The camera I got was branded EasyN, but the box art shown on the product info page matches the box I got. Some people claim they have Foscam, Apexis, Hootoo, etc. brand, but I think it's the same camera branded in different brands to accommodate different markets. I admit, it would HELP if you are tech savvy or at least have some knowledge in network configuration to expedite the set up and get the camera running, but that's not required. This camera isn't exactly the most fool-proof camera in the market, but its feature make up for it.
The instructions are readable, albeit choppy due to the poor Chinese-to-English translation. OK here's the deal. I'm going to write a lengthy semi-review, semi-how-to for this awesome IP camera seeing the need for an instruction for Mac users. First of all, I am a Mac user running on OS X 10.7.2 Lion and I got this bad boy up and running within an hour. For all you Mac users out there, you'll need to have temporary access to a Windows machine.
If you don't have a Windows machine, see UPDATE 4 at the end of this review then follow steps 3 and forward. I'm writing this review under the presumption that the typical user has no knowledge of MAC access control list or WiFi DHCP client table from your router to set-up the camera it via WiFi. You need it to run the application that allows you to detect and configure the camera's IP. Unfortunately, this application is written for Windows only. But that's all you need a Windows machine for. Once you configure the camera's IP address to work with your LAN, then you can use the web interface and configure a whole sleuth of other options, including the alarm feature, FTP, Mail and other. So without adieu, let's do this!
I've taken screenshots to help accommodate the mini guide below. So check out the user-submitted images for 7+ images I've added for directions on how to proceed. The instruction is for connecting the camera to a LAN I chose this route because my WiFi network is secured over several layers of security (Sonic Wall fire wall, MAC control, etc.) and it's just easier to get the cam up and running through the LAN.
0.) Connect your IP camera to your LAN via ethernet and plug in the power supply.
1.) Get access to a Windows machine. I dual-booted to Windows Vista via Boot Camp. Make sure this Windows machine has access to your LAN.
2.) Run the application with the file name, DevFind.exe you can find it in the directory, /EasyN F2 series IP camera installation CD/software. My included install disc was a blank CD-R disc!!! so I had to download the CD content ZIP from the manufacturer's web site: "easyntech . com / ShowDownload . asp ? id = 34" you can download the manuals in PDF format from the site too).
3.) Run the DevFind.exe to locate your camera, then modify the camera's IP address so that it matches your LAN's IP range structure, subnet mask and gateway. The default IP address assigned to the camera should be indicated in a silver sticker located underneath the camera. The same sticker can also be found on the exterior of the box. Basically, the default IP should be something along the line of 192 . 168 . 1 . 126 and access port 81 (it could be different). Since my LAN's IP range structure is 192.168.0.x, I have assigned the camera an IP address of 192 . 168 . 0 . 155. I changed out the default port of 81 to 310. Understand me so far? Once you got that down, click on the "APPLY" button to make the changes.
4.) Click on the "OTHERS" tab under the Equipment Information field. Take note of the information located in the "MAC" field, it should be a 12 letter/number string of characters.
5.) If you have access controlled enabled in your router, then follow this step. If not, you can skip. What access control means is you only allow certain network devices permission to connect to your LAN. Even if the connecting client knows your WEP/WPA/WPA2 password, they still will not be able to connect to your Wi-Fi unless their device is registered to the access control list. The unique identifier of the network device is its MAC address. If you have this enabled, then add the camera's MAC address you've just jotted down in the previous step to your router's access control list. The convention should be XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX where X is a number or a character from the alphabet. So if your camera's MAC address is 00A8F700F341, enter it as 00:A8:F7:00:F3:41 Update and restart your router after entering. If you have the means to reserve IP address designation on your router, I would do so. Since I assigned the camera an IP address of 192 . 168 . 0 . 155, I would reserve this address on the router to the camera's MAC address so that this IP doesn't get reassigned by the DHCP to another network device by accident.
6.) You'll definitely need to port-forward your camera if you plan to remote view from outside. In your router setup, go to the "Port Forwarding" page it's usually under "Advanced setup" or something similar. Since I assigned the camera a custom port of 310, I would enter the port range starting and ending at 310 to be forwarded to the camera's IP address of 192 . 168 . 0 . 155 .
7.) Next, you should be able to punch in the IP address and port number you've assigned to the camera as noted on step #3 onto your web browser and launch the web-based utility app e.g. 192 . 168 . 0 . 155 : 310. When you first try to access the camera through a web browser, it will ask you for a username and a password. This information is located underneath the camera and also on the box. It's usually "admin" for the username and a blank password, but double check your equipment.
8.) Select the viewing method; if you are using IE select the first link, if you're using Firefox, select the second link, etc.
9.) View your camera, control it, etc
10.) Click on the OPTIONS icon to access the web-based configuration app, or punch in 192 . 168 . 0 . 155 : 310 /admin2.htm to access it directly
11.) Configure all sorts of other goodies, such as FTP access, Email, alarm, DDNS, Alias, etc.
12.) If you want to view your camera from remote (i.e. outside of your home network), assuming you have a static IP, then you need to punch in your ISP assigned IP address, followed by your port. You can find out your ISP assigned address by going into your router and looking at the information located in the "basic setting" area. Thanks to daniel for pointing this out. If you have a dynamic IP address, then I recommend signing up for a dynamic DNS server, such as dyndns.org. Be sure to update the DDNS area of the web utility with the appropriate login credential to your dynamic DNS provider.
