Levana Lila Baby Video Monitor

Before we had a baby, my wife and I did not think that a video monitor was necessary. It seemed like an extravagance. After using a video monitor, the Levana Lila Baby Video Monitor, we now fall firmly in the video monitor fan camp. The Lila is a solid monitor, containing all of the essential features, as well as a few extra conveniences.
The Lila has a clean and sleek design. The components are all white and include a spherical-shaped camera and a portable receiver. Assembly out of the box is quick and easy. You simply pop in the battery to the receiver, add the stand, and plug everything in.
The camera swivels on a base and has to be adjusted manually—so there is no remote zooming or panning a room. The camera is mountable—we like to use it mounted above the baby’s crib—but it does need to be plugged in, so you will need to plan around outlet availability. The receiver is just slightly larger than an average-sized cellphone. We were pleasantly surprised with the quality of the resolution on the camera. The resulting picture is excellent for a screen of this size.
We appreciated the portability of the Lila receiver. It is so nice to have a portable receiver to bring around the house. The battery is great because you don’t have to lug a cord and charger around with you. Our least favorite part about the receiver is the clip/stand. It works well enough as a stand to prop up the receiver, but it’s too flimsy to act as a clip. We think a spring-loaded belt clip would be nice, but the Lila is small enough that it can fit in your pocket if you are moving around the house. We use it most often with the stand, leaving the Lila receiver propped up on a table while we eat dinner or catch up on work.
A neat feature of the Lila is its night vision mode. The Lila switches to night vision to help you check on your baby in dark rooms. The night vision feature produces clear images in the dark, but we found it to be a tad sensitive. The Lila sometimes switched to night vision mode in dim and low-light situations where it was not necessary.
Another great feature of the Lila is the intercom system. A press of the intercom button allows you to talk to your child. The sound quality of the Lila camera and receiver is great and the useful intercom feature has come in handy in many situations for our family.
Overall, we are extremely satisfied with the Levana Lila video monitor. The Lila is a solid camera that includes all of the necessary features for a video monitor at an affordable price. With the Lila for a video monitor you receive good picture and sound quality, portability of the receiver, night vision and a two-way intercom. While not containing all the bells and whistles of some more expensive models, the Lila does its job well.
Price: $130
To buy: mylevana.com