P**S
Versatile and an excellent value
It’s important to start out with the observation that this is an entry-level camera. That’s not a negative it is a fact. That being said, for the bargain price this is not a no-name camera. It comes from Amcrest who is an actual manufacturer, not just a brand name slapped on an offshore product. Amcrest has a fairly substantial U.S. presence with design facilities in the U.S.There is no doubt that for the bargain price there is a lot of capability and quality built into this camera that exceeds what you might expect for the price. My own house and business are wired with Amcrest and Foscam equipment so I have a pretty good idea of the pros and cons they offer. It is because of my familiarity with how the stuff works that I was asked to check out this product and share my thoughts with you and was provided a discounted sample in exchange for an honest review.FIRST IMPRESSIONSThis is an indoor camera intended to monitor a single location. It looks and acts like any one of a dozen similar cameras including ones from some very well-known brand names, some of which sell for substantially more money. The unit is small enough to “hide” behind a plant or books or somewhere where it is not obvious. This review is for the white version (it is also available in all black). The camera is mounted on a gimbal-swivel that rotates and tilts up and down. It has a built-in Ethernet jack for initial setup, a plug-in external power transformer, a micro-SD slot for local storage and an audio out port. It also has a built-in microphone and loudspeaker. At first glance it does not look much different from other similar cams from other companies.WHAT I LIKEI am getting spoiled lately with the newer cameras using no-glow or low-glow IR illuminator LED’s so the camera doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb and call attention to itself. As a security camera the last thing you want is for a burglar to see the camera and throw something over it, or even steal it. This model uses low-glow illuminators that are not obvious unless you are looking right in to them. Another downside of similar models I’ve used is that they whirr and grind when they tilt and rotate … nothing like sending a warning signal to someone who’s breaking into your house. The FDT camera on the other hand is dead silent when you are remotely panning and tilting. I also like that they include a versatile wall mount bracket in the box. Sometimes you don’t want the camera to just sit on a table, like you may want to mount it high on the wall. The FDT makes it easier to do that.WHAT I DON’T LIKEHaving used several cameras like this one I’m pleased to say there is nothing I don’t like about the FDT. IT is well-built, the app is better than average, and the image quality (both day and night) is much better than average. And it costs a fraction of what some of the other “trendy” brands cost.HOW WELL DOES IT WORKIn a nutshell, it works just like it should. The image quality is clear, colors look as good as what you would get from most smartphones, motion is fluid, nighttime video is not grainy. The audio quality of the built-in microphone and speaker are good enough to use as a basic intercom and clear enough to be used as a baby monitor. The speaker sounds good enough to reassure a lonely pet that you are “there” with it. Like with so many digital camera products “specs” don’t always tell the full story. While this camera isn’t hugely “better” in terms of specs than others I’ve used the quality of the image IS better than average. The type and quality of the image sensor and lens have a lot to do with that.BOTTOM LINEThis is not the most sophisticated security camera I’ve ever used but for the price it is a lot of bang for the buck. It is excellent for a closed-loop application such as how I use it to monitor my pet food dishes (see the attached photo of it in use), not a complete whole home system. I like using a dedicated camera for certain purposes because I can access it in an instant anywhere in the world without seeing a lot of stuff I don’t need to see.ONE MORE THINGThis camera is part of a “matched set”, the other part being a similarly-spec’d outdoor camera FDT 720P HD WiFi Bullet IP Camera Outdoor Wireless Security Camera that can be used with the same app. It costs the same price and works flawlessly in tandem with this camera.I emphasize once again that this is a product out of Amcrest's “economy” series of products so when you read any critical comments please keep in mind that you CAN get better and more sophisticated camera, but you will pay more. Keep in mind that the selling price was only $59 at the time I reviewed it. To get a well-built WiFi PTZ camera with better than average resolution at that price to me is a great deal. I have to say I am very impressed and I would recommend this one as a “best buy”.
D**B
A very nice security camera
This is a nice security camera. It doesn't require a monthly fee. One can see the video live with a smartphone. It's fun to tilt and pan around the room. When used as motion detector, it will send an Email with a snapshot and also a push notification, among other options. I like that the easy setup encouraged me to change the password -- an important security measure.I recommend you update the firmware as soon as you have the camera connected to your computer. I found tilt and pan to be erratic before the firmware update. Updating the firmware will remove all your settings. If you update the firmware after the camera is configured, save a configuration file first, so you won't have to configure the camera a second time.The quick guide will tell you how to set basic the configuration with your smartphone. But the camera is capable of more. Download the user guide and use your computer. If you use Firefox or Internet Explorer, the camera will put a small link on the screen inviting you to download a helper extension. If you use the helper, you can have up to 4 motion detection windows. Motion sensitivity can be set to anywhere from 1 to 100. You can set up to 4 privacy mask windows. FDT offers a program to "find" the camera for you. If you are tech enough to get the camera's IP address, you don't need the program. Just point your browser to the camera's IP address.I purchased the camera to be a motion detector. Two times, the camera returned itself to the home position. This was before I updated the firmware. I decided to leave the camera in its home position and use the included mount to point the camera to the area I want to monitor.Edit: It appears that Firefox no longer supports the plugin this camera requires to get to the advanced features using a tablet. The only way I know to access advanced features is with a Windows computer running Microsoft Internet Explorer. Here's hoping a future firmware update will allow computers access to the camera's video stream using a more modern method. It's still a good camera, especially for the price. But I am downgrading my rating to 4 stars.
N**R
Good camera; documentation could be better
I purchased this indoor security camera to keep an eye on the comings and goings of the pet sitter when we are away from home. I have had the camera for only one day thus far. The camera quality is what one can expect from a 1MPixel camera. One can control the pan and tilt remotely. There is no zoom (despite the zoom controls on the app.) The camera allows two way audio. There will be some lag. Setting up the camera's wifi connection was easy. I ran into issues setting up the email notifications. The SMTP for gmail is smtp.gmail.com The server port for most emails (gmail, yahoo, outlook etc) is 587. safe link should be STARTTLS. Type in your full email address under username. DO NOT PRESS TEST. Instead press APPLY. Gmail does not like the use of the FDT app to access their server and will block the emails at first. But Gmail gave me the ability to allow less secure apps to access my account. Look for the email from gmail saying they blocked your email. That message has the link to allow less secure apps to access the account. Because I dont trust the FDT app all that much, I created a new gmail account just for this app.I have not yet inserted a microSD card. Right now what I have done is to set up email alerts with three photos when movement is detected.
Trustpilot
1 week ago
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