Review: Summer Infant Panorama Digital Video Monitor

 

Violet is now officially in her own room – eek! Where did my little newborn go that slept so soundly in her bedside crib next to my pillow? We now have a boisterous 7 month old who was tossing and turning in the night, keeping us awake and getting frustrated when we woke her too. So on the day she decided crawl out of bed during the night to whack me round the face with her little hand, we decided it was time – she needed her own room. The Snuzpod was clearly no longer big enough or safe as she could just climb out. Sad times, I’ll treasure memory of those co-sleeping days forever!

Violet is now in her nursery – which is not just down the hallway, she is now a whole floor away from us – we live in an ‘upside down’ house with our bedroom downstairs so having her so far away is even more nerve-wracking. That’s why having a good monitor is essential for us as we just wouldn’t hear her without it, so we decided to try out the Summer Infant Panorama Video Monitor  which seemed to tick all of the right boxes. This is how we got on….

The most important feature of a monitor for me is a big, clear video screen. I know you can get audio-only monitors, but I like to see what is going on as just being able to hear noises would make me conjure up all kinds of situations in my head – so a crisp clear picture of Violet was essential. I chose the Summer Infant Panorama Digital Video Monitor as it has one of the biggest screens I’ve seen (5″ high resolution LCD to be precise!) but what I really loved is the remote controlled pan/tilt and zoom camera, which means no matter where Violet is in her room I can pan the camera round to ensure I have full vision on what she is up to – Violet can’t get out of her cot yet but this will be handy when she’s old enough to get up and play in her room. The field of vision is fantastic, I can see all of her room so there will be no escaping the Mummy-cam once she is on the move!

Setting up the Summer Infant Panorama Digital Vido Monitor was a piece of cake – the camera and screen come automatically paired, so there is nothing to do but plug in both parts (the screen needing a full charge before use) and then it’s all ready to go! There is a quick start guide in the box just to guide you through the initial setup if you aren’t sure. The camera also comes with wall clips and instructions for attaching the cable to the wall so ensure the utmost safety when using your monitor as you wouldn’t want any loose cables close enough to the cot for your little baby to grab. I was quite impressed with the safety guidelines around this as being a first-time Mum it’s not something I’d have automatically thought of. The monitor is also a 100% private connection as it’s not attached to a WiFi network, so there is no need to worry about network security either.

Since using this monitor I’ve felt so much more relaxed leaving Violet in her room, both day and night. I carry the screen around the house with me wherever I go as it’s lightweight and totally portable – with a 240m range it’s always in range too – it has a clear picture even in our bathroom at the back of the house where our normal WiFi can’t even reach. The monitor not only has a video screen that shows your baby but sound-activated LED lights that flash along the top – going from green to red depending on how loud the sound is. Often it’s the LED lights that catch my eye before I notice Violet on the screen during the night in my sleepy state.

The monitor has a two-way communication, which is fab for soothing Violet if I see her stirring, I’ve found if I just do a few long ‘ssshhhhhhh’ noises through the monitor that’ll often be enough to settle her again if she’s really sleepy. It’s also handy if I’m in the nursery looking after Violet and I need to call down to V to help me or to get supplies like nappies/milk etc as we can talk to each other through the monitor which is so much easier if one of us is with the baby.

Other features are a room thermometer which is essential for working out what to put Violet in for bed at night and making sure her room is warm enough / not too warm overnight, plus a soothing blue/red nightlight which I pop on if I go up and check on her during the night as it’s light enough to see around the room but not so bright it wakes her.

The Summer Infant Panorama Video Monitor has two screen settings – a colour LCD screen during the day:

And an enhanced infrared night vision mode for at night:

I feel like this monitor does everything we needed it to and more, so we’ve been really impressed with it – especially the large screen and the camera that pans/tilts around the room. My only slight criticism is that the battery life is not great for the screen part so I tend to leave it on charge most of the time unless I’m wandering around the house – then it’ll last a few hours or all day if I turn it completely off between naps. Secondly, the night-vision screen can be a little on the hazy side – I’m a paranoid Mum that likes to see Violet breathing and sometimes the picture can be a little too pixelated to see the rise and fall of her chest – but I know, I am being picky here because as monitors go, this is a really great picture, the daytime mode is SO clear.

The Summer Infant Panorama Digital Video Monitor is priced at £149.99 and worth the price for the piece of mind, reassurance and just for the fun of scaring your other half shouting BOO! down the monitor at 2am…. ! 🙂 Highly recommended – a product we use daily and will continue to use for many months (years!) to come no doubt.

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  • We still just at home have an audio one at the moment but as we’re planning on moving to a larger house we will deffo need to get ourselves one of these! And the scaring your other half aspect is fun too haha! x

  • Aw that looks great – we actually bought a fancy video monitor from Babymoov, and never set it up. We moved house and Harrison is now only two doors down and I feel like I’m so tuned into hearing him I wake up in seconds anyway. We had the audio only ones in our previous house also but this has now made me want to set up the babymoov one that we actually have sitting there!