considering this purchase but don’t want to spend the money if it won’t be fully functional
Ive looked at some of the higher end Panasonic cameras like this but have held off due to the price. I am hoping someone comes out with a more reasonably priced indoor/outdoor PTZ camera that doesn’t perform or look like a hunk’o’junk. Right now I have 2 Panasonic BL-C131A cameras, and they are great, but I would be in the market for something a little more permanent and outdoor rated.
thanks BOSSTON, you sure are right about the expense, but I was concerned about the slower frame rate of the 131a at 640X480 but you sound happy with yours, do you run at that resolution or lower? Are you happy with th output? I want to use it to both watch the house and see the view online at a vacation home
the frame rate far exceeds what i can usually see, the frame rate through vera on ANY camera is very slow… much better through the Panasonic interface… I wouldn’t buy a more expensive model due to a higher frame rate… you’ll end up disappointed at the frame rate vera gives you anyway.
the only reason i would buy a more expensive model are:
- if it blends in better (ie. white vs silver)
- it has more movement (360 degree)
i am very happy with the Panasonic and would specifically look for another camera of the same brand due to my experience with it, rock solid software/interface and great low light performance.
Thanks much for the feedback, good points about the frame rates as far as online viewing, I was more wondering about if it (frame rate) would affect moving video quality of an archive, say one had a break in, video clip gets stored on local card or online, would the lesser camera have blurrier video than the more capable one? How has the quality been on yours with movement on a local archive?
i have not used my cameras for security reasons, they are mostly to make sure my pets are ok while i am on vacation. so live viewing is the only function i have used.
i plan on using them for security purposes in the near future. but i cant say for sure if an increased frame rate will decrease the blurriness of an action shot. i have not noticed any blurriness in the snapshots that vera displays…
Blurriness will be more a factor of the resolution than the frame rate, in my experience. The problem with slower frame rates is what you expect: you are capturing fewer images (at whatever resolution your camera supports), and thus you are going to end up seeing fewer images. If you need to identify someone from a video that lasts two seconds long, would you rather have 5fps (10 chances to get a clear shot of the person as they pass by the camera) or 30fps (60 chances)?
good point on the frame rate, of course lower resolution will provide less detail, but as far as motion blur in my experience it has more to do with the light gathering ability (and thus shudder speed) of the camera, thats why I wondered if the one that can shoot more frames can also resolve a picture more quickly (thus reducing blur) am I off track here? BTW thanks for all replies