SUNLUXY SL-C702 IP Camera Review

With a design inspired from the Dericam H502W, the Sunluxy SL-C702 seems to offer a similar set of features, but it's worth a closer look...

Beside the Quick Start leaflet, a mini CD contains
all you need in the "Enlish" folder.

The Sunluxy C702 is sold around 43€ on eBay  with a price in line with the old H502W.

The camera comes with the usual accessories: a start-up guide, a power adapter, a mini-CD, but no network cable. 

The Mini CD contains a more complete documentation, some client software for PC, Android and iOS, plus a search.exe tool to locate your camera on the network.

All this can be also downloaded from the main web site: http://cd.365cam.net/index_en.html

While not identical, the SL-C702 is a look-alike of Dericam H502W with a larger head. Another visible difference is the RS485 alarm interface at the back.  

ONVIF 2.0? 
This camera is mistakenly advertised as ONVIF 2.0 compliant, but its implementation is way too incomplete to work with Synology Surveillance Station.
The Onvif Device Manager detects the camera but fails to read the complete profile. So it seems there's been some (aborted) efforts in that direction at least.

It is possible to use a http url in Surveillance Station:
http://192.168.1.xxx/videostream.cgi?user=user&pwd=password
Alternatively, selecting a compatible product in the list, like Foscam FI8919W seems to work.

RTSP stream uses the following url: rtsp://user:password@192.168.1.xxx:10554/tcp/av0_0
More here: http://www.ispyconnect.com/man.aspx?n=Sunluxy

The bad news is that using the videostream.cgi crashes the video server after a while and there is no picture streamed any more through the web interface or the rtsp channel!

General Impressions
The main page gives the usual access to various kinds of browser, including the "mobile" static page and a SD Card access.

Neither nice or ugly, the user interface is complete with IR lights controls and position presets.
The firmware version reads as Device 30.5.1.0.62 and WebUI 1.0.0.10. There's room for improvement and you can see by the messy page sources that it is still a work in progress.
The most annoying bug is that the first page does not retain the languages choice and always defaults back to Chinese.

Audio quality: The microphone provides good sound but is very sensitive to interference from nearby electrical devices.

Picture quality: Despite the widely used Hi3518E chipset (Foscam, Amovision, ...), the picture was partially blurred , but it turned out that a bit of grease (used for the lens thread) got on the inside of the lens. Once cleaned, the picture was perfectly neat...
The IR light is strong enough, but it's not automatic and does not remain activated.

Conclusion: avoid...go for alternatives
Despite being build on a good hardware base, the C702 is completely let down by the software part.
The unstable video streaming, IR light not automatic, and Onvif non-compliance are significant show stoppers for me. There's little hope that Sunluxy wil provide any support with their unattended email address (reports "Mailbox full"), so don't expect a well-needed firmware update. 

The "clones" I found afterwards have an activity LED on the front as only visual difference, but use more finished firmware, so consider these alternatives:
- Zoneway ZW-NC638MW-P (support site)
- EyeSight ES-IP909IW using a different firmware line. I obtained a firmware from them and it cannot be used on the Sunluxy.
- Owlvision O-E6811, sold by Gearbest uses a better firmware, similar to the E6830. I could upload this one on the Sunluxy but lost the PTZ function, so possibly a slightly revised hardware in those 'clones'.
- Finally don't forget the Dericam H502W (aka EyeSight ES-IP902W, CyberNova CN-WIP604MW ) or its successor H503W.

Good:

Easy to setup 

Position presets

RS485 Alarm interface 

Not good:

Unstable video streaming 

IR light not automatic and defaults to off

Home page defaults to Chinese,  English needs to be re-selected each time.

Audio subject to interferences

No ONVIF compatibility

Equivalent models:

Zoneway ZW-NC638MW-P

Rocam NC-300

Owlvision O-E6811, sold by Gearbest uses a better firmware, similar to the E6830.

Look-alike but not the same firmware line: EyeSight ES-IP909IW (aka PhonesCam PC-IP909IW)

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Amovision AM-C610-WIFI vs Wansview NCM623W

It's time to replace some bulky low-res IP Cameras with sleek HD models.
The two models reviewed here cost around 50€ and balance the lack of PTZ with a wider focal, a compact casing and a complete set of features.





In one corner, the Amovision AM-Q610-WIFI, based on the excellent Hi3510 chipset reviewed ealier.

