****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
I purchased this camera to use both as a backup device and a remote monitor device. Below are some of my experiences with this camera.**HARDWARE**It comes off as a quality product. The well protected packaging reveals a camera that is smaller than I expected. Build quality is excellent all around, with tight seams and no noticeable gaps. The metal housing has a reassuring weight to it, and the rubber plugs and buttons on the back seem to provide some ingress protection, if it is to be mounted outside. Several mounting options are provided, including a magnetic base and fixed screws. The base also has a tight ball-and-socket joint to adjust viewing angle, which seems to be able to keep the camera in position even with normal car vibrations. That being said, it would've been nice to see a screw for permanently tightening the joint as an added measure of security. Overall, excellent physical hardware. No complaints.The electronics package of the camera is fairly standard. The sensor seems to be VGA resolution, which dynamically adjusts with your connection speed (current resolution can be viewed from the app.) Image quality is sufficient for the purpose, and colors seem to be accurate in daylight. A good feature is the night-vision mode, which uses a ring of IR LEDs to illuminate subjects at night. From what I can tell, this feature works well and allows for good viewing even in complete black. A nice bonus would be automatic toggling of night vision mode, based on the camera's light reporting. As of now, night-vision has to be turned on manually. While an easy task, automatic would make the process much more seamless.Other provided niceties include several ways of powering the camera, such as dual voltage input (5/12V,) as well as a built in rechargeable battery. I haven't had time to test battery life, as the camera has been used hardwired. Multiple Wifi operation modes (explained later) allow greater flexibility. The ability to add an extension antenna through a standard 1/4" interface is very nice.**SOFTWARE**The app is available for both iOS and Android phones, with seemingly little differentiation. The below review will center on Android. Setup according to the manual is straightforward. The ability to operate in 2 modes, denoted AP and STA by the manual, is important for many applications. It allows for the camera to either connect directly with a phone, or through local network infrastructure. The latter thus makes it a useful device for security monitoring, as your phone can be connected to a local network allowing you to use it as needed, and also log into the camera, much like many IP cameras available. Furthermore, if your vehicle has a built-in WiFi hotspot or a portable wireless AP, this fvfeature allows your phone to access the internet while viewing the camera.The software interface is spare, but generally easy to use. Setup is easy, and digging deeper into the settings menu allows for an impressive range of customization, especially of the IP configuration of the camera itself. Imaging can also be controlled from the viewing screen, with user adjustable parameters such as hue, contrast, and saturation.Overall, the app is functional and allows for significant customization. I haven't run into any major stability issues or crashes, but will update this review and contact the dev if it happens.**CONCLUSION**The SwiftHitch backup camera is a flexible device. a combination of good build quality, useful features, and decent software make it a useful device to keep around in a vehicle or in your home. Some future software updates could make an already good device even better.
