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| D-Link DCS-5222L |
If you want a pan/tilt IP camera for
security purposes, but you don't need top shelf performance and design, the
$250 D-Link DCS-5222L is worth a Look.
It offers many of the same features as
the Axis M5014 business model does, at half the price. It also boasts night
vision and two-way audio, which the Axis lacks.
So what do you give up in exchange?
Video quality, for starters. Although the DCS- 5222L offers 1280-by-720- pixel
resolution, just as the Axis M5014 does, video from the D-Link Looks much fuzzier.
The DCS-5222L is also vulnerable to tampering, since its lens and pan/tilt
mechanism are unprotected. And anyone who wants to prevent it from recording
need only pull out its easily accessible MicroSD card.
D-Link's software wizard handles
setup basics, but a complete configuration will have
you jumping through hoops. In addition to
the wizard, you need to learn the D-View
local client interface, the MyDlink online interface, and (if you want to
get into the camera's firmware) the Advanced Settings interface.
D-ViewCam lets you monitor up to 32
D-Link cameras using a local PC. MyDlink, a free companion app for PCs,
smartphones, and tablets, allows you to view video streamed from your cameras
over the Internet. The app has some limitations:
You can view only one stream at a
time, you can’t resize the window any larger than 645 by 350 pixels or so, and
streaming automatically times out after a few minutes.
The D-Link DCS-5222L provides a lot of
features and flexibility for $250, but it stumbles on the quality of its
footage. If image quality is paramount to you, check out Logitech's Alert 750e
night-vision camera, which offers much better results despite a lower
resolution.
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