Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Camera field of view narrower than Motion Detector field of view, July 3, 2008
Camera field of view narrower than Motion detector field of view
I am disappointed with this device. The only good thing I can say about it is its 500 Watt Halogen floodlight. Other than that, the following are the problems I have noticed:
1- The instructions manual is just one pamphlet that briefly describes how to install and program the device. It has the address of a web site that when you go there, it does not have this model listed, nor any information about it. On the box itself there is an address for another web site which has this product model, but only carries a promotional brochure and picture. It does not even have the instructions pamphlet that comes with the product, let alone any more information.
2- It has a small LCD screen for programming. It is at the bottom of the device, but it has an orientation that makes it very difficult to read and do the programming. When you are on a ladder facing the device (a logical position, because most likely, you have installed it on a surface that you are standing in front of), the screen is in reverse position and you see everything upside-down. Standing on a ladder and trying to read an upside-down LCD panel under the camera is problematic. Instructions lead you to push two buttons at once and holding others for 2 seconds which is not easy doing in such an awkward position.
3- Although a day-light sensor will keep the lamp from coming on during the day, the camera will still function. There is no on-off switch for the camera portion of this device, so it keeps shooting pictures/videos during the day. This makes it unsuitable if you want to watch only during the dark hours.
4- Turning off power (e.g. power failure) would stop the device's internal clock, so you have to drag the ladder out and stand at an uncomfortable position to reset the time/date.
5- Its most disturbing attribute is that its photography field of view is much narrower than its motion detection view. Since it senses motion in a wider angle than it can take pictures, very often you see images with no intruders. This is because the subject was at an angle with the device that its motion was detected, yet out of the view of the camera.
6- One of its other disturbing attributes is that there is a significant delay between the time it detects the motion and the time it shoots the picture. Overlooking a 25-foot long driveway, only when someone walks-in at a very slow pace, his/her photo might be taken. Walking at a normal pace straight toward the camera, the delay makes it such that the subject has already left the camera's field of view when it shoots the picture.
Overall, its photography features in relation to its motion detection is very poor and unsatisfactory. But if you are looking only for a motion activated powerful floodlight, this seems to be a good choice, though expensive for that one purpose.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Very difficult to set up. Needs complete redesign, September 30, 2008
This product needs a lot of serious redesign work.
In its favor, I will say that if the SD memory card fills up, it will start overwriting the oldest images first. That way, you don't have to break out the ladder every couple weeks or so to check if the SD memory card has filled up and stopped recording. This overwrite mode should be standard design on EVERY security device that uses a memory card.
The other reviewers who mentioned the awkwardness of setting up this security are absolutely correct. It shouldn't be as difficult to set up the time, date, number of photos per trigger, etc. as Stealth Cam has made it. There's only two buttons (SET and MODE) for all menu selections. It would help if there was an LED for each button so you could know for sure when you've pressed it enough to make contact. The instructions tell you that you need to push both buttons simultaneously to access the main menu for setting up the time, date, etc., but in fact it's hit-or-miss, as the buttons don't seem to reliably make contact each time they're pressed. I can try making the same menu selection 19 times in a row with no result and then magically the 20th time will work. Pretty darn frustrating.
The tiny little LCD set-up screen on the bottom of the motion sensor is literally the size of a postage stamp, which makes it very hard to read, especially when you're asked to discern icons hardly bigger than pinheads. It would help if that tiny LCD screen could be back-lit while accessing the menu. Come on Stealth Cam - it's connected to 120 volts for God's sake. I need a magnifying glass, a flashlight, be perched up on a ladder, AND try to read - and make sense of - inaccurately written instructions. Did ANYONE at Stealth Cam actually try to perform their own set-up while perched on a ladder?!?!
And it would also help if the camera and floodlight could be swiveled side to side and not just up and down. The way it's designed now, the camera and the floodlight are joined together by a common bracket that's part of the electrical box cover. So you're limited to monitoring whatever direction the outdoor electrical junction box happens to be facing.
The camera itself REALLY needs a faster shutter speed. Anyone moving in the motion detection area in anything less than direct sun is blurred enough by their movement that you wouldn't recognize them if you didn't already know them. Imagine what the photos of a sports game would look like if your camera's shutter speed was fixed at 1/2 second. I have put up an actual photo as an example. This is a TYPICAL result - not the worst. Most of the photos are so blurry you literally can't tell if you're looking at a man or a woman. If this thing did manage to get photos of burglars or vandals, the shutter speed isn't fast enough to produce a police sketch from.
Updated on April, 2009: I just got back from checking my cabin, and NONE of the pictures on the SD card were readable. Every single one that I tried to view on my home computer was corrupt, regardless of what program I used. What a worthless piece of garbage.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
I like it but it's not perfect, August 10, 2008
This works very well but with drawbacks. Camera resolution is excellent even in "low res" mode. Video mode also works well. Takes up to 2 gig SD memory card which can hold an awesome number of photos. Memory never fills up - just overwrites. Doesn't look like a camera so "visitors" probably think it's just a motion sensor light. Has cover over the controls to hide them. Problems - only swivels up and down. Requires "junction box" type mount. Camera isn't fast to activate and often misses a moving car or person. Very hard to program especially when you're upside down on a ladder and the display is "inverted" from what it should be. Doesn't program according to the manual. Manual is not detailed enough. Manufacturer web site doesn't even list this item! No backup battery so loses date-time stamp with power failure. No way to adjust IR sensitivity. The other more detailed review is excellent and I agree with everything he says but I'm happier than he is with this gizmo. I bought two and I would like to buy more.
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