Monday, June 20, 2016

Maxwell Hangs His Shingle #spon


The nice people at Vimtag contacted us recently, and asked if wanted to test drive their new mini camera. Since Maxwell commandeered our first Vimtag for his BirdTV channel, Faraday and Allie were all for it.


When it arrived, we saw immediately why it was called the M1 "mini cube" - that thing is nice and compact!


We were also impressed by the packaging. The camera was nestled in a well-padded foam cushion. The accessories were also neatly organized and compartmentalized in their own cushioned spots.

And - surprising no one - somekitty quickly took ownership of the new tech.

Me: Maxie, don't you think you should offer this up to Allie or Faraday first, since you're already using the other one?
Maxwell: But I have PLANS for this, Momma. And it's not like either of them would know what to do with it anyways ...
Faraday: I HEARD THAT, MAXIE!!!!


Faraday: Seriouslies, Maxie. You monopolize our other Vimtag, and now this??

AND ... does Daddy know you're messing around in his tool box?


Maxwell: Well, I told Momma about my plans for the Mini Cube, and she asked if I was planning to hang out my shingle.

Faraday: What plans, Maxie? And whazza shingle got to do wif it?


Maxwell: Me and this Vimtag Mini Cube are going to solve mysteries.
Though why I'd need a shingle for that is a mystery to me!

Faraday: Waitaminit, Maxie. Mysteries?!? I'm the Investigative Reporter in the fambly.


Maxwell: Dood, my client doesn't need breaking news. She needs brilliant deduction and subtle sleuthing. And we all know that you don't do subtle. That's why she hired ...

Maxwell Holmes!

***

Before we reveal anything else about Maxie's new career, including his very first Paying Client ...
we want to give you our honest opinion on his newly acquired investigative tool.

The Vimtag 4-1-1

This M1 mini cube camera has a much lower profile than our other one. Because of that - and the fact that it's a static image (and not a camera that can pan and tilt like the other one) it has very broad image coverage. The image is so wide it keystones a little around the edges. Take a look:

Our original Vimtag VT-361
Same view from the Vimtag M1 Mini Cube, sitting right next to the VT-361
Since this camera can be used for security and monitoring purposes, that makes sense.

It runs on the same app as the VT-361 model we reviewed earlier this year, so it has motion detection, two-way microphones and night vision. And you can set it to record when motion detection senses movement.

This Vimtag came with a Quick Start Guide that included instructions where you could set it up without ever attaching it to an ethernet cable, which surprised me, since our first camera didn't have that feature. It involved the camera reading a QR code off my mobile phone's screen.

No matter how hard I tried, though - I couldn't get it to work. Maybe it had to do with my screen's brightness, or resolution, or the distance I held the camera. And being more than a little stubborn, I had a hard time admitting defeat.

I should have called it quits much sooner.

Turns out that Vimtag doesn't just have really great cameras. They also have a pretty impressive customer service department.

Here's how you hook it up to your router. The white adapter handles power & ethernet connectivity.
You can store the adapter and the cute little ethernet cable after you've connected via wifi.

I called the 800 number and to my surprise, an answering service was on the other end (with a real human, too). They took my information and told me someone from tech support would get back to me within the hour. I headed downstairs to grab something to drink and was only halfway down before the phone rang again.

Okay, that was fast! I ran back upstairs while explaining my problem. He had it up and running in under 2 minutes. We never did figure out why I couldn't set it up wirelessly using their new QR code sign on feature. However once I turned on wifi while connected via ethernet and waited 2 minutes for the connection to stabilize, I could untether myself. I haven't needed an ethernet cable since.

And before I hung up, the guy urged me to call back at any time - even during the upcoming holiday - if I encountered additional problems. "We'll be here," he assured me. "We want to make sure you have a good experience." (BTW, I did not tell him I was reviewing the camera)

But I haven't needed to - it works great. And every time I unplug to move the camera around the house to different locations, it automatically reconnects to the wifi signal.

Which makes Maxie very happy, because he finally hung his shingle, and has his first client.
Me.


Faraday: ooooooooh Maxie, wait'll Mommy finds out you nailed your shingle to her kitchen wall ....

***
Tomorrow: Maxwell's First "Cold Case"
aka
"The Fruit-Juice Felony"


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FCC Disclaimer: While this is a review and we were compensated for the time it took to photograph and tell you about the Vimtag Fujikam, we told you the honest truth about our experience. We only share content we feel may be relevant to our readers. All opinions are our own. 
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15 comments:

  1. Wow, that looks like an awesome camera! The humans here just set up some security cameras around the house (not this brand), and the main problem is they are only as good as our wi-fi - the back cameras have to use my human's crappy wi-fi and the picture quality is nowhere near as good as the front cameras, which uses her boyfriend's cable wi-fi.

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  2. One of my cameras used a qr code too and it was not easy to use. Nice that they have an alternative method

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  3. It's great to hear that they have such responsive customer service. That always seems like the sticking point with so many electronics.

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  4. Can I hire you to figure out who peed on my couch?

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  5. Good luck in your new career Maxwell

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  6. Good luck in your new career Maxwell

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  7. dood....thiz new camera soundz awesum !!! thanx for de honest ree view N what it took ta set up....itz nice ta noe they HAZ customer servizz !!! lookin for werd ta two morrowz case oh cold cutz.....hope ther will be ham !! ☺☺☺♥♥♥

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  8. We had to call customer service with our Vimtag because we couldn't get the videos to play. They were awesome and got us up and running in no time flat! It looks like a pretty neat little gadget.

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  9. Hmmm ... I suspect Faraday is nervous about this sleuthing because Maxwell will find out all the things Mr. Hijinks has done and hasn't gotten in trouble for yet.

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  10. This looks like a pretty cool camera. The mom has been wanting to get a camera so she can keep an eye on us. She'll take a look at this one.

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  11. Guys, your blog layout looks awesome! Can you say puppy?! Can you say work is on overload?! Can you say home repairs?!Can we say sorry we haven't been around? Sorry! We need to catch up! Hope all is well with your Mama and with all of you too :)

    the critters in the cottage xo

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  12. Bro can you help a buddy out? My stoopid little sister Izzy has been playing wif MY springy toys, and now most of them are missing. Can I be your second client? Mom says find out what your rates are but I already told her you rated dis camera da bomb. Ok let me know if you'll take my case. Maybe if you need an assistant I could open up a northeast office for you. Love, Dusty

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  13. That seems a pawsome camera...and wow, you are going to be in high demand as an investigator!

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Coolio! A comment? For US?