Amazon.com: Logitech Alert 700e Outdoor Add-On Security Camera with Night Vision: Camera & Photo

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3.8 out of 5 stars (56 customer reviews)

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80 of 80 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great system, just a few flaws, November 11, 2010

W. Nichols (Henderson, NV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

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This review is from: Logitech Alert 700i Indoor Add-On HD-Quality Security Camera (Electronics)

I try to keep up writing reviews for products I buy, especially the items that I myself do a lot of research on, before buying. So I'll break this down as best I can. I live in a 2-story, 2800 square foot home. And for the longest time, I've wanted a surveillance system to make me feel safe both when I am at home and away. The Logitech camera system and software does it right, with only a few minor issues, and I stress minor.

I have an Apple router but run Windows 7 on my PC; I'm also using the free application on my iPhone. I had zero problems with the software install, even when it came to Window's firewall. I'm currently running 2 indoor cameras and 1 outdoor camera...but, I actually plan on using nothing but outdoor cameras for my entire system (to include for inside surveillance). And that's about the only real issue I have with the system. The indoor camera works awesome and does what it should. It delivers good quality color video and even over the iPhone application or over the web (from Logitech's website), all of my friends all have said, "Wow, that looks awesome!" BUT, and it's a big BUT, once the sun goes down, the indoor cameras are very limited. Shy of the bad guy turning on all of the lights in my house, then committing his crime, the indoor camera is of little use during nighttime hours. And at first, I was okay with that because I'm home at night and it's actually the daytime when nobody is home. But then I bought the outdoor Logitech camera and WOW, what a difference because it holds the very same quality as the indoor camera, but also does a phenomenal job at night. So with that, I'm going to return the indoor cameras and use the outdoor cameras for outside as well as inside. But I still want to give my review on the indoor camera as I've been using it for about a month now.

Pros:

Color Quality. Again, great color quality. Even using the digital zoom, I was impressed at how good it looks. My wife being the glass half empty type of person commented that you can't see the face of the person all that well. But my reply was - but you can sure as heck see his race, clothing description, weight, height, hair color and most importantly you can see if he is or isn't wearing gloves...hence, you could see clearly where he may have left evidence (fingerprints, DNA, etc).

Included 2GB media card. This is a great feature!! This means that if bad guy breaks in and thinks he's outsmarting you by stealing your computer (with the footage of him), you can still revert back to the camera itself to retrieve the footage saved to the media card. Another great thing about the camera media card is that your home computer does not need to be always on to be recording. For example, my computer goes into sleep mode after about an hour of inactivity. So if my computer is in hibernate mode for a full day, the cameras are still recording footage and will sync to my computer when it awakes. For it to work seamless, I just leave the Logitech software running in the task bar (background).

Software. Logitech did it right with the software. It was a very easy install, features are clear and I love that you can customize each camera you have on your network. For example, out of the 3 cameras I have, I only want 1 of them to send off text message alerts. Again, it's nice that the alerts are not just a system feature, but rather an individual camera setting. You can also adjust the duration of alerts to save yourself from getting thousand texts. For me, a 5 minute window is perfect, just as long as I get the initial text, I wouldn't be concerned about getting 20 more in under a 5 minute or however long of a window you choose. I also like the way the software saves all of the recorded video. With 3 cameras going, I've been getting a lot of recorded footage. The software not only allows you to use choose a given date and time to research, but if you were to search out for that file in Windows explorer, the software does a great job by saving the footage under the name of camera (for example "Living Room"), then the month (10 for October), then the day within that month. Being a police officer, I really like that if I had to turn over crucial footage (if my home was burglarized, etc), all of the footage would have clear a folder structure and time stamp that would make sense to any other investigating officer.

Alerts. This feature sealed the deal for me buying this system to begin with. You select a zone in which if motion occurs, an alert will be sent. For example, although my camera has a pretty wide shot of my living room to include front door, my only concern is if movement is picked up at the front door. Once motion is detected, a text message is sent to my phone. The alert text message is awesome; it says what camera picked up what motion and at what date and time...simple and efficient. BUT, I will mention alerts in the Cons section, so please read on.

Camera size. Again, I have both the indoor and outside camera and was very impressed by how small they were. I also lucked out that I have power sources on top of my potter shelves, so I was able to plug in the cameras without any wires being run down walls, etc. And because the cameras are small, I've actually told friends that I have the cameras and it still took them a while to actually figure out where.

