A video recording camera system provide remote control functionality through a wireless handset interface. In embodiments, a video recording camera includes an optical sensor, a processor coupled to the optical sensor to process an input image signal received from the optical sensor into an encoded video data stream, a non-volatile storage medium coupled to the processor to store, locally in the video recording camera, encoded video data stream as recorded video data, and a wireless transceiver. In embodiments, a cellular-enabled wireless communication handset communicatively couples to the video recording camera over a wireless personal area network (WPAN) supported by the camera's wireless transceiver. The handset serves as a gateway to the camera providing access to recorded video data or functions of the camera, via the WPAN, as determined based on communications conducted by the handset over a cellular communication link.