SD4 2k 4MP Outdoor Security Camera, 5G/2.4GHz WiFi PTZ IP Surveillance Camera with 4X Optical Zoom, Smart AI Human Detection, 2-Way Audio, 165ft Night Vision, CMOS Image Sensor, IP66

For over 10 years now, we've had several wi-fi cameras positioned around our property to help give us peace of mind. The cameras in the beginning were from a variety of vendors, most of which are gone now. As the cameras are aging out, I've started replacing them with newer models. When it came time to replace our two cameras around our deteched garage, I started looking deeper at Foscam. Previous experience with Foscam wasn't the best (about 5 years ago), but WOW, was I blown away with this latest product. Solid, dependable, easy to setup, it's all there. It's a solid build, not some cheap plastic product that leaves you wondering how long it'll last. The setup for the product is really easy. Via their app it generates a QR code that you aim at the camera, and it does the rest. The Foscam app is great and gives you access to like 80% of the features of the camera. To get access to the other 20% you need to go to Foscam's website and down their NVR software, a small price to pay to configure things like using a static IP. The images this camera generates is amazing. Crisp, clear and vibrant! It's a night and day difference between this camera and my older bullet camera from 8 years ago. All this, for what kind honestly is a great price. 8 years ago i paid over twice what I paid for these cameras. A few minor things I'll point out: 1. I recommend configuring the camera first before mounting it. Plus, if you're going to put a SD Card in the camera, best to do that as well before mounting it. It's just easier to work with the camera up front before mounting it. 2. When you first configure the camera, it'll annouce it's finished. After that, it takes about a minute or two before you can access the camera via the app. Not sure what it's doing during that time, but it eventually connects. Maybe it's checking for updated firmware?? 3. Mounting the camera on a 'mounting block' or a Foscam mounting box gives the camera a polished appearance that really makes it look amazing. Update - November 2025 - After 11 months, one of the units had experienced a leak, resulting in water inside the camera. I immediately reached out to Foscam support and began a dialog with Nora Chau. Nora was wonderful to work with. After I provided her with the requested information (order information, date, a few pictures showing the damaged camera) she immediately dispatched a replacement camera to me at no additional expense. The new camera is up and running and everything is back to normal. Overall I've been happy with the support I received from Nora and Foscam on this issue and am returning my rating back to 5 star. Thanks so much, Nora Chau. Your help was wonderful

I've been looking and testing various camera brands for quality and dependable cameras at a reasonable cost. Foscam cameras fill that need for me. Considering quality build, needed features, mobile and desktop APPs and accessories for installation. Before retiring, I was an engineer responsible for designing, testing, implementation and installation of Security systems including cameras, wireless systems, Headends/Hubs, custom kiosks/displays, etc. I have tested many brands of cameras. Unfortunately the cost of these cameras are extremely expensive as they are usually for large scale install that cover a great amount of real estate. It's not the kind of cost effective solution for the average consumer such as myself. That being said I have settled on the Foscam cameras and this is my review for one of them as I have 7 Foscam cameras at present. One of them is the Foscam SD4. The FOSCAM SD4 2k 4MP Outdoor Security Camera, 5G/2.4GHz WiFi PTZ IP Surveillance Camera with 4X Optical Zoom, Smart AI Human Detection, 2-Way Audio, 165ft Night Vision, CMOS Image Sensor, with a IP66 rating is the one that I recently tested. The SD4 met my needs for a dependable PTZ (pan/tilt/zoom) for day/night viewing and recording. I ran it in the snow and 22 degree temps without any issues and great response for the Intelligent Detection (Human for me), Cruise settings (which there is a video attached demonstrating this by using set scenes that I programmed for my location. You can program up to 8 scenes. I used the WDR (wide dynamic range) which worked well for my application. The night time video using the 6 LED IR lights was impressive as some of my distances were over 100'. The spec for this is up to 165'. The 4x zoom worked fairly well. You really need quite a bit of megapixels in order for the zooms to work well on a PTZ. Wireless testing went well with no issues and the setup with the QR code was extremely fast and easy. Although any time you install a system you want to use ethernet cables for your final installation. The last thing you want is for wireless to drop out or lose power. I use a UPS (uninterrupted power supply) for my install in case of brown outs (short power outages) based on how you design and implement it. The Apps for me, Android and Windows were easy to install and intuitive. Works great with Alexa and Google as I am one of those geeks that has almost everything automated and linked together. Also there was an IP cam finder plugin or APP that was available to help for configuration documentation. I always keep spreadsheets for documentation and quick reference. The APPs provide for FW (firmware) upgrade or update date checks via internet. Also easy for push notifications, etc. Only other thing I can think of is to realize this is a Non PoE.xx camera and it would be easier to run power over ethernet for install purposes. All you would need if you rather power it via PoE is to use a Gigabit PoE Injectors and PoE Splitter Kits- High-Speed Passive PoE Adapters (5-48V), up to 825ft Range, Ideal for Non-PoE IP Security Cameras as an example. Also, be aware of the limit for the MicroSD card. For the SD4, limit is 256GB. In regards to the Intelligent Detection, it has Human and Motion detection for the SD4. Anything more detailed or for cloud storage if you are not able to set up your own or FTP, etc., Foscam does provides these additional services for a cost if you need it.

