Question 1

The price is 50-75% less than Drop Cam, but how inferior is the quality?

Accepted Answer

Quality is way better on the Drop Cam. I have 3 Dropcams and bought a Foscam based on the reviews and price from Amazon. I guess it is good for the cost but there is absolutely no comparison when it comes to quality. I have 2 Dropcams pointed outside, through windows between plantation blinds and the glass (Foscam is too big to do this). IR does not work through glass, of course, but at night I can see almost as clearly from the streetlights as I can during the day. The field of view (130deg) is huge. I purchased the Foscam to point into my fenced off back yard because I did not want to shell out another $200 for another Dropcam. As I said before, it is too big to fit between the glass and blinds, so as a test I set it on the back patio thinking that maybe I could get one of the outdoor mounts for it. I was not happy with the quality at all. Imagine trying to go from HDTV back to 480p. There was also a slight delay in the pan. The audio function is also better implemented in Dropcam. I can hold a conversation with my kids while I'm out via the Dropcam Iphone app through my indoor dropcam with a barely noticeable delay. Using the Foscam google chrome webpage, I could only recieve audio.  It does everything that it claims to do and if I had initially purchased Foscams I would probably be content but the Dropcam HD is just a superior product to this particular model of Foscam.

Question 2

is camera rated for outdoor use

Accepted Answer

There's a video setting for 50Hz/60Hz/Outdoor, which optimizes the video quality when used with light bulbs driven by 50Hz or 60Hz line voltage.  Setting to Outdoor doesn't turn it magically into a waterproof camera, but would be the best setting if viewing an outdoor scene through a window.

Question 3

is this camera weather proof?

Accepted Answer

The camera is not weather proof. However, if you can protect it from driving rain through judicious placement such as on a covered porch or under protected eaves, it will do just fine. I have five Foscam cameras and two have been outside for two years. They work flawlessly. They have endured extremes of temperature from below zero to nearly 100 degrees as well as high humidity in the form of fog.

Question 4

I have a couple questions... 1st, I am monitoring our cats in our house.  The camera is triggered by the movement of the cats going into an area (and then out of sight), but it never triggers a notification email when they come back through the same area. How do I catch them coming out?  2nd, I receive a great deal of …

Accepted Answer

BAM, I am a machine vision engineer. The motion detection algorithm with the onboard software is very, very rudimentary in that it uses a full frame image comparison which subtracts the current frame from the previous frame to see what has changed. If that change involves enough pixels with significant RGB values differences, you'll receive an email. The onboard software is also notoriously slow. That's the reason that you some times miss the cats exiting.You'll be much better served purchasing third party software which runs on your computer. Try Blue Iris for PCs or Evocam for Macs. Both allow you to set motion sensors or regions of interest within the frame so that you can look at just that particular area for motion and not the entire image. In addition, both provide gain and threshold adjustment for the sensor or region of interest. All this translates into faster processing and fewer false triggers. These programs also provide you a faster, more capable interface with the camera than you have through the browser. They allow you to tailor responses to motion and audio alerts as well as record video. If you are a Mac user, you have an additional choice with another program called uFoscam. It, too, is very capable and only costs $5.99.

ASIN	B006ZP8UOW
Alert Type	Motion Only
Antenna Location	Monitoring
Are Batteries Required	No
Best Sellers Rank	#17,932 in Surveillance & Security Cameras
Brand	FOSCAM
Color	Black
Compatible Devices	iOS_compatible
Connectivity Protocol	Wi-Fi
Connectivity Technology	Wireless
Control Method	App
Controller Type	Android
Customer Reviews	3.7 3.7 out of 5 stars (777)
Effective Still Resolution	0.3 MP
Effective Video Resolution	480 Pixels
Form Factor	Dome
Global Trade Identification Number	00859365003009, 06952848660417, 06954836091005
Indoor Outdoor Usage	Outdoor
Item Dimensions	3.9 x 2.3 x 1.5 inches
Item Weight	700 Grams
Light Source	LED
Manufacturer	Foscam Digital Technologies LLC
Model Number	FI8910WB
Mount Type	Wall Mount
Night Vision	Day/Night
Number of Channels	2
Number of Items	1
Other Special Features of the Product	Audio Compression ADPCM, Audio Input Built-in Microphone, Audio Output Built-in Speaker with audio jack, Certification CE,FCC, Communication Ethernet One 10/100Mbps RJ-45, Dimensions 110(L) x100(W) x108mm(H), Environment Operating Temperature 0° ~ 55°C (14°F ~ 122°F), Flip/Mirror Images Vertical / Horizontal, Image Frame Rate 15fps(VGA),30fps(QVGA), Image Sensor 1/5"Color CMOS Sensor, Infrared Lig…
Power Source	Ac/dc
Room Type	Classroom, Kitchen, Living Room, Office
UPC	700604296488 766150993936 729440968465 520361606814 701698164301 886897000039 859365003009
Unit Count	1.0 Count
Video Capture Format	MPEG-4
Voltage	5 Volts
Waterproof Rating	IP
Wattage	8 watts
Wireless Technology	Wi-Fi

Foscam FI8910W Pan & Tilt IP/Network Camera with Two-Way Audio and Night Vision (Black)

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