Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #7922 in Camera & Photo
- Brand: Foscam
- Dimensions: 1.65 pounds
Features
- The IR lights can be turned off manually from the software
- Audio quality is improved; there will be no noise when speaking into the camera
- WPA2 Encryption Supported
- Added an audio input jack which can be used with an external microphone
- Relocated the network light to the back of the camera. Add a power indicator lamp
Foscam FI8608W Wireless IP Camera, IR-Cut Filter, 300 degree Pan, 120 degree Tilt, Black
Product Description
The Foscam latest model FI8608W features high quality video & audio with H.264 compression, pan/tilt, remote internet viewing, motion detection, night-vision, Wireless N, built in SD card slot, embedded IR-Cut filter and built in network video recording system. it is Smartphone compatible (Iphone, Android & BB) as well as viewable over the internet using standard web-browsers or client software. The camera functions well as an iPhone baby monitor or as part of a home or office security system with remote internet monitoring ability.
FI8608W distinguishes itself with H.264 compression, IR Cut Filter, Wireless 802.11 N and built in SD card slot. H.264 video compression saves a lot of Network bandwidth and storage space. Video files store with much higher video quality. IR-Cut filter provides enhanced picture and color quality. The IR-Cut filter automatically adjusts the lighting exposure via mechanical filter to provide true and accurately colored images that are not washed out. Wireless 802.11 N improves network throughput over the two previous standards 802.11a and 802.11g with a significant increase in the maximum net data rate from 54 Mbit/s to 600 Mbit/s. Built in SD card slot supports up to 32G SD card which recording videos store in and allow to playback the video from anywhere and anytime. In addition, Client software support up to 100 channels. Channels can be separated in 20 groups for easy monitoring and each group support up to 16 cameras. Overall, FI8608W will replace MPEG series FI8918W and FI8910W.
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful.
Tremendous Improvement
By B. Geppert
Let's get one thing out of the way immediately: I think the guys behind FOSCAM are a bunch of moronic high school dropouts who could screw up a church picnic. So my opinion about the new FI8608W is about as diplomatic as they come!I bought the FI8610w just a couple of weeks ago and was able to return it (on Amazon) in time after buying the FI8608W, so I have a pretty good comparison of both models.IMPROVEMENTS:- The BIGGEST "THANK GOD!" moment for me was when I realized that the network activity lights on the back no longer flash when connected via wifi!- I love that the FI8608W has two streams, one for local and one for mobile- The video quality is VASTLY improved (I have a photo posted in the image gallery comparing the 08W and the 10W and it's not a small difference!)- You are now able to zoom IN and out with the FI8608W!- File sizes are a fraction of what they were with the 10W- The field of vision is slightly bigger (very slight but it's noticeable)- It appears that the 08W has better light sensitivity as the image quality is significantly better in low light (non-IR) environments- The ActiveX is now properly signed, so people who have security correctly implemented on their browser will no longer have insane amounts of issues.- The video settings are much more arduous for the average home security setup, but they also allow for a significant amount more flexibility/balance in terms of file size and image quality.NEGATIVES:- I'm still not a fan of FOSCAM's ridiculous "support," which requires you to buy the camera directly from them, even when purchased from approved online resellers (you have to use their website to navigate to the reseller (Amazon, etc...) and even then it's just FOSCAM's storefront.- While there hasn't been a firmware update for the 08W, my guess is that FOSCAM hasn't made them fail-safe/idiot-proof (meaning that you can apply the wrong firmware to the wrong hardware and break it permanently)- What is the point of the SD card slot?!?! The biggest SD card you can buy is 32GB and, in this day and age-of-technology, who doesn't have 32GB to spare on their PC/Server?! Seems like a waste of effort...NOTABLE:- While not an "improvement" or a "negetive," it should be noted that the 08W uses a QuickTime plug-in (due to the H.264 compression) which results in black side-bars when viewed in "Full Screen" mode. Hopefully this will be fixed in the future...CONCLUSION:- The 08W is absolutely worth the extra $30 (+/-) if you haven't already bought the 10W.
12 of 14 people found the following review helpful.
