Foscam FI9831PW 960p HD Indoor Wireless IP Security Camera with Smart Phone Connectivity, Pan and Tilt, Night Vision and 70 Degree Viewing Angle (White)

This is a great camera. After trying 2 other cheaper types of cameras from less-known companies and returning them to Amazon, I tried this one which was about $30 more. I'm glad I did. This camera is highly configurable and getting it up and running with the app is easy, and the Wifi actually WORKS on this camera, as I had problems with the other cameras I tried (one was a D-Link and the other was a Rocam). Both of those had serious wifi connectivity problems. This camera has an "advanced" admin area where you can tweak almost anything on it, like setting the ftp server for example. To get there, you go to the web interface on the camera (as the app only has a subset of the full functionality). To get there you go to your camera directly on the same local network in a desktop web browser and append the port number (i.e. http://192.168.1.3:88). You can also set these port numbers in the web interface as well, so for example, I set two of these cameras to 8888 and 8889, then used port forwarding on my router so I can access them outside my local network. The customizability of this camera is great and so far it all works. My only suggestion would be to make those advanced features available in the Foscam app under an advanced section. But the app itself is a separate thing. It works good but could be a little more advanced, for example you cannot pinch-zoom on live video. The nice thing is, you can use 3rd party apps with this thing. So for example, I have one called LiveCams Pro which works great (and you can pinch-zoom), and I have another app on my Fire Stick which I can access my cameras directly from there as well. Very flexible camera and the image quality is also very good, even in low/no light conditions. The motion detect works well. All in all I'm impressed with the price-value of this camera.

This camera is much better than offerings by other companies at this price point. While the camera is a little bulky, the ability to swivel the camera comes in handy. It comes with a plastic mount to hang, which is seems sturdy. The power cable is long enough to plug in at a distance. Video quality is more crisp than other competitors. Setup was pretty easy, and I got it on my wifi network with the WPS button in less than a minute. I like the fact that there is no monthly service fee, and I like that they don't force you to use a cloud solution. I would rather store my videos locally, rather than let my personal footage become the property of XYZ cloud company. I use the cameras FTP function to send recorded footage to an internal FTP server with external storage. From there, I could send the footage anywhere. Motion detection seems to work well, and setting detection zones is cool (though it would be nice to have more granularity here).Most of the cons surround the software. The web interface is decent, but a little dated. You have to download a plugin to use the web interface, and it is testy with browsers. On my Mac, it works in Safari, but crashes Firefox. Some functionality is disabled in Chrome. On Windows, the plugin works in Internet Explorer and Firefox, with reduced functionality in Chrome. On the mobile front, the Foscam app seems to work on Android, but there are issues. I picked up TinyCam Pro, which works very well to monitor the camera. Plus it has features that the manufacturer app does not support. Also, I wish the camera was wireless 802.11AC. Right now, it uses wireless 802.11N on the 2.4GHz band (not even the 5GHz band).Overall this is a good camera for the price. There are a few flaws with software, but still worth the buy.