The "wow" factor. I'll admit it, I'm that guy who loves his tech toys, who loves showing off new technology and how I make it work for my family's safety. The first day when I showed all of my police friends the system, everyone was amazed. I should get a kick back from Logitech on all of the potential customers I made for them. Being able to open the iPhone app and show my friends that I have 24/7 surveillance of my home, felt very cool. The iPhone app also works very well over 3g cell service (not just wi-fi).

Cons:

Price. Well I mentioned the "wow" factor when I showed off the system to my friends. Well, I got the same expression when I told them how much. For me to get 6 cameras, all of them being the outdoor cameras, is a bit pricey. But, I will say that the software being free is nice. It's also nice to know that each camera comes with that 2GB media card (another plus that make the high costs seem understandable). And although I'm not that interested in audio, again, if you're going to pay the big bucks for a camera, at least it gives you color and audio as an option.

Night time quality. Again, if all you care about is crystal clear footage in the daytime, then the indoor camera is for you. But for me, I began to get frustrated that for so much money, I was only getting daytime footage. For a bit more money per camera, I feel that it was well worth it, to be able to see what's going on in my home 24/7.

Logitech server. This is a tough one to explain, but I'll do my best. When you install the cameras and software, the alert system is dependent on Logitech's servers / service. In the month that I've been using the camera, I only had 1 time that their servers went down. In that time, the cameras in my home were recording as they should BUT the alert notification system will not work if Logitech's service is down or disrupted. Although it was only down for a few hours, I was still very unpleased given the fact that the alert system is what it's all about. I don't want to come home to find my house has been burglarized and didn't get a text because the servers were down. Instead, I want to get a text message telling me someone is there, that way I can call the police and increase my chances of getting the suspect while he is still in the residence. The alert service has only been disrupted once, but makes me nervous for what's to come down the road as these cameras begin to sell.

Alerts. Again, read my Pros section about the alert function. Where I had a problem is how long it can take to get the alert text message. I've done some very extensive testing and it ranges between 40 seconds to 4 minutes from when my phone gets the alert text message. Now 4 minutes may not seem like a long time, but a skilled criminal can do A LOT in just a few minutes. I'm not too happy about the variations on alert times, especially since there appears to be no rhyme or reason as to why sometimes I get the notification in under a minute, but other times over 3 minutes. Clearly, it has to do with Logitech servers.

Plug outlet requirements. Although I get why you have to plug in your unit to the actual wall, it doesn't mean I have to like it. It's been a little bit of a challenge with some of my cameras to find a good discreet location coupled with having an available outlet there. I'm guessing that at some point, Logitech will begin selling overpriced extension cords or power bars that allow the cameras to work even without being directly plugged into the wall. I believe a read few reviews from people that have done this though; I would live to get their reply or feedback in this review thread.

Thanks for reading!

******Updated Review****** 12/19/11

So after more than a year of owning these surveillance cameras, I wanted to update my review.

Originally I purchased the indoor cameras, however, quickly realized that the outdoor cameras are your best bet - even if the cameras are all for the inside of your home. I still strongly stand behind that assertion. After a year, I've upped my system to 4 outdoor cameras that are placed in and outside of my home.

I have to say that after a full year, I'm still very happy with the system and I use it every day. One aspect of the system that did get a welcomed update is the iPhone / iPad application. The best part of the updated app is the ability to see all of your cameras' viewpoint without having to selectively choose each camera. Although I... Read more ›

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41 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Quite a ride Logitech has taken us on...BUT>, March 4, 2011

Robert E. Jurgensen "tarheelinva" (Manassas VA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

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This review is from: Logitech Alert 700e Outdoor Add-On Security Camera with Night Vision (Electronics)

I purchased this camera system, six cameras total, two at a time, until I was somewhat basically satisfied with them. Today, I'm at about 80% satisfaction rating but the first few weeks were pretty brutal. It's a bit of a learning curve figuring out how this system works because it uses POE (power over ethernet) connects and if you run your vacuum cleaner or carpet shampoo machine, well, some of the cameras get confused and bug out. Some will come back on after you are done, some may not. And they definitely don't like power outages: during one ice storm here, the power flickered on and off multiple times - the cameras went out, would not come back on and ultimately I had to wait til the event was over and then unplug and replug every unit (some of which were not very convenient to reach in 10 degree weather, I might add). In other power failures, where the power simply goes out and stays out, they have all managed to recover on their own (after the new update which may have improved that problem.) Flickering power is not good however.

