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Panasonic BL-C210A Internet Security Camera | 
 enlarge | Brand: Panasonic
Category: Photography
List Price: $199.99
Buy New: $129.00
You Save: $70.99 (35%)
(as of 9/6/10 10:24 PDT - Details)
New (18) from $129.00
Rating:  17 reviews
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2
Dimensions (in): 9 x 7 x 3.9
Legal Disclaimer: We do not in any way represent that any part we sell is legal to possess in your jurisdiction. Check with you local authorities to ensure it is legal for you to possess before buying!
MPN: BL-C210
Model: BL-C210
UPC: 037988845682
EAN: 0037988845682
ASIN: B002JLZMN8
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Features:
| • | 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 |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
The BL-C210A is Panasonic's full motion video network camera. It features a proprietary one-wire, plug-and-play installation and is suitable for a home or business setting. The integrated internet connection allows users to view camera output in real time full motion video from anywhere in the world using a personalized secure web address (provided for free). It is even possible to pan, tilt and zoom remotely. The camera employs H.264 video compression which provides higher video quality and uses half the amount of bandwidth compared to other formats. Built-in sensors detect body heat, sound and motion. The sensor settings are customizable so they can be used separately or all at the same time. They can also be set to be active at specific times of the day. When a sensor is triggered, an image is captured and can be sent via email or to a VIERA CAST enabled TV. There is built-in memory to store images and the included recording software connects up to 16 cameras
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 17
 Exceeds Expectations February 25, 2010
Derrick Blackwell (ATL)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
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.
BL-210a is a great little IP camera May 17, 2010
Sea Brat (Boston, MA USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The BL-210a worked easily out of the box on my home network. It took me a little more time to get it work remotely and more time to get the email setting correct so it sends me an email based on motion and sound triggers. After I get an email I can go to the Panasonic web site and review the video. I like that you can set the camera to save both pre and post trigger video. I have the camera mounted in a corner near the ceiling. From this location I can use the camera controls to remotely move it to see the entire room. The resolution is great for a PC monitor but does not help to zoom in because it has a digital zoom. This camera gives me a great sense of security when I travel away from my condo.
Very Good Network Camera - Highly Recommended! February 25, 2010
CFH (Blue Ridge Summit, PA USA)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
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
Great camera esp if you know what you're looking for June 12, 2010
Gary H (CA USA)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I've been looking to pick up a new IP camera that supports Pan and tilt. I just recently remodeled a house in which I ran cat5e wires to every corner of the house. I did not run any power lines out to the cat5e so I wanted some kind of POE (power over ethernet) camera. I did run fishing line out with the cat 5e just in case I ended up using my old non-POE ip camera (Airlink SkyIPCam 250 and the 250W) so I could pull the power cords/jack through the wall with the fishing line, but I know I'm going to literally run into snags doing this and the line may break. We just stucco the house so getting the actual plug through the wall may be an issue down the line.
I just saw the price drop from $180 to $155 on the C210a and saw a used one being sold my Amazon. I took a chance and a leap of faith and bought a used BL-C210A. I decided to go with wired connection because I've had issues with wireless ip cams before and if you read reviews of any wireless cameras, they _ALL_ have issues. With a hardwired connection I will have eliminated the most problematic issues of wireless security cameras: video drop outs, connection drop outs, etc.
Since I did some research on this camera I know it does not have good night vision - none at all. And people have issues with setting this camera up on Macs and also setting up port forwarding. I also know it does not come with ethernet cables. So will I be disappointed?
I got this camera last night and it looked almost brand new, but I can tell it was used. The question for me? Will it work? After going through the part list it seems like I got everything. I scrambled to find two ethernet cables and I plugged one into my gigabit switch and the other end to the proprietary POE box. I plug the other cable between the POE box and to the camera. I hear some mechanical whirling noise as the camera centers itself, but I have no idea if I can view video.
I stick in the setup disk, ran the setup program and searched for the camera. It found it with ease. I decided to upgrade the Firmware so I searched for it on the web, downloaded, and extracted it and used the setup program to upgrade the firmware. That was easy. I was wondering if I will run into a snag since most people run into issues setting up this camera. I then had the setup program set up the networking and it told me how I can access the camera locally using my local ip address. I want to set up port forwarding so I can access the camera on the internet so I register on the viewnetcam site and tried setting up the camera without ip4v and ip6v. I'm all set up, but of course port forwarding is not setup so I can't get to the camera from the internet. I decided I should use ip4v to set up port forwarding. I never used this, but it worked and I was able to get on the internet and view my camera! This was just too easy. It might be because I'm in the tech field so setting up stuff on the router and devices on the network is relatively easy. I have a Macbook pro, but I did not try to set up the camera on the mac, but I'm sure I can access the camera with Safari on the Mac.
I tried accessing the my camera on my iphone and my Samsung Innov8 and they work great. You can access the mobile version of the software by appending a "/mobile" to the end of the URL.
My expectations were based on what the camera can and cannot do and I am completely satisified with the camera so I'm giving it a 5 star. I would give it a 4 star if I expected night vision, but I already know it does not have night vision and the sales literature does not mention it.
I like the fact this little unit buffers pictures so you can see action happening before the action starts. With my skyIPcam, when action is detected, you will miss a few frames. The pan and tilt is great and I will probably not get another camera without pan and tilt. I did not test the zoom, but I heard it was digitial so expectations are low here.
The included poe box is great so I don't have to buy a POE injector or router. It's funny, but I bought two cheap POE dlink router last year from Fry's for $20/ea on clearance.. I returned it two weeks later because I had no need for POE devices. If I had know I would of kept it so I can set up my security system with POE cameras. I went back to Fry's last week and the POE Dlink router was $139 (similiar to what I returned).
Since I've used it for one day my opinion of this camera may change. I'll be back to post anything good or bad about this camera like I've done with my other reviews. So far so good. Great product.
UPDATE: 7/11/10
There is a $70 instant rebate on this camera so I just bought two more! They come out to $129/ea.
Yes, I need a low light camera, but I haven't found one yet that is good at low light and good in the daylight.
Great multi purpose indoor security cam March 20, 2010
Xyth (USA)
I mostly use this to watch the dogs while I am away from home but have experimented with the security features and found them easy to setup and use. Device senses noise, body heat and motion, all configurable. Remote pan, tilt and zoom are exceptional and easy to use from a remote PC or phone. I'm waiting for the price to drop to buy a couple more of these units.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 17
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