Anyone found a good inexpensive IP Webcam?

[lhfarm]

I've been out of the market for a while and wondered if anyone has come across a bargain recently.

Thanks,
bt

[griffined]

If you search on eBay for Veo Observer, you can sometimes see them sell for less than their retail prices which are:

$179 for the one that uses a LAN connection
$299 for the wireless one

You have to let an Active X component load in your Web browser to use them, so this may be a problem for non-Windows/IE users.

I really like mine, and they are pan and tilt as well.

Ed

[Stevech]

I read - is it true - that the Veo's (CMOS?) don't work well in sunlit areas.

[Alconnell]

If you're thinking about the VEO, look for the newer XT versions, which support Java and multiple connections. I tested their wireless version and was unimpressed. Range was only about 30 ft. Someone on this board said stick with wired versions, and I would tend to agree. The Veo picture is quite good, as is the pan/tilt mechanism.
I'm playing around with my friend's old Axis 2100 and am impressed with it, though it is not cheap. I also picked up an IP Video 9100 plus, which is a video server that supports up to 4 cameras. When I connected my old camcorder to it, I had an incredible picture.
From what I can tell, NO camera will do well with direct sun. They all seem to have problems with the high contrast during the middle part of the day.

[Stevech]

My Axis 2120 works very well in sunlight and at night. Part of its normal picture is the sky, and that is blue, not washed out.

Perhaps this is because it's one of the higher end cams which have a mechanical Iris lens - the iris is controlled by the camera's electronics. This improves the dynamic range.

It's been a great cam - sitting outside for a year and a half (in a plastic shoebox with a hole in the end). It's a wired cam, but plugged into a WiFi bridge (these are $70 now).

http://www.axis.com/products/cam_2120/index.htm

So I'd look for a cam with an auto-iris lens.

[anogee]

I'd recommend the Toshiba IKWB11A. It's weatherproof, wireless (included)or wired, auto-iris, and 1.3Mpixel CCD sensor. Cost roughly $600, which isn't bad considering its features.

[Stevech]

I've used the outdoor rated wired (WiFi version available too) Panasonic webcam. Expensive but good.

KX HCM270 and wired/wireless version.
-=----------------
A cheaper way to do this is to buy a low cost outdoor rated analog cam and an analog wireless transmitter/receiver ($50), then connect the receiver to a video digitizer like the $80 ones for USB. Requires a PC though.

[cadillackid]

the veo observer is definately not good in lower light condiotions.. I had one and returned it.. I had one of the first ones and the image could not be ripped from theiur onboard webpage... so one was basicilly stuck wit hthe default page... in regular light picture quality was very good. I have a D-link dcs-2100w.. it is not good in low light either.. the axis camera are CCD ands are good in many lighting situations.
-christopher

[Stevech]

If you are in to software diddling - the Axis camera runs Linux. They document all details of the interface - HTML and so on. You can FTP web pages to the camera. And you can also FTP/load scripts into the camera. It has a serial port and a couple of I/O ports. Can send email or ftp or run a user written script when an I/O pin changes state or there's motion detected in a time-range. As I recall, it also supports telnet and rsh. And so on.

As I said earlier, I have my camera's ethernet port plugged into a WiFi bridge to make it wireless - because I couldn't easily get a CAT 5 cable to its location.

[griffined]

The Veo Observers do use a CCD and not CMOS.
http://www.veo.com/Observer/default.asp

The picture does get grainy and the frame rate goes down when the light gets dim. When I was checking on my house remotely during my hurricane evacuation, and had plywood on the windows, I needed to leave a light on in the area the cameras could see in order to be able to tell what was going on.

Both of my Wireless Observers are mounted on the walls, about 7 feet up (a foot below the ceiling) and my wireless access point is on the top of a bookshelf in my office. I have no other 2.4 GHz devices in my house (unless you count the microwave oven) except for my wireless LAN stuff(computers and cameras). 900 MHz cordless phones are used to avoid signal issues. My home is a single story, block and wood, about 3500 sq. ft. on .7 acres. I can use the cameras and computers anywhere on my property. The Veo's have problems with bright light outdoors. The IKWB-11 does not, and it also works well in low light. I used a simple night light in my garage to allow for me to see in there when I was gone. When I get a chance, that camera is going outside.

Using web access to my Homeseer system, I'd simply cut a light on at the camera I was accessing, and then cut it off again when I was done.

Ed

[jrfuda]

Here's a WIRELESS D-link camera for $99 at Outpost.com

http://shop1.outpost.com/product/395...H:MAIN_RSLT_PG

I've never used one, but $99 seems like a good deal. Outpost is selling the wired version of the same camera for $99 also, and one that has audio capability for $199 (Alhtough I think I saw an audio-capable LInksys at E-buyer.com [or something like that] for $179.

[twittydavis]

I don't know if they are any good or not but I saw the DLink wired camera at BestBuy for $59 after a $40 rebate and the wireless camera for $99 after a $40 rebate. I might just have to go back tonight and pick one up.

Mick

[Stevech]

Here's a reduced-size copy of an IP camera frame. It shows how a camera with a CCD sensor and auto-iris can cope with fairly extreme lighting. Note the bright sunshine, blue sky and reasonable detail in shadow.

Axis 2120 connected to Linksys WET-11

[griffined]

The Veo cams I got couldn't deal with bright sunlight, so I got some Toshiba cams for outdoors.

The pic is a IK-WB01A set at it's max resolution of 640x480



The next one is of the more expensive IK-WB11A set at the same resolution of 640x480


The WB11A also can be run at 800


and 1280


Ed