Foscam FI8918E / FI8918W

Good product but very hard to setup – I am sorry but I just can't agree with the previous reviews of the Foscam cameras. Don't take me wrong. They are nice products and good value but a nightmare to setup for the purpose most of us buy these cameras. I should first clarify that I am an exi-IT person so I am not a novice on computers. The initial setup of he camera for access within… Read more

the common network is pretty simple. But oh boy !!. To get the bloody thing to work as a remote camera (ie accessing it via a web page remotely) is an absolute nightmare. Firstly to be able to access the camera you must subscribe to a DNS service (there is one free and one paid ones). Then You have to stuff about for hours trying to reconfigure your router so that it does port forwarding and whether your IP is dynamic or static, blah blah blah. If you are not a techo person you will be on Google for hours on end trying to make any sense of snippets of information some of which is literal translation of Chinese manual and impossible to understan. Even the previous reviewr said that it took him 2 days to setup his.

The camera I bought was my first experience with Fiscam. I have 3 D-link cameras (a Dsc930, 932 and 942). Admittedly they are more expensive but they take 15 minute to setup and they are ready to use through your common network or remotely via d-link's excellent server. No subscriptions, no port forwarding, no configuring and not messing about for hours on end pulling your hair hout.

Good luck. If you have already bought the Foscam then good luck. But if you are just reading this to decide what to buy then I suggest try the D-link. Unless you like fiddling around with configurations then the D-link is a comparable product but a much simpler to setup and use. Don't take my word for it. Look at some of the setup procedures on Google and Youtube and judge it for yourself. God picture and tilting facility Shocking setup procedure. An absolute nightmare for the non-techs person

Great value for money – Being my first attempt at setting up a surveillance camera, and not being super techie, this was not as difficult as I thought it might be. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a breeze and I still had some frustrating moments, but there is plenty of advice on google to help you along the way. It took me 2 evenings to get everything right. My home was… Read more ·  1

broken into recently and I immediately made steps to make it more secure. After checking out some reviews and videos of this camera on youtube, placed an order on ebay and had it im my hands in about 3 days. Currently I am sitting in Malaysia and can watch my front yard in live action and also receive email alerts with photos when motion is detected within range (dependant on the sensitivity settings, about level 4 or 5 is right otherwise clouds will set it off).

Not sure how long the camera will last outdoors as I think it is primarily an indoor camera, but for $87 I think it is a little beauty, and just the visual aspect of the camera mounted at the front of the house makes me feel more secure when not at home. It is also a night vision camera.

I have it set wirelessly to my router. You just need to supply power to it so it does need mains power which means a cord running to it. Price, functionality