As a responsible person in charge of our neighborhood security, I have purchased a total of 9 FOSCAM security cameras including two indoor cameras and 7 outdoor cameras (2 R4X , 4 SD2, 2 SD4H and 1 SD4). These 7 outdoor FOSCAM cameras, mounted across a 2 square-mile community, perform 24/7 continuous recordings of the entrances of our community since September 2023 (18 months so far). They are reliable and easy to access through WiFi. I can monitor these cameras with one single app on my iPhone. All footages are stored locally. I did not subscribe its iCloud service owing to our budget. This review covers (1) comparison between SD4 and SD4H and (2) high reliability and excellent customers. Comparison between SD4H and SD4: SD4H: 2K resolution, 16x optical zoom, dedicated reset cable SD4: 2K resolution, 4x optical zoom, hidden reset button (a) Mounting: SD4 is nearly one half of the size of SD4H (180mm tall vs 215mm) and lighter (1Kg vs 1.6Kg). The mounting method is improved by provided a small latch which can be mounted first. I found this very useful because it really saves a lot of efforts when putting on the first two screws. For SD4H (and SD2), the mounting holes interfere with the camera body to prevent using electric screw driver. This is troublesome when mounting at a high position. (b) Image quality: Both SD4x cameras have great 4K image quality (better than SD2 which is 1080p). (c) WiFi connection: Both SD4 and SD4H connect to home WiFi very smoothly. The starting time of SD4 is a bit slower. It takes more than 10 seconds before it announces “FOSCAM”. The location of QR code of SD4 is easily accessible, while SD4H is a little hard to reach. (d) Optical Zoom: 4x is just barely useable for my application because the distance of the cameras and the entrances is not close. SD4 is designed for short distance applications. (e) Monitoring: the app on smartphones and VMS on desktop are very useful. I can monitor all cameras at the same time and download the footages remotely. Once the footage is downloaded, it can be viewed and processed by a third-party software. (f) Location of SD card: The location of SD card of SD2 is very bad with mounting screws facing up, causing difficulty to attach or remove the cover. The location of SD card for SD4H is at the back of the camera port, so the mounting screws are horizontal. The location of SD card for SD4 is at the top of the camera port. I have to turn the camera port facing down to access the port. When the port is accessible, the mounting screws are horizontal. I think the logic of this hidden position is to avoid water getting into the port. It makes sense because we do not need to access this port often. One thing to point out, during the changes of the designs, FOSCAM reduced the screw size that the provided screw driver is too big. Luckily, I have a smaller screw driver. (g) Reset button: SD4H has a dedicated cable for the reset button. The reset button for SD4 is next to the SD card and only can be pushed with a fine pin. The reset button is only needed when resetting the WiFi connection. Let’s say you want to change the WiFi password on your internet, this reset button will add a few minutes to this change. But I think the change is good because reliability is far more important. (h) Intelligent detection: not subscribed. Can not comment. (i) General reliability assessment of FOSCAM cameras: With accumulative more than 100 months of operations of 9 FOXCAM camera, only one WiFi intermittent issue is observed from one of SD2 (9 months after installation). When I contacted FOSCAM customer service, they responded by quickly. After a few emails, they offered me a newer model SD4H with a big discount to replace that SD2. Overall, I am pleased with SD4 for its new features of being smaller, lighter, easier to mount and less expensive than its sister product SDH. My wishful thinking is an optical zoom lens (e.g. 4x) to mount in front of the camera so that the user can optimize the zoom factor.

