LaView is a U.S. based security technology company. They sell an entire family of security products from fully wired multi-camera security systems to smart wireless camera solutions that require nothing more than an active Wi-Fi network.
The market for wireless security camera solutions is booming, since most people prefer the ability to simply mount a camera, connect it to their home wireless network, and start monitoring inside and outside their home.
In this review, we’re going to look at two such indoor and outdoor LaView security cameras: The R3 PT indoor wireless security camera , and the R12 1080P outdoor wireless security camera .
Mounting the R3 PT Indoor Wireless Security Camera
The R3 PT indoor security camera comes in a simple plastic package that includes all the parts you’ll need to mount and set up the camera.
The box includes:
- The HD 1080P security camera with a 355-degree pan-tilt feature that you can remotely control from your smartphone.
- A 6-foot USB power cable with the standard 120V to USB adapter.
- Quick start guide and a quick reference card of all features.
- Mounting screws and drywall anchors.
- A 3M two-sided adhesive pad for mounting on flat surfaces.
Here are the features you can expect when you purchase the R3 PT indoor security camera:
- High-resolution, 1080P video recording and playback (to your phone).
- Remote control 355-degree pan with a -10 to 75-degree tilt.
- IR night vision up to 25-feet (enough to cover most rooms)
- Audio conversations with anyone in the room using the mobile app.
- MicroSD card support for local video or photo storage (not included).
- Push notifications to your phone any time movement or sound is detected.
Push notifications are optional. You can disable motion or sound detection or schedule it to be activated only at certain times of the day or night.
Taking a closer look at the camera unit itself, you’ll see that the 1080P camera itself is mounted on a black rotating wheel, with the microphone separated from it on the same wheel, about 30 degrees apart.
If you flip the camera over, you’ll see the micro-USB placed inside an indent, which lets you slide the USB power cable underneath the mounting plate.
The mounting plate itself just requires a quick turn (no screws) to attach it to the bottom of the camera. If you’re planning to mount the camera using the screws, you should wait to attach it to the camera.
If you want to use the adhesive pad instead, then attach the mounting plate, remove one side of the adhesive pad, and attach it to the mounting plate as shown here.
Ideally, if you’re going to mount the camera upside down you should stick to using screws for a more secure mount. However, in our testing we found that the 3M adhesive pad was strong enough to keep the lightweight camera in place, even upside down.
However, you should be aware it could eventually drop if you don’t use screws in this position.
The camera can be mounted upside down as shown below, or on a tabletop surface, such as the top of a dresser in a baby room, or anywhere else that’s out of the way but with a good vantage point of the room you want to monitor.
You should also purchase some wall cable clips to keep the cable against the wall down to the point where it’s plugged into the outlet. This will provide a cleaner mount. Or, if mounted on a child’s dresser or some other surface near a wall, you can just drape the cable behind the furniture as well.
If you’ve only purchased the R3 PT and want to see how to configure it using the LaView app, you can skip the next section.
Mounting the R12 Outdoor Wireless Security Camera
Since software setup for both cameras is identical, we’ll cover unboxing and mounting the R12 outdoor wireless security camera first.
You’ll receive the R12 outdoor security camera in a box that includes all the parts you’ll need to mount and power it up.
The box includes:
- The HD 1080P security camera with a 360-degree horizontal tilt and 110-degree vertical tilt, which you can remotely control from your smartphone.
- A 10-foot USB power cable with the standard 120V to USB adapter.
- A User Manual and Quick start guide.
- Mounting screws and drywall anchors.
Here are the features you can expect when you purchase the R3 PT indoor security camera:
- High-resolution, 1080P video recording and playback (to your phone).
- Remote control 360-degree horizontal pan with a 110-degree vertical tilt.
- IR night vision capability.
- Hold audio conversations with anyone nearby.
- MicroSD card support for local video or photo storage (not included).
- Push notifications to your phone any time movement or sound is detected.
- Compatible with both Alexa and Google Home
Mounting the camera is extremely easy, but before you start you should know the unit includes a network port if you’re looking for a more secure wired solution. This is ideal in those situations where you can’t get a good WiFi signal outdoors where you want to mount the camera.
