Panasonic BB-HCM547A Power Over Ethernet Dome Ceiling Mount Network Camera with 4.6 Zoom Lens and 73° Wide Viewing Angle

by Panasonic

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 6 x 6 x 4.5 inches ; 1 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B001BBR1KE
• Item model number: BB-HCM547A
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
  • #19 in Camera & Photo > Surveillance Cameras > Dome Cameras
  • #37 in Electronics > Security & Surveillance > Surveillance Video Equipment
• Date first available at Amazon.com: June 19, 2008

Product Description

Panasonic BB-HCM547A PoE (Power Over Ethernet) Dome Ceiling Mount Network Camera with 4.6 Zoom Lens and 73° Wide Viewing Angle

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Camera, July 6, 2010

By 

I. Asky - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Panasonic BB-HCM547A Power Over Ethernet Dome Ceiling Mount Network Camera with 4.6 Zoom Lens and 73° Wide Viewing Angle (Electronics)

I got this last year to keep an eye/ear on my backyard and hot tub. This camera has performed flawlessly. It was easy to install, it has POE so you only need one internet cable to run it. It comes with its own website so that you can control it from any internet connection or your iPhone. I use motion and audio triggers to limit the recordings to real events and am averaging about 1 Gb file/day on high resolution. The 4.6 magnification is enough to monitor my entire backyard (~.5 acres). The camera website is easy to use and gives you full control, however I use SecuritySpy (~$50) for my Mac which interfaces nicely with this camera. Works well in low light and exceptionally in normal daylight (very crisp and clear pictures). Can't think of any negatives for this unit.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Super Dome Cam, June 10, 2011

By 

Chris - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Panasonic BB-HCM547A Power Over Ethernet Dome Ceiling Mount Network Camera with 4.6 Zoom Lens and 73° Wide Viewing Angle (Electronics)

This dome camera worked great, I mounted it in my eaves and was able to see both sides of my house. The resolution is good (although not as good as the BB-HCM735) and even the audio works well. It's fairly easy to set up and I'd definitely recommend it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A pro quality camera that's worth the price, but use other software, October 20, 2011

By 

KC Coldbrook - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Panasonic BB-HCM547A Power Over Ethernet Dome Ceiling Mount Network Camera with 4.6 Zoom Lens and 73° Wide Viewing Angle (Electronics)

Rock solid camera with real outdoor durability. Excellent pan and zoom capabilities. Power over Ethernet works perfectly for single-cable installation, just add a PoE injector or use an Ethernet switch with built-in PoE. I used the Trendnet PoE injector which was well reviewed and had no problems. The camera's pan angle is good enough that mounted directly over my front door, I can pan down far enough to see if there is a UPS package on my doormat. The network connectivity has been rock-solid with zero weirdness.

The installation instructions use rather unclear small drawings that made installation more difficult than it should have been. Much of the installation was counterintuitive and there are a lot of parts involved (bear in mind, I am a very technical/handy person, I would not recommend this for novices). Make sure you test fit everything in order and examine the drawings closely before going up on the ladder.

Daylight performance is great, low light performance is middling, and Panasonic will not answer the support ticket I opened 3 weeks ago asking if the camera is compatible with IR illuminators and if so which IR frequency should be used.

Like most network cameras this model has a built-in web server, built-in motion detection, recording, etc. All of its built-in web capabilities are functional but very Web 1.0 clunky and you are much better using third-party software to manage the camera. I use a Synology NAS which eliminates all of the clunkiness and even provides an iOS application with fingertip pan and zoom control.