Q: Can I use this outside?
A: Yes. I’ve had mine outside for more than a year, it’s still going strong, resisting the elements. I’ve kept mine under cover, so that direct rain will not contact the power chord.
But I gotta say, there’s nothing in the marketing material about any kind of weatherproofing so it’d be totally an at-your-own-risk thing.
@melonscoop I googled a bit for you. The specs sheet and all sales material is pretty careful about not mentioning outside at all. The temperature range is somewhat outside friendly, but that’s not a guarantee.
I’ve seen a few reviewers mention using theirs outside, under cover of a porch roof or similar.
I think the verdict is that it’s possible, but not not recommended.
@gallogjTwo-way audio? Does that mean I can talk to my best friend and best dog, Quasimoddo? And yes, when I take enough pain meds, he does talk,…I think, hey, Quasmo,…what? R U talking 2 me? I’m the only 1 in here, U must be talkin 2 me!!
Hmmm…cheaper than a Nest cam…720p is fine…the wide angle is nice…the USB power is neat…just not sure if I could connected it to a power source so just run it off a power brick and charge it daily? Seems like a pain…but I’d know if someone’s taking my fuku box…
Unfortunately, it looks like yet another case of the hardware only working via the proprietary cloud server, with restricted functionality unless you are prepared to pay a monthly fee of up to $19.99 a month - https://connectedfamilyhome.com/pages/cloud-storage-plans.
There is nothing in the manual about how to set it up to be viewed directly from your own devices, so I assume that’s not possible.
I’ve seen a worrying trend of this sort of thing recently: sell you the hardware, but make its functionality dependent on a cloud service that has a monthly fee. You have to pay to be able to store your own data!
No matter how good the hardware is, having to pay an annual fee of almost $240 to get only limited storage is just unreasonable.
@JohnMorris it does come with FREE Lifetime 1-day cloud storage and also has notification alerts as well. No extra cost on those. For what it’s worth, several meh employees have cameras from the creator of this camera and have good things to say about it but I mean, our standard is MEH so take it with a grain of salt.
But to be fair the hardware specs do look good - which is what attracted me enough to go looking for the manual. But the lack of upload to local storage is a stopper for me. YMMV.
There are other cameras available with built-in motion detection and that will FTP to a local server. One (or more) of those and a Raspberry Pi and you can have unlimited storage for not much outlay, and no monthly fees. That’s the setup I use with a couple of cameras to watch the backyard wildlife.
Bottom line: if you like to keep your private pictures local and private this is not the camera for you. If you’re happy to do everything via the cloud, then knock yourself out.
@JohnMorris What would you recommend for a simple video stream? Looking at setting up a camera that I can access remotely for the house. Have a dog with separation anxiety and I would like to be able to check in from time to time to ensure absolute destruction hasn’t occurred.
@mandirose I’m not very familiar with these devices so my question may be dumb. Couldn’t you access the cloud storage and fast forward to the present time to watch the camera in real or quasi-real time?
@smoody3 Exactly why I’m looking into this. I can’t figure out how to actually USE it, though. How do I look at what’s going on at home at any given moment?
@smoody3 I’ve never wanted to stream video out to the net beyond my own property, so don’t have a definitive answer. But I suspect this very one from Meh today might well work for your needs.
Would I be able to use this with streaming software? I volunteer at a cat rescue and we do a 24/7 kitty cam, but having one of these would be aces if we were able to move it around the facility easier (current setup requires a direct connection.)
If it matters, we use Ustream for viewing, and Flash Media Live Encoder (sorry, that link only goes to a form to fill out) for broadcasting
Finally, a pet camera for my in-law unit that doesn’t have access to the router. Now I just need to rig an airhorn to the wifi so I can blow it when the cat eats cardboard.
Do you HAVE to use their app to set the camera up, or can I use something like tinyCam Pro to set it up and monitor? I purchased a Uokoo IP cam from Amazon a couple weeks back and the app and camera were garbage. Plus, the app required a whole slew of intrusive permissions.