I'm working on the wireless LAN setup, so I'll edit this review once I have a sure fire way to set it up so I can append a simple how-to to help folks get started. Any question, just comment. Again, this is from a Mac OS X Lion 10.7.2 user (at the time of this writing). *** Wireless instruction added, see Update 5 below ***
Since I am a Mac user, the IP Camera utility is USELESS (unless you're using Parallel or Fusion to run Windows). I rely solely on the web-based interface to view the camera. It works like a charm so far. The camera's pan and tilt feature is SUPER fast. Of course, that's because I set it at the fastest level; you can set it according to your taste. You can set up the Alarm feature so that its motion detector can pick up motion contingent on how sensitive you set the camera to behave. Once the alarm mode is triggered, you can further instruct the camera to upload screenshots at set intervals to an FTP server and/or email you the screenshots to an email address (see pictures). You certainly don't need to be Cisco or A+ certified to get this camera to work.
EDIT: As for scheduling the motion-detector, it works if you set it correctly. From the web-configuration utility, click on "Alarm Service Setting." Set the sensitivity level, etc., then check if you want to have the camera email you and/or take screenshots of events triggering the alarm and upload to a designated FTP server. I checked both. For the scheduler, check "Scheduler" to bring up a week calendar with hour. Click on the hours you'd like the camera to trigger its motion-detector, then press "Set". Note that the alarm mode won't go into affect after about 30 seconds after rebooting. I didn't know this at first and thought this feature was defunct from factory. I'm guessing the camera is giving you time to evacuate the premise before arming itself. The scheduling calendar is very cumbersome, so it's probably easier to just turn on or turn off the motion detector.
Also since you need Internet Explorer to use the ActiveX enabled web interface, Mac users will luck out. The IE version of the web interface allows you to record video (AVI format), take a snapshot, listen and talk through your camera, along with the ability to command multiple cameras. It also appears that the remote on/off switch works with the ActiveX IE control interface, but doens't for the other interfaces. I haven't had time to fully test them.
UPDATE 2: I live in an apartment complex where I gave permission to the leasing staff to deliver packages into my apartment when I am not home to sign for it. I set up the camera for motion detection and it picked up the delivery, snap a few shots and emailed to me in addition to continuously snapping shots in 5 seconds interval and uploading it to the FTP server. Simply awesome for $5x.00.
I'm so impressed with this camera I'll be purchasing two more units, possibly in white so they can blend with the white walls.
UPDATE 3: For WiFi, make sure your router is 802.11 a/b/g compatible and set at 2.4ghz frequency. The IP camera will not pick up your router if it's set at 5 ghz at N-mode only. For MAXIMUM WiFi performance, do not obstruct the WiFi antenna. Swivel it downward if you have to as the antenna is not as sophisticated and is extremely sensitive to obstruction.
UPDATE 4: Thanks to Jean-Pierre Ciudad, you can download a program called "IP Scanner for Mac" from cnet.com. It will detect the IP address of the IP camera seamlessly. Once the IP address is noted, simply punch it in your web browser to make the subsequent changes. First thing first is to change the IP address for the camera to match your network. You can find this under "Basic Network Setting" of the web interface no need for a Windows machine.
UPDATE 5 How to configure your camera for wireless access: After playing around with the wireless set up, I think I've found a sure-fire way to set up your IP Cam for wireless connection. The first thing you need to do is connect it to the LAN via Ethernet and configure your camera for LAN access, basically if you've got your IP Cam up and running by following my instructions above or through your own mean, you're ready to go wireless. Now the trick here is to keep in mind that when you go wireless, your wireless router will assign the IP Cam a new IP address via DHCP, meaning most likely you will not be able to access the camera at the LAN-assigned IP address. I think this is the main reason if not THE reason why a lot of folks are having a hard time getting the IP Cam to connect wirelessly. Also keep in mind that the IP Cam is only compatible at 802.11 a/b/g at 2.4ghz only. Not a problem with dual-band Time Capsule but you may need to configure your router accordingly.
So back to the setup procedure, once you get your IP Cam up and running on the LAN, go to your IP Cam's web UI and click on "Wireless Lan Settings" on the left navigation menu to configure the IP Cam for wireless access.
* Make sure the "Using Wireless Lan" box is checked.
* Under "SSID", enter your full wireless network name. You may click "Scan" multiple times until your wireless network shows up on the list (you may need to scan up to 4 times before it appears) or you can just type in the name of the SSID of your network. If you have Access Control List enabled, be sure to add the IP Cam's MAC address to the ACL.
* For "Network Type", select "Infra"
* Under "Encryption", select your security type. It's usually WPA2 (AES), but again, you need to do the research on your own network.
* For "Share Key", type in your wireless network access password.
Click SET and let the IP Cam reboot (30 secs). Next disconnect the Ethernet cable from the IP Cam and power down the camera, wait 30 seconds. Reconnect the power supply but leave the Ethernet cable unplugged and wait another 30 seconds for the IP Cam to boot up. Now your IP Cam should be connected to your wireless network. Run IP Scanner 2.5 or above to discover the newly assigned WAN IP address on the network (you can find this in your router's DHCP list via your router's admin page as well); this should be the new wireless IP address for your IP Camera. If the WAN IP for the IP Cam is 192 . 168 . 0 . 4, then you'll need to punch in 192 . 168 . 0 . 4 : 80 (or 192 . 168 . 0 . 4 : 81) to regain access to the web UI again, your LAN assigned IP for the camera will usually no longer work. If you've changed the default access port for the IP Camera to something else other than 81, be sure to use the custom port instead when accessing the new wireless IP address. If you plan on a 100% wireless connection you'll need to reconfigure your port forwarding settings, reserved IP setting (if you did this for LAN), access port, etc. Proceed with your WiFi configuration as if you're configuring the IP Cam for the first time on LAN. If you're considering an outdoor IP camera solution, be sure to check out my Agasio M105I Outdoor Wireless Wifi Waterproof Bullet IP Camera with IR-Cut Filter, Two-way Audio, Night-Vision, Email & review.
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