Panasonic BL-C230A 640 x 480 MAX Resolution RJ45 Wireless Camera

Pros: This thing works great. Easy to set up. Works with many iPhone/iPad camera viewer apps.

Cons: TOO expensive uniess on a big sale. Lost an egg for price

Other Thoughts: The two way audio is decent.

Pros: - PTZ works. Works from several android apps too.
- Guest mode isn't as clean as it could be but it works and is very customizable, right down to which buttons and permissions the guest user gets/doesn't get on screen. Also has time limits.
- Built-in IR sensor a good concept tho I haven't used it yet.
- Small, interesting shape. LEDs can be turned off.
- Web interface can pull streams from other similar cameras onto one page.
- 8 PTZ presets. Can also snap to presets upon alarm or return to preset after PTZ inactivity.
- As another reviewer stated, it can upload to a single filename via FTP. Only timing is 1sec, 1min, or 1hr however. Can have different filenames for time, motion, sensor, etc. Even different combinations by time of day/week, so nighttime motion could have a different filename than day, for example. Has 5 independent trigger/alarm/action schedules to play with.

Cons: - Night time performance is NON-EXISTENT. Seriously, don't bother after sunset. What looks like 18db or even more of gain kicks on immediately and after dark the picture is completely black. I don't think an illuminator would make much of a difference given the grainy noisey mess you'd be stuck with.
- Daytime picture quality looks just ok. Camera seems decent but their compression on all settings really blows out any detail. PTZ is the only advantage of this camera.
- Web interface looks cobbled together and 10 years old. Setup screens are all over the place but if you know what your are looking for its easy enough to setup once and forget.
-No WPA2-Enterprise/RADIUS authentication.
-Works with IE the best. Things can break under FF and Chrome.

Other Thoughts: -The only mounting point is on the back.
-Rather bizzare audible alarm feature w/built in speaker.
-9V DC power supply, would prefer standard 12v.
-Contact input allows to record to the internal buffer.
-Output controllable from a customizable button on the viewing web page or by alarm.
-802.11g, no n.
-IPv6 capable.
-Wait until it's on sale to buy it.

Pros: Good support for iPhone. There is a uPanasonic app.

Also there is a native PC based Panasonic monitoring software.

Cons: Tricky wireless setup. My established wireless key didn't work with this camera. See below:

Other Thoughts: After many hours of trial and error I was able to finally connect wirelessly. WPA2/PSK (AES). I put exactly 32 characters (no spaces) in my wireless key and unhid my SSID on my router. It now works like a charm.

Pros: Works in wired mode.

Cons: This one won't connect wirelessly, it just blinks the red light after it fails to connect. I've reset the unit, and triple checked the WPA2/AES settings. From the router status, I can see the mac address come and go, but it never connects. I emailed Panasonic support and never received a reply. This one goes back.

Other Thoughts: I have two BL-C201A wired versions. They work well within the limitations of the ambient light as others have noted.

Pros: - Item (value)

- Moving lens allows you to peak around the room (great)
- Sound sensor (great)
- Motion sensor (great)
- Web interface (great)
- Camera address is automatically uploaded to the panasonic website and that makes it very easy to find the camera without having to remember an ip address
- Moderately easy to configure. At some point I had changed the camera address a couple of times and was not able to find it. The software that comes with the camera figures it out right away.
- Wireless with a good range (moderately important)
- The camera is not easy to notice (important)
- Highly configurable; including on/off times, sensitivity, etc (important)
- Reasonable picture
- Heat sensor (don't care)
- Privacy button that rolls the camera up with light indicator (important)

Cons: - I was never able to configure email to get notified when the camera detects something (important)
- Picture quality is descent when there is enough light (either window is open or lights are on), but gets very grainy around 4 PM or so. So you need to leave the lights on (important)

I am only giving it a 4 star because of the picture quality.

Other Thoughts: - You need to use the cable to configure it.
- The camera can control other devices or can be controlled by other devices such as door sensors (if you know how to connect it without damaging the camera)
- You can connect a few of these cameras and view them with the same software.

I had my apartment broken into a while ago by someone whose key worked on my lock. Even though I changed the lock and even moved to another apartment in the building, I got paranoid every time i misplaced something. This camera gave me peace of mind. In my opinion it offers a lot of functionality for the price (even though it is expensive)

Pros: small form factor
links with my viera tv

Cons: poor video quality
night vision is worthless

Other Thoughts: expensive

Pros: Does it all and the ONLY manufacturer (Panasonic) with a timer based, single FTP image filename upload function (webcam in a box). PLUS can be configured for direct public viewing with no username/password requirements. A webmasters go-to toy and only choice for webcam updating plus web friendly public access as well.

Cons: Compared to it's 5 year old companion and other "external antenna" based alternatives it's wireless range is minimal. It's compact cube footprint however is a plus if range is not an issue. Boring to have to buy the same old thing every time because no other manufacturer has functions to fill such a simple need :( Of course we spent plenty $ trying others just to confirm that fine point.

Other Thoughts: We needed a replacement to the Panasonic arch shaped brother that faithfully set in the attic sun solidly uploading a webcam image 24/7/365 for 5 years until it's lens began to sunburn and blur. After buying every other brand to my horror Panasonic has the only firmware that does this simple yet powerful single filename webcam like function. In the end buying this and then voiding the warranty by soldering in a spare RP-SMA chassis jack out of a blown router got us what we wanted plus added range for remote placement at an annual festival. It does flawlessly what otherwise takes a dedicated laptop, webcam and windows software (actually firmware can FTP 4 locations/formats plus motion detect function for a 5th) in a much tinier size. Panasonic is the only manufacture with this simple yet powerful option. This cube version has a lens cover so attic dust might be less hazardous to it's lifespan.

Pros: Well made unit, solid web streaming of video and audio. Excellent color picture when lighting conditions are good.

Cons: Auto configure DDNS setup fails without explanation (likely due to the existence of another web server on port 80), leaving manual static IP setup as the only option if you want to use the Panasonic viewnetcam.com DDNS service. Picture washes out to grainy black and white in low light and the "night view" option is worthless.

Pros: Easy setup, great picture, nice pan and tilt range

Cons: none