Foscam FI8908W Wireless IP Camera

Other Devices & Integrations Door Locks & Sensors
1

I am looking to add some cameras to my new Vera. I was looking around for the best value and came across this Foscam FI8908W Wireless IP Camera (See link below). I did some searches for any posts in the forum on this unit but nothing came up… I as wondering if anyone had tried it with Vera.

If not, I am would love some suggestions on a good value camera for Vera.

[url=http://www.foscam.us/product_info.php?products_id=42&gclid=CM3d_c2GyKECFRlabQodkhwdpQ]http://www.foscam.us/product_info.php?products_id=42&gclid=CM3d_c2GyKECFRlabQodkhwdpQ[/url]

Thanks for helping the new guy…

2

Everyone here seems to recommend the panasonic ones aroudn here but I’m in the same boat as you and would really like to see some actual usage video or stills at night and day.

3

Great timing… Am looking at trying out some kind of camera for my next Vera adventure… Will be lurking in the background reading… :wink:

4

I still recomend Panasonic’s cameras. Great featureset for the price.

5

so the wiki says Panasonic BL-C131 and BL-C30 work… is this an outdated list, are there more? I am looking for an outdoor camera (or one that I can put in a housing) without spending a fortune of course…

6

AFAIK, any of Panasonic’s IP based cameras will work. They all supply the proper image file.

I currently have a combination of 4 different model cameras, and they all work just fine.

7

There are so many other options that work well but cost much less

8

Panasonic cameras don’t work well at night. I am still on the fence between doing a separate DVR with nightvision camera combo, but then I’d have to add pan/tilt. It would be great if someone could source a wired IP pan/tilt camera with good night vision that outputs the proper still image URL for Vera. I think there are a few TrendNet cameras with pan/tilt and night vision, but…

edit: wondering what are some of the reasons or benefits that bringing cameras into Vera brings?

  1. using their motion detection to replace the need for z-wave motion sensors
  2. ?

Any help is appreciated, because it seems that it is better to keep the cameras separate from Vera, for full motion video remotely, etc.

9

Ok, so I just ordered the camera that I listed above… Looks like I will be guinea pig. I figure for that price and features I will give it a shot and see how it goes. (Yes; I know; you get what you pay for, but some times you find a diamond in the rough)
I will let you know…

10

[quote=“ald, post:9, topic:165921”]Ok, so I just ordered the camera that I listed above… Looks like I will be guinea pig. I figure for that price and features I will give it a shot and see how it goes. (Yes; I know; you get what you pay for, but some times you find a diamond in the rough)
I will let you know…[/quote]

I do have this camera. Great price and feature. Nite vision is fantastic!

It didn’t work with VERA. Like other user mentioned, VERA needs a http path that point to a jpg file.

11

Such as?..

12

They’re workable… I’d suggest to make google to be the mental homepage :slight_smile:
http://www.zoneminder.com/wiki/index.php/Foscam

or even simpler

http://www.gadgetvictims.com/2009/07/foscam-ip-camera-part-two.html

13

Such as?..[/quote]

I see plenty…
http://wiki.micasaverde.com/index.php/IP_Cameras

Panasonic are excellent, but at that price I’d rather go Axis

14

Some more cheap options:

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.15974
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.14272

The last one seems to be a clone of the foscam

15

325, you made my day… I was thinking I ordered that unit about an hour to early…
Thanks for doing the research for me, much appreciated…

16

Thanks for the info guys. I don’t yet have a camera integrated into Vera (or any camera for that matter) but thanks to this thread the Foscam just became my #1 choice once I do get around to buying some.

ald, please let the rest of us know how you like it (specifically, the Vera integration) once it arrives.

For those of you using Cameras in vera already, I’m too am curious to know your thoughts in response to shady’s question above. To paraphrase, what are the key advantages to integrating your camera into Vera in the first place as opposed to using them with DVR software alone?

Can you trigger a scene based on motion sensed in the camera? Is the draw mainly that you can access the live camera image from within the Vera UI or squareconnect iPhone app (for example) so that you can see the camera image right along side your door lock controlls, etc? I realize that for many of you the answer might seem all to obvious, but some of us Vera newbies would like your insight.

Thanks again for all your information.

17

Sorry, I missed it the first time somehow, but just saw that this is largely documented in the Wiki here
[url=http://wiki.micasaverde.com/index.php/IP_Cameras_Options]http://wiki.micasaverde.com/index.php/IP_Cameras_Options[/url]

I would still be curious to hear what some folks have to say about how these features actually work in the real world if anyone has some insight to share.

Thanks

18

I have them added in vera for convenience really and when used in conjunction with SQ remote its a lot quicker than opening a browser anywhere just to see the camera; plus you can also set vera to turn on a light when the camera is viewed among other things (when that works)

The main camera I use was intended for the nursery and as its a Panasonic one its viewable on my Panasonic TV.

Just nice to have the versatility really!

19

Just an update on the Foscam FI8908W

I got the basics to work very quickly… The unit I received did not need any firmware update to work with Vera (Surprisingly), just filled in the blanks with generic ip camera plug-in and it came up fine in both the Vera Ui 2 and SQ… Tilt and pan do not work yet, but I have not investigated how to do that just. I will try to figure out how all that works with Vera this week. (Any pointers appreciated)

As for the camera by its self, it works great… Tilt and pan work great for the native app and the night vision works well. It even came with a mount that lets you mount it upside down on the ceiling; it also has contacts in the back to integrate with alarm systems. All in, I think it was a great value, but it is my first so what do I know…

20

For Pan-Tilt look at Panasonic Camera plugin - copy its I_* file and replace Panasonic commands with corresponding Foscam ones