Over the past year or so, I’ve gradually been adding to my home automation and security system. Being a Gadgeteer, I’ve enjoyed implementing different cameras into my system and jumped at the chance to review Foscam’s FI996EP Security Camera. 

The camera arrived in its own nest of closed-cell foam, accompanied by an Ethernet cable and power adapter. The power adapter is somewhat redundant because this camera can be powered by PoE, or Power over Ethernet if your switch is so equipped. Power supply current is 1 Amp.  I used the power supply to configure the camera but set it aside, preferring the streamlined convenience of PoE.

Foscam has a reputation for making sturdy, reliable cameras. The FI996EP is no exception. The housing on this camera is virtually bulletproof. It’s quite heavy, and entirely metal, with a clear plastic dome to protect the camera, SD card, and infrared electronics from the elements. I’m not exaggerating when I say this camera is built like a tank.

Triple hex-head screws hold the cover in place. It’s not included, so you may have to rummage around your tool box to crack open this egg. Once opened, the camera can be pivoted from straight down to about 70° inclination. Clearly, designed to be mounted on a ceiling and aimed in the direction of naughtiness, um… interest.

I downloaded the Foscam App using the instructions from the installation manual, applied for an account, plugged the camera into an Ethernet port, applied power, and scanned the QR code on the camera base to add the camera to the app. All took less than five minutes. With very little lag, the first images popped onto my screen. Images were clear and crisp. Switching from full color to black-and-white infrared “night vision” was virtually instantaneous.  The FI996EP sports an SD card slot to capture images, or you can opt for paid cloud storage. The camera can also be accessed through web browsers using Foscam’s “Equipment Browser” software, but I will primarily use the iOS app.

A five-headed cord sprouts from the camera’s base allowing access to the Ethernet port, reset switch, power jack, and composite video, should there be a need to connect to an existing security system or DVR.

I found this camera to be a capable addition to my home security system and I had no trouble with setup or use, but it should be noted, this camera does not have wireless capabilities and requires wired Ethernet for IP connectivity.  This may be a deal-breaker for some, but the ruggedness, ease of use and image quality shouldn’t be overlooked.

Source: The sample for this review was provided by Foscam. Please visit their site for more info and Amazon to order.

Filed in categories: Reviews

Tagged: security camera

Foscam FI9961EP IP security camera review originally appeared on on July 7, 2017 at 8:44 am.

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There are so many home security cameras on the market, that it can be frustrating to figure out which one to choose. Do you go with a tried and true brand like Nest or DLink, or do you try a less expensive brand like the Momentum Wi-Fi Video Camera which I’m going to tell you about today? Let’s find out.

What is it?

Momentum is a WiFi home security camera with the following features:

Two-way talk through the mobile app
720p HD resolution (720×1280)
110-degree viewing angle
Built-in night vision
Dual band Wi-Fi support (2.4GHz and 5.0GHz)
Integration with NEST and future home security products from Momentum *

*This is according to the Momentum site. At this time I can’t find any way to implement this integration.

What’s in the box?

Momentum 720P wireless camera
AC adapter
micro USB charging cable
Mounting hardware
Manual
Quick start guide

Design and features

The Momentum WiFi Video Camera has a black and brushed silver plastic case.

On the front is the 720P camera lens, a status LED, and a microphone for two-way communication.

On the back of the camera is a speaker, a micro USB connection for the included power cable, and a reset button.

On one side of the camera is a micro SD card slot. A memory card is not included with the camera, but it will work with cards that have up to 128GB capacity.

The camera’s base is magnetic. It will stick to any flat steel surface or you can use the included steel plate to attach the camera to a wall or ceiling.

The angle of the camera can be adjusted by pivoting it in the base.

Setup

To setup the Momentum camera, you install the iOS or Android app on your mobile device. I did my testing with an LG G6 and an iPhone 7 Plus.

The application then guides you step by step to add the camera. Basically, you just plug in the camera, point the phone’s camera at the QR code on the back and it detects your WiFi network. Then you just wait for it to complete the setup.

I had a few glitches during the initial setup where the app detected the camera but never finished setting it up. Note that I was setting up the Momentum camera within 3.5 feet from my wireless rounder and phone. After a couple of reboots, it finally worked.

Usage

The user interface for the Momentum app has a tiled layout that is easy enough to navigate. There’s a large tile for the camera (it’s not a live view though), a tile/button to go into the activity list and a tile/button to go into the rules setup.

Note that the camera comes with a 30 day free trial of the Momentum cloud service, but the service is not mandatory. Without the service, the camera can save photos and manually captured videos to the micro SD card. The camera will not (as far as I can tell) record ALL footage to the micro SD card.

The rules setup is very basic. All you can do is set it to trigger on motion and set the days/times when the triggers will be active. There isn’t a way to set zones or other advanced features that some home security cameras offer.

Tapping the camera tile on the app’s dashboard will take you into the live view of the camera which you see above on the left. Below the live view are icons for two-way communication, video recording, camera snapshot, and the activity list. The slider switch at the top of the screen turns the camera on/off.

When motion is triggered, you’ll receive a notice on your phone like you see in the image in the middle. This notification does not include a thumbnail of the motion. To see what triggered the notification, you have to go to the activities page which shows a list of all the triggered events (above on the right).

The activities screen is not accurate or updated correctly. It will list some events that happened yesterday under the heading for today. And as you can see, each entry does not always show a thumbnail.

But even worse is the fact that very often, I’ll click on one of the notifications in the list and it will act like it’s going to play the recorded video clip but it’s completely blank. This is one of the most frustrating problems with the Momentum camera, but it’s not the only problem.

Another problem is with the night vision IR. See the image above? That was taken around 8 AM in the morning. It’s a little gloomy outside, but it’s not that dark right?

During the same time, the live view through the Momentum app looks like this. As far as I can tell, there’s no way to deactivate the IR feature or schedule it for only certain times of the day.

Final thoughts

For $49.99 I was hoping that the Momentum Wi-Fi Video Camera would be a good deal, but it turned out to be a dud. It’s fine if all you want to use it for is a live viewer, but if you want to depend on it for motion alerts, you’ll be very disappointed. My advice is to skip this one.

Source: The sample for this review was provided by Momentum. Please visit their site for more info.

Filed in categories: Reviews

Tagged: security camera

Momentum Wi-Fi Video Camera review originally appeared on on July 6, 2017 at 9:48 am.

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