In this article, we are going to look at baby monitors with a camera and see which baby monitors on Amazon are the top rated.
Every parent wants to keep their precious new baby safe, it’s a Dad’s job after all to protect his family. One way to do this is by investing in a good quality, top-rated baby monitor with a video camera function.
Sure, you can get a very basic monitor for just a few bucks, but they won’t have a video display or many of the other features that provide extra benefits and peace of mind. Being able to see your baby as well as hear them, lets you see at a glance if all is well. I certainly wouldn’t have been without a baby monitor when my son Benni was a baby.
Features to Consider on Baby Monitors with a Camera
State of the art Baby Monitors are pretty sophisticated bits of kit these days. Many of the top rated baby monitors are packed full of features that can include:
- Remote control camera’s
- Two-way communication
- Remote temperature display
- Night vision
- Alarms
- Rechargeable batteries
- Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT) sound
- Zero electromagnetic field emissions
- 100% digital privacy for audio and video
- Extra-long range reception
As you can see, they have a lot to offer, although some do boast more features than others.
In this article, we’re going to take a detailed look at the three highest rated, best-selling baby monitors with a camera currently available on Amazon.com.
Are Baby Monitor Apps a Good Alternative?
Now, you may think: Why pay extra money for a dedicated baby monitor if I already have a old smartphone (which has a camera and a microphone) and a baby monitor app? Great question!
Personally, I tried a bunch of them and they never worked reliable for me, so there isn’t really a single one I could honestly recommend. I understand the value, though, and if they happen to work for you: Great!
One use case I can certainly see is when you want to go and visit a neighbour’s house for, say, dinner and you have an app that offers a cloud feature, i.e. you can monitor your baby via the internet. That’s great and can be very helpful in situations where your dedicated baby monitor’s range simply isn’t enough.
I recently talked a lot about how important it is to raise digital natives and how to deal with your kids in this digital world. But being digitally skilled and aware is first and foremost YOUR job, so let me bring a word of warning to the table here: Please, PLEASE(!) bear in mind that video and audio streams that these apps (as well as dedicated baby monitors that offer WiFi connectivity(!!!)) send over the internet could be hacked and overheard by some really bad people out there! Personally, that is a big red flag for me and one of the reasons why I decided to purchase a dedicated video monitor for my family.
Baby Monitors with a Camera Overview
With that being said, let’s take a look at dedicated baby monitors with cameras. Let’s get started…
#1 – DXR-8 Portable Baby Monitor with a Camera
Manufacturer: Infant Optics
Latest Price: Check here
The DXR-8 is an award-winning baby monitor with a camera and is the top-rated baby monitor on Amazon. It boasts many features and has an innovative interchangeable lens system that allows you to use whichever of the three lenses (normal, zoom or wide angle) that are supplied with the camera, ensuring the perfect image.
Other features boasted by this baby monitor with a camera include:
- Video streaming in real-time from the video unit to a slim 3.5-inch full-color liquid crystal display screen
- Long life rechargeable battery with 6 hours continuous video display or 10 hours in power save mode (screen turns off, but the sound stays on)
- USB cable for charging supplied
- Plug and play technology
- 100% digital privacy guaranteed for both video and audio
- Infra-red night vision mode
- Two-way communication between video unit and receiver
- Room temperature display
- Remote control video camera to pan, tilt or zoom
- Up to 3 additional cameras can be added
- Scan mode available with additional cameras
- LED lights let you see if your baby is crying when sound is turned off
- Out of range warning alarm
Amazon Review Insights
This product has a very high percentage of 5-star reviews, the biggest complaint being about the battery becoming faulty and no longer holding a charge.
#2 – Babysense Video Baby Monitor
Manufacturer: Babysense
Latest Price: Check here
The Babysense baby monitor with a camera is the second of our top-rated baby monitors. It is the least expensive of the baby monitors in our list and has the extra feature of lullaby’s that can help to soothe your baby to sleep.
