Customer Reviews

Panasonic BL-C140A Outdoor MPEG-4 Network Camera (Silver)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This review is going to be somewhat technical and I'll mention some other choices. I've installed more than 10 Panasonic network cameras across the product line; so how does this one compare? The whole series is rock solid reliable. As far as the practical use as an outdoor cam, the BL-C140A is a middle of the road compromise. As other reviewers have discovered, the night time image quality is not very good. The BL-C140A has a 1/4" CMOS sensor which produces a little bit better daytime image than the 1/6" CMOS on the popular BL-C111A and BL-C131A models. If you're looking for a cam to mount in an outdoor location that is protected from direct moisture (like hanging under a sheltered roof eave) then I'd recommend the Panasonic BB-HCM511A instead. The BB-HCM511A uses a CCD sensor (vs. CMOS) that produces a richer dynamic range of colors during the day, and has much better low light sensitivity. It can still show the scene under moonlight, whereas the BL-C140A would show a pitch black view. If you truly need an "outdoor" camera because it's going to be exposed to the rain, then the BB-HCM531A is an excellent outdoor model. The only difference between the BB-HCM511A and BB-HCM531A is that the BB-HCM531A comes with an extra plastic cover for the connectors in the back. Panasonic charges more than $200 for this piece of plastic, so it you're crafty you can make your own weatherproof cover for the BB-HCM511A cable connectors and save some money (hint: silicone sealant works). Note that if you don't already have a POE enabled switch, the BB-HCM series doesn't come with a POE injector so you need to order that separately. Coming back to this BL-C140A model, the other thing I didn't like is that the POE (Power Over Ethernet) is proprietary instead of using the industry 802.3af standard. So if you have a POE switch then it won't be able to use all the neat power management features. The BB-HCM series however does support the 802.3af POE standard. If your budget is just enough for this cam, the BL-C140A still a wonderful unit. If you can afford to pay just a little bit more then check out the other models I mentioned and you'll get a superior night time view. Here's another tip, if you want to have the camera view on your desktop all the time in Vista or Windows 7, go to the Microsoft Windows Live Gallery and search for Panasonic to download the CoconutView Sidebar Gadget. Then you won't even need to open the browser windows to get a peek at what the camera is seeing.

It's great that this camera comes with a POE adapter so you can power it over an ethernet cable. However, it doesn't work with standard POE switches, which is a pain. If you already have a POE switch (like I do) then you can't power this camera from that switch, you still need to use their (included) power block. Ugh, just what I need, another little transformer wasting electricity in my basement.

Also, it's a pain to setup on Mac or Linux. After about 30 minutes of trying to find the camera on my network by looking at my router's DHCP table, I finally pulled out an old dusty Windows PC and ran the setup routine. It found the IP address for me and that was enough. Once I had the IP address, I was able to configure the camera from my Mac's browser.

Hey hardware manufacturers, please use standard mechanisms to setup your hardware. You know, like DHCP and HTTP. Not everyone has a Windows PC around to run you buggy setup software.

This is by far the cheapest outdoor IP camera out there that does power-over-ethernet (POE). As a plus, it include its own POE injector, saving an additional fifty dollars on buying one separately. So far it works well, except the image gets very noisy in the dark. However, I'm very satisfied with this camera for the price.

The next cheapest outdoor one with POE is the Toshiba IK-WB15A IP Security Pan/Tilt/Zoom Camera, which I also own and costs over twice as much, but is superior in nighttime image quality, and include pan/zoom features. However, the Toshiba camera is also much bulkier and obvious when mounted on the outside of the house than this Panasonic camera is.

I researched every cam out there before buying the BL-C140A from Amazon. I mounted it under the eaves of our garage above a motion-activated halogen light - a super idea from one of the Amazon reviews. Installation was very easy - basically plug & play and everything worked right out of the box. The included PoE (power over ethernet) means you only have to run a Cat5 cable to the unit. I mounted the small PoE converter 50' from the cam and it works great. (Note; The manual says not to exceed 98' from the cam to the converter.) Pic quality is excellent. The included viewnetcam.com website means you can monitor several cams on one page over the internet for free, which is really sweet. Panasonic has by far the best bang for the buck when it comes to security cams for homeowners, IMHO. I'll be buying several more of these in the near future for sure!

This was my first network camera to set up surveillance at my home/shop area. DUring the day time the picture is great. At night, I had to help it a little by installing a dual flood quartz security light system about 3 feet from it. This combination works pretty well. The security light is motion activated and brightly lights up the area where the camera is focused.

The PTZ features aren't something I feel I need, so the price is right on this camera. The power injector is included which is a nice touch, and it was easy to install. Very nice, neat mounting stand. Well designed, and just a great overall camera. I recommend it highly.

I have two of these cameras installed as Weather Webcams outside in the elements one is somewhat protected and the other is completely in the open on top of a roof facing NW. For the price point of this camera and the features it offers - I think it works awesome. The camera on my roof has been in operation for 9 months now and subjected to ice/snow/rain/sun with extremes of below zero and 18 inches of snow to over 100 degrees in the summer a likely much higher on the roof - it has been full proof and not once have I had to reboot or anything .... simply flawless so far..... and very good picture quality for the price point!!!!

The Panasonic BL-C1A is half the price and also works fine outdoors under the eaves in my mountain home this winter.