Mounting the camera requires nothing more than a screwdriver (or power drill if the wood you’re screwing into is very hard).
Just screw the WiFi antenna onto the gold colored port on the back of the camera unit. Then position the base on the surface where you want to mount the camera. Insert and tighten the three screws into the wood to hold the base in place.
Installation is really that simple. The only step that might require a little work is running a power cable to a nearby outdoor outlet.
Ideally, you should use any structures on your external wall to attach the power cable (using ties or wall wire-tacks). These structures can also help to hide the cable from view.
If you don’t have an outdoor outlet nearby, you can run an extension cable from the outlet, along the base of your foundation, and to the location of your camera.
Just be sure to position the camera plug and the extension plug in a location that will protect the junction from rain. Do not leave this connection sitting on the ground.
Once your camera is mounted and powered on, you’re ready to connect it to WiFi and start using it.
Using the LaView Mobile App
Setting up either the R3 indoor security camera or the R12 outdoor security camera works exactly the same way with the app. You can follow the steps below to set up either or both cameras.
To start monitoring and interacting with your cameras, install the LaView app on your mobile device. You can download it for your Android from Google Play , or for your iPhone from the Apple store .
Once you’re registered, you’ll see a screen where you can select Add Device to start adding any new LaView security device you’ve purchased.
You can browse through categories to find the LaView device you want to add.
Once you choose the device, you’ll see a reminder to check if the indicator light or prompt tone is active on the device. If you’ve just bought it and powered it up, this should be active. If you’re using a device that you previously set up, you may need to perform a reset as described in the user’s manual.
Once you confirm that your device is ready, select Next and you can choose your home WiFi network. Then, enter the password for the WiFi network. Select Next again.
On the next screen, you’ll see a QR code on the entire screen. Just hold your phone screen directly in front of the security camera. The camera will read the QR code and automatically program itself with the required network credentials.
The camera will make a tone to let you know auto-programming was successful. Select I Heard a Prompt when you hear this tone.
Finally, you’ll see a screen letting you know the device was added successfully to your LaView app. Select Done to finish.
When you view your device in the app, you’ll see a Notification Test prompting you to provide the LaView app with the notification permissions it needs to send you push notifications. Select Test to see the instructions on how to do this. Or select the checkbox to stop seeing the nuisance reminder.
Repeat the process above for all LaView security cameras you’ve purchased. The process is exactly the same, regardless of the device.
Using the LaView App to Monitor Security Cameras
To view your R3 security camera with the LaView app, just tap that camera from the list of connected devices.
You’ll see a view from that camera on the top of the screen, and all the controls underneath it.
Here are the controls you’ll be able to use on this screen:
- Screenshot : Capture a still from the camera view and save it to your phone.
- Talk : Have a two-way conversation with someone in the room. Tap Talk again to end the conversation.
- Record : Tap this to start or stop a recording of the live camera feed. This recording will save on your phone.
- Playback : Playback previously recorded video (only works if you’ve installed an SD card).
- Direction : Remotely pan the camera in any direction using on-screen controls.
- Alarm : Configure when you’d like to be notified of any motion or sound activity the camera detects.
- Album : Review screen captures or videos you’ve saved to your phone.
- Door Lock : Control any LaView door locks you have installed and connected to your network.
- Cloud Video : Access screen captures or videos saved to your cloud account (if you’ve purchased the cloud storage service add-on).
If you tap the Edit icon at the upper right corner of the window, you can access additional camera settings.
These include:
- Third Party Support : Link your cameras with Alexa or Google Home.
- Basic Function Settings : Adjust text displayed on your camera view and view orientation.
- IR Night Vision : Adjust to On, Off, or Auto.
- Detection Alarm Settings : Enable or disable motion tracking and alarms. You can also set up a schedule here to enable motion alarming only during a certain time of day.
- Offline Notification : Receive a mobile alert if any of your cameras ever go offline.
Motion detection scheduling is an especially useful feature. Set a start and end time for motion detection and you can make sure there’s no activity in your home when there shouldn’t be.
