Cameras, for Macs

[janiemae]

Has anyone figured out what cameras work with the Mac computers that does not take an act of congress to figure out?  I sure hope so.  I love this app and I want to watch my house while we are gone.  I want to use Wireless, and USB.   Thanks

[Stefan]

We currently own and use the following network IP cameras:

Linksys WVC54GCA - http://homesupport.cisco.com/en-us/wireless/lbc/WVC54GCA
AirLink101 SkyIPCam500 - http://www.airlink101.com/products/aicn500.php
AirLink101 SkyIPCam500W - http://www.airlink101.com/products/aicn500w.php
AirLink101 SkyIPCam747W - http://www.airlink101.com/products/aicn747w.php

The latest Linksys camera is also compatible: Linksys WVC80N - http://homesupport.cisco.com/en-us/wireless/lbc/WVC80N

All of those cameras claim that they only support Windows, not Macs, but they do work with Macs. (That is what we use them with.) The problem is that they do require Windows to do the initial setup to get them on your network. Once they are connected to your network, you can access them with a Mac.

There may be IP cameras that can be setup without Windows, but we haven't personally used any. There are online guides to setting up various "Windows-only" cameras on a Mac, but they are more cumbersome than if you had a Windows machine (or Windows running in Parallels or VMWare Fusion) available:

http://xmetal.me/index.php?id=15
http://www.networkwebcams.com/ip-camera-learning-center/2008/05/15/howto-set-up-an-axis-ip-camera-using-a-mac/
http://www.amazon.com/review/R1VTEFEEWY0OCI/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

As for USB webcams, any webcam that claims Mac compatibility should work with the iCamSource.