Video baby monitors?

[Sidney]

We are wanting a video baby monitor. Hubby wants one with bells and whistles (men, what can i say? LOL!). He's willing to spend up to $200 for it. What would you guys recommend? $200 seems like a lot for a baby monitor, but I think he views this as the "manly" baby purchase because it's an electronic. Hehe. I'm not going to say anything though because he's spoiled me in the last week by buying me a new SUV and a bunch of maternity clothes.

Thanks!

[lareigna]

I wanted to get a video monitor too, and right now I'm trying to decide between the Graco handheld and the Summer Infant handheld. The Graco is on Ebay right now for literally half the price of BRU so you might want to check it out, but it doesn't have as good reviews as the Summer Infant monitor.

[star04]

Summer Infant Day & Night Handheld Color Video Monitor 1.8" Screen (http://www.amazon.com/Summer-Infant-Handheld-Monitor-Screen/dp/B0007OD8SU/ref=pd_ts_ba_8?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products)on Amazon for $115.

[emily]

We have the Summer monitor. Bought it about two years ago at BBB with coupon. Think we paid around $150ish for it.

Overall, we've been happy with it. The video is supposed to be color but most times it looks like black and white since DD is usually sleeping when we use it and it's dark. There is some static but not too bad. We like that it's portable compared to some other video cams out there.

[Sidney]

Thanks! I'll have hubby check them out. I appreciate it!

[vcardug]

I have the Summer Infant Best View Color Handheld Video Monitor. I LOVE this monitor!!My husband was astounded at the price and wanted me to go with a normal $50 monitor, but after using it, he's sold on it, too. He calls it one of our best purchases.

http://www.target.com/Summer-Infant-Digital-Video-Monitor/dp/B001NAATW0/sr=1-1/qid=1249488726/ref=sr_1_1/180-3606070-9041543?ie=UTF8&search-alias=tgt-index&frombrowse=0&index=target&rh=k%3ASummer%20Infant%20Best%20View%20Digital%20V ideo%20Baby%20Monitor&page=1

Target has it on sale right now for $199. It's $229 @ BRU. It has a color screen for daytime viewing and B&W for night. It has zoom and pan features. Yes, you can actually pan around the room (left, right, up and down) using the handheld monitor. The zoom feature is really just zoom in or zoom out, just one setting, not a graduated zoom, if that makes sense. So, either see the baby from a "far" distance (normal distance) or see the baby up close. The detail is very good. I am able to see when my little guy spits out his pacifier and can even see him breathing. It does have an option to turn off the video and use as audio only, which we never do. Can't say enough how much I love this monitor.

[sunshine873]

I have the Summer Handheld Video monitor and Love, love, love it! At first I thought it was a luxury item, but now realize that it really makes our lives better!

When DD makes a random noise that wakes me up in the middle of the night, I can roll over and check the monitor instead of having to walk into her room. That would lead to me turning on a light to be able to see her and most likely waking her up.

As PP said, the "in color" feature really doesn't work much, since the room has to be really bright for the color to show, and I have it dim in there during the day and completely dark at night. But, the night vision works great.

One recommendation, if you do decide to go with this monitor. There are 2 screen sizes. 1.8" and 2.5. Go with the bigger one. It truly makes a huge difference. I don't think they sell that one at BRU...I got mine online.

[littlebethany]

I bought the Summer Handheld Video monitor a few months ago. I absolutley love it! It makes life a little bit easier for me!

[ahrimie]

I have the Summer Infant one with the big screen monitor and an additional sound monitor. I LOVE it. We had a Safety 1st one first but after a month, just stopped working!

We have a 2 story home so having two monitors is nice. It'd be nice to have 2 video ones but just having the sound one downstairs is good enough. I can hear when she gets up from naps. At night, I like having the video one by our bed so I can see if I really need to go in or not.

[stinkyfeet]

We have the Summer Infant Best View monitor too--it's awesome! I bought it at Target b/c it has the best price I found (and a good return policy if I didn't end up liking it).