Wide awake.
You could spend
thousands on dotting WiFi-connected cameras around your home, hoping
to get as much coverage as possible. Or you could just invest in a
camera with an exceptionally wide field of view to capture more in
one shot. We test the D-Link Wide Eye Full HD 180° Panoramic Camera.
For those without
knowledge of what kind of kit this is, this is a small camera that
you can set up anywahere inside your house and then connect it
wirelessly to you home WiFi network. Then, using a smartphone app,
you can view the live feed of the camera and get alerts from it
should it detect motion. Basically, no matter where in the world you
are, you can keep an eye on your stuff.
What sets the D-Link
Wide Eye Full HD 180° Panoramic Camera out from the rest of the
(increasingly swelling) market, is the fact that the lens on the HD
camera allows you to view a field of view of – as the name suggests
– a full 180° degrees. So more to see, and greater peace of mind
for you.
Unlike the last home security camera from D-Link that we reviewed, this is 'full' HD,
weighing in at a resolution of 1080p. It also looks far less
conspicuous, and the black, rounded body, propped up on the
adjustable mount, means it won't stick out too much and be overly
obvious. Other than that, the specs to get excited about are the
night vision (with the IR lights nicely concealed under the black
plastic head), the motion and sound sensors, and the user friendly
mydlink app which we've used a few times before and enjoyed.
Another thing that
caught our eye when setting it up was the WiFi indicator light right
on the front of the unit. This indicates how strong the WiFi signal
is in any given part of the building. This means you can see if it is
worth installing the camera somewhere before you commit to it. To be
fair, this thing is so small and light, and requires only a thin
power lead, that moving it around to ensure a stronger connection is
pretty easy.
Set up is carried out
via the app, and if you already have other D-Link smart gadgets (as
we do), its a simple case of plugging in the cam and letting it be
discovered by the app. Once there, you can set things like motion
trigger zones, sound level detector, and also how you would like to
receive notifications. And, obviously, you can peer through the
camera's feed to revel in that glorious HD image.
If you've never had a
1080p security camera (and a surprising number of supposed 'high-end'
brands have yet to release one) you'll luuuuurve the quality of the
stream. So long as your WiFi and internet speed is good, you'll have
a lovely and crisp picture each and every time you connect. The 180°
camera isn't what we were expecting at all, as we assumed the picture
would possess a fish-eye look, as was the case with Piper. Instead
D-Link seem to have employed some form of image correction to keep
the outer edges of the picture smooth and in line with everything
else.
This means all the real
estate of your phone's screen, in landscape, will be well utilised as
a result. You see more, and it greater detail than you might be used
to from similarly priced systems. You can also access the feed
through your account on the D-Link website, so you can expand the
size even more on your laptop screen. The width of the image also
means there is no need to employ a physical pan and tilt mechanism,
making it easier to use and cheaper to buy.
We like what D-Link
have done with the Wide Eye Full HD 180° Panoramic Camera, both in
terms of looks and quality. Having it sit somewhere in your home
makes for a nice conversation piece, while the combination of Full HD
1080p images through a corrected wide angle lens is fantastic.
£135
Available from www.amazon.co.uk
