Sharx Security VIPcella-IR SCNC2607 Wifi Wireless 802.11 Security Network Camera with Infrared Night Vision
by Sharx Security
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Category: Digital Camera
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Digital Photo Product Details
Manufacturer: Sharx SecurityModel: VIPcella-IR SCNC2607
Color: Black
Product features:
- Hi-Resolution Wifi b/g IP Network Camera with infrared night vision
- Full 30 fps MPEG4 video performance at 640 x 480 resolution with audio
- See streaming video on ATT, Sprint, Verizon and T-Mobile smartphones including iPhone and BlackBerry
- Motion detection or timed emails and FTP uploads
- Supports Internet Explorer, Safari, Firefox, Linux, VLC, QuickTime, 3GPP
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Sharx Security VIPcella-IR SCNC2607 Wifi Wireless 802.11 Security Network Camera with Infrared Night Vision
Customer Review: Excellent IP Camera with Outstanding Tech Support
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased Sharx SCNC2607 camera for home security, so I needed it to be easy to set up, reliable, have good image quality, and work in all lighting conditions. I have tried similar cameras from other major manufacturers, and none of them work near as well as the Sharx. I normally write very brief reviews, but this one is worth a deeper look:
Setup:
First, when I unpacked the camera, I found a very thorough 44 page instruction manual that came with the camera, and it was all in English (how often do you find that these days?). I followed the setup steps which are simple. Plug the camera into a wired network connection, figure out what IP address the camera is (use the software included on the disk to do that), open internet explorer, and http to the camera. I did have to disable the windows firewall, as it was causing the video to be disconnected after a short period of time (same thing happened on other brand cameras). Once I did that, I never had another problem. My first impressions of the video quality were holy cow, this is really good quality compared to other brands.
Included Software:
The included software is pretty decent, especially considering the price point of this camera. This is not a professional megabuck camera, so I wasn't expecting professional grade software. It allows viewing and management of up to 4 cameras at the same time, is pretty easy to use, and ran on my XP Pro computer without a hitch. You can set recording schedules, motion detection, max file sizes, and supposedly max amount of disk space to use. There was no help menus or documentation provided for the Multi-Live software, so you are on your own for this. Fortunately, it is pretty intuitive. I played around with max file sizes, limiting them to 2mb each. I did this so that in the event of a break-in, the files would break on about 30 second intervals. I have my security computer mirroring files to a hidden NAS device elsewhere on my network every 30 seconds, so if someone were to break in and take the computer, there is a pretty good chance the video would be copied to the other drive by then. Anyway, the only problem I found with Multi-Live is that it does not seem to limit how much space it will write for video files. In other words, if you are not monitoring your hard drive, it looks like it will just fill it up until the computer locks up due to no free space. I have an email into tech support on this issue. Other than that, I noted that you must have the Multi-Live software running in order to record video. You can also record video on motion detection with just the camera, and not install the Multi-Live software, but I also found that you must have an Internet Explorer window open, and be pointed to the IP address of the camera (have it on-screen). If you do not have an IE window open, or the Multi-Live software running, the camera will not record video. I was hoping for a direct feed to a NAS device, but this is not currently supported (tech support says it is in the works, but a fairly low priority). Again, not a deal-breaker, but a nice to have option.
Micro-SD card:
This camera has a micro-SD card slot in the bottom, which allows you to also record to the memory card at the same time as to a computer, or by itself with no computer. You can set continuous recording in specified segment lengths, or on motion detection. This works well, except for some unexpected behavior I noted. I was anticipating that when the memory card got full, the oldest files would be over-written by the new files, thereby keeping the most recent video on the card. Instead what happened for me is that as the card got full, the camera kept recording (or so I thought), and wrote 5 zero byte files. Once it figured out the card was full, the camera went offline for about a minute, while it erased the entire card, and then started recording again. It should be noted that the camera was offline not only for the memory card, but also for the Multi-Live software, and IE browser windows. In a nutshell, you better hope the card doesn't get filled up during a break-in, because you would lose everything, and have a minute or so while the camera was down. I had a 32mb (very small) card that I was testing, and got about 10 minutes of video at max resolution. The instructions indicate it will support up to an 8gb card, but don't state what type of card to buy (micro-SDHC I would presume, and nothing indicated about what class of card to buy). This is the only part of the owners manual that was lacking on documentation. As another reviewer indicated, there is zero information on their web site in the form of FAQ's or additional guidance. Fortunately, they have excellent and very responsive tech support. I emailed them Labor Day weekend on Saturday, and got a response within 1 hour. On a Saturday! It appears their tech support are actually well-educated in the product, are not located in India, and provide thorough responses. I only wish they would document their info on their web site in the form of FAQ's or a knowledgebase.
