Foscam on the Web

Considering to buy a Foscam Cam. Went to the Canadian Web site. POP UP asking if I had questions.
I asked a question from sales-no answer. Later asked Service a question, again no answers. So, 3-5 questions, no answer.
Then I gave a negative rating and I get a message that since it was negative it would be removed.
Either I am missing something or Foscam needs to make some changes.
One of the statements is that if you buy from them on line you get support-hope it's a lot better than that experience. I was one finger close to ordering

Can't speak for the Canadian website but asking questions at the factory website in China has always resulted in a prompt and useful answer. The Foscam Canada site reads "Foscam Canada is the official Canadian distributor of Foscam products", meaning that they are NOT Foscam and are locally owned and operated. I suggest that you try the Foscam factory = http://www.foscam.com/contact.aspx

That being the case, might as well buy from China direct. That would be a sad conclusion to have to come too. I've used support from China in the past. Ran into some problems with language. They do speak english better than i speak Chinese.
Do you know of better Icams then the Foscam -same price range ?   

You can buy from any source that sells genuine Foscam products, it just seems that the Canadian distributor is less responsive than they should be. Foscam.us may be more responsive to you (they are also a distributor).

That being the case, might as well buy from China direct. That would be a sad conclusion to have to come too. I've used support from China in the past. Ran into some problems with language. They do speak english better than i speak Chinese.
Do you know of better Icams then the Foscam -same price range ?

What exactly are you looking for? MJPEG, H.264, with/without IR Cut? Price Range is?

You can get cameras rather cheap. For example, you can get a no frills MJPEG IP camera for as low as $54.80 U.S. It's equal to the FI8908W.

It's rock-solid, has a 1 year warranty, but has no IR-CUT.

Specifications are equal to this, click on the specifications tab, once you get there:

http://foscam.us/products/foscam-fi8908w-black-wireless-ip-camera-25.html

Here is an example of what it looks like in action live, embedded in a web page, using server push:

http://www.saveontelephonebills.com/camera/NewWorkingDemoOperator.htm

Don

Lookig for a reliable unit with competive features. I'm going away for a couple of months ,so planning on being able to check the property when I connect to the Internet. I bought an H265 unit off of E-Bay- the sofyware is crap, so want to try another unit. The equipment I have now can use b/g/n, I assume even though a couple of the Foscam are only b/g that shouldn,t be an issue.

Lookig for a reliable unit with competive features. I'm going away for a couple of months ,so planning on being able to check the property when I connect to the Internet. I bought an H265 unit off of E-Bay- the sofyware is crap, so want to try another unit. The equipment I have now can use b/g/n, I assume even though a couple of the Foscam are only b/g that shouldn,t be an issue.

IMHO, many newer cameras have issues. Even some of the newer MJPEG cameras can have IR-CUT issues. Where the IR LEDs don't switch off/on sometimes. The newer H.264 cameras, from what I have seen do not do well in low lighting conditions and in some cases can't deal with FTP servers that have MOTD ("Message Of The Day") enabled.

So not sure what you mean be "competitive features".

You might want to pick a few Foscam models that interest you for example and then seach the Foscam forum for those models or even search the Internet for reviews/owner feedback as well. It will give you a better real-world idea of what people who have purchased the camera models you are interested in like/not like about that specific model of IP camera.

Don 

Considering the F1810, seems like a reasonable unit. I have checked around on the internet ,can't find a lot wrong. Maybe I'll be lucky and get a good one.

Considering the F1810, seems like a reasonable unit. I have checked around on the internet ,can't find a lot wrong. Maybe I'll be lucky and get a good one.

Not saying this will happen to you with the FI8910W. But this is what I mean about doing some searching on owner feedback as well as reviews on a per camera model basis.

Examples:

http://foscam.us/forum/search.php?st=0&sk=t&sd=d&sr=posts&keywords=ir+cut

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&tbo=d&output=search&sclient=psy-ab&q=FI8910W+review

The only major complaint I see often about this specific model is the IR-CUT issue. Where you actually need to use a magnet or flashlight to unfreeze IR-CUT. I have no idea of how frequent this issue is, but for sure it's the one complained about the most for this model.

Don

Well crap-are there any that work My thinking is that they are the only "local" supplier and if they stand behind thier Warranty/Service stetements , then one should be able to work through the issues.

Well crap-are there any that work My thinking is that they are the only "local" supplier and if they stand behind thier Warranty/Service stetements , then one should be able to work through the issues.

Maybe I am old fashion. But I like the FI8908W like MJPEG cameras. Mostly because time has gone by to resolve many of the initial firmware issues. Please don't get me wrong, there are suppliers that sell junk clones of this camera, but then there are also dependable suppliers as well.

There just does not seem to be as good a QA process going on with the new cameras. Of course it does not have IR-CUT, but is IR-CUT worth the headaches if you happen to have one of the cameras that has the IR-CUT issue. Personally, I value stability more than options.

Just wanted you to see how to do a little more checking on locating issues about a specific camera model, if you wish.

Again, I have no idea of what the percentage is of FI8910W cameras that ship, end up with this problem, or even how frequently IR-CUT locks up when you do end up with a camera that has this issue. I just know that for this specific model, it is the most common complaint.

Don

Well I can't believe my luck-downloaded a third party display software. The kind you can select different IP cam -tried AH-C2WA-B168 Wanscam and I can display and control the Camera. Looked on the Wanscam site ,doesn't seem to be any programs for download. Wonder who Wanscam is compatiable with.

umbra - as far as reliability goes, I had a FOSCAM I8909 under my porch overhang for three years. It is an indoor camera but survived just fine in an occasionally very moist environment with temperatures down to 6 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter and up to the 90s in the summer. It never missed a beat and always worked. It would still work now but I removed it last month while the house was being painted and I have not put it back. The I8909 is stationary (no pan/tilt) and has no IR-CUT, so there is less to go wrong.

When you consider reliability recall the Mean Time Between Failure formula [MTBF = 1/(sum of all the part failure rates)]. The more parts/complexity, the more often there is a failure.

Consider a mature proven product with a good track record that meets your needs. I personally don't value the IR-CUT feature as it adds a lot of complexity just so that daytime colors will be more true. I don't care if trees are not true green so long as I can see the objects or movement that are of interest to me.

Those are all valid points you make. The latest and greatest is not always the best.
Even though I seem to have my camera working to the point it will no longer be a paper weight, I think I will still go ahead with the purchase of a new one.

Thanks everyone for your comments
Bob