Edimax IC-7000 review

Edimax's IC-7000 is a network IP security camera with motorised pan and tilt. It can be controlled with the bundled software or a web-based interface, both of which can also control up to three other IC-7000 cameras.

Installation was tricky at first, as the manual has been poorly translated and we couldn't get the software to work on our Windows Vista PC. Checking Edimax's website we found an updated version of the software for Vista, which we downloaded and installed. This didn't improve matters much, though - it was slow to load, kept crashing and we needed to reinstall it twice to get it working again. Fortunately, the camera's web interface is easy to use and didn't cause us any stability problems, so we ditched the software.

The IC-7000 can be set to record at three resolutions: 160x120, which is too small to make out any detail, 320x240 and 640x480. At 640x480, images were streamed between 4fps and 8fps, although we reached the un-heady heights of 11fps for a few seconds. This is far below the IC-7000's claimed 30fps. Even worse, the record settings allow for only 1, 3, 5 or 10 frames per second, so recordings have no chance of meeting the camera's specified frame rate.

Footage of stationary objects looked fine, but movement emphasised how slow the frame rate is, and the camera could easily miss someone who walked past quickly. You can set motion detection zones, which enables you to use the camera for security, but it is very slow to react. To get past undetected, you simply have to walk close to it or move very quickly. Annoyingly, pictures from the IC-7000 are overexposed when objects are close, and the image often disappears, replaced by a white screen.

Overexposure and slow speeds make the IC-7000 unsuitable as a security system. There are better IP cameras available, and we recommend D-Link's non-motorised DCS-2120 (Shopper July 2007). It costs £26 more, but it has better image quality and is more reliable.

Author: Matt Smith