Best night vision ip cam for baby monitor?

[JonnyConcrete]

Hi all

I'm looking for an ip cam to use as a baby monitor. I have little knowledge on the subject and have had a look around for a few hours online but haven't made much progress.

I'm after a cam as good pic quality as possible (day and night), must be able to view via laptop, tablet, smart phone also viewing on smart tv would be a bonus. Must have good night vision clarity. Remote pan and tilt would be a bonus. Two way talk also a bonus.

Budget is up to £140

TIA

 

[Del Boy]

If you already have Hikvision then DS-2CD2432F-IW is less than £140 (about £110ish) and will support day/night, laptop, tablet smart phone. No PTZ but is 3MP and does have two-way talk.

 

[fenderman]

Pan tilt is a gimmic on the cheap indoor cameras..many have narrow fields of view and limited resolution so they need it to get coverage of the room..as suggested, get the 2432 with a 2.8mm wide angle lens and you will get 24/7 coverage of the entire room

 

[jordanb]

defo go with the 2432, I have a 2.8mm 3mp version, cant fault it in any way.

 

[JonnyConcrete]

Thanks for the replies.

What did you mean if I already have hikvision?

Is this camera all I need to buy? How do I view it on my phone, does software come with it or is it a website I use to see the stream? Is there software to use to view it with my tablet over the WiFi network at home?

I'm sorry for all the dumb questions but I'm a complete n00b to all this.

 

[Del Boy]

I meant that I personally would only buy Hikvision cameras if I had a Hikvision NVR. If you want a standalone there are cheaper and better cameras out there. The good thing about Hikvision is you can use the iVMS software on your Android or iPhone/iPad. It's really easy to use and let's you login. All you will need is the camera and a 12v power supply like this one.

As you are a complete n00b, it's probably best to get the 2432 unless you find a local retailer who offers good support. Buying a different model from eBay with no support for example probably isn't worth the hassle if something goes wrong just to save £20 to £30. I checked a UK online shop that does good technical support and stocks Hikvision but they don't have the 2432 or an alternative on their website.

Great thing about this place is that you can ask for help here and lots of us will only be willing to try to help you out.

Here's the tech sheet for the camera: http://www.hikvision.com/UploadFile/image/2014080514155932841.pdf

And here's a review:

 

[fenderman]

I dont think the OP wants to use this with an NVR..the purpose is a baby monitor....the 2432 us the perfect camera for that function..pop an sd card in if you want to record..
You can view it on your tablet using hikvisions free ivms4500 software or use something like tinycam or ipcamviewer. There are no better/cheaper standalone cameras that I am aware of.

 

[Del Boy]

Not 3MP - but significantly cheaper and probably more than ok as a baby monitor:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/331422805690

1/4 of the price and probably 3/4 as good for what OP wants.

 

[fenderman]

Not 3MP - but significantly cheaper and probably more than ok as a baby monitor:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/331422805690

1/4 of the price and probably 3/4 as good for what OP wants.

Its certainly cheaper but not better...
Aside from the terrible resolution, its mjpeg so will use more bandwidth,no speaker, no sd card slot, has a much lower fov, and i doubt the wifi is any good..I would not even pay 30 for it. The op stated a decent budget that will cover the 2432, which is top notch..

 

[JonnyConcrete]

Great stuff. That cam looks like what Im after. Thanks for the help.

One last question. Can I view the cam from my mobile using 3g or does it have to be oer a wifi connection?

Thanks again I will be ordering his camera

 

[Del Boy]

You can view it over 3G but it will eat up your data allowance. So keep an eye out for that.

 

[fenderman]

Great stuff. That cam looks like what Im after. Thanks for the help.

One last question. Can I view the cam from my mobile using 3g or does it have to be oer a wifi connection?

Thanks again I will be ordering his camera

Yes, if you are referring to the hikvision 2432 you can stream the substream to your phone and since it uses h.264 compression it uses little data particularly if you set the bitrate to variable.

 

[alastairstevenson]

The 2432 is a very good, fairly discreet camera for indoors. I have a 2.8mm one set in a corner that covers a large living area with it's near 90Deg FOV. It's been running for 6 months and hasn't stopped once. And the PIR sensor and alarm and useful extra touches.

Available, in stock and a cracking price here: http://www.netviewcctv.co.uk/index.p...f-iw-28mm.html

A cracking price indeed - double what I bought mine for lol.

 

[alastairstevenson]

A couple of sample images of 2CD2432 with a 2.8mm lens.
The night-time view is not supplemented by an IR illuminator, it's just the camera IR.

 

[JonnyConcrete]

Nice!


looks like this is the cam for me.

 

[wxman]

While on the subject of indoor baby monitoring, how would you know how much IR light is too much for a given room? My understanding is that looking directly at a "bright" IR light, even though you can't see it, is just as dangerous to your eyes as looking at a bright light that you can physically see.....It would seem to me that if using as a baby monitor, the faint red glow of an IR light in a dark room would attract the baby's curiosity causing him or her to stare directly at it. Wouldn't that be potentially dangerous to the baby's eyes? and if so, how would you know how much is "too much" for a given distance and/or room size?

 

[JonnyConcrete]

Hi folks.

I have ordered the cam (Hikvision DS-2CD2432F-IW) which should be here tomorrow.

I have powerline homeplugs. Can I just plug this cam in using an Ethernet cable via the homeplug or do I need an injector? Also what are the injectors actually for?

 

[alastairstevenson]

You need to power the camera, either with a local 12v DC power supply connected to the power input socket of the camera, or via an 802.3af compliant PoE power source over the Ethernet cable.
A 'PoE injector' can be used as a bump in the Ethernet cable to supply the PoE power to the camera in the absence of a PoE enabled switch as the power source.
The important standard here is the 802.3af standard for compatibility with the camera, not a 'passive injector and splitter' which simply uses spare wires in the Ethernet cable as a power extension lead. If that makes sense.