Product Description

Wireless Network Camera 802.11g, Automatic Network Configuration, Universal Plug and Play, Set-up Wizard, Remote Pan/Tilt Control, Built in PIR motion detector

---

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #35307 in Consumer Electronics
• Brand: Panasonic
• Model: BL-C30A
• Dimensions: 4.00" h x 8.50" w x 9.90" l, 2.00 pounds
• Native resolution: 32x240

Features

• Record to a Web Site or Hard Drive
• 802.11b Wireless Technology
• Receive Email from the Camera
• Compact design with hideable lens, for added comfort and privacy
• Automatically upload images to an FTP server or Web page -- images can be viewed by 30 users at once

From the Manufacturer
From the Manufacturer

Always feel close to your animals, whether at work or on vacation. Did the walker show up as promised? Is the dog sleeping on the sofa? Is the cat scratching your new leather chair? You'll know instantly with this webcam.

Panasonic Network Cameras can be viewed and controlled from a standard web browser. Place cameras in your home, office, vacation home, or almost anywhere else that you'd like to keep an eye on things, with no PC required on location. They are easy to install, easy to operate and require no additional software for your viewing PC. Each camera also comes with a free web address which can track the camera automatically. All you need is a regular Web browser--all of the other required software, including control software (TCP/UDP) and e-mail software (SMTP) is already inside of each camera. Cameras are attached through an Ethernet connection (or router) and power source, so you don't need a computer at each location you want monitored. Each camera has a built-in web server with IP address. To view the images on a PC, simply open a graphics-capable Web browser and type in the cameras specified, password optional Internet address.

• View up to 30 frames per second of live motion video with resolution of up to 640x480.
• Web-based viewing with remote pan and tilt functions lets you adjust camera angles from a computer in another location.
• Built-in software records data to a web site through FTP. You can use the same interface to record to the hard drive of a local computer.
• With the included mount, our network cameras can be mounted on walls, tripods, a desk stand or even from the ceiling.
• Cameras can be viewed by up to 30 users at once.
• Free viewnetcam.com service allows you to create a personal web address

---

Customer Reviews

Excellent camera, but can be hard to setup and requires IE
The Panasonic BL-C30A is a wireless camera with embedded web server. It can be connected to your home network through an ethernet cable or wirelessly (the initial setup has to be performed through the ethernet connection). Once you've properly configured it for wireless mode, you don't need a computer: just plug the power adapter into an outlet and place the camera wherever you want (within the range of your wireless network).

Anyone can connect and view/control the camera remotely. If you have a broadband connection and know how to configure your router to open a port and assign it to the camera's IP address, you can see your webcam from anywhere in the world. Very handy to keep an eye on your office or empty apartment while you're away.

The embedded web server supports access restrictions through passwords of course; and users can pan/tilt the camera lens -- the only drawback is that Internet Explorer is required to use the camera (the display and controls are handled through an ActiveX control, which basically means that only Windows PCs with IE will be able to use access it).

Image quality is pretty good: you have a choice of straming video at 320x240 or 640x480 (at a reduced frame rate) and you can control brightness and video quality from remote. Users can also take 'snapshots' (i.e. save individual images).

I have another wireless webcam (a Linksys WVC11B) and the Panasonic's image quality and features are definitely superior (on the other hand the Linksys is also $100 cheaper).

The camera also offers additional advanced features like heat detection (which can turn the camera on automatically and send an email alert if someone, or something, warm gets within the sensor's range) and scripting. I've never used this, but I suppose it can be useful if you plan to set up the camera as part of a rudimentary security/surveillance system. Some cameras offer motion detection, but it can be triggered by changes in light -- heat detection seems to make more sense.

Main caveat: configuration can be tough, especially if you're a newbie. I consider myself pretty knowledgeable and it still took me a while to get it work with my wireless network until I figured out that I had to set the WEP encryption mode to 'open key' on my wireless access point (shared key mode is not supported, though this fact is buried in the documentation).

Overall, I recommend the BL-C30A but I wish Panasonic provided a way for non-IE users to access the camera (and the configuration software could also be vastly improved).

Good, but not good enough for surveillance
Let me begin by offering my overall experience with this camera. I had no difficulty at all setting it up for either wired or wireless operation. The included software worked flawlessly allowing me to easily operate the pan and tilt operations, and allowing me to record sessions.

For my purposes, my intention was to supplement a surveillance system I currently have in operation using two high resolution Toshiba network cameras. I was hoping to be able to get half-decent quality from a camera costing about 1/2 of the cost of the Toshibas. Unfortunately, that's what I got...about half the image quality.

In general 640x480 does not provide sufficient resolution for surveillance as you cannot make out features in any detail. For example, you may be able to see someone entering your home, but you'll never be able to identify that person. Overall clarity was ok, better than, for example, another Linksys camera that I tried, but still I was unable to identify facial features in a person standing just 10 feet from the camera (using all of the highest image quality modes). Comparing this to my Toshiba cameras operating at just 800x600 is like comparing night to day, as the Toshiba is able to distinguish relatively fine detail.

All in all, for the price, it does what it advertises, and is better than other lower cost cameras that I've also tried (like the Linksys). However, I've found no camera in this price range to be able to work as a true surveillance camera. (I suggest the Toshiba IK-WB11A as the entry point of true surveillance network cameras.)

Works fine on a Mac
Panasonic doesn't support it, but this camera, and all Panasonic Netcams, work fine with a Mac. Later versions of Safari, Netscape and Firefox allow you to view full motion video. No add-ons or active-x or other such nonsense is needed with. The video just works.

As for setup, you will have to set this (and other Panasonic Netcams) up with a broswer, not with the automatic setup CD that works with windows. It's not difficult. Configure your Mac to use the built in Ethernet connection only, configured manually to IP address 192.168.0.5, subnet 255.255.255.0. Connect an ethernet cable between your Mac and the Camera (with a modern Mac any cable will do, with older ones you'll need a crossover cable.) Then access the camera at the address specified deep in the documentation (for this camera it's 192.168.0.253). The first time in you'll be asked to select a username and password. Do that and then you'll have full access to the setup utilities where you can change IP addrerss, DCHP, and other parameters. You can also setup the excellent free viewnetcam.com service and give your camera a real internet name. This is my third Panasonic Netcam, and I've been very pleased with them all.