Draper Inspection Camera –
Full Colour Inspection
Until the last time I used a Draper inspection camera I suppose I never really thought about how useful such a piece of kit could be. Certainly friends and tradesmen I know became very interested in borrowing the previous review sample camera, and that was a big clue as to just how useful it can be and just how many potential applications there can be.
However, time moves on and we expect our technology to do so even more quickly, and barely a year later the new Draper CAM 6 and CAM 7 Flexi inspection cameras are already offering substantially improved products. I was sent the CAM 6 to put through its paces and I am afraid the inevitable conclusion is that it is better in lots more ways than the previous model.
Unpacking it from its newly-designed carry case it seems that a certain quality threshold has been surpassed. The carry case is sleekly designed with particularly neat catches that can be padlocked for security. The handle is large and easy to hold and the interior is fully lined with thick foam plastic with custom cut outs for the camera and accessories. Clearly, this camera is going to be well protected even in the conditions found in the back of a white van.
Getting the camera ready for use is quite straightforward. A screwdriver is needed to unscrew the lid to the battery compartment in the handle of the camera. This releases the battery holder into which the four AA batteries are inserted in the correct sequence. The battery holder is a good idea since it makes loading the batteries correctly a lot easier, and also means that when the batteries have to be removed when the camera is not used for extended periods of time, they can be safely kept in the case in the battery holder.
Then the business end needs to be mounted – the socket of the flexible camera head conduit is lined up with cable end and then simply screwed together.
Once this is safely done the on/off switch can be pushed, and this is located just behind the cable socket on the main body. This switches on the light on the end of the camera cable and the colour screen comes to life. For many applications, the simple view on the large 0.32M pixels 90mm TFT screen is good enough. For example I did a trawl round in the sawdust at the back of my workbench looking for a lost mini try square. Without needing a chair or ladder I could inspect the state of the top of my kitchen cupboards and check the spreading rust behind the radiator in my downstairs loo. In these applications I found that the view on the screen is pretty good and the details that could be seen were instantly recognizable so that it was easy to orientate the flexi camera to where you wanted to go.
Handling of the whole camera device is much improved in a couple of ways. Firstly the camera screen can be unlocked from its stored “flat” position and turned all the way up to a 90-degree angle so that the user can adjust it for maximum visibility. Small screen visibility can be a problem in certain kinds of direct light so it is a definite plus feature.
Secondly the handle of the CAM 6 is quite large, with a comfortable dimpled grip, and this enables the user to easily move and orientate the camera. There are two rubber covered buttons at the top of the handle that enable the built-in camera light to be dimmed and brightened according to the task in hand.
But the CAM 6 is also a big step forward because of the controls on the screen itself and the connectivity to other devices.
Pressing the “menu” button under the screen reveals a number of modes in which the camera can record images – for example as photos, photo sequences or as moving images. The rubber-topped buttons are easy to follow and sequence – a bit like setting a digital clock or watch, and most people who have used computers would not have any difficulty understanding them.
Another very useful function is the ability to choose the resolution of the images recorded by the camera. Some jobs just need more resolution than others, for example to pick out cracks or leaks in pipes.
In order to more closely examine details picked out by the camera, a button marked with a magnifying glass allows a step by step zoom of up to four times normal – link that with a higher resolution image and you have a very useful viewing tool at your disposal.
By removing a rubber strip on the left hand side of the screen casing, the user has access to all the “plug-ins” namely a USB socket, a TV lead and a memory card socket. The memory card is obviously the storage facility for the images recorded, and can be removed to put into a laptop for viewing if needed.
A TV lead means that the images can be viewed on a much bigger screen and the USB allows direct connection with a laptop, where the live or recorded images can be viewed as long as you have the correct MPEG4 format software that is freely downloadable from the internet.
Will this pair of Draper Flexi Inspection Cameras be successful in the marketplace? Well I had the same problem with my sample as I had with the previous one I reviewed – once people knew I had it, there were many requests to borrow it. And I had very good comments on how easy it was to use and how good the colour screen was – making things very easy to view. If the users speak true and they are representative, then the answer is a very positive “Yes”.
