Foscam FI8905W

Version	Status	Date Updated	Updated By
710	Unknown	N/A	N/A
810	Works	8th Jan 2011	purps
1004	Works	27th May 2013	Daballiemo
1204	Unknown	N/A	N/A
1404	Unknown	N/A	N/A
Usage Information

Features

• High image & video quality
• High-sensitivity 1/4" CMOS sensor (300k pixels)
• Auto IR-LED night vision up to 30m (90ft)
• Motion detection alert via email or upload image to a specified FTP server
• Support a wide range of browsers(IE, Firefox, Google)
• Support remote viewing & record
• Support image fullsceen and image snapshot
• Multi-level users management and passwords definition
• Embeded Web Server
• WEP,WPA and WPA2 Encryption
• Optimized MJPEG video compression for transmission
• Support wireless network (WiFi/802.11/b/g)mobile
• Supporting Dynamic IP (DDNS)and UPnP LAN and Internet(ADSL,Cable Modem)
• Multi-Protocol support and Transportation (such as TCP/IP, SMTP and HTTP)
• Support Mobile Phone View such as Iphone & Smart phone (It should support midp2.0 java mobile or pda mobile)
• Simple to setup, Friendly GUI, DIY installation
• Aluminum Alloy Design, Shell Vandal-Proof,IP65 Waterproof and weatherproof for Any Harsh Environment

Note: This is the 60 IR LED version; the FI8904W has fewer LEDs (24 to be exact) which means that it is not as good when it comes to night vision. The FI8904W is easily identifiable (apart from the number of LEDs!) by the shape of its cowling. The cowling of the FI8905W is 'U'-shaped in cross-section, whereas the cowling of the FI8904W is what I would call 'Micky Mouse'-shaped. One more thing; be careful of the cheap clones on eBay, you don't want to end up with one of those.

Quick review

This camera does have quite a mean zoom lens on it (12 mm). Also the colours are a bit odd; greens and browns appear purple for example. That said, it is by far the cheapest outdoor IP camera around, and I think that it is very good for the price.

Do also bear in mind this issue.

Installation

Note: This section describes how to install this camera as a Motion device; I have not tried installing it as a standalone viewer, but I see no reason why it wouldn't work.

Note: These instructions are for when the camera is plugged into a router on the external network, as opposed to a switch on the internal network. Not ideal, but this was necessary due to this aforementioned problem.

1. Install motion wrapper (if it is not installed already). In web admin (type "192.168.80.1" in a browser of your choice), click "Show devices tree" (very bottom of left-hand pane), click on "CORE" and then "Create Child Device". Then press the "Pick device template" button, which will open a new window. Under "Device Template", select "Motion Wrapper" and press the "Pick device template" button.
2. Plug in your camera (remember I plug my Foscams into the external router). In your router admin page (accessed via 192.168.1.1 in my case) find out what IP was assigned. Type this IP into your browser and have a look through the options. Set the username and password. I also set a static IP just in case it tries to change itself. I also specified the camera's IP on my router so that no other device could take it (belt and braces).
3. In LMCE web admin (type "192.168.80.1" into a browser), go to Wizard -> Devices -> Surveillance Cameras. Click the "Add Device" button at the bottom of the page. This will open a new window.
4. In the window that just opened, pick "Generic Motion IP Camera" from the dropdown menu in the "Device Template" section. Press the "Pick device template" button.
5. Find the new camera in Wizard -> Devices -> Surveillance Cameras. Change the description to something more obvious if you so wish and select a room.
6. Change the "Path" field to "http://192.168.1.XXX/videostream.cgi?user=XXXXX&pwd=XXXXXX", not forgetting to replace the Xs with the IP, username and password. Add "80" to the "TCP Port" field. Press "Save".
7. Press the "Advanced" button. Check the IP and MAC address in the "Device Info" section. If it's not the same as the MAC and IP you saw in the Panasonic utility, change it. Click "Save".
8. Do a Reload & Regen, and that should be it. This camera can now be used as a motion sensor and/or for recording movement (recordings are stored in "/home/cameras/XX" where XX is the device number of the camera, and last for 5 days I believe). A scenario will hopefully be automatically generated.
9. Rinse and repeat for any additional cameras.

Note: After reloading/restarting the Core, motion dies. It has to be restarted manually by doing a "sudo /etc/init.d/motion restart". This issue has been reported http://svn.linuxmce.org/trac.cgi/ticket/904 & http://svn.linuxmce.org/trac.cgi/ticket/715 (not sure whether these two tickets are reporting the same issue or not).

Note: Very occasionally I have found that the scenarios sometimes require a little bit of tinkering. If there is no image displayed when you click on the scenario, look in Wizard -> Scenarios -> Security scenarios, select the scenario in question, select "Advanced Wizard" in the "Edit scenario using wizard" section, and just check that the number in the "#2 PK_Device (int)" field corresponds with the camera's Device #; if it does not, change it. Reload & Regen.