I have 4 of these, they’re pretty slick. The only downside to these cameras so far is that they won’t see through windows with the night vision turned on. There are outdoor cameras from other manufacturers that will work in tandem with these on the same system though.
I’d love to know if you can tap into the camera feed without the custom app, for example via a browser, VLC, wget or something similar. I know JohnMorris didn’t see that i the manual, but that’s not really definitive.
@dude You can access the cameras via a web browser, I do it a lot to avoid sucking up phone battery and data. You can view the live feed and the recorded footage and fiddle with all the settings.
I see that it has two way audio, but can it be set-up to alert on audio instead of motion? Looking for one to alert me when my dog is barking while I’m away.
@jddautel That’s an interesting question. I wish my neighbor was as concerned about his dog barking while he is away. Here’s the website for the app http://www.isecurityplus.com/ mehbe it can be, but just glancing around over there, it doesn’t look like it
@djslack Did you not see my “almost never”. Posting one shot of 30,000 that is fisheye. Thanks. That’s an appropriate niche use. The video they linked was a wide lens, not a fish-eye.
@lucindalynne meh has been known to sell printers without usb cords nor ink even though the box stated it came with them. Or the ball-in-a-cup thing that said it came with spare parts when it actually didn’t.
@richrauch they should allow you to enter a username in the coupon field to give a small percentage of the sale to a helpful meh user. Get it done, @shawn
Does free mean free or is there some kind of subscription service required to view / monitor / record or whatever the last 24 hours? I need something to monitor a shop building in a remote area.
@LordSalem The power supply outputs 1 amp max so that is the most the camera could use. That would mean your 10,000 mAh battery would last 10 hours. It is likely the camera uses less than an amp, so the battery should last longer than that. (at least I think that’s how it works)
high quality battery packs lose around 20% of capacity to heat(according to amazon reviews) so it should be around 5.9 hours if its a high quality power bank, less if its a cheap generic power bank
Has anyone had trouble setting this up? I can connect my phone to the camera’s wifi and talk to it with the app, but connecting the camera to my wifi network isn’t working. It can’t even see my network (family or guest) and only sees one of the two dozen other networks visible from my house.
I thought it might not support the right wifi standard, but it clearly lists WPA2PSK/AES as an option.
I entered my SSID by hand and put in the password. No luck. I tried WPS, but no luck there either.
One of the times I tried to connect it, an entry showed up in the router’s log:
[WLAN access rejected: incorrect security] from MAC address d4:12::**, Thursday, August 10,2017 20:38:03
Each time it tries to connect, it takes about two minutes and then times out. I tried entering a non-existent SSID, and it behaved the same (down to saying “The Wi-Fi password you entered is incorrect. Please try again.”)
Is my camera defective? Am I using it wrong? Has anyone had success connecting theirs to WPA2?
Manually entering the SSID and password did not work. Making my network visible and choosing it in the app and entering the password did not work. WPS did not work.
I remembered I had a newer router than what I was using and after setting it up to replace the old one, then resetting the camera by holding down the button, and restarting the camera, WPS finally worked with the newer router.
Specs
What’s in the Box?
1x Camera and base
1x USB power cable
1x Power adapter plug
Pictures
Camera
Junk
Back
Plug
Watching
Fuck it why not
Box
Price Comparison
$149.99 List, $138.95 at Amazon
Warranty
90 day Mediocre
Estimated Delivery
Monday, July 13th - Thursday, July 16th
I see you!
Kodak? Where am I supposed to get it developed?
@norman8 Polaroid, silly! It comes out of the square thing on the bottom of the camera.
The yellow face. It burns us. It burns us.
Neat
Is this for inside the home creepy old man robe spying? Or is the camera at all weatherproof?
@melonscoop over on Amazon I saw this q&a:
Q: Can I use this outside?
A: Yes. I’ve had mine outside for more than a year, it’s still going strong, resisting the elements. I’ve kept mine under cover, so that direct rain will not contact the power chord.
But I gotta say, there’s nothing in the marketing material about any kind of weatherproofing so it’d be totally an at-your-own-risk thing.
