Panasonic BL-C210A Internet Security Camera
- Image Sensor: 1/4″ CMOS, 320,000 pixel
- 3x Digital Zoom
- Up to 30 Frames per second
- Max. Video Resolution: 640 x 480 (VGA)
- 82¿pan, 42¿tilt F2.8 Lens brightness
Product Description
Panasonic BL-C210A Internet Security Camera… More >>
Panasonic BL-C210A Internet Security Camera
Has been playing with this network camera for 3 days and here’s my opinions:
1. Setup is easy. As long as your router support DHCP, it’s just a matter of popping the setup CD and click on ‘Camera discovery’.
2. Good built-in software. I have another Panasonic BL-C111A network camera and both of them can show up in the same page.
3. Need two ethernet cables separately: One goes to your switch and one goes to the camera. They both connect to a proprietary PoE injector.
4. Tons of features: Motion trigger, Time trigger, Upload images to ftp, send images by email, remote access, etc.
Let’s talk about the image quality, as it’s probably the thing most people are interested in learning. In short, if you need a camera for mission critical monitoring (business location, identify a thief, etc), this is probably not your camera. The sensor of this camera is only 1/4″ CMOS, which means it will be performing badly in low light situations. If you are looking for a camera for your business, then get a camera that have sensor size of at least 1/3″, those cameras cost at least $400 or more. However, for basic monitoring, or use it as a gadget, then I think it should be fine.
Comparing my older BL-C111A and this camera, I came to the conclusion they perform almost identical, i.e. suck in lowlight, decent in bright light conditions. For the BL-C210A though, the overall image is sharper but it also gives a lot of ‘mosquitoes’ noise. My older BL-C111A has a softer image, but with a lot less noise. So it really depends on your preference, I find the ‘mosquitoes’ noise annoying, even though the image is sharper.
Another thing is, they advertise this camera as 640×480 30fps capable. This is another one of those advertising gimmicks. The camera image looks the best when they are 320×240. In 640×480 mode, they just extrapolate or enlarge it from 320×240, hence, the noise is even more pronounced in 640×480 mode. You will not see any more details in 640×480 mode than you will in 320×240. But again, this is a $130 (or $180) camera, so this is to be expected. If you need more detail in your images, then consider a 1/3″ sensor camera.
In conclusion, I think (just my IMHO) the image quality of this camera is no better or worse than generic Chinese made IP camera you can get on ebay (they all use 1/4″ CMOS sensor). However, Panasonic wins out in terms of support and the software features/quality. I would give this camera a 3.5 star for the image quality, and a 4 star for the value.
Rating: 4 / 5
I’m a tech guy and was prepared to forward ports, give it a static ip, etc on my Linksys router. But I didn’t have to do any of that because of the well crafted cam installation software. The software is what made the installation so easy and it connected to my router with ease and configured all settings that I would otherwise had to do manually. The free URL for Internet access to the camera is also great. The web interface to the camera is well thought out and has many options and features. Even when the “privacy” mode is turned on, you can reactivate it remotely. The image quality is great considering that the camera is so small and it uses low bandwidth for both audio and video.
Ease of use is what puts this camera above the rest. This was defiantly a great buy.
Rating: 5 / 5
The Panasonic BL-C210A is a great little feature rich network camera that was very easy to setup and use for it’s basic functions. This is a wired camera that will require a free Ethernet port on your router. This is my second Panasonic network camera (we also have a Panasonic BL-C131A Network Camera Wireless 802.11, which is very good), so I had an idea what to expect. Here are the details:
Features -
+ Color Video and Sensitive Audio
+ Pan & Tilt Control
+ Event Alarms can cause images to be saved and notification sent via email (or FTP)
+ Alarms can including Motion, Sound, Timer, and external Alarms (includes inputs for two physical triggers)
+ Free access to Panasonic’s external “viewnetcam” site that allows remote access to your camera (either from a PC or Mobile Device)
Pros -
+ Easy to Install and Configure
+ Easy to Remotely View and Control
+ Good Image Quality (in room lighting or brighter)
+ Excellent Customer Support*
Cons -
- Requires two LAN cables (not included)
- Poor low light image quality, but selecting “Color Night View” helps (see “Customer Images” for examples with and without)
- Digital Zooming only works on IE Browser using the mouse scroll wheel (Firefox does not allow it)
Whats Included -
+ Camera
+ Mounting Hardware (optional)
+ Power Supply
+ Power Transfer Unit
+ Safety Wire
+ Installation CD
+ Installation Guide
+ Setup Guide
What’s Not Included -
- 2 LAN (Ethernet) Cables – yes, this needs two cables (see “Setup”, below)
Setup (follow the “Installation Guide”) -
1) Connect a LAN cable to the “Power Transfer Unit” and your Router
2) Connect the Power Supply to “Power Transfer Unit”
3) Connect another LAN cable to the “Power Transfer Unit” and the camera (power is now being sent over this LAN cable)
4) Run the install CD
5) Follow the “Setup Guide” to configure access from the Internet (if needed)
* I needed to contact Panasonic Customer Support via the Toll Free number on the website and was pleasantly surprised to reach a polite and, more importantly, skilled tech who walked me through setting up my second camera for viewing through the “viewnetcam” web page (I needed to change the default port, very easy to do).
