can email yourself an alert) and the V1’s also don’t support audio alerts (alarms) at all! [I would have returned the V1’s immediately if I had known…]
Interestingly, however, the V1 cams have a better picture and have MUCH better night vision than the V2 does. One of the ways you can spot the difference between the two versions is that on the V2 the IR LED’s are covered by a semitransparent cover and you can’t see the IR LED’s on the front, and on the V1’s you can see them. I suspect that this cover is why the night vision on the V2 is worse than the V1. (I uploaded a pic of the two types side by side.)
When I say the night vision is worse, yes I do mean that the V2 is not as bright in night vision mode, but the difference does not stop there. I placed a V1 and a V2 in the EXACT same spot (by my router as you need to upgrade the firmware via Ethernet) and changing nothing else in the environment, both the V1’s gave me a color picture, but the V2 decided the lighting was not bright enough and switched to Black & White night vision only mode. I was curious, so I went into the settings and manually turned off the Auto IR mode on the V2 and it then gave me the same color picture as the V1’s did in Auto mode… (Yes I had all three cams set to the same settings and had auto-night-vision enabled on all, and all had the latest firmware.)
So it is kind of a tradeoff… The V1 has a better picture and works better in the dark. It also seems to pan slightly faster (in fast mode) than the V2. But the V2 has more features, more up to date firmware, and looks a tad better due to the LED cover. I frankly wish I could have a V1 with the V2 feature set as I don’t care about the IR cover and care more that the picture is better on the V1’s (not significantly but noticeably.)
Also, FYI, if you get a V1, download the software from the Foscam web site manually. If your V1 has new enough firmware loaded in it to have the feature, using the “download the latest firmware” button in the camera management system downloaded v118 and I got v119 when I downloaded it manually from Foscam. One of my V1’s was so old that the only way to get the firmware software was Foscam’s web site, and when I was done I noticed that the V1 I did manually had newer software than the V1 I upgraded with the button, so I did the other V1 with the manual firmware. No clue what the difference is, if any.
As for the rest of it, overall I like the cams, I love the zoom feature, the picture is good, the cam was easy to set up (although it was time consuming to do so many firmware upgrades,) and the Foscam software on my iPhone is easy to use and get working outside of your local network. Both the V1 and the V2 were MUCH easier than the Amcrest HD units I tried, BTW.
So Foscam rip-off, out-of-date, repacked, merchandise aside, I am giving them 4 stars anyway…
Fuck it. I bought two of the 926p with zoom. One for me and one for my bro.
Ironically, the camera I bought to set up to watch my porch for packages, was taken off of my porch. USPS is at fault for delivering it when it was supposed to be held, but won’t do anything about it because it wasn’t insured. #lame