Outdoor PZT

[Git]

I really love my Hikvision IP cameras - but I need something with PZT so I can keep an eye on my granddaughter when she is in the backyard playing.

I know most of you don't like Foscam - but at this point I am looking at their "FI9828P 1.3 Megapixel (1280x960p) 3x Optical Zoom H.264 Wireless Outdoor PTZ IP Camera - White" which is priced right around $260
http://www.amazon.com/Foscam-FI9828P-Megapixel-1280x960p-Wireless/dp/B00IV4QE2A/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?ie=UTF8



I don't mind spending more if it is worth it (without breaking the bank) - any suggestions? (and I don't want to mount a couple different cameras)

 

[nayr]

Ive been running the Dahua Black face 12x on the back corner for my house for nearly a year now without issue, its great for keeping an eye on the kids.. it moves and focuses fast enough to keep up with them... The zoom is very helpful, as you often cant tell what there doing from any distance.

Its the 12x version of this and cost me ~$600 from a US Vendor: http://www.networkcameracritic.com/?p=2346

Ive got a cheap $200 Dahua PTZ by my front door and its total crap in comparison, imho you arent going to get into the PTZ game for less than $400 and come out with anything worthwhile, and even then there is alot of crap @ $400 price point.

Here is my dogs harassing some squirrels in the back yard, shows how well it works for watching pets and kids:

 

[fenderman]

Consider this dahua ptz, its new...http://www.ipcamtalk.com/showthread.php/3679-New-Dahua-PTZ
Dahuas website seems to be down so the link in that thread does not work now.
It should be around 400 dollars...has sd card, built in mic, and has a much wider viewing angle (when zoomed out) that the foscam. Its is also poe capable. It is also more discrete than the foscam. Well worth the extra 140.

 

[Git]

I will check those both out - thanks for the suggestions

 

[Git]

That was helpful thanks

 

[fenderman]

The FI9828W/P is a good IP Camera for the price. So there really is not much of a need to spend more money for something else for the purpose you have specified you will be using the camera for. Unless you feel it's justified. Here are some Amazon ratings as well:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00IV4QE2A/ref=nosim/ipctk-20#customerReviews

By justified, I mean see something else working with your own eyes working justified vs. seeing only others writting about it and also getting feedback from someone who actually owns the camera model in question. I am one of those owners of the FI9828W and never have had any issues with it.

I am a moderator in the Foscam.us forum. However I'm not a Foscam employee nor do I get paid by Foscam.



It's biases like the above that actually hurt potential IP Camera owners from making a decision on what IP Camera brand and model to buy. Because unsubstantiated statements ("Like the above") that have no supporting facts as evidence are nothing more than confusing. As an example. As a moderator in the Foscam.us forum I have yet to see a single post about any FI9828W/P PTZ ("Pan/Tilt/Zoom") motor issues. In fact, many different IP Camera Brands and their models that have PTZ features at many different price points, use the same exact motors for their PTZ motors.

You even have IP camera owners that originally purchased IP Cameras that had no PTZ functionality and later added PTZ abilities to their IP cameras for as little as $18.00 U.S. including shipping and have had no PTZ motor issues as well.

So the statement made above makes no common sense at all. Because there is no evidence to support that IP Cameras that cost $400.00+ U.S. have $140.00 worth of higher quality DC motors and/or PTZ specific software than IP Cameras that cost $260.00 U.S. Let alone that a $18.00 U.S. including shipping horizontal PTZ control with IP Camera mount refutes the above statement alone, on its own merits.

http://www.ipcamtalk.com/showthread.php/107-Embedding-Your-IP-Camera-On-and-In-Web-Pages-Securely?p=32208&viewfull=1#post32208

Here is a live FI9828W using my automatic refreshed snapshots Interface. While it's not using full motion video which the camera is capable of. It does gives you a good idea of what the camera can do without needing to download browser plugins to use:

http://107.170.59.150/foscam/SecureImageDisplayFI9828WUS.htm

Note: If you would like to see a live FI9828W camera in action using full motion video using the actual web browser interface which will require browser plugins to be installed. Please see this using user:user password:foscam using a IE ("Internet Explorer"), Chrome or Firefox browser for a full blown Windows system or a Safari browser for a full blown Mac system.

There are also mobile applications that can be used to view full motion video and control the FI9828W/P on mobile phones and tablets as well:

http://50.197.211.181:9828/

IMHO. IP Camera manufacturers and/or resellers should try to do better to provide live demo access to IP Camera models so that potential buyers can compare vs. using simply specification sheets and still photos and potentially biased feedback from non-owners of a specific IP camera model. Which is not much to ask for when spending this kind of money. If some IP Camera manufacturers like Foscam can do this. There are no reasons or excuses why others can't as well.

Don

What nayr is referring to is the cameras ability to properly return to a preset..the low end cameras like foscam (and even the cheap mini 150 dollar dahuas have this problem)..regardless, an 18 dollar mount is not ptz, its PT, and looks like crap...This ptz from dahua is nice and clean. Lets examine what you get for an additional 140 dollars .
1) 2mp vs 1.3mp
2) SD card storage
3) POE
4) built in mic
5)MUCH wider viewing angle when zoomed out.112 vs 70.
6) WDR (foscam does not mention it in the specs)
7) foscam also doesnt mention operating temperature but rather storage temperatures....regardless, dahua wins here again
8) better rotational and tilt angles.
9) Stronger IR
10) Finally and most importantly its not a foscam...

 

[fenderman]

How you get the above from this is well. Impossible mind reading:



I can say that because I have seen the same statements by nayr in the past that have nothing to do with your other items 1-10 and many times. Not just once.

So. I stand by my statements.