Overall I am very pleased with this camera, the features, the ease of setup and use, and the great support from Panasonic!
Highly Recommended!
CFH
Rating: 5 / 5
Bought this camera through one of Amazon’s Gold Box Deals for $130. For the price, it’s a great camera. This is my second Panasonic network camera. A few years ago I bought their BL-C1A model Panasonic Network Camera and Pet Cam (BLC1A). The BL-C210A is a much nicer camera. The picture image is several times better, especially when motion is involved. You have the option of pan and tilt to look around. You can disable the indicator lights on the camera that lets you know the camera is on. You can also disable or override the privacy mode button on top of the camera. You can configure the camera to email you a picture when it detects motion in your house. Now how’s that for peace of mind while you’re away? And my favorite is that the camera is powered through the network cable which eliminates the need for a power outlet near the camera. The camera has a threaded mounting hole in the back that can be used to mount the camera to a standard tripod or an optional wall mount. The cube design is nice because it allows you to just set the camera on a shelf or table. The camera is light, so a tug on the network cable can bring it crashing down if it’s not secured.
There are limitations with the camera. If you want to view an entire room, you’ll need to mount the camera high in a corner. It can only pan 41 degrees to the left or right, 10 degrees up and 32 degrees down. The camera is powered through the network cable, but it doesn’t support the industry standard PoE. Luckily it comes with its own power injector. You’ll need to purchase two network cables to use the camera. One connects the camera to the power injector and the other connects the power injector to your router/switch. The cable between the camera and power injector must be shorter than 98 feet. The box says you can only view still images from a cell phone. The website says you can’t listen to audio with a cell phone. The software works pretty good, although I have found a few minor bugs in it. You have the option of viewing multiple cameras on one screen, but the max resolution for multiple cameras is only 320×240 and not the 640×480 max camera resolution. You don’t need a computer onsite to use the camera, but you’ll need one to do the initial setup.
Panasonic has nicer cameras than this model, but the prices also get outrageous. $185 (current Amazon price) is not bad for one camera. But after you buy one, you’ll want more so you can monitor the rest of the house. That’s when $185 per camera starts adding up. If the price drops again, I’ll definitely buy another.
Note: The zoom function is not obvious. There are buttons on the screen to do everything but zoom. I discovered you can right-click on the top half of the video to zoom in and right-click on the lower half to zoom out. You can also use the wheel on your mouse to zoom in and out.
Rating: 4 / 5
I would change the rating to 2 and would not recommend purchasing if you need LOW Light like a nursery. I absolutely do not recommend this or the 230a for a nursery!
Review updated on 2-27-2010. I will start by saying this was a very difficult to set-up camera on a Mac using Snow Leopard with VM Fusion and Parallels. I was not able to get it to work on VM Fusion and Windows 7 and eventually switched to Parallels with Windows XP I finally got it to work. I also have Trendnet TV-IP422W which was simple to configure.
Pro’s
1. Comparing the picture in bright light using Parallels, IE and H.264 the picture is AMAZING. I will use the word ‘Shocking’ to describe how clear the picture is. Compared to Trendnet it is laughable how clearer the Panasonic picture is.
2. Web interface is great and is not limited for Mac users like Trendnet
3. The P/T is Very quick and much quieter compared to Trendnet
4. Unit size is very nice and the POE is well thought out.
Con
1. Night ‘vision’ is completely worthless. In the nursery with only a nightlight the TV-IP422W switches to a b&w view and we can see basic outlines, blanket vs child is a bit of a challenge. However, turn on the night vision IR’s and you can. No switch to the panasonic setting next to the Trendnet, NOTHING. When I say nothing I mean, you can’t see anything just a black room. No joke!
2. The range of the P/T is very limited and I haven’t figured out how to zoom.
3. It appears H.264 compression improvements only work on IE and Windows. You do not see a benefit with H.264 on FireFox or Mac browsers.
4. I found it very difficult to setup on a Mac and feel free to leave comments if you are having trouble and I will see if I can help walk you through what I did
I received a 4 pack of Synology surveillance License and it works great. You can P/T and detection appears to work. I’m using the latest beta firmware on a Synology DS 409.
Final
Bright and I mean bright light the picture is amazing. Dusk the picture is not as good as the Trendnet and in very low light there is NO picture! If you have the need for Low Light pass on this camera! I also bought a 230a wireless and I used the same approach and was easy to set up and will put details in comment response. I’m returning the 230a as it doesn’t work in low light of a nursery.
Rating: 4 / 5