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dudeman135
New Member
Joined: 09 Oct 2008
Posts: 3
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 Posted: Thu Oct 09, 2008 10:29 pm Post subject: Axis 207W vs Panasonic BL-C131A |
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I'm doing some research on Wireless IP cams and came across the two in the subject line. My main purpose for the camera is to be able to monitor our cats while we are out of town. We have a pet sitter that stops by twice a day, but it would be nice to be able to check in on them.
I have not experimented with IP cams before, but I work in IT and have played with webcams before. The reviews I've read so far seem to lean towards the AXIS cam for over all picture quality and good viewing in low light conditions over the Panasonic cam. However the Panasonic has the ability to tilt and pan, which might be useful depending where we place the cam and how much we can tilt and pan. That might offer a better opportunity to get the cats in view. It would also be nice to have two way audio, as I'm sure the wife would like to be able to call out to the cats to get them to come within camera range, but neither seems to have that option.
Any suggestions for this particular purpose with decent picture quality in the 250 price range would be appreciated. Thanks ahead of time.
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40th Floor
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Joined: 10 Oct 2008
Posts: 14
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| Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2008 4:54 am Post subject: Re: Axis 207W vs Panasonic BL-C131A |
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| dudeman135 wrote: | | Any suggestions for this particular purpose with decent picture quality in the 250 price range would be appreciated. |
Low light can mean one thing to you and another to the camera. Get a CFL and let it burn 24/7. 10W won't break the bank but it will let you use nearly any camera. Cross out the "low light" requirement. Neither of the two you mentioned really do "low light". The 207W has a fairly narrow field of view; if you are watching a single room, maybe it will do. The Pana131 has more flexibility since like you said it does PT for wall-to-wall, floor to ceiling coverage, assuming everything works (i.e., you can set it up and access it from the outside world). If audio is important, the Axis is much better than the Pana131; it's very clear and gets you a clean and loud feed. The Pana131 uses a gsm-based codec and I think you have to install the codec via a download (and Panasonic's download/support has really gone south since the early part of this year, but I think there's link in the 131's web page). Each is one-way; the cats may miss out not hearing from you, but who are they going to complain to?
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dudeman135
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Joined: 09 Oct 2008
Posts: 3
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| Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2008 10:46 am Post subject: Re: Axis 207W vs Panasonic BL-C131A |
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| dudeman135 wrote: |
Each is one-way; the cats may miss out not hearing from you, but who are they going to complain to? |
Hah, true. I believe we'll put the camera in our living room/kitchen area which is pretty open. If the viewing angle is pretty narrow on the Axis, the Panasonic might be the better option.
Does anyone know of a camera with similar video quality of these two cams, with tilt and pan and two way audio in the 250 price range? Asking for too much?
I found this one which seems to have everything I'm looking for, however I'm guessing the image quality and service/support/reliability are lacking. Anyone have any experience with this ABS MegaCam4220?
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40th Floor
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Joined: 10 Oct 2008
Posts: 14
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| Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2008 12:48 pm Post subject: Re: Axis 207W vs Panasonic BL-C131A |
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| dudeman135 wrote: | | Does anyone know of a camera with similar video quality of these two cams, with tilt and pan and two way audio in the 250 price range? Asking for too much? |
No PT, but the vivotek ip7132 (wifi I presume you want) is probably around $250 and does 2-way audio. The Made in Taiwan stuff has gone up a good 20% the past year, so maybe it's more now. I'd check Provantage first. It may not be made anymore. It's got a fine picture. Audio using the built-in mic I find not so good, but you could hook up an external mic, which may be better. It's possible the mic on mine has become detached, because the audio level is very low, so that may not be your experience. With the latest flash, you can set the shutter speed, which I find useful since in low light it (used to) slow down a lot. I prefer full FPS and the make-do darker image over a bright image and blurred motion.
http://www.provantage.com/vivotek-ip7132~7VIVO01A.htm
says "special order" probably because it's been around a while, yet still current I believe.
http://www.google.com/products?q=vivotek+ip7132&price1=&price2=&scoring=p&btnG=Go&output=html
Price looks to be better than I thought. There's a pt7137 (wifi) that does PT, but I'm not sure it does 2-way audio (I know my knock-off-similar-model-different-brand fcs-1060 does not). You can check vivotek.com. It has the same image quality as the ip7132.
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dudeman135
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Joined: 09 Oct 2008
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| Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2008 3:55 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks, appreciate the info!! I did check out the ones you suggested and after talking more with the wife, she decided two way audio isn't needed, so think I will go with the Panasonic pan and tilt or a similar pan and tilt cam.
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