On the other side, the Wansview NCM623W. It has a familiar look because it reuses the casing of a widespread VGA model, but here we've got a 720P version, with the very same feature as his opponent.

Wansview

The visual distinction between the NCM623W and its low-res counterpart is so nonexistent, that it's worth starting with a word of caution.
You can still find the VGA version, and often at the same price, in many places, like here or here. Chinavasion at least has the decency to sell it for 22€, but many sellers boost their profit on the confusion. So stay away from the model NCB-546W and such.

The model I'm reviewing here is the Wansview NCM623W (SKU #213500) found on dx.com for 50€ (there again, avoid the more expensive SKU #109810!).

The latest manual and utilities are found on the Official product page. However, only the Chinese page gives a link to the firmware. Unlike the Amovision, the installed firmware (0.1.2.29/0.0.0.6) shows no release date and the one from the website shows no version (pkg file is dated 25/4/2013). So it's hard to tell which is newer. In doubt I didn't update the firmware. 

Amovision

The AM-Q610-Wifi (aka AM-C610-Wifi) is really a pocket size camera, smaller and lighter than its opponent with an exact match of features. It cost 44€ on dx.
It came with a firmware from March 2014 (V3.79.00.1-X10-Build:20140310R). According to Amovision, the model is discontinued, so this is the latest and last firmware release.

Side by Side comparison:

Both cameras are based on the Hi3510 chipset from HiSilicon and thus respond to the command set http://<ip address>/cgi-bin/hi3510/param.cgi?... as documented in the SDK.

The Wansview NCM623W is bulkier than the Amovision. In terms of size, another Wansview (NCM629W) would be a closer size match but they all have the same specs.

The bracket of the Wansview is also considerably bigger and heavier but both allow the same combinaison of mounting positions.


Setup (WI-FI,...):
Amovision and Wansview have a slightly different method of activating Wi-Fi. The Wansview model requires a reboot to switch from Ethernet mode to Wireless mode. When you are used to that very common method, Amovision's simpler way can be paradoxically confusing: it doesn't require a reboot and will just share the same IP between Ethernet and Wi-Fi: Once the AP is connected, all you have to do it unplug the RJ45.

User Interface:

Beside their own look and feel, both camera give access to a similar range of settings. Amovision relies mostly on the VLC plugin for rendering video in the user interface, while Wansview uses the (good) old IE-centric ActiveX. The video quality settings (Hue/contrast/brightness/saturation) are located on the main page beside the live picture on the Amovision while they are in concealed in a separate page using a more awkward layout on the Wansview.

Wansview

Amovision

Only the Amovision has an interface for replaying the files stored on the SD card. Unfortunately it is not operational and the best way to access those files is to access them via the url directly, using http:<ipcam>/sd (For the Wansview it is http://<ipcam>/web/sd).

Picture:
Both camera offer a full control on the picture quality, use the same OV9712 CMOS and same Hi3510 chipset. Both 3.6 lenses are surrounded by 12 IR LED. Both cameras can fully customize the quality of each stream but use different default settings. I found those from Wansview more effective and copied them on the Amovision. Neither cameras have the best settings by default but it took more fiddling with the Amvosion.

Wanview

Amovision

Audio: One cool feature on both cameras is the Alarm on Audio Detection. Amovision has the advantage of the embedded speaker. Both models have a very sensitive microphone but the Wansview is subject to nearby interference.

Compatibility (ONVIF...):
Adding the Amovision to Synology Surveillance Station is straightforward using Onvif. Strangely, the Onvif Device Manager cannot connect to it.

It's the opposite situation for the Wansview, ODM can list all the features, but Synology fails to get its stream. Strangely it passes the preview test, but will disconnect right after. Unfortunately Wansview confirmed that firmware 0.1.2.29 is already the most recent version available.
As a workaround, I selected a Hi3510-based model from the Foscam list.
10/07/2015: Became fully compatible (video+audio stream) with Surveillance Station since v.7.0-3775!

Conclusion: Amovision wins the battle here mostly due to a better Onvif compatibility, a slightly nicer user interface and its lower price .
The fact that it is discontinued is balanced by the stable and recent 2014 firmware. It could have used some polishing though.
Cybernova has a clone, CN-WIP04L, and a 2MP version, CN-WIP04S that is apparently no yet distributed.

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