@melonscoop I googled a bit for you. The specs sheet and all sales material is pretty careful about not mentioning outside at all. The temperature range is somewhat outside friendly, but that’s not a guarantee.
I’ve seen a few reviewers mention using theirs outside, under cover of a porch roof or similar.
I think the verdict is that it’s possible, but not not recommended.
@dave by 2 minutes.
@dave does the power chord have anything to do with singing? If so…does that have anything to do with the 2-way audio?
@gallogjTwo-way audio? Does that mean I can talk to my best friend and best dog, Quasimoddo? And yes, when I take enough pain meds, he does talk,…I think, hey, Quasmo,…what? R U talking 2 me? I’m the only 1 in here, U must be talkin 2 me!!
@Thumperchick Possible, but Not Guaranteed!
@gallogj Ha, I’m up for quoting from Amazon, but I’m not going to proofread for them.
@Thumperchick thanks! I should have known that, since the writeup never mentions the word “outside,” that would be an off-label use.
@melonscoop You rang?
@cranky1950 Is that your stunning modern glass home? If so, nice robe.
@melonscoop Oh, I just read the part about creepy old man.
Put one in my fuko, plz.
@medz We haven’t gotten any damaged returns yet, or I would.
@woodhouse Aw. Thanks, guy. That means a lot.
VMP for $5 seems like a big waste these days…I’ve liked the idea of supporting Meh and catching the occasional deal, but things lately have been weak…
@Stallion did you miss that mehrathon?
@Stallion weak like a FOX!
@rileyper Guess so, I’ve softened on the midnight refresh and comment #1 games as well.
I’m seriously considering this for my 3D printer, but what
temperatures can it withstand in an enclosed space while running?
@rileyper Operating Temperature: 32°F — 104°F (0°C to 40°C), Humidity: 0-90%
@rileyper From the specs post at the top:
@mandirose I already got beaten by @dave tonight, now you? I’m going to sleep.
@Thumperchick just call me quick draw McGraw
/giphy Thank_You
If it was named HAL I would buy a couple.
Hmmm…cheaper than a Nest cam…720p is fine…the wide angle is nice…the USB power is neat…just not sure if I could connected it to a power source so just run it off a power brick and charge it daily? Seems like a pain…but I’d know if someone’s taking my fuku box…
@IcedCorn Get a second battery. Less down time for your camera. A day or week to charge the other depending on capacity.
I found a manual of sorts here: https://www.manualslib.com/manual/929064/Kodak-Cfh-V10.html
Unfortunately, it looks like yet another case of the hardware only working via the proprietary cloud server, with restricted functionality unless you are prepared to pay a monthly fee of up to $19.99 a month - https://connectedfamilyhome.com/pages/cloud-storage-plans.
There is nothing in the manual about how to set it up to be viewed directly from your own devices, so I assume that’s not possible.
I’ve seen a worrying trend of this sort of thing recently: sell you the hardware, but make its functionality dependent on a cloud service that has a monthly fee. You have to pay to be able to store your own data!
No matter how good the hardware is, having to pay an annual fee of almost $240 to get only limited storage is just unreasonable.
@JohnMorris it does come with FREE Lifetime 1-day cloud storage and also has notification alerts as well. No extra cost on those. For what it’s worth, several meh employees have cameras from the creator of this camera and have good things to say about it but I mean, our standard is MEH so take it with a grain of salt.
@mandirose A whole day, eh? Gosh!
But to be fair the hardware specs do look good - which is what attracted me enough to go looking for the manual. But the lack of upload to local storage is a stopper for me. YMMV.
There are other cameras available with built-in motion detection and that will FTP to a local server. One (or more) of those and a Raspberry Pi and you can have unlimited storage for not much outlay, and no monthly fees. That’s the setup I use with a couple of cameras to watch the backyard wildlife.
Bottom line: if you like to keep your private pictures local and private this is not the camera for you. If you’re happy to do everything via the cloud, then knock yourself out.
@JohnMorris What would you recommend for a simple video stream? Looking at setting up a camera that I can access remotely for the house. Have a dog with separation anxiety and I would like to be able to check in from time to time to ensure absolute destruction hasn’t occurred.