This could be during the day when everyone is at work, or late at night when everyone is in bed and no one should be roaming the house.
You’ll notice that connecting to and looking at the R12 wireless security camera feed is completely identical to the R3.
You will only need to go to this central app (the LaView app) any time you purchase a new LaView security device.
A Self-Contained Custom Home Security Solution
LaView stands out as a security platform as you don’t need to use any cloud resources or purchase any subscription if you don’t want to. Once added to your LaView app, you can connect to your cameras via your home network and not through any cloud services.
This provides extra security and peace of mind as you don’t have to depend on the internet working to connect to your cameras.
The R3 is normally priced at $39 , and the R12 retails at $50 . These cameras are priced far below the average price of similar wireless security cameras — many of which lack some of the features that you get with these LaView cameras.
It’s a budget security camera solution that’s perfect for anyone who would like to start distributing home security devices around the home without spending a fortune.
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Ryan has been writing how-to and other technology-based articles online since 2007. He has a BSc degree in Electrical Engineering and he’s worked 13 years in automation engineering, 5 years in IT, and now is an Apps Engineer. Read Ryan’s Full Bio
3D printer manufacturer, Anycubic, recently released two new printers—the Anycubic Kobra and its bigger, badder uncle, the Anycubic Kobra Max. We were interested in testing both products in our hunt for the best entry-level 3D printers. We’re looking for ease-of-use and affordability, as well as build and print quality.
We’ve published a number of 3D printer reviews from Anycubic—for both FDM printers like the Anycubic Vyper that print with spools of filament and SLA resin 3D printers like the Anycubic Photon Mono X 6K that use a liquid resin as its raw material—and we can say that the Kobra Max has quickly become one of our favorites.
Features of the Anycubic Kobra Max 3D Printer
The most obvious feature of this printer is its size. It is absolutely massive. That means you can print huge items in a single piece. Think of a full helmet or an entire ukulele—these are things you couldn’t print in one piece on a normal-sized 3D printer. Truly, the word “Max” doesn’t sufficiently capture just how big this printer is. Good luck fitting the packaging into your trash or recycling bins!
We were skeptical that a Cartesian printer of this size (which relies on a moveable print bed) would perform well since it has a lot of weight to move around. Admittedly, it’s not the speediest printer out there because of those design tradeoffs, but it works great.
The Kobra Max has an impressive list of technical specifications:
- Leveling: Automatic, 25 points leveling using the Anycubic Leviq technology
- Panel area: 7.95 in² / 51.3 cm²
- Filament run-out detection: support
- Printing material: PLA / ABS / PETG & TPU
- Nozzle size: ø 0.4 mm (replaceable)
- Nozzle temperature: ≤ 500 °F / 260 °C
- Hot bed temperature: ≤ 194 °F / 90 °C
- Average speed: 3.1 – 3.9 in./s (80mm/s – 100m/s)
- Control panel: 4.3 inch LCD touch screen
- Z-axis: double threaded rod
- Print size: 17.7 x 15.7 x 15.7 in. / 45 x 40 x 40 cm (HWD)
- Build volume: 19.02 gal. / 72.0 L
- Machine dimensions: 72 x 71.5 x 66.5cm
As far as we can tell, the extruder is identical to the extruder and print head on the Anycubic Vyper. Furthermore, the Kobra Max has the same automatic bed-leveling system as the Vyper. The system uses a pressure sensor instead of an inductive sensor.
The bed-leveling sensor is right on the nozzle itself, ensuring that it can probe every printable part of the bed. And since the sensor is pressure-based, you could replace the glass bed with any other material and the bed-leveling system will still work. (Inductive sensors require metal to work, so you won’t find them on printers with glass beds.)
Since the Kobra Max’s printing platform is a rigid glass sheet, you can’t remove and flex it to pop your prints off. We prefer removable spring steel build plates, but glass is still a nice printing surface. If your printer doesn’t have a removable bed, glass is ideal because you can use metal scrapers to remove your prints without worrying about scratching the surface.
The LCD touchscreen is identical to the screens used on many other Anycubic printers. As usual, it’s responsive and easy to use.
