Panasonic Wireless Network Camera and Pet Cam (BL-C20A)

by Panasonic

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 7 x 9 x 3.5 inches ; 5.8 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000FBOF96
• California residents: Click here for Proposition 65 warning.
• Item model number: BL-C20A
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: August 22, 2003

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

From the Manufacturer

See There When You Can't Be There
These cameras can be viewed and controlled from a standard Web browser, video display, or even a compatible cell phone or PDA1. Place them in your home, office, vacation home or almost anywhere else that you'd like to keep an eye on things, with no PC required on location!. They are easy to install and operate and require no additional software for the PC that you're viewing them on. Each camera also comes with a free Web address, which can track the camera automatically. All you need is a regular Web browser to view them on your PC, as all of the other required software, including control software (TCP/UDP) and e-mail software (SMTP), is already inside the camera.

Now You Can Watch Your Pets!
Always feel close to your animals, whether at work or on vacation. Did the walker show up as promised? Is the dog sleeping on the sofa? Is the cat scratching your new leather chair? You'll know instantly with this webcam.

802.11b/g Wireless Communication
This camera can communicate wirelessly with standard 802.11b or 802.11g wireless devices, allowing the flexibility to install and operate the camera without running network wires, and utilizing SSID filtering and powerful 40/64/128 bit WEP encryption helps to protect your wireless network from illegal intrusion.

Just Plug It In and Play
This network camera is truly easy to install and use in most cases. With industry standard automatic configuration (UPnP), the camera and your router or PC will automatically decide the best settings allowing you to access your camera without any complicated setup. Once connected, using a simple Web browser, just enter in your free, permanent Web address which comes with the camera and you can see the camera! It's that simple.

Sensor Recording and Email Alerts
With the built-in motion sensor, the camera can be set to record and/or notify you by email when someone enters the room.

Product Description

Wireless Network Camera Automatic Network Configuration, Universal Plug and Play, Set-up Wizard, Remote Pan/Tilt Control, Built in PIR motion detector

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Execellent camera, July 19, 2007

By 

H. Dinh "shooter" (OKUSA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Panasonic Wireless Network Camera and Pet Cam (BL-C20A) (Personal Computers)

Compact, very easy to set up and the image is sharp and clear. Free DDNS service makes this the best buy. I have another camera, Linksys, and I had to pay for this service. I defitely will drop it when it comes up for renewal. No more Linksys camera for me!

After a few days of use..I still love it! I just found out that I can access the camera with my Mac via Firefox browser. This alone beats all other cameras in the market! Set up the motion detector to email pictures is a breeze. You can also set the camera to periodically send a picture, motion or not. The only thing that you could say it is less than the Linksys is it could not send a video. Linksys video only lasts 30 seconds anyway. Highly recommended.

8/21/08: I have 2 of these cameras and the first one (3 yrs old) just failed. It is just not powered up doesn't matter how many times I tried. I guess it is expected. It has been reliably in service for 3 yrs. I will buy it again, when Amazon has a good deal.

The camera's software works flawlessly in Mac OS. I regularly access my camera via Safari web browser. This alone beats most other camera out there. You can get to it from either Windows or Mac. I set it up to email the jpeg to my Blackberry and view the picture there. Could not figure out how to do this on an iPod though.

3/20/09: When the 2nd camera failed, I thought the power supply was the culprit. I bought a $15 power supply from W**T and guess what? It works again. So I now both of my cameras work again! If your camera failed, likely it is the power supply!

Also, I can access my cameras from my iPod touch (live) using the supplied Safari browser when I have a wifi connection. COOL!!

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Excellent unit until it fails, January 1, 2008

By 

David - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Panasonic Wireless Network Camera and Pet Cam (BL-C20A) (Personal Computers)

I have 3 of these cameras, bought over the last two years. I also have a similar Axis model. I use the BL-C20A's ftp-on-motion feature and access them from a Mac wirelessly. At first I thought the Axis was superior, as it has better image quality and MPEG support. But it fails intermittently (needs rebooting) and I've never gotten its motion-detect to work with the right sensitivity. So I settled on the Panasonic and got 3. Unfortunately after about a year, each camera has failed completely -- now all 3! They just die with a flickering orange light or no light at all. Hard reset does nothing. I'm sending them back for repair, but given that all of them died I'm not sure they're worth repairing. Still, I know of no better option, so the BL-C20A may still be the best option at this price level.

[SEE COMMENT THREAD FOR USEFUL INFO]

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Camera! and it is wireless under the right settings, March 17, 2007

By 

Ernesto J. Melendez "EJMM" (Jacksonville, FL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Panasonic Wireless Network Camera and Pet Cam (BL-C20A) (Personal Computers)

This is a great camera. At first i had problems connecting it wirelessly but after working with a tech support rep from Panasonic we figure out that it was my "shared" network setting instead of "open". After he told me to change this voila! i was able to setup my three BL-C20 cameras and they are great!