Ozito Digital Inspection Camera ODIC-4810

You won't know you need it ...until you do – If you were like me, you’re probably asking why would I need an “Inspection camera” for work around the house? Well, its one of those things that you don’t need until you’ve used it and then wonder why you've never bought one before. Spotted the Ozito inspection camera whilst in Bunnings and recalled a number of times it would have been handy to see inside wall cavities. I frequently find myself needing to drill into the cavity (for hooks and mounts etc) and the stud finder is not great at confirming the existence of piping and electrical cabling. Usually its guesswork and if you guess wrong, the outcome can be expensive or even deadly. Seeing the Ozito camera so (relatively) cheap ...being at $75 and with a 3 year replacement warranty, I felt it was worth a go.

The whole unit comes in it’s own carry case which is great for transporting it along with keeping its accessories from getting lost. The case has the ubiquitous plastic hinge and two plastic clips but seems no worse than any others I have used so should be good for a number of years of domestic use. Upon opening the case, the camera viewing unit, camera shaft and extras are all held securely in place. The components feel to be made of decent quality plastic and should stand up well to domestic use. To use the unit, you withdraw the handheld viewing unit and separate camera shaft from the case and join them. This is a simple affair with the shaft being inserted into the end of the hand held case and secured with a threaded collar. The camera is powered by 4 x AA batteries (included) and there are only four (red) control buttons on the black case to concern yourself with. These are: * On/Off * LCD display contrast (8 settings) * LED Brightness levels (8 settings) which is by necessity needed in dark areas * Rotate/Mirror/Zoom image (Zoom is 0x, 1.5x and 2x) There is also a supplied instructional leaflet (foldout) which is fairly simplistic but by a mixture of written english and diagrams is easy to follow (see sample below). The leaflet is only written in English.

When the unit is turned on, a colour image is displayed along with a small green light (indicating the unit is on) plus a three level battery indicator. The screen is a 2.3” TFT display but is only a 640 x 480 resolution. This didn’t worry me as I found it more than adequate for what I’m using it for and if using a lesser quality screen keeps the price down and helps with battery life...so be it. There is a small anti-glare shroud around it and while it doesn’t help much I was somewhat surprised at how well the screen was viewable in direct sunlight. I suspect the screen is of the same type used in mid range digital photographic cameras. On the plus side, the screen remains easily viewable when viewed off-centre from the left and right sides although off-centre from above or below is rather poor. The LED lights in the camera head are very bright and I found I only needed to use them on their lower settings of brightness. Focus is very good until you are within a centimetre or two of the camera where it can get blurry at that point.

The camera and shaft are waterproof (IP67), will fit through an 8mm diameter hole and the shaft is around 950mm in length. The camera is supposed to have a range of up to 10metres. The shaft is quite stiff (really the only thing I didn’t like so much on this unit) where you bend it and it stays in that position. You can get it around about a 20mm radius but I wouldn’t try pushing it any further. I think if there is a weak spot on this unit that over time it might be the flexibility of that camera shaft. However, in the times I have used it, it has given me no cause to be concerned about its longevity.

Also supplied with the unit are a number of attachments that are positioned on the camera head to extend the capabilities of what this unit does: *Magnet tool (for picking up ferrous nails, screws and similar in crevices) *Mirror tool (for looking around corners) *One and two prong hooks (for picking up rings and similar) These are fastened to the camera head with provided collars to hold them securely in place. Only issue being that you now need a minimum 10mm diameter hole to insert the camera. The only other accessory provided is a 3.5mm TS cable to allow you to view the image on a larger monitor instead of the screen.

Overall, I really can’t fault this unit. No, its not super high quality but I didn’t want to pay for that. For what it cost, I’m finding it more than useful. Apart from the uses I outlined, it should also be great for looking at blockages in pipes and seeking out vermin and insect infestations. The price is right, its capable of a number of things functionality wise (thanks to supplied accessories), has a good (replacement) warranty and I have not found its viewing capabilities lacking in any area. Having a case to store it all away safely is an added bonus.

As an aside, I recently had to attach a Dyson vacuum cleaner bracket in close proximity to a light switch. The expectation was the electrical cabling from the light switch would go straight up from the switch into the ceiling cavity. The camera was able to show me the electrical cable actually ran horizontally for a short distance (into the area I was drilling) before going vertical (see pictures below). Fortunately, the inspection camera was able to assure me I could still do what I wanted and that no screws pierced the wiring.