Performance of Camera in Low Light:
I tried this camera in all lighting conditions, from a well lit room, to zero light, and everything in between. Out of the box, the camera is set to go into night vision mode when the light is very low. It also goes into black and white mode when very dark. The quality of the images in a well lit room are outstanding. No graininess, good color, and it captures motion pretty well. In a low light situation, the camera goes into a moonlight mode, which cuts the frame rate by a factor of 4, and increases light amplification by a factor of 4. The result is very good image quality, but reduced frame rate. I think this is a great compromise. In a no-light situation, the infrared LED's come on to provide light for the camera. They glow a dull red, so someone would be able to spot the camera in a dark room. The video switches to black and white, and is of surprisingly good quality. The LED's provide good light for the camera out to about 15 to 20 feet. Plenty enough for even a pretty big room, but I would not expect this to work facing outside a window, into your driveway or yard. The manual states that the window would reflect the infrared light, and blind the camera. The video in night vision mode is good quality and clearly defined. The frame rate also appears to be cut down in night vision mode, as motion is not captured well. However, for a consumer grade camera, this works as good as I would ever expect it to. Very acceptable performance, and much better than anything else I have found on the market.
Other Thoughts:
I plan on buying more of these when the budget allows. The camera provides excellent quality video, is easy to set up, works well (albeit with a couple small caveats as noted above), and the tech support is outstanding (the clincher for me). Do not waste your time on other brand cameras. They did not work well for me in most respects. For me, if Sharx fixed the issue with the SD card, and fixed the issue of the camera consuming your entire hard drive when recording, it would be a near perfect camera. Otherwise, I rate it very good to excellent. I would have given it 4 stars, but the quick response by tech support on 3 occasions moves it up for me. On something technical like this camera, you need a company with good tech support. Sharx excels at this in my mind.
UPDATE:
Per Sharx' tech support, they can resolve the issue of the camera erasing all files on the micro-SD card once it is full, and have only the older ones roll off. I had no choice but to give them my login information to my camera, and have them update it remotely. Not my preference, but they did the update quickly. I am still testing the issue of recording to the micro-SD card. For some reason, the camera seems to lock up and shut down when recording continuously to the card. However, I was testing it using a 32mb card. Sharx tech support says they only currently support 1-4gb cards. This may be the issue. More to follow.
More Sharx Security VIPcella-IR SCNC2607 Wifi Wireless 802.11 Security Network Camera with Infrared Night Vision reviews:
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Description of Sharx Security VIPcella-IR SCNC2607 Wifi Wireless 802.11 Security Network Camera with Infrared Night Vision
This Wifi b/g wireless IP camera has its own built in web server. You can view the video from your own home network or you can configure your router to view and control the camera from computers or cellphones on the internet, without dependence on any third party web sites or subscriptions. With the built-in microphone you can listen in. Excellent MPEG4 or MJPEG video quality at a full 640 x 480 resolution with up to 30 frames per second for fluid, natural motion color. For viewing or recording a single camera no software is required besides just your browser. For viewing or recording multiple Sharx IP cameras the included MultiView software for PCs supports up to 4 Sharx IP cameras simultaneously. Truly amazing to see the streaming video on your web enabled cell phone. For frequent use we recommend to upgrade your cellphone service to unlimited data, which costs just $15/mo extra on the ATT network. You can see motion even on non-3G phones like SonyEricsson w580i. If your phone does not support video you can see automatically refreshing JPEG images. At home, you can use this camera with your laptop or iPhone as a baby or pet monitor, and the very high light sensitivity in "moonlight mode" allows you to view out from a window to see what's happening in the street as long as there is some background light available. This camera has infrared night vision which can see in total, absolute darkness. Like any infrared sensitive camera, the daytime colors are subdued and can appear unnatural especially on plants and vegetation. For eye-popping, gorgeous daytime colors please select the less expensive Sharx SCNC2606 camera if you do not need night vision in total darkness. Wireless operation supports WEP, WPA, WPA2 encryption. On routers with UPnP feature the camera can set itself up automatically, and on routers without UPnP (such as Apple's Airport series) the camera can be set up with our step by step instructions.Cameras
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