The micro-SD cards are a royal pain - and should NEVER have been mounted in the camera itself - way too inconvenient to reach if you mount them "out of reach" from others (most of us would, right?) Whoever thought that up was not an end-user, that's for sure. They should be in the power supply, which hopefully would be easier to reach and certainly easier to work on (these are very tiny cards.) I see their purpose and that's great BUT perhaps a standard card would have been smarter and easier to work with.

The software is not ready for prime time at all - again, whoever designed this software has apparently no experience with security camera systems. YES, the software looks nice and the clarity (daytime) is pretty awesome compared to most systems but this is not most systems - in fact it costs about double or even triple what most of the standard run of the mill systems costs, so I would expect better clarity. And night vision, well, it's pitiful - like looking at reverse negatives and no adjustments can be made whatsoever - all automatic. And the frame rate drops from about 15 to 5 (if you are lucky) - making movements all "run" together on playback or live. Almost worthless.

Support is not good - you can learn more on the forums from others (who are mostly complaining about Logitech support!) than calling Logitech. I know more about these cameras than most Logitech support personnel, who seem clueless and to be reading from a check list. And don't waste your time asking for Tier 2 support - they will NEVER call you back; apparently the sport at Logitech ALERT Support(separate support, not like most Logitech support, which is typically great!) is to hide behind the support forum and private message people with "pat" answers - ignoring the question - I actually had 5 exchanges with a Tier 2 person asking me question after question that was PREVIOUSLY ADDRESSED IN GREAT DETAIL IN THE FIRST EMAIL - so that proves they don't even read the question. Simply amazing.

All in all, these cameras COULD be great - they are sleek looking, sharp in design, with good weight and balance; they mount easily (but the mounts are nothing impressive) and have some nice features (like ability to turn off motion lights) and wide panoramic field of view (Zoom is a joke though, you lose so much clarity with digital zoom it's all but worthless.)

There are literally hundreds of people who have purchased these cameras asking for the most basic of basic features that come standard with most security systems, such as a scheduler, better motion sensitivity controls, better night vision (and controls); ability to manually record (nope, you cannot decide what or when to records, MOTION is the only way these cameras will record - no motion, no recording.) No motion indicator so you even know when or if they are indeed recording. Ridiculous.

Before you buy these cameras, read the threads carefully on Logitech.com under their Alert system - I do believe that Logitech is working on some serious updates and improvements - their first update to Commander software was fairly pathetic, but they are promising some BIG enhancements (long overdue) with the next release (March? who knows, they won't say more than "soon") - if they do incorporate some of the needed improvements everyone is asking for, these cameras could/would be SUPER DUPER. But right now, they're expensive, pretty to look at and while they do offer HD quality (again, daytime only and not in zoom mode) they are also somewhat unreliable (some cameras trail several minutes and refuse to catch up to "LIVE" - also very annoying). Logitech needs to get their act together - but based on most comments from former WiLife users (previous generation) this system's SOFTWARE is not as sophisticated as their earlier system (but the cameras are MUCH better.) Basically, they put this system out almost like a Beta test and are SLOWLY making improvements and enhancements that should have been in the initial release of any basic system. If I wanted to be a beta tester, I'd sign up to be one.

Will it be a good system one day? ...probably - it does has tremendous potential but honestly, it's not ready for prime time - having spent almost $2000 to buy and install this system, I'm committed and just hoping that one day soon Logitech will issue a MAJOR software update (and some firmware improvements too) that lifts this camera up to the level it deserves. RIGHT NOW, the cameras are substantially under-served by the software, which is almost so elementary it's pitiful. And if I were to go away and the power flickered, even for ten seconds, I'd have 0 access to my system and no way to reset it. Again, RIDICULOUS!

I finally managed to get Logitech's attention with a rant on their forum (like so many of us have had to do) and they actually had a L2 supervisor call me - we had a nice discussion but basically nothing great came out of that except a lot of promises for future enhancements - if they are true to their word, I may ultimately be a very happy user, but so far, I could have gotten twice the cameras for half the price in another brand - probably not the video quality - but acceptable. That is Logitech Alert's saving grace: video quality during daylight hours, is excellent. At night, not so much.

