D-Link Wireless G Internet Camera (DCS-920) - Review
Applications
D-Link Wireless G Internet Camera (DCS-920) - Good basic "nanny cam" that sends email when motion is detected. This camera works well for basic security monitoring with good picture quality and ease of set-up... plus, it's inexpensive.
If you are monitioring fairly well lit areas, display won't be an issue. However, keep
in mind, this camera is not a good choice if you need to record in dimly lit
enviornments. Beware of negative reviews from non techies.
Specifications
Image sensor - Image sensor is CMOS, 1/4" which is adequate and fairly standard for cameras at this price point.
Frames per second - FPS varies depending on screen resolution: FPS range is from 10 to 30. Keep in mind, maximum FPS captured by the human eye is about 24.
Resolution - This camera does offer 3 screen resolutions: 640 x 480 / 320 x 240 / 160 x 120. Probably the best resolution will be at 320x240 which provides an FPS of 30.
Lux - The DCS-920 has a LUX rating of 1.0 (About the light generated from a full moon overhead ). Should be adequate for low light recording situations.
Connectivity Standard - This camera can be used with a wired ethernet connection( 10/100 fast ethernet) or a wireless connection ( 802.11g standard). If you have a new pc or laptop with Vista or XP you're ready to - plug and play.
Features
Multi camera - The included software allows up to 32 cameras to be managed simultaneously. Probably overkill for most users but the flexibility of adding cameras is nice.
Email update - You can configure the camera to send you emails of "what the camera sees" at regularly scheduled intevals.
Viewing - How else can you see what your camera is seeing? D-link offers users access to a website which basically stores all your camera feeds via FTP from your network to the server. Bottom line is all you need is an internet connection and your login name to access your video from anywhere.
No motion detection - One feature omitted however is the motion triggered monitoring.
Plug and play - The included software utilizes the "plug and play" concept. Basically your pc running XP or VISTA will automatically detect the new hardware (the camera) and list it as a new device in your "network neighborhood"
Ease Of Set Up
Most reviews claim set up was not a big deal. This camera connects easily to your WI FI once your software is installed.
Price
$97.99
Overall
Reviews regarding performance were remarkably mixed... horrible to great. We suspect user experience and intuitiveness with hardware devices and software configuring plays a big part in the negative reviews.
For example, some said they could NOT FTP or email images, others claimed email worked perfectly - Is it luck? Did the negative reviewers buy lemons cameras? We highly doubt that.
We think user experience with wireless devices is a big factor in getting the camera to live up to it's capabilities.
The number of positive and negative reviews were about equal. That being said we know the camera MUST perform adequately and live up to it's manufacturers claims to some degree.
As a few users learning curve and familiarity with the camera increased, a few negative reviews were even updated giving the DCS-920 a more glowing report.
Bottom line? For about $99 this camera will surely meet the needs of many who need basic discreet home or business monitoring even in low light situtaions - but if you are technically challenged you may need to make a call to the "geek squad" to get it rolling.