Foscam FI9803P Ripoff and $40 Replacement

bbarenz

bbarenz

Young grasshopper
Oct 31, 2015
49
9
Nebraska
I have been fighting many of these cheap IP cameras that only work with cellphone apps and will not function with Blue Iris. I broke down last fall and bought two Foscam FI9803P for $80 each because everyone kept telling me how wonderful they were but I am having an issue with the presets working in Blue Iris. In the camera Web Browser the presets are by name only not by number and for whatever reason they don't work in Blue Iris. Current Firmware Version: 2.51.2.16. These cameras are clearly the same cheap Chinese cameras as SriCam, Ismart, IOGeek, etc. with different firmware. I also don't like that if forces you to use a long password and it wants a special plugin to view the web browser. I would venture to say most people who use Blue Iris have the cameras are behind a firewall on a separate VLAN and never see the Internet.

I have no ability to go out and spend $400+ on a "good" IP camera. I think the 1MP 720P cameras are a great middle of the road trade off with better resolution than the standard definition camera and less resource hungry than the higher resolution cameras. I decided to start trying some more indoor PT cameras on ebay starting with this one:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/131690048925?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

I was eventually able to get this to work with Blue Iris largely thanks to Ken who is amazingly nice and took the time to figure out that it will work with: Conbrov WF81 Mini JPEG for the video stream and for the PTZ commands I ended up using an external script that sent out the HTTP commands I sniffed out with Fiddler. Ken said he would get the PTZ commands updated but I haven't had a chance to try it yet. ( HTTP commands attached.)

The seller was also really helpful and determined on his own that this camera would work with Blue Iris:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=141752035847&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT

This one worked right out of the box, video, audio and PTZ commands using the SriCam AP004/05. So HOORAY! I found an Indoor PT 1MP IP camera for half the price of the Foscam and it actually works better. The PTZ presets worked the first try and the firmware is generally less annoying than the Foscam. This seller is out of California so I didn't have to wait weeks for it to arrive or worry about sending it back if it doesn't work. I just purchased an Outdoor fixed camera from the same seller and I will update how that works when it arrives.
 

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bbarenz said:
I broke down last fall and bought two Foscam FI9803P for $80 each because everyone kept telling me how wonderful they were
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Ha! Not here, you didn't...good quality cams are dropping in price rapidly, so just wait a bit until you can get what you want for the price you want...better than ending up with a full drawer of obsolete junk.
 
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Welcome to the forum. To bad you didnt find it before you wasted your money on foscam. For the record you dont need to spend 400 for a good indoor camera. Hikvision/laview 2mp indoor wide angle cubes are often on sale for 80 dollars. 1080p, wide view, PIR motion sensor that works with blue iris, wifi and poe..You will find that these cheap foscam/sricams clones will fail sooner rather than later...
 
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I wanted to update on the fixed camera, I purchased this one for $38.90: http://www.ebay.com/itm/131690046510?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

It's an all aluminum construction and looks really nice for the price. Connected to Blue Iris immediately as an Ismart C1006DN2. The web browser interface is garbage but easy enough to get into to setup everything then forget about it. I'm replacing another set of 300KP IP cameras I purchased back in 2013 for the same price. They are wang hung lo crap, all the color wore off the housing but they still work as well as the day i bought them. I plan to buy 3 more of this one I'll expect to get another 3+ years out of them.
 
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bbarenz said:
I wanted to update on the fixed camera, I purchased this one for $38.90: http://www.ebay.com/itm/131690046510?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

It's an all aluminum construction and looks really nice for the price. Connected to Blue Iris immediately as an Ismart C1006DN2. The web browser interface is garbage but easy enough to get into to setup everything then forget about it. I'm replacing another set of 300KP IP cameras I purchased back in 2013 for the same price. They are wang hung lo crap, all the color wore off the housing but they still work as well as the day i bought them. I plan to buy 3 more of this one I'll expect to get another 3+ years out of them.
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There are much better options at that price point...why buy unknown cams when there are known/tested cameras available...
 
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fenderman said:
There are much better options at that price point...why buy unknown cams when there are known/tested cameras available...
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I've been looking for the best value camera but I've only seen these or the $80+ cameras brought up as options. Please post some links to the better cameras you mentioned in the same price range.
 
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Cool, thank you very much for that. These are listed in wholesale prices but this one is $35 on Aliexpress and I'll give it a try. How did you come to the conclusion these are better quality than other no name Chinese cameras?
 
bbarenz said:
Cool, thank you very much for that. These are listed in wholesale prices but this one is $35 on Aliexpress and I'll give it a try. How did you come to the conclusion these are better quality than other no name Chinese cameras?
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Dont buy that..its uses a 1/4 sensor...get the ones with at least 1/3....
Dahua is an established brand. Many here use them. They are reliable. reliable firmware is just as important as reliable hardware.
 
Ah cool, yeah that one is only $3 more. So Longse = Dahua? I agree on the firmware, that's my biggest gripe with the cameras I've been buying. Honestly the hardware has been very reliable, I've had zero failure in 3 years and I'm replacing just to upgrade. Do you have any recommendations for outdoor PTZ cameras?
 
bbarenz said:
Ah cool, yeah that one is only $3 more. So Longse = Dahua? I agree on the firmware, that's my biggest gripe with the cameras I've been buying. Honestly the hardware has been very reliable, I've had zero failure in 3 years and I'm replacing just to upgrade. Do you have any recommendations for outdoor PTZ cameras?
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They are not the same company...search the forum..you will find many threads discussing ptz...
 
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