Axis 2100 - network camera

Author's Rating:

Pros: Direct ethernet connection. Superb image quality. Running linux - but not complicated.

Cons: More expensive than a webcam. But worth it.

The Bottom Line: 
This is the way a webcam was supposed to be! No need for a PC and great image quality. Highly recommended!

Author's Review
It's a really nice network camera. Setup is real simple and it works great with my ADSL connection, I can have the camera live on the net! Password protected of course.

I really like the idea of a self contained network camera without the need for a PC. Although pricier than a webcam you also get much nicer image quality which by itself justifies the price difference.

It's cool it's running embedded linux - yet no need for understanding linux. Actually, smoother set-up than most comparable products I've seen!

Another neat feature (which took a little bit longer to confifure) was the built in FTP option. The camera can FTP files to a webserver on its own. So it uploads the images and you can specify either a round-robin scheme with the 100 or so latest pictures. Or, you can get a filename based on time and date so that you can set-up your own surveillance system.

The only bad thing I experienced was the really small button for resetting the camera to factory defaults after I had been playing a bit too much with the linux operating system. Yes, you can do your own scripting, but if you make a serious mistake you have to factory default it.

- Mur