Other features boasted by this baby monitor with a camera include:
- Video streaming in high definition from the video unit to a 2.4-inch full-color liquid crystal display screen
- Can be used with built-in rechargeable Li-ion battery or with mains charger. In eco mode (screen turns off, but the sound stays on), unless sound from the baby is detected
- Battery level indicator
- Secure 2.4 GHz digital wireless interference free connection
- Infra-red night vision mode
- Two-way communication between video unit and receiver
- Room temperature display with a high/ low-temperature warning alarm
- Remote control 2 x digital zoom, pan, tilt video camera
- Up to 3 additional cameras can be added
- Scan mode available with additional cameras
- LED lights let you see if your baby is crying when sound is turned off
- Maximum 900 ft. range (in open space).
- Out of range warning alarm
- Video unit plays lullaby’s controlled by the parent unit
- Fully adjustable brightness and volume on parent unit
- Timer alarms can be set to remind you to feed or change your baby
Amazon Reviews Insights
This baby monitor has just over 50% of 5-star reviews. The main problems seem to be a loss of connectivity and interference from mobile phones and Wi-Fi boxes.
#3 – AXVUE E632 Digital Video Baby Monitor
Manufacturer: Axvue
Latest Price: Check here
The Axvue E632 baby monitor with camera is the third of our top rated baby monitors. It boast many of the functions of the other two and uses digital 2.4GHz that supports a high data rate transmission, with no video compression loss on image quality.
Its main features are:
- Receiver unit of 5 inches with full color liquid crystal display screen
- Comes with 2 cameras
- Can be used with built in rechargeable battery or with mains charger. Maximum 8 hours of battery life on power saving mode
- Secure 2.4 GHz digital wireless interference free connection
- Infra-red night vision mode
- Two-way communication between video unit and receiver
- Room temperature display
- Remote control digital zoom, pan, tilt of camera with 360 degree rotation
- Up to 2 additional cameras can be added
- Receiver unit can be switched to whichever camera you want
- LED lights let you see if your baby is crying when sound is turned off
- 800 feet range with out of range warning alarm
- Fully adjustable volume on parent unit
- Receiver unit has VOX technology that turns the video on if baby cries
- Wall bracket included
Amazon Review Insights
This baby monitor has just over 57% 5 star reviews on Amazon. The main problems reported are loss of image quality, camera losing connection to receiver unit and volume control in a few rare cases not working properly.
Conclusion
It seems that all the top rated baby monitors with a camera on Amazon offer very similar features. Screen size is one of the biggest differences with the DBPower monitor having the largest screen size. No one unit stands out head and shoulders above the others, so really it would just be down to personal preference and deciding which features are the most important to you.
I mentioned in the list at the beginning of the article a feature that does not appear in any of the three top-rated baby monitors, this feature was zero electromagnetic field generation. When I have looked at monitors that are boasting zero EMF, their overall star ratings are low in comparison to the top-rated baby monitors. It is a hope that in time this feature will become more commonplace.
Now it’s your turn: What is important to YOU when choosing a baby monitor? Which features are must-haves, which ones are less important to you? What do you think about zero-emission modes? Is it important or just a hoax? Did you already buy a baby monitor? What would be YOUR recommendations to other parents? Please let us know in the comment section below.
I hope this look at the top-rated baby monitors with a camera has been useful to you and that whichever one you end up choosing that it brings you peace of mind.
Thanks for reading,
chris
P.S.: Did you ever ask yourself how to put an end to all those exhausting power struggles that can stand between our kids and us as moms or dads? If so, then make sure to read my FULL REVIEW of “Positive Parenting Solutions” HERE. You won’t regret it! I promise!!!
Hi Chris
Thanks so much for sharing this post,many parents want to rest reassured that their little ones are safe and what`s the best way to do it that using baby monitors.
Now you mention a baby monitor should have a remote temperature display, must admit this is something I never thought of but reading your post it makes me realize just how important it is.
Now I’m not very experienced with baby monitors but I need to get one for a friend, is there an affordable one you can recommend that has sound activation?