[update 7-3-25]: I purchased another one of these cameras direct from Foscam and after configuring it I found that it will not allow web/browser access unless you use their VMS program or their phone app. This makes trying to connect it to your existing security system impossible and is downright irritating if you normally access your cameras using a web browser. I highly recommend that you stay away from this and other Foscam cameras it you have a third party security system. I had high hopes for this camera when I bought it, but I have been sorely disappointed overall. When I CAN connect to it the picture is good, but most of the time when I try to log in to the camera's UI, it times out and won't let me connect. To fix the problem and regain connection, I have to disconnect the power supply and re-plug it in (rebooting the camera). This makes it nearly worthless as a security camera. Foscam used to make a good camera but in recent years with the newer models I have seen a definite degradation in their cameras' stability. am lucky if I can get the SD4 (and an SD2) to stay connected more than 24 hours at a stretch. I had to buy a programmable remote power switch to reboot them daily to try to keep them available for use and even then, I sometime have to reboot them more than once per day. I cannot recommend this camera for anyone wanting it to be a reliable surveillance device.

I’ve used various Foscam products for many years, and the longevity and reliability of their cameras have always impressed me. The Foscam SD4 continues that tradition and has been an excellent addition to my security setup. The video quality is sharp and clear both day and night, and the pan-and-tilt functionality provides wide, smooth coverage with no blind spots. Motion detection alerts are accurate and timely, and the app is intuitive and easy to use. I also appreciate the clear two-way audio and the solid, weatherproof build for outdoor use. Based on my long-term experience with Foscam products, this camera is built to last and performs exactly as expected. The SD4 offers great features, dependable performance, and excellent value. Highly recommended.

Great little camera! And I mean little - it's only slightly larger than a softball, much smaller than other outdoor PTZ cameras I've worked with. The image quality is fantastic and the QHD resolution shows plenty of detail. The HDR setting is excellent as well, because where I have my camera set up has lots of light and dark areas mixed together, so the HDR setting helps even out the image lighting. The biggest negative for me is that the IR lights for night vision don't reach as far as I had expected. I also miss the ability to connect to the camera's IP address with a web browser, but that's a minor complaint.

I had this camera for about a month, and it's been another great addition to my outdoor home security system. I wanted to add another camera to use as an outdoor camera that enables me to tilt and pan my full backyard (including my porch) when I’m away from the house. The Foscam SD4 2k 4MP was a nice addition to do so. It's very dependable, and the image is amazing! Clear during the day and at night. It's compact and the response rate to access it on my phone is immediate and faster than other competitor cams I've used in the past. I uploaded a couple of photos from my phone and also included a video to show how the camera can zoom and move (the cam pans/tilts a lot more than what I show). The video was live and you can see how clear the feed was. I also included a nice 4 camera shot of all my cams. The security camera is extremely easy to use and is a simple plug and play setup. Connect it to the Foscam app and you're good! I also found it very convenient on the multiple ways you can record live footage. You can use their cloud storage, a micro-SD card, record on your phone or download their pc application to set up as a DVR on your pc. I tried all four, and all are very dependable and clear. Another feature that I mentioned above was being able to pan/tilt and zoom the camera from my phone. This is very nice if you have to adjust your camera to focus on a particular event (even from a far distance). I also own an Echo show and it automatically integrated with my Show. All I have to say, Alexa, Show "Patio" and it displays quickly. So overall, great security/pet camera, easy setup process and great video quality!! Very happy with this purchase!! Another great product from Foscam!

My home is part of the Foscam ecosystem, so I will compare it against my other Foscam that it is replacing. The new SD4 is leaps ahead of the solar B4 camera that i was currently using for the past 2 years. You will immediately notice the heft of the new SD4 camera, and that’s because it is entirely made of metal. Even the base is metal. You will definitely need to use some anchor screws to keep it locked and firm. Also, whereas the B4 had a rubber cover protecting the SD card slot, the new SD4 requires you to unscrew the protective covering, adding much more security. As with all foscams, the ease of setup is well documented. Scan a QR code and add it to your network. Speaking of network, it finally supports 5G wireless and has POE. Foscam really out did themselves this time around. And they have added back RTSP! Thank you for listening to our wishes. Now you can use it within Blue Iris or other NVR appliance. The AI detection is good, and they offer a trial period for some of their cloud features. The cloud features are optional, and unlike some other camera manufacturers, the SD card slot is still here. Picture quality is excellent, and the night vision is great with super bright LEDs that light up my driveway. I had to turn down the sensitivity as it was capturing all types of movements. Overall I am pleased with how much of a leap in quality Foscam has managed to cram into this camera. I will stay loyal to the Foscam brand as long as they keep innovating and giving us the features we need.