Wake up Logitech! You have a great product with lousy software (and even worse "support") - time to get your software engineers off their hind ends and get this nice camera system working like it should! It's taking way to long and the general lack of "response" from Logitech on the forums is at best, limited and contrite. After spending nearly 2 G's, I expect better than that.

Oh, one more thing: if you want to have "full function" access on your Iphone or via a web browser, you will have to pay an annual fee - not very reasonable at $89/yr - especially when the only thing it brings is ability to playback "motion alerts" (of which there will be MANY if it's raining or snowing or the wind is blowing because their sensitivity controls are not able to adjust for these normal, almost daily "events" - and cannot distinquish between rain falling and some unauthorized human prowling around your home or business. AND you cannot have full control of your cameras if you install this system on your laptop and go on a trip - you must leave the "Commander" on the network for it to work - otherwise you are limited to your SD recordings (all 2 GB of them, which can be a day or so if it's raining!)

Good luck - but if I was you, I'd wait until you see some glowing reports about improvements and software enhancements before spending this kind of money. It's just not quite ready for prime time.

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40 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best outdoor system on the market today!, October 12, 2010

Linksys User (Brockton, MA, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Logitech Alert 700e Outdoor Add-On Security Camera with Night Vision (Electronics)

From the moment I opened the box the Logitech Alert 750e Outdoor Master Security System with Night Vision was very easy to understand and had great setup diagrams with color coded ribbons for stress free setup. Where I was mounting the unit 20 feet off the ground I connected everything in the house and tested it to make sure it was working first. Once the camera was mounted in place I simply adjusted it to the area I wanted to monitor and then used electrical tape around the mount joints as they are not as tight as I would have expected and I did not want to have to climb a ladder after every wind storm to adjust. Setup was very quick after installing the mounting bracket.

It should be noted the the ribbon (power) cable that connects to the outdoor camera is so flat and thin that you can bring it in through a window without compromising the window seal when the window is fully closed. This is a huge plus as I did not need to drill a hole for it.

I set up email alerts and also I highly recommend if you have some blowing tree branches in view as I do that you set up particular areas for movement detections. If you do this and set the motion rate for recording you will capture only scenes of interest which makes it so much easier when reviewing recordings.

The master system comes with the network hardware and the invaluable command center. This is extremely easy to navigate. You can zoom, pan and tilt effortlessly. I am thinking of adding this software for remote viewing as well.

The night vision is suprisinging very very good in low to know light. I am extremely impressed with the night vision and have to say that it is well worth the extra money.

The only drawback I can see to this system is that if you enable and use the audio component which comes built in and has great range, picks up way to much wind. I would like to see an add on for wind noise reduction. This would not keep me from highly recommending this product. I did a lot and I mean a lot of research (hands on and reading) before making my decision to purchase this camera and I am very glad I did.

I highly recommend this product! Picture is extremely clear not washy like others. The audio is good enough to capture voices and sounds with in the entire viewing areas and sometimes beyond.

I was not able to figure out how to upload a few pictures with this review otherwise I would have.

Thank you Logitech for a superb and well built system that seems to have it all.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars A great system, until it breaks
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	Alert 700e Outdoor Add-on Camera Noteworthy Features

•	Free apps for mobile viewing

•	HD-quality video

•	Night Vision

•	Hassle-free installation

•	Free viewing over the web

•	Motion-triggered alerts

•	Built-in DVR recording

•	Weatherproof

•	Expandable

Logitech Alert 700e Outdoor Add-On Security Camera with Night Vision

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	To use the Logitech Alert Outdoor Add-on Camera you'll need: Logitech Alert 750e Outdoor Master Digital Video Security System or the Logitech Alert 750i Indoor Master Digital Video Security System
	For set-up and control of your Logitech Alert Master System you'll need: Windows-based computer Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7 operating system 2 GHz or faster processor At least 1 GB RAM Available Ethernet port on your home network A high-speed Internet connection		For remote viewing you'll need: An iPhone, Android or BlackBerry smart phone (with free apps installed) A PC or Intel-based Mac with Adobe Flash Player 10 or later (free download)