Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Great Camera for the price, November 30, 2009
First, a history of why I purchased this camera. I purchased this camera after owning the Summer Infant Video Monitoring Camera for 2 years. The issue I had with the Summer Infant was that my downstairs neighbor had the same camera. The Summer Infant has 2 channels. My baby was on channel A and theirs was on channel B. There would sometimes be interference on the device and many times, while trying to sleep, I would hear the camera cackle, pop, and make noises. Also, we just had another baby and I wanted to purchase another camera so that I could monitor both babies... This was now an issue as I only could use one channel, since my neighbor was using the other. If I even tried to use the channel they were on, I would not be able to see anything due to tons of interference. So these were my big issues with the Summer Infant:
1.) I could only use 1 Channel since my neighbor was using the same camera
2.) Anybody that has a Summer Infant Camera can see your baby
3.) Lots of Interference
4.) Even when there was no interference, the camera would still make noises which bothered me in my sleep.
I purchased the ZOpid after doing much research... I must say I am very happy with the camera. I am only giving it four stars though because I have had to reset the base monitor a few times since I purchased the camera a couple months ago. I've also had to reset the camera watching my 1st born on 2 occasions... Why? I have no clue, but after I reset the camera I had no connection issues. Here are the PROs and CONs of using the ZOpid:
PROS:
1.) No noises at night when I'm trying to sleep. The camera only transmits noise over a certain decibel, therefore you won't hear anything unless your child makes a sound that the camera picks up, then and only then will you hear it on the receiver.
2.) No interference - fully digital. This is a plus as I know that nobody else can see my baby either
3.) I can set up to 8 cameras with this monitor... Not that I will ever need to, but it's possible.
4.) I can charge the base on my laptop as it can connect via USB
5.) UPDATES to the firmware. After speaking to the vendor, they informed me that an update should be available January 2010. I'll get to test updating the firmware then.
6.) Easy to navigate menu... Now, this is a PRO for me. I notice that my wife is not comfortable with navigating the menu and she does not find it very easy. I work in IT, so that may give me an advantage.
Now the CONS:
1.) The picture is no where near as clear as the Summer Infant baby monitor. In-fact, it's a little pixelated.
2.) I've had to reset the base about 3 times as it's lost connection.
3.) I've had to reset the camera twice since it for some reason stopped transmitting... This was a concern for me the first night since I had it all setup... fell asleep, woke up, and there was nothing on the receiver... that means that for I don't know how many hours I was not monitoring my child (no video - no sound). That's a concern for me. But I have not had any issues with the camera in the past month.
4.) The power cords are a tad bit to short for me for the Cameras... The Summer Infant had much longer cords.
Overall, I am pleased with the ZOpid camera. I have the second camera that I need to setup in my room to monitor our newborn. I should have it setup soon... Been procrastinating a tad since my wife is always with the child... There hasn't truly been a need for it yet. But overall, a great system at a great price.