Don

Its not mind reading...he has mention this problem in other posts. The fact that foscam cameras lose their position is well known despite your attempt to ignore that issue. The dahua is superior in every which way...the foscam is not even in the same league...

 

[fenderman]

How you get/pull items 1-10 above from this below, is nothing less than impossible mind reading:



I can say that because I have seen the same statements made by nayr here in the past that have nothing to do with your other items 1-10 above and many times. Not just once.

nayr knows how to type this time and the other times where they make the statement that one can't get into PTZ ("game") for a IP Camera for less than $400.00 U.S. dollars.

So. I stand by my statements. Which include the fact that the FI9828W/P is a Foscam IP Camera model.

Don

STOP editing your posts. It makes you look like an idiot and is a blatant attempt to make it appear as though your points are not being addressed.

 

[fenderman]

Again, I know what nayr typed and so do you. I also know your bias about Foscam IP Cameras as well. You have never mentioned owning a Foscam FI9828W/P as in ever. So, I will take you opinion as a biased one more anti Foscam than facts based on using/owning the FI9828W/P.

Don

I know what nayr wrote in this post and other..he will not respond to you..regardless. The point is the same, whether nayr makes it or I do..
Why would I ever buy another foscam..fool me once...
The specs and user experiences speak for themselves.

 

[nayr]

yo fenderman, for the record I have thrown 4 Foscam PTZ's in the trash bin; and no.. I did not pay anything for them, they were given to me by various owners after they hated there camera setup I installed a real one.
I wouldn't even bother giving one to a stranger.. im not that big of an asshole, just hope the poor trash man didint pull them out.

Ive played with and installed hundreds of PTZ cameras from all price ranges in the last 15 years.. IMHO I dont think your going to get good results for much less than $400... the difference between a cheap PTZ and a good PTZ is night and day.. IMHO A Cheap PTZ is little more than an expensive Fixed Camera, often with poorer quality.

My 80 year old grandma was amazed at the difference when I pulled the cheap foscam PTZ my uncle pushed on her and put in a 30x Dahua at her farm for animal watching... She's got it on a 35' pole in the middle of 10 acres, operates it with an ipad, thats what she originally wanted and she spent even more money in the long run learning the cheap shit was not going to cut it... Wish she didnt live in another state or I'd of just done it in the first place, I could not support a foscam from this distance.

 

[Git]

So I have been looking at the Dahua 12x version (sd59212s-hn) that nayr is using an found a seller on Ali Express - Shenzhen Ousion Technology Co., Ltd, that appears to be pretty reasonable/legit

http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/2Mp-Full-HD-12x-30x-dahua-Network-IR-PTZ-Dome-Camera-SD59212S-HN/826163_1879637342.html

Looks like it would be $541 (with a mount) which is more that I would like to spend, but I do understand you get what you pay for it.

Does anyone have any experience with this vendor? It looks like they are selling 'unbranded', English versions - is it worth the risk? (I don't think I want to spend the $660 that Wrightwood is asking for it, but I don't know...

 

[LittleBrother]

OP, it may be worth considering no PTZ at all and just two static cams. A 3 MP cam unzoomed is going to look fairly similar to a 1.3 MP camera zoomed a few times, and you can get one with a 90 degree viewing angle, have their fields of view juxtaposed and now you have 180 degrees viewing angle at all times. No need to worry about any PTZ issues at all then. Price will be similar to the Foscam you're thinking of.

Also this will function far better as a bonafide security solution, as now you're covering far more area when not around the cams. I honestly don't really get the point to PTZ when it isn't able to zoom very far to begin with and is hamstrung further by a lower resolution.

 

[Mike]

I agree with @LittleBrother, you may be better off picking up a few cameras instead of a PTZ. You would be surprised how little you will actually use the PTZ (after the novelty wears off...unless you have patrol set up with something like Blue Iris), while if you have multiple cameras the location is covered without you having to PTZ.

As far as Foscam, I too have only ever had issues with them. I had returned 6 outdoor foscams within a few months of each other and also tossed two indoor PTZ foscam cameras in the garbage. It's not a 'foscam bias', it's personal experience. Two of my friends still have outdoor Foscam cameras on their house and they literally do not do anything except provide IR for their Hikvision cameras that they replaced their other Foscam cameras with. The camera feeds are out about 15-20 hours of the day (when it's sunny out, forget it, they are out all day). While I personally do not have any experience with the FI9828P or know anyone that does, because of my previous experience with multiple different kind of Foscam cameras, I would never buy one again and advise anyone to do the same. Again, I'm not trying to bash or hate on Foscam, they just drove me crazy in the past and I would hate to see anyone else go through what I did. Up and down the ladder every day, waking up in the morning with the picture being completely green, having to unplug and plug the cameras back in at least once a day, etc. I've had to unplug and plug in my Hikvision cameras 0 times in 2 years.

 

[Git]

I appreciate any and all feedback

I am looking for a new camera - primarily to keep tabs on my granddaughter - it's not a 'security' thing. We have a fairly large backyard and there are three specific 'play' areas where she could be along with the capability of watching the back door overnight... That would probably mean 3 or 4 cameras at least - and the one area is about 150' away from the others.

My primary concern is our 8 x 10 inground spa. We have specific rules for it's use, but I always feel better when I am at my computer or in my garage/shop and I can keep an extra eye on her when she is swimming

I actually can't complain too much about my Foscams - I had several before upgrading to Hikvision last year with the help of the forum. In fact, I am currently using an old Foscam 18910 mounted upside down at this point, and although it is not the greatest picture - it gets the job done

 

[Mike]

You may be able to view that entire patio and pool area with one 2.8mm lens camera, such as the Hikvision Exir.