The Flexi Inspection Camera from Draper Looking Good?
Independent Review by Peter Brett
Speaking for myself, and I hope it strikes a chord with others, I am of an age that is still amazed at the pace of technological innovation. (let’s face it, younger people are used to permanent change and innovation) It took nearly sixty years to go from the Wright Brothers to the Boeing 707, but in the last twenty years with the invention of all things digital, it is nearly a full time business trying to keep up with what is new. Keeping up is very important, since the sound use of new technology can ensure the survival of new businesses, can revitalize old businesses and ensure that new businesses find new niches and customers. Not that many years ago, if you wanted to see what was blocking a drain, then a long wire thrust down it might give a clue, or failing that, it might have been necessary to stick your hand down, with all the danger and uncertainty that entailed. Now, we simply rely on a tiny camera that can be fed into the drain and presto, most of the time the problem is identified and can be dealt with. Minimal danger and minimal dirt on the hands – now that seems to me a good use of technology.
Many companies have had inspection cameras in their catalogues for a while now, but the Draper version seems to have benefited from waiting around a bit to see how the market shaped itself. The Draper Flexi Inspection camera, is, as you would expect from a Draper product, a competent, well-priced and well specified tool, that would be very useful in many trades and situations.
The tool is very much a what-you- see-is-what-you-get-device. There is a blue ABS plastic handpiece that contains a screen. The handle contains the four AA batteries that power the camera. A metre long flexible plastic covered cable with a tiny camera on the end emerges from the top of the device. It is very clear what the tool is for and how it should be handled. But in fact, each element of the camera needs some closer inspection to see just how well it fits in with all the other elements to make a complete and useful tool.
So, starting with the main casing. It is made from the familiar Draper Blue ABS and is light and comfortable to handle. The screen housing has two rubber protectors, one on each side. The left hand “bumper” lifts to reveal sockets for the PAL video-
out connectors (supplied as part of the kit) so that the camera can be connected to a bigger screen for better visuals.
The handle is lightly dimpled with a sort of stop on the end of it, this provides good grip because the camera cable is quite stiff and can cause the body to twist out of vision in use.
The cable that contains the camera connection is itself a bit “technological.” The connection to the body is made in rustproof metal that needs to be waterproof, since the camera may well be used to examine drains and other places where there is water. The cable too is covered with a black plastic waterproof material, and it is clear that there is a strong metal covering to the cable underneath it. This makes the cable flexible, but also not so flexible that if pushed into a void, it will simply fold up on itself. As anyone who has ever used a drain cleaning kit knows, it needs to have a certain resistance to work effectively.
The camera, right on the end of the cable seems to be housed in a rigid stainless steel pod. The lens is covered with a clear protective sheet and it is surrounded by six tiny LCD lights. These lights, as I have mentioned are, adjustable for brightness, and they are very effective at giving a fairly all-round illumination to dark spots.
Using the camera is actually very easy, since the controls and handling are very simple to become familiar with. However, what is not so easy is to get used to the very wide-angle view that the lens must, of necessity provide, if it is to give the coverage in tight spots. When I looked behind a radiator, searching for a screw I had dropped behind it, I had some difficulty identifying a strange moving creature. It turned out that I was looking at a biggish spider, but the wide angle made it look quite distorted. It is clear that the more you use this tool, the more skilled you will become at manipulating the camera for the best possible view with exactly the optimum focal length of about 30 to 60mm. With greater familiarity, will also come a much better appreciation of how useful the Flexi Inspection Camera could be to you in your business.
The 2.4 inch high resolution TFT LCD colour screen sits squarely in the middle of the casing. Underneath it are three buttons. The middle one switches the camera on and off, and the + and – buttons on each side are used to dim or increase the power to the lights around the camera lens. These controls are very important, because, as I discovered, it is not always useful to have full illumination power when you are examining things with the camera. The full powered light can give too much reflection, to the point where resolution of the pictures is lost.
The camera, as befits its “delicate” electronic status, comes in a compact ABS case. The case is fully lined with shock absorbing material into which the camera and cable can be neatly placed so it never need be in danger from unexpected shocks. Draper dealers have the camera on offer at around the £155 inc VAT mark. You may think that the Draper Flexi Inspection Camera is not a necessity for your current usage, but the next time you are elbow deep in a dark void, feeling with your fingers for a dropped nut, you might wish you had one.
10 ToolBUSINESS+HIRE
www.toolbusiness.co.uk
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