@mandirose I’m not very familiar with these devices so my question may be dumb. Couldn’t you access the cloud storage and fast forward to the present time to watch the camera in real or quasi-real time?
@Jackson3364 you bet! when you open up the app on your phone it actually opens up to the camera in real time.
@smoody3 Exactly why I’m looking into this. I can’t figure out how to actually USE it, though. How do I look at what’s going on at home at any given moment?
@smoody3 I’ve never wanted to stream video out to the net beyond my own property, so don’t have a definitive answer. But I suspect this very one from Meh today might well work for your needs.
Would I be able to use this with streaming software? I volunteer at a cat rescue and we do a 24/7 kitty cam, but having one of these would be aces if we were able to move it around the facility easier (current setup requires a direct connection.)
If it matters, we use Ustream for viewing, and Flash Media Live Encoder (sorry, that link only goes to a form to fill out) for broadcasting
Whoops looks like JohnMorris above answered my question only minutes before I asked. (No, I wouldn’t.)
Finally, a pet camera for my in-law unit that doesn’t have access to the router. Now I just need to rig an airhorn to the wifi so I can blow it when the cat eats cardboard.
Do you HAVE to use their app to set the camera up, or can I use something like tinyCam Pro to set it up and monitor? I purchased a Uokoo IP cam from Amazon a couple weeks back and the app and camera were garbage. Plus, the app required a whole slew of intrusive permissions.
Kodak? Maybe in 1978.
@mfladd Or in 1982!
The other website has the Kodak V10 (not 180°):
2 for $80.
@formfeed Now you need to go over there and post about the sale on meh.
@formfeed That looks a lot like this one on this other other website for $1 cheaper.
@therealjrn LOL! Looks like someone just did.
@KidKobun Oooo and somebody has their panties all bunched up about it! lol
I have 4 of these, they’re pretty slick. The only downside to these cameras so far is that they won’t see through windows with the night vision turned on. There are outdoor cameras from other manufacturers that will work in tandem with these on the same system though.
@formfeed
I’d love to know if you can tap into the camera feed without the custom app, for example via a browser, VLC, wget or something similar. I know JohnMorris didn’t see that i the manual, but that’s not really definitive.
@dude You can access the cameras via a web browser, I do it a lot to avoid sucking up phone battery and data. You can view the live feed and the recorded footage and fiddle with all the settings.
I see that it has two way audio, but can it be set-up to alert on audio instead of motion? Looking for one to alert me when my dog is barking while I’m away.
@jddautel That’s an interesting question. I wish my neighbor was as concerned about his dog barking while he is away. Here’s the website for the app http://www.isecurityplus.com/ mehbe it can be, but just glancing around over there, it doesn’t look like it
@mediocrebot
does this really have an 850nm and a 5 meter LED?
illumination distance!!
" fish-eye effect. – bad if your trying to create a Kubrick-style masterpiece "
Uhh, a good director would almost never use a fish-eye lens. You’re thinking of the director of the Beastie Boy’s video.
@zorro
@djslack Did you not see my “almost never”. Posting one shot of 30,000 that is fisheye. Thanks. That’s an appropriate niche use. The video they linked was a wide lens, not a fish-eye.
Or if you’re trying to copy edit…
The Wi-Fi extender could make me pull the trigger on this but, I find no mention of it on the Amazon page (nor in the specs above).
@richrauch the V10 has the wi-fi extender, so I’d assume this one does for sure.
@lucindalynne meh has been known to sell printers without usb cords nor ink even though the box stated it came with them. Or the ball-in-a-cup thing that said it came with spare parts when it actually didn’t.
@richrauch The sheet from Kodak says it’s built-in to this model.
http://www.kodak.com/KodakGCG/uploadedFiles/Consumer/Products/Video_Monitors/CFH-V20/Kodak_V20_Sell Sheet.pdf
Because it’s part of the internal hardware and this sale is listed as New condition, I assume it would have it.