Not what I expected VS FI8910W
By kenrs2
Update 2: I have been using these cameras for several weeks now. Overall, my satisfaction with them hasn't changed - they are still OK. I haven't experienced any new issues with them but the firmware/software for the cameras still haven't been updated. I wonder how many people actually work at Foscam and how much they care about their products and brand image. If you ever go through the ridiculous email process to view their live demo camera feeds, you will notice that he cameras are all located in some unused office area that is cluttered with junk and trash. It would just seem a bit more appropriate to clean that area up if you were going to be broadcasting it to all your potential customers.One thing that I did want to mention is that I did get around to setting up my cameras to record video in response to motion alerts. The motion alerts worked very well and it is nice to have the ability to create four separate zone with varying degrees of sensitivity. A negative for the motion detection feature is if the camera is pointed in one direction and you crate a zone to cover a doorway, if you point the camera at a new location, the zone is still configured for the same region. If the zone configured for the doorway before the camera was turned and is pointing now at a couch, the alarm will still sound. This prevents you from being able to use the scanning capabilities of the camera and motion detection. The logic for the motion detection isn't smart enough to keep track of the zones as they pan out of view.As for the actual recording of the video, I was able to get the camera configured for recording to the and FTP server eventually. Its not noted anywhere that I saw but FTP uploads seemed to require an SD card to be present in the camera before it would work. If I didn't have a card inserted, the FTP wouldn't work. During my continued testing, for some reason the camera became unable to upload to the FTP server. I am not for sure what caused this. I am assuming it was something with the camera because I was watching the log file created on my FTP server and it showed that the camera requested a connection. The server replied back requesting credentials but instead of the camera providing the login credentials, it would reset the connection every time. I watched this happen at least a dozen times and was never able to get a successful connection once it broke. I don't know what happened because it worked during one test and not the next and I didn't change anything in between the test. The FTP server and LAN configuration were correct for the FTP server because I used an outside machine to test it and had no issues. I even tried a two other FTP servers after the break occurred. None of them worked and I was sure that my setup of them was correct, so it indicated something wonky with the cameras ability to pass appropriate credentials when requested.Update 1: After spending more time using these cameras, I wanted to clarify the problem that exists with user based access to the PTZ capabilities when a user is logged on with the credentials for the Guest account that should NOT be allowed to use the PTZ functions to move the camera. I primarily installed these cameras so that I could monitor things on the go - so I use an application on my Android tablet to connect to them. When connecting with this app, it doesn't matter which account type that I use, they all can use the PTZ functions. Logging in through the web interface doesn't allow for this and the "security" seem to work as intended, however if it only works on the web interface and not when connected through an app, what's the point? There is an obvious implementation error in the way that security is being handled.I originally ordered a pair of the Foscam FI8910W cameras (I have a very detailed review of those cameras on Amazon as well - please reference it to have some perspective on this review) but after installing and testing them, I decided to replace them with these FI8608W cameras. Unfortunately, I acted hastily and returned the 8910 cameras before testing out the 8608 cameras.Although I have seen some improvements and added features with the 8608 cameras, I have experienced some terrible surprises. First the good parts: these cameras do seem to have better response times when using the PTZ capabilities of the camera. Overall the image quality and FPS seems to be improved. The two-way audio is much better as well. The 8608 cameras also have the included SD card slot now but I haven't tested that yet. The support for wireless N networks is also a great new feature. I haven't recorded much video with the camera yet but I am sure the H.264 compression will be excellent in regards to producing a smaller file size over the MJPEG video produced with the 8910 model cameras. Although for security camera purposes - some people suggest that using H.264 isn't necessarily the best thing to do if you will have a need to capture still images from the video later. I would suggest you do your own research on this subject if you may need to do that - the subject can get a bit technical but a good read.Now for the bad: The newer cameras are sporting an updated firmware and web interface for interacting with the device. This is where I found some real surprises. The hardware on this device was improved and in some ways the software was also, however the newer software was crippled and fundamentally flawed. For starters, the newer software does not allow you to create uniquely named user accounts. There are only three built in accounts that can't be changed. They are admin, user, and guest. This is supposed to correlate to the three account types that can be used on the camera: Administrator, Operator, and Viewer. The Administrator account type has full control over the device, the Operator can use the PTZ functions and view the video feed, and the Viewer should only be able to view the feed without the ability to use the PTZ abilities. On the older software of the 8910 cameras, it was possible to create unique user names and assign the appropriate account type to each. This was great from a security point of view because an Administrator on the older software also had access to a log file that detailed user log on activity. Since these newer 8608 cameras don't allow you to create accounts, the logging must have not seemed like a needed feature because it doesn't exists as an option anymore. Furthermore on the note of security, in my testing of the cameras - my "User/Operator" account on these new cameras couldn't actually use the PTZ features of the camera. On these 8608 cameras, the "User/Operator" accounts had the same