In this Infant Optics review for the famous DXR-8 baby monitor we will go through the features that makes it one of the most popular infant baby monitors on the market and what parents think of its performance.
The DXR-8 has been awarded best baby monitor in September 2018 by Popular Mechanics, which is a great achievement.
Let’s review why this is one of the best cameras with interchangeable lens available for baby care.
Baby camera with interchangeable lenses
Far gone are the days where you were only able to view your baby sleep from a single angle.
With this compact camera with interchangeable lens, you can customize the view of your baby depending on where you are and what you wish to see, the angle and level of zoom.
Plus, because this is a “compact” digital camera with interchangeable lenses, you are able to take it to you wherever you go.
Infant Optics Normal Lens
Thanks to its aluminium lens hood, you will be able to see a clear image of your baby with mid-range coverage, which is the ideal distance for you to view your baby and immediate surroundings.
Infant Optics Optical Zoom Lens
While your baby is asleep, the best lens to use is the Optical Zoom, which gives you a close-up view. The baby monitor can be kept at a safe distance, but you will still have a proper, undisturbed view of your sleeping baby.
A digital lens is included in the parent unit, and you can use them together to customize your view.
Infant Optics wide angle lens
Infant Optics monitor offers the option of having the wide angle lens (sold separately), which has the ability to capture the entire room, in a 170 degree panoramic view. When your baby becomes a toddler and is playing by himself in a room, you can be sure to monitor all his/ her moves thanks the panoramic lens.
Although the lens is sold separately, it retails at an affordable $12 mark approx. It would be much better if it was included in the package.
Attributes of the Infant Optics DXR 8 video baby monitor
Best baby monitor with pan tilt zoom
The fact that you can follow your baby around remotely is quite a great feature, especially when you are using the normal lens or zoom.
No need to go into the room and adjust the baby monitor. The parent unit features 4 arrows you can use to adjust the view.
Infant optics digital video baby monitor with night vision
Thanks to the in built infra red lights, you will have a night vision of your baby even during the night. The night vision comes up automatically, once the unit senses the darkness in your baby’s room.
Baby Monitor Temperature Indicator
The baby monitor has an in built baby room temperature monitor in the camera, which reads it in either F or C, whichever you prefer. However, it won’t alarm you if the room gets too cold or warm.
3.5’’ LCD Screen
With a resolution of 320 x 240, the large 3.5’’ screen will give you a clear video stream of baby, no matter what lens you use.
You have the option to turn the screen off during the night and leave the sound on, for more convenience.
Great sound with 2 way communication feature
Four sound activated LEDs in the monitor, which indicate the sound level in the room. If it is either too high or low, you can adjust it to meet your needs.
The parent unit of the infant dxr 8 is equipped with a microphone, so you can gently sooth your baby if you feel he/ she needs to hear your voice.
Four camera Scan Through
The parent unit can be paired with up to 4 cameras, which means you can scan different rooms if you have multiple children, or monitor certain areas of your home with one single parent unit.
You can choose to either scan through all 4 cameras (12 seconds each) or view any of the ones you choose.
No internet video baby monitor
Parents do not need to worry about their camera intercepting video or sound of any sort, that is thanks to the 2400 Mhz ~ 2483.5 Mhz RF frequency.
However, there have been cases where the parent unit loses pairing signal, which may be caused by electronic devices that use Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.
Infant Optics range
The transmission range of the Infant Optics reaches up to 700 feet (with no obstruction), its equivalent in meters is 213. This is an impressive distance, although you would rarely go that far from your baby.
Should there be a wall or a door that obstructs the signal, the range may decrease, with the unit still performing well, but not long distance.
It is worth mentioning in this section that the use of Wifi routers and Bluetooth devices close to the unit may cause interference. That is the same case with microwaves. This is for parents just to be mindful to keep the baby monitor at least 1.5meters or 5 feet away from from those devices.
Infant optics battery
The infant optics baby monitor battery is a rechargeable 1200mAH Li-ion 3.7V, which lasts up to 12 hours in audio only settings, or 8 hours, using life stream.
The performance above sounds ideal. However, be warned that there have been cases where the battery have failed.
If you love this monitor and buy it, and experience any issues either with the battery or any of the parts in the pack, you can contact Infant Optics customer service team for help.
Key Features
- Interchangeable lenses
- Night vision
- Up to 4 cameras to pair
Pros
✓Easy to use
✓Option to view baby from different angles
✓Good video and sound quality
Cons
✕May lose range
✕Charger connectivity
✕Beeping noise
Infant Optics baby monitor reviews
The infant optics camera rates high on Amazon.com, with 4.4 stars out of 5 rated by over 30,700 parents.
This is one of the best baby monitor brands on Amazon, rating high in sound quality, night vision, material, zoom, picture quality and battery life.
Parents mostly praise the simplicity of operation of the baby monitor compared to other devices that are paired to smartphones through apps.
The fact that no Wi-Fi is required makes it reliable and straightforward to operate and use.
The zoom quality of the normal lens is more than adequate, providing high image quality of the cot from a corner of the room.
Another feature worth mentioning is that the screen can be dimmed, which means that if the video is on during the night, it won’t light up your bedroom.
Some parents have experienced issues connecting the USB power cord to the parent unit. Although this may not sound like a big issue, it may become one over time, if you use your baby monitor frequently.
The unit also beeps when it is low on battery and also when it loses range. These alarms can become quite annoying if you need to hear them consistently.
There have been some cases in which the monitor or the audio have failed for some customers, which normally happens to consumers from time to time.
Infant Optics have a great customer service team, so make sure you contact them immediately if your baby monitor is faulty or failing in some way.
There have been some complaints about the infant optics dxr 8 not charging and also the battery not lasting too long, or needing replacement.
Overall, most parents are happy with the Infant optics dxr 8 baby monitor and recommend it to other parents.
