TRENDnet ProView PoE Network Surveillance Camera with 16x Digital Zoom TV-IP512P (White)

Let me start by stating that I had to return this IP camera. The major reason is that it does not have exposure compensation and it has a manual focus. It is configured for indoor ambient light settings. Not too bright and not too dim. I also realized that the camera/CCD chip does not have a sufficient dynamic range to capure a scene with both bright and dard areas. If this is a requirement, then this camera will not perform for you.

The Trendnet software does provide image brightness controls but the controls appear to operate on the received image not setting the camera's exposure settings. Hence an over exposed image will remain overexposed.

TrendNet has Setup program on the CD which installs a setup program! This is rather confusing. Installation is clumsy but with patience, I got it configured. The Power over Ethernet worked perfectly.

Based on physical construction, including the pacement of the connectors, the TrendNet Camera appears to be a Dlink camera. In fact using Blue Iris Video Monitoring software, the camera responds as if it is a DLink DCS-3410 or 2102.

The focus is manual. A real PITA when you must mount it and then have someone monitor the video and keep farting with the focus. And given the 1-2 second delay in the video, its easy to keep missing the focus point.

Trendnet also provides a simple but good mounting bracket.

I also tried out their user support. I connected to a person relatively quickly. I offer them the opportunity to the tech support person to connect directly to the camera remotely which they declined (I configured port forwarding on my router). Their first fix for the over exposure was to place the camera in night mode!! What?? That would make it even more over exposed! They ignored my comment. Put me on hold and when they came back and she said it can't be used for viewing outside.

Perhaps I've been spoiled by the Toshiba line of IP cameras. They are a lot more expensive, but their engineering, software and hardware is top notch compared to TrendNet. So if your needs are for video where the lighting does not vary much from ambient indoor lighting, and you can only afford $200, this camera may work for you.

I have the 4x zoom model and it is easy to set up and use. I mounted mine in an outdoor camera housing to monitor the outside of my home. I have no trouble connecting to it from work and the picture is clear. The 4x zoom does cause the picture to get grainy (as expected), but I don't have much use for the zoom as I am looking for an overall view of the area. I had no trouble focusing the camera with my laptop connected to my home network any further and the delay would have made focusing a pain. The microphone works fine and I'm also satisfied with it's performance in low light. The low-watt bulb that I have in my porch light provides enough light for the camera to view the entire porch area late at night. When the motion flood lights are activated, there is more than enough light for the camera. This is a good choice for a basic internet security camera.

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The quality of this camera is what you would expect for the price, regular. The default settings are not ok for use outdoor, and you can't change that unless you update the firmware of the device, which is what we did and after that i worked ok indoor and outdoor (we didn't knew that the firmware fixed this problem since we didn't find anything that suggested it but thanks to that we didn't have to return it or use it only indoor).

You can access the camera from any navigator (we tried IE, FF and Opera), but some advanced functions are only available in IE.

The zoom is not that useful since its just digital and the image resolution is not very good.

The software detects the camera without problem even if you don't know it's IP so it save us a couple of times from rebooting it.

We've tried for a few days now and everything seems ok even when using it with ddns.

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Originally I purchased the TV-IP512P to use outside with an enclosure. It wasn't until AFTER I received it that the documentation states it's for indoor use. Indoors, it works great, though I use it to monitor remotely and picture quality isn't a big issue. I mounted the camera outside in the enclosure and as a few reviews have stated, the picture is blown out with outdoor light levels. I put a small piece of window tint over the enclosure window to reduce the light level and though it does take away from picture quality ever so slightly, the picture quality is still acceptable. I will be buying another for inside use in the near future.

****UPDATE****

After contacting Trendnet support about the light level for exterior use, I was told to do a firmware upgrade. After doing the upgrade, I had the option for indoor or outdoor use. Set on outdoor, I removed the tint I applied previously (to cut down the light level), and was pleased to find the picture is no longer washed out, and is FAR better than before. Next I'll be trying the IR500 infrared lens to see if visibility at night is increased.

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The good:

Easy to set up, works with standard POE switches. Mounts on top and bottom, comes with a right angle bracket. Web interface is nice and easy to use. Works with Zoneminder. JPG's upload to an FTP server just fine.

The bad:

Focus is a manual focus. I knew this going in, but i didn't realize how annoying it would be. My biggest gripe and the main reason for the low rating is that you can't browse the SD card through the camera interface. You have to take it out and put it in a pc to read it. To me this is unacceptable and had I known this I would never have purchased this camera.

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