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FOSCAM FI8905W wireless IP cam

Hardware/software/hints and tips/discussion/webcam links etc
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seabreeze3
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FOSCAM FI8905W wireless IP cam

Post by seabreeze3 »

It arrived yesterday by surface turtle.

It looks just as described. The pictures are deceiving. This is a somewhat bulky creature, (bigger than a fizzie-pop can). That said, it also appears to be very well built and skookum enough to handle a bit of jostling.

Immediate issues:
1. Getting the antenna mounted on the rear panel was a little fiddly. It is a small brass coupler requiring a very small wrench. (The shroud slides forward out of the way however getting the coupler to seat still required a tool).

2. The instruction manual is written in micro-print and required a magnifying glass to read. I downloaded the manual from FOSCAM which contains a quick set-up guide, a detailed manual for both Windows and Mac and, above all, is easy to read.

3. The software CD included in the box was... EMPTY! Luckily, the FOSCAM site in (2) above has all the IPCam Tools Setup available for download. Unzipped (they're .RAR) and saved, things were pretty straight forward... sort of.

4. READ THE INSTALLATION manual carefully. The grammar can be a bit tough to follow. :shock:

5. The Realtime camera control software is OK. It uses a web-browser for access to administrator functions. It uses Internet Explorer as a "preferred" browser but allows a login by "pushing" Firefox or others on a separate login button. I don't use IE normally but discovered that using any other browser didn't produce all the features available through IE. Recommend using IE to manage the camera.

6. When doing initial set up, do it hard-wired into the router with the very short cat 5 cable provided. (or use your own longer one)

7. You can do almost everything from the camera monitoring software provided including streaming, http uploading and ftp. However, I didn't like the FTP service page in the set up. There is no scheduler so it's off to a 3rd party app to get things working.

8. Yawcam was in a struggle finding the video stream. It detected the camera easily enough but could not connect. I tried WebcamXP5 and watched it cycle through endless connection attempts even though it had reported that the camera and connection was OK. Time-saver: The camera is user identified. In the password option of Yawcam or WebcamXP, (if you haven't modified it in the camera set up) check off the password box and put admin in the user id. (No password required).

9. The camera software and the manual don't describe the video stream. In Yawcam it is suggested that http://(camera ip)/video.mjpeg will acquire the stream. Not so. Luckily WebcamXP, (even though it couldn't connect), produced a dialog box with the name and file extension. http://(webcam IP)/videostream.cgi. Once I had solved the user/password issue in WebcamXP and given Yawcam the correct LAN URL/filename/file extension both worked very well.

10. I have only just started testing so have yet to put the camera outdoors. (I have a small concern given the advertised operating temperature range of the camera (0 c to 55 c) and we're having a bit of a cold snap here where temps drop below 0 c at night.) That said, initial performance is good indoors. Night vision is not bad and motion detection is quick. I hope to have it mounted and a webcam page inserted into my weather site by the end of the week. The view out the window is reasonably good - not HD - but as others have already pointed out, it's not an HD price. So far, for the cost, this seems like a darned good rig. Once you navigate around the little potholes like software hiccups and fractured English in the instructions, it all appears to be a very simple and worthwhile investment.

Hopefully my schedule (that's my employer's nice name for the chaos they present me) allows some time to get this beastie active and online by the end of the week.

Cheers
Dave
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Re: FOSCAM FI8905W wireless IP cam

Post by steve »

Thanks, Dave. I look forward to further reports!
Steve
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Re: FOSCAM FI8905W wireless IP cam

Post by seabreeze3 »

This is an image from inside facing WSW on a chilly and very overcast Canadian west coast morning. My new windows have a UV rating although I don't know if they're making a difference. There is a lot of "noise" being generated from the nearby shrubs.
FOSCAM test.jpg
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Re: FOSCAM FI8905W wireless IP cam

Post by nking »

seabreeze3 wrote:This is an image from inside facing WSW on a chilly and very overcast Canadian west coast morning.
It all looks very exciting :) - really appreciate you taking the time to review and report on this camera. I've taken a look at the manual and I can see what you mean about the grammer.

It will be interesting to see how it copes with contrast changes i.e. sunny, cloudy, overcast etc. Out of interest, what resolution did you have on the camera for the attached picture?

