20-20 web vision, off the shelf
Written: Dec 07 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great picture quality (for 640x280), 21x zoom, pan, price.
Cons: Outdoor use requires housing; firmware limitations
The Bottom Line: As of summer 2003, the webcam to buy!
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| normanconquest's Full Review: Panasonic KX-HCM280 Network Camera |
Want a remote eye on some distant (but internet-connected) part of the world? Take a close look at the Panasonic HCM-280.
This $800-range web camera is easy to install and interface. It requires only power (via a supplied AC adapter) and an internet connection (via a standard RJ45 jack). After a straightforward configuration procedure, the camera's integral web server provides remarkable quality real-time images to remote browsers, and allows them to aim, zoom, and otherwise control the camera. Before getting into a list of caveats (below), I'll just blurt out the bottom line: this camera is a great device. It exceeds expectations in nearly every dimension, and delivers reliable performance at a very reasonable price.
The maximum resolution of the camera is a mere 640x480, so you won't get photo-quality 8x10s from the pictures you capture. However, it has an amazing 21x zoom lens, together with a very capable auto-focus and brightness control; this combination allows you to easily zoom in (from your browser, thousands of miles away) to fill the frame with a loon or license plate 500 feet away. The picture quality is vastly better than other 640x480 webcams I've used (including earlier Panasonic models), and leaves little to be desired except (of course) more pixels.
Given the integral web-server, you don't need a local PC to interface this camera. You do need an internet connection, and (if you want to access the camera remotely) an external IP address. If you're connecting it to the internet via a cable modem or DSL service that assigns IP addresses dynamically, you'll have to arrange for dynamic DNS service to associate a fixed domain name with your camera. Fortunately, the camera firmware (application code within the camera itself) supports dynamic DNS, and access to such service is included as part of the camera purchase.
The user interface provided by the integral web server is adequate, but not outstanding. A sparsely-document CGI interface allows one handy in web tech to put together a customized web page allowing more streamlined access to the camera's functions. There is room for considerable improvement in the range of function supported by the firmware - there is no way, for example, to find how many users the camera is currently serving or their identities (even IP addresses). Basic functions (control over zoom/pan/tilt, etc) can be restricted. If you install an HCM280 in your picture window, you can restrict the directions it can be aimed to allow the web-serving public to admire the view without being able to follow you into the bathroom.
A major limitation of the HCM280 is that it is designed for indoor use. I purchased my camera from http://www.securityideas.com, whom I recommend highly, and who sells a third-party outdoor enclosure shaped like a streetlamp allowing outdoor use of the camera. The enclosure is pricy ($465) but industrial quality, with an integral heater and fan inside its housing. The bottom half of the housing is a hemispherical dome of clear plastic, allowing the camera to "see" in all directions to the horizon. The extra layer of plastic does decrease picture sharpness by a noticable amount, although its still quite good so long as the plastic dome is kept clean.
My major complaint about the camera is a problem that can (and hopefully will) be fixed via a firmware update. The camera was designed for either "table top" or "ceiling" mounting: depending on which box you check in the configuration menu, its range of motion and the orientation of the pictures served are chosen. The camera will physically pan through 360 degrees, and tilt from +90 degrees (horizontal) to -120 degrees. However, if "ceiling" orientation is chosen, tilt is restricted to a nominal 90 degrees -- that is, it ranges from 0-90 degrees. This is probably OK for ceiling-mount cameras installed indoors, since the interesting views are all facing down at various angles. But for an outdoor camera with a a potentially distant panoramic view (across a lake, in my case), the 90-degree tilt limitation becomes intrusive. The camera can just see the horizon in all directions at its widest zoom setting -- but is unable to zoom in on a distant object on the horizon. On raising this issue with Panasonic, they suggested the "workaround" of configuring the camera for tabletop orientation. This does indeed allow the camera to zoom to the horizon, but has the awkward consequence that the pictures are shown upside down. Panasonic --- if you're listening --please put in a mode that flips the picture without restricting the tilt range!
In summary, this camera is great for indoor use, and -- with some effort -- can be adapted to produce fine results in outdoor installations as well. I do recommend securityideas.com as a vendor - in addition a good price and reliable service, they were knowledgeable and available to answer myriad dumb questions. At this writing, you can play with an HCM280 on their demo web site at http://www.securityideas.com/demos.html.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
normanconquest
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Location: Cambridge, MA
Reviews written: 3
Trusted by: 0 members
About Me:
Graying college prof enjoys food, wine, movies, grandchildren, wife, gadgets.
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