Foscam FI8918W Wireless/Wired Pan & Tilt IP Camera with 8 Meter Night Vision and 3.6mm Lens (67?? Viewing Angle) - Black NEWEST MODEL (replaces the FI8908W)

I've got 4 of these cams now. It took me many hours to work out how to fully set them up. The basic set up as a wired camera was easy. The camera was recognised quickly and I set up an administrator account to access the features.

Unfortunately the full manual is out of date as is the manual from the Foscam download site. After some hassle I managed to get the presets, email and ftp working. I've managed to get the camera to send emails on motion detect. However the biggest problem is that I can't get it up upload video on alarm. The "Alarm Service Settings" page is very confusing. Nowhere does the documentation describe the parameters "Motion Detect Sensibility" or "Motion Compensation". Then there is the mysterious parameter "Upload Image on Alarm". If I tick it it asks me to specify "Upload Interval (Seconds)". If I set that at a number it generates a couple of minutes of still pictures to my ftp site. It I set it at 1 second interval it generates about 50 images. But I don't want stills, I want video uploaded. I can record and display video when I am at the console. However, whatever I do I cannot cajole it to upload videos on alarm activation (only stills).

The cameras work fine apart from this one set-up problem. If only I can get this last thing working I'd give the product 5 stars. I can't get support from Amazon and Foscam tell me I must get support from the seller.

I bought this camera so I could see how easy it was too use and set up IP camera. I had used webcams before but was unable to access these remotely without having a computer running so the price for this camera (including pan and tilt) it seemed like the ideal sample.

I decided to buy an original foscam, as after reading some of the forums I found that foscam seem to have the best supported firmware which gets updated.

Pros
Very good quality image (even over a 3G wireless connection)
Control software works very well and seems to reliable (so far anyway)
Sound and a loudspeaker are suported (I have used the microphone option but not the speaker). The version of firmware I have only works in IE but there is an update which I believe supports Firefox.
IR quality in complete darkness is quite good. As you would expect the colour under IR is no-existant but the image is good enough to pick out peoples faces.

Cons
Not alot really. I have had some problems with the wireless connection disconnecting. Not handy when you are connecting from 50 miles away however I purchased a 2nd wireless router and installed the tomato firmware onto it and since then the wireless connection has been rock solid so I am putting that down to router and not the camera.
There is sometimes a lag in the camera moving but when using over 3G this is to be expected.
In the wireless settings there is a Wireless Scan Button. When you press it it is supposed to scan for available wireless networks. On my camera you have to press it twice, the first scan it finds nothing, the second time it then sees all the wireless networks
Colours are not perfect but what do you expect for the price you are paying.
Do not try the night time (IR) through glass - It does not work

Not had any problems with the focusing as some other people have commented on, however setting up the camera to make it accessible remotely can be a bit of a black art. Setting up a dyndns account, port forwarding the router and such like took a bit of time but at the end of the day any camera not using a static IP address is going to have these problems. In my case it has been well worth it as I can view the video on my computer, my ipod or my mobile phone no matter where I am.

To sum up

For the money you pay this camera is great value for money. Even comes with a mounting bracket to fit it on the roof. If you are not confident with setting up your router it might be an idea to ask for help to view remotely but this is the hardest part.

This is my third type IP cam. My first was in the early days of IP cams and very poor video quality. My next purchase which was a Panasonic BL-C131. The Panasonic was good but cost 2.5 times the price of the Foscam when purchased - no longer made and so I can't comment on pricing of its current equivalent. It makes the Foscam, although far from perfect, but good value for money. I simply could not justify buying multiple Panasonic IP cams for what was only a hobby usage.

The Foscam is a lot bulkier but not heavy. Comes with a mount if you don't want to leave it freestanding. Only quirk is that colour balance is way off - some greens (like tree foliage) are more like red and so I suspect that this is something to do with the IR capability messing it up when used in day time. May need to get some support advice on this.

Setup was easy. Docs are poor (at least the quick start guide that comes in the box) but then I have set up IP cams before. Maybe some people forget that a wireless cam has to be setup first as a wired cam. Then you can access the settings to enter your wireless SSID and key. Then you disconnect the Ethernet cable and voila you are wireless. You install the application they provide on the 8cm CD in the box. Then you have to find where your PC has placed a new icon on your desktop called IP Camera Tool. Open that and it will find your IP cam listed and it should have been given an IP address by your router. Double click on the camera IP address and you will get the login window in which you get a choice of ActiveX for IE or another means for other browsers. I tried the ActiveX route. One nuisance is that there is an authentication which requires you enter a username and password every time. Next problem is that the short installation guide does not tell what the default username and password is. You have to look at the full docs on the CD. The answer is username of admin and a blank password. You will get the normal Windows "do you want to allow installation of this control etc et5c". Say yes and you will see your camera output. Click on Administrator settings to do the serious stuff (and first priority is to set up wireless)

The range of movement is great. The specs quote this precisely but basically short of trying to look under the camera you can look anywhere! There are vertical and horizontal "patrol" settings and so you can have the camera scan the environment like a security camera.

Other great feature is that you can turn on a ring of IR leds around the lens and you have night vision. Works in total darkness. The IR leds can be turned on or off through the software. But it may be at the cost of normal colours during the day.

Have not looked into how you record images from the camera and upload to an FTP site. I have accessed the camera from mobile devices (e.g. iPhone and Android) and those allow you to embed the authentication into the settings and so no entering user names and passwords each time! So I have the camera output showing as a widget on an Android screen. Neat.

There appears to be swappable lenses (quite cheap) and so I may try that (although the site selling them has in small print that this invalidates the warranty!).

Price is very good on Amazon.

Loses out for poor docs, the forced authentication each time for access via a PC browser and the colour balance.

*** Update. Sorry to say I like this device less and less over time. The focus is not very sharp, the colour balance is not fixable - it is a feature. Although has good low light abilities, it is useless at night if placed to look out of a window - all you get are reflections. Great range of movement and if you want an IR camera not near a window. Bottom line would not buy another much as I had thought after a day or so. My Panasonic has much better image quality and colour balance.