A note about filament types: the Kobra Max will print with PLA, PETG, TPU, and ABS. However, if you really want to print with ABS and get the best possible results, the printer should be inside an enclosure. Given its size, it may be challenging to build a suitable enclosure for the Kobra Max.
Assembling the Kobra Max 3D Printer
When assembling the new Kobra Max, make sure you have sufficient working space. Since the bed moves forward and backward, you need more space than you’d think. We put it on a 30” folding table, and when it’s printing, it needs about 36 inches, front to back.
Assembly of the Kobra Max is no more difficult than assembling the Kobra or Vyper. The only additional items are the diagonal braces which add stiffness to the frame, reducing mechanical vibration.
It took two people about 15 minutes to assemble. Double-check that you’ve cut all the zip ties used to stabilize the printer during shipping. There are a lot of them.
Calibration
The auto-bed-leveling system is easy to use. Anycubic recommends that you check the x- and the y-axes to make sure they don’t wobble. If they do, you can adjust the eccentric nuts until the wobbling stops. There was no wobble on our printer, so we didn’t have to do anything.
Additionally, the x- and y-axes have belt tensioners. We needed to slightly tighten the x-axis on ours. The tensioners are easy to use and are features a lot of other printers lack. Who wants to take apart the extruder assembly just to tighten the belts? Not us, and probably not you.
Build Quality of the Kobra Max
Due to the addition of the diagonal braces, the frame is really stiff. The dual z-axis screws are an improvement over the smaller Kobra. They virtually eliminated sagging of the x-axis assembly.
The spool holder sits on the base of the printer, reducing wobbling when printing tall items. It’s better than having the spool on the top like on the Kobra.
This printer is built with aluminum extrusions with aesthetically-pleasing plastic covers for the hotend and the tenionsers. It’s got an optical z endstop. The x and y endstops are mechanical. The whole thing feels solid.
First Print
For the first print, we used the test file provided by Anycubic. Appropriately, the owl is about twice the print volume of the owl test print that comes with the smaller Kobra. Given the bowden setup (which makes sense for a printer this size), we were surprised that the ears on the owl turned out so well.
The ears look better than they did on the owl printed on the Kobra which has a direct drive extruder system. We suspect that’s due to the slower print speed. Many times, retractions on bowden extruders will create artifacts, but we didn’t notice any blobs or stringing. It approaches the quality you’d expect from a direct-drive.
Next, we printed a vase with a large, flat base with a 0.2mm layer height. Removing prints from the glass bed is certainly not as easy as removing prints from smaller, flexible beds, but it’s not a deal-breaker either. We didn’t have any adhesion problems. The prints didn’t release when the glass bed cooled, which is what we expected and hoped for.
Curious what the power requirements would be for a printer this size, we were worried we wouldn’t be able to run multiple printers on the same circuit. We measured the power usage while the Kobra Max was printing, and, as expected, power usage is highest while the printer is warming up. Ours topped out at 473 watts. While printing, it was a more manageable 200-300 watts. We thought it would be more than that. You could probably run three of these printers on a 20 amp circuit.
Cut to the Chase
To drive home just how big the Kobra Max is, we put the Kobra on the bed of the Kobra Max. Insane. (We do not recommend you try this.)
A small printer is limiting, so if you find yourself printing large objects in small pieces and assembling them, consider buying a Kobra Max. If you’re new to 3D printing, keep in mind that it takes a long time to print big objects—potentially days and days. Typically, we’d recommend a smaller printer to beginners, but at the price point of $569.00 if you purchase on the Anycubic site, it’s worth considering as an entry-level printer.
One downside is that smaller prints will take a little longer than they would on a smaller, faster printer. That’s just physics. Bigger printers have more inertia to overcome and take longer to move. For example, the print time for our vase was thirteen hours. On our Prusa MK 2.5 with similar settings, it would have taken about twelve hours—not a huge difference.
*Special thanks to FormerLurker for help in reviewing AnyCubic’s Kobra Max 3D printer.
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Maggie Marystone is a freelance technology writer, human rights worker, and storyteller based in Chicago. Read Maggie’s Full Bio
