Recommend a webcam

laga77

laga77

New member
Did a search but came up with old posts. I am looking to add a webcam to view my tanks from my iPhone. I have two tanks, so I need a webcam with zoom and pan capabilities. I would like to spend no more than $150. Also, it would need to be very Plug and Play. Any suggestions?
 
Thanks for the replies. Dropcam does`t look like it will work in my application. I have two tanks and need the cam to pan and zoom. The Dropcam only zooms. I found the Foscam plug and play for same price as Dropcam but with the features I need. I am still looking.
 
foscam it's a nightmare customer service is horrible and rude caused a ton of problems for us and refused to return also had extra charges on card
 
You'd need to list your requirements. $150 limits your options, especially if you're looking for a camera with optical zoom. I've got a Foscam FI9821W V2 that I'm happy with, and you can grab one for $69 on Groupon (just search for 'Foscam'), but it doesn't have optical zoom. I bought 3rd party lenses to swap out the original one with.

Foscam's FI9826W is around your price point, and does include optical zoom. I have no experience with that particular model, but have seen others on Neptune's forum who run them with success.

I can view my tank from my iPhone using my Apex Fusion dashboard (Safari browser only, no Chrome), as well as my free "CamViewer" app.
 
I have the foscam with 3x optical zoom. Works great. I love it. Haven't had any issues so can't speak tot he previous comment on their service department
 
Foscam here. Changed from Dropcam to Foscam. Had Foscam before the drop cam when the resolution wasn't as good, now its better than dropcam. Here's an illustration... drop cam on top, foscam on the bottom. The dropcam pro's field of view is so wide, I had to zoom in nearly 50% which kills the resolution.

i-hBjrSmx-X2.jpg
 
I use a Dropcam Pro on my tank and my buddy uses two Dropcam Pros also. Like d2mini said if the cam isnt close to the tank and you have to zoom in the resolution isnt the greatest. You can download the app for free and view the live demos to get a feel for if it would work for you or not. You can zoom in on the live demos
 
Update, I went the the Foscam. It is anything but plug and play. After reading the quick insulation guide on line it stated all you have to do is scan the code on the back of the camera, download the app onto your phone and enter info. Did not work. Spent two hours searching online and downloading firmware updates to no avail. A lot of people on their (Foscam) forum site cannot get the camera to accept the updates. Wasted three hours last night. Camera is going back to Amazon.
 
laga77 said:
Update, I went the the Foscam. It is anything but plug and play. After reading the quick insulation guide on line it stated all you have to do is scan the code on the back of the camera, download the app onto your phone and enter info. Did not work. Spent two hours searching online and downloading firmware updates to no avail. A lot of people on their (Foscam) forum site cannot get the camera to accept the updates. Wasted three hours last night. Camera is going back to Amazon.
Click to expand...

You could have posted here for help. It honestly takes all of 5 minutes to configure the webcam.
 
Ya, really.
Mine wouldn't connect to my router wirelessly for the setup process so i just plugged it into the router using an ethernet cable. Bam, done. Then unplugged it and it worked wirelessly.
 
atleast you can return with amazon I had alot of the same problems its looks really nice and sounds great when you talk to people who have it working the problem is getting it working
 
I plugged mine into the router also, which is what you have to do for the firmware updates. There were 5 updates which had two to four files each. IIRC there was a total of 12 files which had to be downloaded and installed in a certain order before you could even attempt to hook up wirelessly. Then,it would not recognize my username and password, which was a common complaint on the forums. Their router configuration site is a web page which will not allow access until firmware updates are installed. If everything doesn`t go through the first time you can`t update because the site won`t allow access because you didn`t update. Classic catch-22. Three hours was enough.
 
Sounds like a hassle.
What made you decide to do a firmware update? I bought mine over Thanksgiving and just used it right out of the box.
 
I had no choice. After following the quick start instructions with no success, I installed the instruction cd that came with the camera. It took me right to the update page and would not let me continue without the firmware.
 
I've got a Foscam Hook up was easy I use it hardwired Never tried it wireless. My doesn't have zoom I wish it did and probably will get one with zoom before much longer.
My only complaint is that the cam can't handle my bright lights and has to be reset constantly.
 
For those satisfied with their Foscam (particularly d2mini - nice image), what model did you get? I had an Axis 213PTZ that recently quit working, and wanted to replace, but at a much lower cost than a 214 - and if I have to lose the PTZ function, that's ok at that cost savings, and I can always set up a couple/few non-PTZ cameras at that cost difference. Thanks.
 
i used this camera. i cannot see great detail with the moving aspects but the static views are very nice! it is also controllable (pan/tilt/zoom) and has night vision AND a speaker AND microphone AND one time purchase fee AND can store data yourself!

this camera is very nice, in that i can monitor if i need to refill my top off and such or see the tank preparing to crash while on vacation or business. then, i can alert my friends to stop by and give the nano some TLC.

<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00F3KWZW8/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00F3KWZW8&linkCode=as2&tag=tyleparr-20&linkId=ORQ5CH6O5IRW5C6K">Foscam FI9821W V2 Megapixel HD 1280 x 720p H.264 Wireless/Wired Pan/Tilt IP Camera with IR-Cut Filter - 26ft Night Vision and 2.8mm Lens (70° Viewing Angle) - Black</a><img src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=tyleparr-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00F3KWZW8" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />

it took me a while to set it up (about an hour) and i am not network savvy. they also have plug and play and QR code scannable models.

all-in-all i would buy it again!
 
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