Image quality: 5 stars - Setup: 1 star OK, so let me say that I am a very experienced computer and semi-experienced networking person so I know how to login to my router and do port forwarding etc which you need to do to set up an external connection so you can view your cameras when you are away from your home Wi-fi. So basically you set up 2 connections in your app of choice: One for wifi and one for external viewing away from home.I first tried the TENVIS JPT3815W-HD camera and could get no connection on Wi-fi or otherwise whatsoever. Sent back. I then tried the closest equivalent to the Foscam FI9831P which was the D-Link DCS-5222L, basically what you would find at your local Best Buy. Then I tried this Foscam.Both the Foscam and D-Link were equally impossible to setup. Takes hours and lots of trying different things because once the included directions fail you, you are kind of on your own. It usually ends up being that you are off my a number somewhere in your ip address or in the case of the D-Link, there is a "channel #" the app ask for when using my app, and that was set to 1 by default and it was supposed to be set to 2. This referred to the secondary lower bandwidth connection which this camera required, but I had never seen that before. Stuff like that will kill you as you try to figure it out!! I have a Verizon Fios router and while it has a WPS button, WPS setup with these webcams is not set up to do this. So consider this if you go that route and nothing happens (no wifi connection is made). So here I'd love to give you step by step instructions on how to set up the Foscam, but I really can't because it was just a case of someone who knows what they are doing trying and failing many times. All the scanning of codes on the bottom of the camera was BS, never worked with the app from Foscam. Was supposed to come up with the camera's information, but it never did. The problem is not with a wired ethernet connection, but with the wifi setup. They tell you not to plug in an ethernet cable if you plan to use it wirelessly - BS! You have to do this to be able to login to the camera and see your connection info and settings on your browser.. I am sorry, I know this isn't helping you much, but it's one of the things that helped me get wifi to work. Remember when setting up your EXTERNAL connection, you will use your public IP address - just type into google "my ip" and it will show you your address. Then you will type in this address to the "host or ip" in your settings section of the app and the port number is the one you chose when you set up port forwarding. Then you have your user name and password which has to be programmed into the camera. Admin is the default user. For an INTERNAL wifi connection, your ip address will be something on the order of 192.168.1.1 (the last number may vary and it is tricky to find this) The port number may be 80 or 88. Remember, all the best detailed settings are gotten to on your computer via IE using your ip followed by a colon and the port number 192.168.1.1 (may vary and it doesn't work on Chrome). I have no interest in their cloud services, so I cannot speak to any of those features. Yes, I probably would have been able to do it faster if I had called tech support which is 24/7, but I just wasn't in the mood to undo my small progress and start from scratch which is what they would have you do. Use the CD that comes with it and see if you can get anywhere with it. Please by all means call tech support and have them start you off right, I have to assume they know something.I did upgrade the firmware via the Foscam app, and that worked fine, so do that for sure.Main thing I would like to tell you about is what I liked better about the Foscam than the D-Link as far as quality and features. By the way, other than an initial setup in the Foscam app, I view all my cameras in an app I have used for years and that I really like - it's called LiveCams Pro (iOS) by Eggman technologies. Has a bright green logo with a gray security cam picture on it. Works in landscape or portrait and is equally good on ipads and iphones. Don't let the live public cams in the app scare you away, just head to set up your own private cameras. So all the pros and cons are based on working within this app.The Foscam is a 960p resolution camera (weird number between 720 and 1080!) and the D-Link is a 720 camera. I kind of like the idea of better than 720 but not using as much bandwidth as 1080 which could be a problem when competing with other streaming in the house. The 960p proved to be MILES better in sharpness than the D-link's 720. Super sharp and detailed, great night vision and little distortion. The D-Link has HORRIBLE bending edges and the image is not very sharp. The Foscam has a recorded voice that lets you know when the camera is booted up and also when it is running in Wi-fi which I actually found helpful. The D-Link does not have this. Both have 2-way audio, so if you are sleeping and your dog starts barking, you can yell at him via your device by (in my app) pressing the speaker button, then then holding the microphone button down while you yell. Fun to see the look on the dog's face when he hears your voice coming out of the cam, lol. The Foscam does this very well on my app. However, the D-Link crashes after you let go of the microphone button and the app has to be closed and opened again. Maybe it would work ok in another app, but I need to use what works with my app. The Foscam has a nice focusing ring that sticks out far enough for you to grab. The D-Link is either fixed focus or recessed so much that it's worthless. You set up presets in the setup page in your computer's browser so you can name each and click whatever view you want rather than tap-tap-tapping till you get there manually. However, the preset button was grayed out on the D-Link and worked fine on the Foscam in my app. Having presets unavailable was a deal breaker for me on the D-link (plus the poor image quality and audio crashing). The ambient room audio noise is much quieter on the Foscam than on the D-Link. This is very important as if you have the audio on, background noise has to be bearable. The VOLUME wasn't less, just the noise.Overall, if you can set it up, the Foscam is the best choice for this style of camera, however I don't know know WHY they do not have a clear way to set it up - neither company had manuals that helped, even the ones you DL. The D-Link doesn't even come with an installation CD. Neither company had documentation that matched the screens I was seeing. You just have to know about networking and you have to have a ton of patience and time. Don't give up - it WILL work, just get some Tech Support.