BL-C1A (also a PetCam version sometimes cheaper) has much, much better low light sensitivity but the BL-C140A has a higher frame rate (I'm getting 2.3 fps vs 6.1 fps), both over a gigabit LAN with non-Panasonic frame grabber software.

The BL-C140A also has the convenience of POE so it can be mounted anywhere whereas my outdoor BL-C1A had to have the relatively short power cable threaded alongside the cat5e thru the wall to the mounting point.

Both are fine cameras, I have only one BL-C140A but several BL-C1A units (mostly indoors).

I purchased this unit and a Panasonic Panasonic BB-HCM511A Network Camera with Two-Way Audio (which is the same guts as the Panasonic BB-HCM531A Outdoor Pan/Tilt PoE Security Network Camera (Silver)) to compare for outdoor use with some higher priced IR illuminated cameras. I wanted a cheaper alternative for outdoor monitoring, and what I got was a mixed bag.

High end cameras have IR cut filters on them which side out of the way at night giving the camera a higher level of sensitivity, and most use IR illuminators to then light the scene without any visible lighting. To save costs, this camera does not have a filter, and does not have any IR illuminators. As a result it struggles at night. On a street well lit by street lights you can make out very crude shadows only. For instance you can tell a car is parked on the street, but even trying to give a basic description of the model would be quite difficult. Basically I find this camera is totally useless at night.

By comparison, the BB-HCM511A, which has a CCD sensor, does much better at night. See my review of that product for more information.

What about during the daytime? Well, during the day this camera does pretty good. Again it's outperformed by all of the higher end cameras including the BB-HCM511A, but the image is pretty decent quality. If you're looking for a weather camera or other daytime application this is a pretty cheap way to get decent quality.

Pros:
- Cheap! Considering you get Panasonic build quality and an outdoor rating this camera is really a bargain.
- Easy to set up. The web interface is simple and easy to understand.
- Lots of features. E-mail, ftp and http upload on schedule or on motion. Can tile in up to 4 Panasonic cameras to have a video solution with no computer. UPNP.
- Outdoor Rated, rare at this price level.
- If you dig around on Panasonic's web site, you can find full documentation of the web interface.

Neutral:
- The "PoE" is a proprietary injector. It is included with the unit, but you'll have another wall wart and injector running around. For one or two camera installs this is cheaper than a PoE switch and a plus, but for multi-camera installs where you have a PoE switch this is a huge annoyance.

Cons:
- Night / low light images are nearly worthless.
- Outdoor rating is only an IPX4 "splash resistant". Needs to be protected under an eve or something if you're going to put it outside.

Unless cheap is the overriding concern, I would look towards the Panasonic BB-HCM511A Network Camera with Two-Way Audio or Panasonic BB-HCM531A Outdoor Pan/Tilt PoE Security Network Camera (Silver) cameras for much better quality at still competitive prices. However, if you really need low light performance you'll want a camera with an IR Cut filter and IR illuminators which probably put you up over the $500 mark, and can approach $1000.

I searched for a long time for a camera that I could use as a webcam. I wanted a camera that didn't require that a computer be on all the time and also one that didn't require any kind of external power source wiring. Of course, quality of picture and ease of installation was very important too. The Panasonic BL-C140A fit the bill perfectly.

I mounted the camera under the eve at our rental unit on Anna Maria Island, Florida, ran a 30' Cat 5e cable from the camera through a hole I drilled in the wall of the house and connected the other end to the included PoE injector. The Power over Ethernet (PoE) injector provides power via the Cat 5e cable to the camera. The injector receives power from a power cube that plugs into a standard wall outlet. Also connected to the injector is another Cat 5 cable the other end of which is connected to the router.

Once everything was connected I inserted the included CD into the computer and installed the software. The software worked perfectly with my Windows XP operating system and immediately detected the camera. It could detect more cameras but I only had one which was listed. When I clicked on the listing the image appeared. It couldn't have been easier.

To make the camera accessible over the Internet I had to log into the router and turn on port forwarding for the WAN IP address of the router. This may sound complicated but isn't. You will need a user name and password to get into your router and will also need its LAN IP address. You usually can get this information by searching the Internet for the make and model number of your router or from the manual that came with the router. Just key the IP address into the address block of your browser (ex. [...] ) enter the user name and password (ex. admin admin) and you'll have access to all the router settings. It is GUI so easy to read. Look for "WAN settings" or "status" to find the WAN IP address (that # will not start with 192.168). Once you have that you'll need to enter that information in the port forwarding or port range forwarding section of the router usually found under something like "Applications and Gaming". If you have turned on UPnP (Universal Plug and Play)this may already be set up by the camera software. The port number is 8080 for both start and end. Since every router is a little different, you may have to experiment a little. Make sure you keep track of any changes you make so you can put them back if need be. If you really mess it up you can always reset your router and start over. You will also need the camera's IP address (found by logging into the camera)which will be something like 173.170.xxx.xxx to access your camera from the internet.

I am very happy with the images I get which may be seen below the picture of the camera, dock in foreground.

I bought this to install in an outbuilding and use it to keep an eye on the house. The building is unheated and certainly drafty. The camera has been out there for about 3 months with no problems. No problem to set up although I had to use a windows machine (yuck) to set it up. Once set-up, it works fine with my Macs and iPhone.