What I`m looking to get is the simplest and the least expensive baby monitors as I can not justify spending hundreds of dollars.
Now from your post, I see you recommend buying from Amazon, I`m not a very savvy online shopper(honestly the only thing I ever bought online was a flight ticket)Do you happen to know if Amazon ships to Europe and is the shipping included? I`m asking because I live in Switzerland and do not want to purchase only to find that shipping charges are almost as high as purchasing the product itself.
A very interesting article which I enjoyed immensely. I wish I had known about them when I was a stay at home Dad forty years ago.
It’s a lot simpler now when you can actually see your baby on the monitor screen and not have to tiptoe into the room to see if your baby is okay.
I am actually amazed at the technology for baby monitors. If it makes your life a lot easier and less stressful I would recommend a baby monitor.
As a matter of interest did you know that the first baby monitor was the Zenith Radio Nurse manufactured in 1937 and designed by a Japanese-American sculptor and product designer Isamu Noguchi.
Hey Richard, thank you so much for your kind comment and the “history lesson”. I had to google the Zenith Radio Nurse right away and have to say: “That is awesome!” Wow! It looks so cool… Thank you so much for sharing this story with us. I really enjoy looking back in history, see where we are coming from and embrace how technology has evolved since then 🙂 Awesome! Cheers, chris
There is a lot of helpful information here that I wasn’t aware of in terms of camera features such as room temperature display and out-of-range warning.
My baby is in the transition of moving to her own room and I am usually out in the garden or in the kitchen doing some stuff. So a good quality device will be helpful for monitoring.
It may sound like a silly question, but I am sure I could use this device post-toddler years just to check on them once a while, right?
Hi Cathy,
thanks for your comment and question. Sure, no doubt you can do that. However, at a certain point you want to make sure that you don’t violate your kid’s privacy: Cams are great to check on your baby and toddler, but at some point I felt a bit weird “spying” on my son when he was playing in his room by himself. He’s 3 years old now! Just recently we decided to turn the cam around against the wall (at least during day time) so that we don’t feel like “spying” on him. Yet, we can still hear if something is going wrong. So yeah, these monitors are certainly an investment for years to come as long as you use them with “caution” 🙂
Thanks,
chris
There is such a fantastic Range available now. When my kids were little there were only voice monitors. I wish we had these 8 years ago. I really enjoyed your articles and loved the layout of your site. So friendly and easy to use.
Hi Inga, I’m so glad to read that you liked my article. Glad I could help. I still remember the voice only monitor that my parents had when I was a kid (we had it around for the years to come and I remember playing with it when I was a bit older): It worked by putting the transmitter into a power outlet in my room and then plugging in the receiver into another outlet in the living room. That way both, transmitter and receiver were powered; and the signal was transmitted through the power cable itself. There was no “radio” involved, no wireless technology. Now look at those wireless video monitors: That’s what I call progress 🙂 All the best and thanks again for commenting! chris
OMG this has gotten really complicated since I had kids! I am a Grandma now, and I will be keeping my grand-babies in November for my daughter and I am in the market for a new monitor and this was just what I needed to read/see today! Thank you so much for such an informative and well reviewed article!!
Hey Tina! Glad I could help 🙂 Yeah, you are right… Tech doesn’t always make things easier, I guess. At least not when it comes down to making a purchase decision and/or setting things up, right!? But once you are up and running, these modern baby monitors can really make your life as a parent much, much easier 🙂 All the best and thanks for your kind comment! Glad I could help! chris
Great post! Video monitors are a lifesaver when you have a little one. I cannot tell you how many times I have used my vtech video monitor to make sure my son is sleeping soundly, while not walking into the room potentially waking him up. Great review!
Which monitor is your favorite?
Hey Morgan,
thanks for stopping by and taking the time to leave a comment. What is your experience with the vtech monitor? Did you like it? I don’t have that one in my list so far. What are its benefits and downsides? Would it be worth adding it to the list?
All the best to you and your loved ones,
chris