functionality of the "Guest/Viewer" accounts. This was not the case on the older 8910 cameras. Another security flaw that I noted with these 8608 cameras in this regard was that the new software eliminated the need to use a different log in method for IE browsers VS Firefox, Chrome, etc. and it also created a new "Mobile" log in option - which seems nice, however what I have noticed with this feature is that no matter what type of account you log on with into the mobile interface, it is possible to use the PTZ of the camera - even from the "Guest/Visitor" accounts. This makes no since to me and defeats the purpose of the accounts classes even more.Another issue that I have with the new software on these 8608 cameras is that the older version gave the ability for the user to manually turn off the IR lights. The buttons do not even exist on the new web interface. The photo sensors automatically turn on the IR lights when the ambient light drops to a certain level. You can't adjust the sensitivity at which the IR mode turns on and there is no way to turn it off anymore. This is a problem because there are times when I know the image quality would be better if the camera was not in IR mode but you have no control over that any more. Earlier I said that audio was much improved on these 8608 cameras in comparison to the 8910 cameras but that was because the audio was essentially useless on the 8910 models (especially if the IR was on) but I have still got issues with speaking through the camera. Listening to what the camera is hearing works very well but when I use a microphone from my PC do speak through the camera, it constantly loses connection to transmit audio to the camera. I have to toggle the mic button on the web interface a few times and then I can transmit again. I have never been able to transmit for more than a few seconds before this issue arises. I haven't fully tested this issue to root out the problem but I have a very basic setup, so I am assuming this is a code flaw.Another functionality that was lost in the new software is the ability for the "User/Operator" to use the presets of the PTZ. Only an administrator can now use the presets to point the camera and preset determined points. I would like to say this is all the flaws that I have seen with the new software for these 8608 cameras but it is not. If you want to interact with multiple cameras through the web interface without having to log on to each camera in an independent window/tab - well that is not possible. The old software allowed multiple cameras to be aware of other cameras by pointing them to each other and providing the needed log on information for those cameras. The old software allowed you to link up to 9 cameras like this. This allowed you to log in to the web interface one time and view multiple cameras at once. The new software for the 8608 cameras does NOT allow you to link the cameras in this way. In replace of this, Foscam now provides a client based application that can be installed on to a computer that will allow you to manage a very large number of cameras. I did set this client software up but as-said, it is client software that you must use from a computer that has it installed. The software is very functional and has lots of features that are common in systems for mid to large scale security camera setups that involve hundreds of cameras but in truth - for home use it is way too much for the average user. I am sure that you could install this software and setup up the system for remote use but then the system would have to stay powered on all the time. If I wanted to do that, I wouldn't be using an IP cam but a more dedicated system designed for this purpose. An IP cam system should be fully functional from a web interface and the 8608 does not provide this functionality, which is silly since the older software did!Also to note, I ordered two of these cameras. One worked fine, however the second camera had an issue with randomly and often seeming to reset. It would do a full Pan and Tilt range test and stop at the ceiling. The firmware on the device was dated April 1, 2012. I found a newer version on the Foscam website dated June 14, 2012. I upgraded to the newer version of the firmware and the random resets haven't occurred since. I am not for sure what the problem was since the other camera still has the older firmware and hasn't had this issue but now neither of them do, so that is good. One thing to note - upgrading the firmware will erase all the configuration data on the device. It will be like new out of the box. You can backup and restore these settings but I decided not to do this in case the configurations were corrupted. I didn't want to interject something that might cause the resets to start back up.In conclusion, the improved hardware on these 8608 cameras is much better than the 8910 models but the software needs some updating and restoration of functionality that was removed. The software also seems a bit buggy (one of my cameras also will not save the "Camera Name" field information. This is the camera with the April firmware. The camera with the June software doesn't have this issue. Upgrading it might fix the issue but I don't feel like redoing the configuration again. The new firmware release notes did state that an improvement was made to better secure configuration data - but that is a vague statement on what it really does. Some of the improvements in the software are great such as motion detection, notifications, and in general the interface is more user-friendly, however and upgrade/update should never remove functionality or create bugs. The development of the new software has been handled very poorly for this device. I hope that the issues I have mentioned are addressed in future patches but until then - I would recommend to everyone to stick with the older (and cheaper) FI8910W cameras over these. I have currently had these cameras for less than a week but I will be certain to update with any new relevant information as my experience with the cameras continue.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful.Foscam 8608W
By Eric D Helfenbein
Great Cameras, we have installed 19 of them for surveillance. Images are good, Pan tilt works well but has a bit of a delay. Audio is clear. We use them all wired so have not tried wireless. First time ordering from Amazon; the Foscam web site says they do not do warranty coverage unless you buy it directly from them. Don't know if the Amazon vendor honors the warranty; would like to hear from them. But the cameras are hard to get and often out of stock directly from Foscamus.com....
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