Video Inspection Camera from Silverline Value Vision


Independent Review by Peter Brett


Increasingly, the wider adoption of electronics and better manufacturing methods, have permitted what were once expensive tools, to become quite affordable. Only ten or fifteen years ago, the video cameras used by drain and pipe inspectors and precision engineers were out of reach of us mere mortals. But the new video inspection camera from Silverline is very affordable - and not just because Silverline is very adept at bringing us affordable, decent quality kit The whole kit


comes in a black blow-moulded protective case that is necessary to protect vital electronics. The kit and case are very light but seem to have all the necessary bits and pieces to undertake a wide variety of tasks. The camera follows a familiar layout with the big


square-ish screen and handle all moulded into a single plastic casing. To get started, all you need to do is to insert the


four AA batteries (supplied) into the aperture behind the main screen and screw in the flexible camera cable. That is the easy bit. What you might realize is that you have quite a few options open to you as to how you might use the inspection camera from reading the instruction booklet.


included in the kit, as is a micro SD card and adaptor. Just to have a play with the device to familiarize myself with it, I started by looking around in a variety of spots that are hard to reach. For example I needed


it easy to interpret what you are looking at straight away. When I inserted the micro SD card into the slot, I


was able to record some video and some still pictures. For me, the recording feature is probably the most useful for a number of reasons. Firstly, by playing back pictures or videos on a larger screen there is a better chance of finding what you are looking for since the pictures are clearer and bigger even on a laptop screen. Secondly, it can be a valuable record of evidence for a client or employer and can be downloaded for further replay if necessary. If you have set up the date and time correctly, that too is visible on the screen, so this too, may be useful. But I suppose all


of the above is made possible by the flexible cable


It is probably a good idea to head to the “menu”


button and select each of the four buttons in turn to select from the system, set the time and date and recorder settings and event playback so that the camera is customized to your particular usage needs. I would have liked the control buttons to have a highlight colour in the indented symbols, but I guess they may fill with dirt anyway and become highlighted that way. If you want to record photos or video, it is


necessary to insert a micro SD card into the slot on the right hand side of the screen casing. This is protected with a rubber strip and it also conceals the USB connection port and the video cable socket that enables you to look at your recorded pictures on a larger screen. The USB cable and video cables are


8 ToolBUSINESS+HIRE


to locate a brass nut that had fallen off the cooker door and had not been able to retrieve by using a magnet on a stick. At this point “needle” and “haystack” kind of occurred to me because the area under the cooker is a metre long and 60cm deep and it took me quite a while to get used to what was showing up on the screen. The camera lens is lit by four bright mini LCD lights that do show up a lot of detail, but it is a bit like an untrained person looking at an X-ray plate, you need to get used to the images and also work very systematically so that you cover all the ground you are searching. Some things look very strange at very close up and in wide angle as they slowly come into focus. I found that by using the magnify button, that also doubles as an image delete button, I was able to slowly sweep the area and eventually find the nut. I felt as if I had single-handedly rediscovered the wreck of the Titanic as it does feel a bit like treasure hunting. I also did a trawl behind


my workbench in the inevitable sawdust and behind a couple of cupboards where I got a great wide-angle image of a frightened spider escaping at speed. It was definitely a case of


the more that I used the camera the more I got used to the particular wide-angled and magnified world that lurks behind things. There is definitely a knack to it, so don’t give up if you don’t find


with the lights and camera at the end of it. The flexible cable is a full metre long and is well protected with a plastic coating with flexible armoured metal casing beneath. It will bend in any number of desired ways so that it can be fitted round a number of obstacles. The camera lens is only just 8mm in diameter! It will surely fit in most of the cramped spaces where it is likely to be used. Also included in the kit is a tiny mirror, a hook and


a powerful small magnet. These are mounted on flexible, but strong, wires and can be fitted over the camera head with a close-fitting plastic sleeve. You don’t have to be a genius to work out that these little pieces of extra kit could be very useful in some situations where tiny components have to found and retrieved. There are many


trades like mechanics, plumbers, HVAC engineers and precision engineers where a piece of kit like this video inspection camera would be very useful. Now, these trades could easily afford to invest in one of these because they widely available at less than £100. The price of progress is sometimes on our side. The Silverline


Inspection Camera is available from Toolstream.


Reply No. 216 www.toolbusiness.co.uk


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