Update 7/26/12:
All of these cameras seem to have the same "flashing" problem. It isn't clear if it is the "IR Cut" filter or some other problem. They also might as well be black-and-white given how terrible the color is. If something happened and video from this camera needed to be submitted to authoritiesit would be next to impossible to actually identify anyone in it.
The "flashing" problem seems to occur at a particular light level (much too bright for the "IR Cut" filter if it is working normally), so at least twice a day (or more often in changing weather conditions) the cameras brightness rapidly changes between light and dark for 30 minutes or more. This triggers both the camera's internal "motion detector", as well as the motion detection algorithms in security DVR software like Blue Iris or iSpy. In other wordsyour mailbox, FTP server, or DVR will fill up with completely useless images, very quickly.
Technical support via email says a "Factory Reset" will fix the problem. Not only doesn't it fix the problembut you then have to set everything up again from scratch, which is a problem if you are using them via WiFi in a not-easily-accessible location.
Alsomounting these cameras outdoors means you pretty much have to cut and splice the 5v power cord, and use a lot of tape or an outdoor box to keep the connectors in. They come with a short cable and a set of connectors that you would have to drill a 1.5" hole in the wall to route inside. The power supply is only indoor rated, and is too big to put in an "In-Use" covered GFCI box. Of courseyou can't return them without the factory-provided power supply...
Update 6/12/12:
I dropped my rating to two stars.
While probably still a good value for the money, these cameras have at least one serious issue. I returned one, but the replacement has the same problem. A friend of mine bought two cameras at the same time I did, and has the same issue with hers as-well. The cameras flip randomly between their "IR CUT" filter and normal in certain lighting conditions. This causes random light/dark flashing at various times throughout the day. This flashing, besides being extremely annoying, also trips the "motion alarm", sending hundreds (or in the case of one of my camerasthousands) of bogus motion alarm pictures out. If you use their software to record videoyou will get many-many hours of nothing but flashing video filling up your HDD.
One solution I found online is to either color-over or tape-over the light sensor on the camera. Tried thatdoesn't work. I requested support on Wansview's Web site a week ago, and have heard nothing. There also aren't any firmware updates available for these cameras. I guess we can keep returning them for new ones, but since this is happening on 4 out of 4 (actually 5 if I count the one I've already returned) it's pretty clear it is a manufacturing defect. All four came from different vendors (via Amazon) Wansview should just give one the option to turn the stupid filter OFF! They do seem to work quite well at night, but during the daythey are almost useless for hours at a time.
Leaving my old review here for reference...
I recently bought two of this most-recent version of Wansview outdoor security camera: NC543W. The camera has a solid aluminum housing and appears to be well-sealed from the elements. I bought three similar cameras last year. They are cheap and the picture quality definitely isn't HD, but they are very usable.
The camera's I bought last year came with terrible "Chinelish" manuals that were almost impossible to read. They also didn't come with any kind of viewing/recording software, forcing me to use marginally-implemented browser-based viewers or 3rd-party software. I'm very happy to say that this has changed for these two most-recent purchases. More effort was clearly put into the user's manual, and the included "multi-view" software works very well. The really big bonus with the viewer software is the ability to record video, as opposed to just still images.
As another bonusthe cameras will work with uPnP routers (or you can manually set up tunneling) and Wansview provides a DDNS server, making it very easy to set the cameras up for remote viewing. The manual does a decent job of describing the setup for this, but non-geeks may need to get a bit of help configuring their router if necessary.
The camera has an "automatic" software color filter that is supposed to just kick in when in IR nigh-vision mode. I suspect this may be causing problems for some. I've found the color during the day to be very acceptable. In low-light there is a definite color shift, mostly noticeable at dusk and dawn.
I really only have two issues with these cameras, preventing a 5-star rating:
I can't get the Internet Explorer version of their Web viewer to work. I've tried it on three computers. The plugin install seems to "blow up" and I get nothing but a blank view. It's possible this is due to over-zealous security settings on my part, but I'm not going to lower my standards to install a plugin. I don't get any kind of an error message or pop-up. The other browser version works just fine on Chrome, Safari, and Firefox. It also works great on iPhone and iPad, although there are some great 3rd party camera viewers for them, as well as Android, that work fine with these cameras.
It is difficult to accomplish a good outdoor mount of them due to the length of the connector cable and the size of the network jack. If you want an inexpensive "clean" installyou pretty much have to drill a 1" hole to route the cables through to the inside. The power adapter and its cable are not outdoor rated, and it doesn't appear any of the other connectors will last long outdoors without some kind of protection. It's probably possible to cram everything into a water-tight exterior box, which is something I'm going to experiment with. I'd much rather drill a small hole for the power adapter cable (and network cable, if necessary) than a 1" one. Tacking things up under an eave seems to be the cheapest option, and I don't believe that will make it through winter. Power-over-Ethernet would make things easier, but would likely raise the price of the camera.
Like I saidit's a great camera for the price. If you want good color balance and a higher resolution with more featureslook at spending 3-10x as much. If you want a reliable (at least in my experience) security camera and don't have a lot of money to spendthis is a great deal.
One bit of adviceit is difficult to tweak the motion-sensor sensitivity, especially outdoors where things like trees and shrubs blowing in the wind can set it off. This isn't really the fault of the camerait's just the nature of such systems. These cameras can generate a LOT of email, so if you use that method of "alarm" notificationsget yourself another email account with a lot of space on one of the big providers. That way you won't flood your personal email account. If you use FTPyou will want to frequently audit the server's disk usage, or use an automated process to delete older uploads. If using the multi-view software to record videobe sure to enable the feature that automatically deletes older videos if you are running out of disk space. I recommend using a dedicated partition or external disk.
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