Looking forward to seeing and reading how you get on - again many thanks.
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Re: FOSCAM FI8905W wireless IP cam

Post by seabreeze3 »

nking wrote: It will be interesting to see how it copes with contrast changes i.e. sunny, cloudy, overcast etc. Out of interest, what resolution did you have on the camera for the attached picture?
Resolution was set at 320*240. Aside from the "noise" created by trees, shrubs and roof shingles etc, the colour and contrast seem pretty representative of actual conditions.
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Re: FOSCAM FI8905W wireless IP cam

Post by seabreeze3 »

We continue testing. (That would be the Royal "We". Others observe in restrained amusement)

One lesson learned is that this camera is rather useless looking out a window as dusk approaches. The infra-red lights (60 of them) come on automatically, simply reflect off the window, produce an amazing backscatter effect and render nothing but noise back into the lens. There is no software or hardware switch to turn off the IR lighting. So... sometime today (I hope) there will be an effective outdoor mount and a different view.

Daytime resolution is sufficient for my needs. Software from both Yawcam and WebcamXP5 seem to be handling everything very well. Radio range on the camera is very good. I took it for a walk (which the neighbour's dog found rather insulting) and it continued to produce a connection at over 500 meters. (This involved a small cart with a 12V battery and an AC inverter which generated much interest.)

Below is the latest "out the window" capture. (YES!!! It does snow in Canada's lotusland) The snow was timely and provided a chance to get reflectivity sense. The small blue sky patch seems to render well, although I see a polarizing filter in this camera's future.
FOSCAM test2.jpg
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Re: FOSCAM FI8905W wireless IP cam

Post by nking »

Looking good :) ..... I don't know how long I can hold out from ordering :mrgreen: I think I'll have to start convincing the lady of the house that we need security cameras. I'll obviously need one to test and then get a second (for the sky tee hee) once she is happy.
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Re: FOSCAM FI8905W wireless IP cam

Post by steve »

nking wrote:I don't know how long I can hold out from ordering :mrgreen:
My credit card finger is also getting a bit twitchy :)

One thing that does concern me is that I'll want to face mine pretty much due South, across the bay, to get the best view. I'm wondering about the effect of the sun.
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Re: FOSCAM FI8905W wireless IP cam

Post by nking »

steve wrote:
nking wrote: I'm wondering about the effect of the sun.
This is probably my main concern, however.... it would still make a good security camera :)

Dave - Can you do a "sun dance" so we can see how the camera performs in bright sunshine :lol:
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Re: FOSCAM FI8905W wireless IP cam

Post by Gina »

Seems some webcams can put up with having the sun in their view. I have my Microsoft widescreen LifeCam pointing almost due south and the sun has been in view. There appears to be no lasting damage done to the image sensor. There's white-out around the sun when it's in the frame but so far nothing more serious.
Gina

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Re: FOSCAM FI8905W wireless IP cam

Post by seabreeze3 »

I'm wondering about the effect of the sun.
Very valid concern. It is a CMOS camera which creates a few bright daylight issues. I'm always a bit loathe to expose any digital capture device to a direct input from the sun. My experience in the past has been "black sun effect" which usually obliterates the picture and does certain permanent damage to the collector. I'm hoping to move the whole thing outside today and watch the effects, but it will likely be pointed northeast.
Can you do a "sun dance" so we can see how the camera performs in bright sunshine
I could ... but I would probably get very wet. On the other hand, the sun came through today for a few minutes today. Cam was pointed away however and I was out of the house. :roll:

Once I've got it mounted in its semi-permanent position I will adjust ye olde websyte and add a webcam page. I may, (depending on my bandwidth expenditure this month), provide some streaming access to give everyone a good look at it.
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Re: FOSCAM FI8905W wireless IP cam

Post by hills »

Gina wrote:Seems some webcams can put up with having the sun in their view. I have my Microsoft widescreen LifeCam pointing almost due south and the sun has been in view. There appears to be no lasting damage done to the image sensor. There's white-out around the sun when it's in the frame but so far nothing more serious.
Ditto, my Microsoft widescreen LifeCam spent a period seeing the mornng sun, before changing directions and so far I can't see any damage.

That wireless webcam looks great. I could get a really good view if I could locate my cam a bit higher. I'm following this thread closely!! ;)
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Re: FOSCAM FI8905W wireless IP cam

Post by Gina »

I'm vaguely thinking of mounting a camera on my mast - be a bit "wobbly" in a high wind though :lol:
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Re: FOSCAM FI8905W wireless IP cam

Post by seabreeze3 »

The critter is now in its interim outdoor home and working well. I have discovered a couple of weaknesses, especially the provided stock mount, which I will describe later on. If you'd like I will provide pictures of the areas I think are a problem.

Cheers
Dave

(Hunting for a bottle of Scapa once I've completed this)
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Re: FOSCAM FI8905W wireless IP cam

Post by nking »

seabreeze3 wrote:The critter is now in its interim outdoor home and working well. I have discovered a couple of weaknesses, especially the provided stock mount, which I will describe later on. If you'd like I will provide pictures of the areas I think are a problem.
I'm sure everyone following this topic would appreciate your comments etc. :)
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