@medz the wi-fi extender is an internal feature of the camera unit itself, not an extra part, so it would be pretty hard for meh to not include it.
@medz I should clarify that I have 4 of the V10s, that’s how I know it’s in there for sure.
@medz Thanks! Since you posted that PDF, I’m in for one. (Meh should pay you commission.)
@richrauch they should allow you to enter a username in the coupon field to give a small percentage of the sale to a helpful meh user. Get it done, @shawn
@medz No one would abuse that. And Meh would gladly fund it without raising prices.
@richrauch Here to confirm, yes this does have the Wifi Extender!
One cannot simply walk into the living room…
Does free mean free or is there some kind of subscription service required to view / monitor / record or whatever the last 24 hours? I need something to monitor a shop building in a remote area.
Would these work with Owlr?
Why would anyone want this inside their house and on the cloud?
@Kevin Some folks like to be constantly watched.
https://shirt.woot.com/offers/always-awake
Not sure which camera to buy, this one, the ones on Woot or that morningstar one.
@darkangelmsm I think you mean morningsave.com.
/image morningstar
/image morningsave
@darkangelmsm @narfcake Actually, to quote one customer, “Eat s*** and die Morngstar !!!”
@ThomasF phew! Morningsave is completely safe!
Damn Meh! I just installed my security system… if only a couple of days earlier
@jareza Better yet, it’s a closed Polaroid security camera.
@djslack That unit predates the CPSC.
Anyone know if this works with Blue Iris software?
I expecting something a little more exciting from the “junk” picture…
Anyone have a guess at how long it will last using a USB battery? Let’s arbitrarily say it would be a 10,000mAh battery
@LordSalem The power supply outputs 1 amp max so that is the most the camera could use. That would mean your 10,000 mAh battery would last 10 hours. It is likely the camera uses less than an amp, so the battery should last longer than that. (at least I think that’s how it works)
@LordSalem @indolent Not quite that simple.
Battery pack manufacturers state their capacity by the battery, not the output. Batteries are nominally 3.7 volts, but the output is 5 volts.
Battery output:
10,000 mah = 10 amps
10A x 3.7V = 37 watts.
37 watts / 5 V = 7.4A.
Camera:
7.4A / 1A = 7.4 hours
Not factored is the loss in the battery pack’s boost circuitry and the actual power requirements of the camera.
@narfcake
high quality battery packs lose around 20% of capacity to heat(according to amazon reviews) so it should be around 5.9 hours if its a high quality power bank, less if its a cheap generic power bank
@narfcake Thanks, that’s a better explanation. I didn’t realize battery pack nominal voltage wasn’t 5 volts.
Does this work with Alexa?
Has anyone had trouble setting this up? I can connect my phone to the camera’s wifi and talk to it with the app, but connecting the camera to my wifi network isn’t working. It can’t even see my network (family or guest) and only sees one of the two dozen other networks visible from my house.
I thought it might not support the right wifi standard, but it clearly lists WPA2PSK/AES as an option.
I entered my SSID by hand and put in the password. No luck. I tried WPS, but no luck there either.
One of the times I tried to connect it, an entry showed up in the router’s log:
[WLAN access rejected: incorrect security] from MAC address d4:12::**, Thursday, August 10,2017 20:38:03
Each time it tries to connect, it takes about two minutes and then times out. I tried entering a non-existent SSID, and it behaved the same (down to saying “The Wi-Fi password you entered is incorrect. Please try again.”)
Is my camera defective? Am I using it wrong? Has anyone had success connecting theirs to WPA2?
Best part: the “troubleshooting” instructions in the documentation are “If you don’t see the setup prompt, close and relaunch the app.”
@gominosensei I eventually used WPS.
Manually entering the SSID and password did not work. Making my network visible and choosing it in the app and entering the password did not work. WPS did not work.
I remembered I had a newer router than what I was using and after setting it up to replace the old one, then resetting the camera by holding down the button, and restarting the camera, WPS finally worked with the newer router.
I found a bigger user manual than what came with it here:
https://mans.io/item/kodak/cfh-v20