Other by stefan @ 2010-11-17
The Rechargeable 720P HD Spy Pen is an interesting gadget from Brando and can be used for taking photos, recording videos at a decent webcam quality or recording sound; compared to the Spy Sport Watch reviewed in the past, this product has better overall recording quality.
At first I would to thank Brando for offering me a sample of their Rechargeable 720P HD Spy Pen with Camer Cover product.
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Rechargeable 720P HD Spy Pen with Camera Cover
Color Camera Camcorder
Audio Recorder, Camera and Camcorder Recordable
Simply to press and start/stop record
Plug-in to PC as Card drive and Charging at the same time
Two Models: A, B
No driver is required
Pinhole Lens
Image Resolution: 4032 x 3024 pixel
Color Video Resolution: 1280 x 720 pixel
FPS: 25 frames per second
Image file format: JPEG
Video file format: AVI
Audio file format: WAV
Support Card: micro SD / micro SD(HC) / TF Card
Color Video and Audio
Rechargeable Li-ion battery
Rechargeable 720P HD Spy Pen with Camera Cover
USB Data/Charging Cable
Keychain
The 720P Spy Pen from Brando comes in a rather little box, which shows us on the front part the resolution which video is taken at (HD 720P), some photos of the product which show us how to operate the lens cover, along with more product features represented by icons:
On the back of the box, we get to see the full list of specifications, along with some recommendations:
The internal box is also stylish and comes with an interesting texture:
Inside it, we can see on top the pen wrapped in a transparent plastic protection and under it we can find the rest of the bundle:
The bundle is composed of a little User's Manual, a CD with drivers, a USB cable and a key chain:
The text written in the manual is with a very little size font and some descriptions from the drawing need a magnifier glass to be read properly:
The device can be used successfully even without the included USB cable:
Here is a closer look on the key chain that is shipped as an accessory along with the product:
The Spy pen does have a very “usual” look and won't raise any suspicions with the camera lens protection on (in the photo we are presented the pen with the camera lens protection off):
On the top of the pen, we can find the button (clicker) which will be used to take photos, videos or record audio:
The lens is located on the top part of the product and to protect it we can slide the plastic cap on top of it (with the slider found on the clip):
If we want to write with the pen, we have to rotate the nib:
To access the USB interface, we have to unscrew the bottom part of the pen:
With the little black switch, we can navigate between the different states of the gadget:
From left to right: OFF - Video&Photo Mode - Audio Recording Mode
The product does not have internal storage, so we need to have a microSD or microSDHC card handy; the video recording performances depend on what transfer speeds the card supports. The card can be inserted on the opposite side of the device:
Here is how the pen does look with the card inserted:
On the side with the metallic USB contacts, we can see a status LED with two colors:
To take the best quality photos, the manufacturer instructs us to stand as still as possible and to take the photos in properly lighted environments; these are required when the camera does have a CMOS sensor.
In the bottom right corner of the photos/videos, we can see the date and the current time embedded; to set the correct date/time, we have to use a time.txt file, located on the installation CD.
Here are some photo examples I have taken during the day, but also during the night. In the first photo, we can see that even if the light conditions were enough, the camera could not focus properly on the AMD Ruby mascot:
The second and third photos were taken on the street and we can clearly see that the photos are much better quality than the Spy Sport Watch reviewed before:
During the night, we must keep the pen still to be able to take clear photos:
Otherwise, they will not be clear:
Also during, the night, if proper light conditions are met, the photo quality is decent enough:
In the first video, I have tried to show what is the video quality of the gadget when filming outside and how the objects in movement are shown:
In the second video, I have tried to show how the audio material is recorded, considering that with the previously reviewed Spy Sport Watch product, I could hear more of the watch mechanism clicking than the audio source I wanted to record:
The Rechargeable 720P HD Spy Pen from Brando is a step-up in terms of quality compared with the previously reviewed Brando Bond Spy Sport Watch With Camera/Mic/4Gb USB product, regarding both video and audio. In the little manual, the manufacturer recommends that if we want to get more clear photos, videos, we have to take these in well lit environments; seems they are perfectly right regarding this matter, when looking at the photos.
Because of the way we must hold the device while taking photos or doing video recording, this device cannot be considered as being a "spy" device, but more like a gadget. However, the audio recording is many times better compared with the Sport Watch and this function can be used even with the camera cover on. Before getting used to the device, the camera cover seems a little annoying, considering that I have forgot a lot of times to remove it before taking photos (and all that resulted were completely black photos).
The product software seems to crash from time to time when switching modes (about the same way the one from the Sport Watch did), meaning that the LED in the back of the pen was turning completely off when switching to video/photo or audio modes. Like the Spy Sport Watch, the gadget can be also used like a webcam, by using the drivers on the CD and connecting it to a spare USB port while in Photo/Video mode.
Also, I would have liked the device to have an external button to change between its operation modes, so we won't need every time we operate it to open it up (also, a little annoying and time consuming). Inserting the microSDHC card inside the device is an easy task, but its removal isn't.
The device can be bought online from Brando, for about $41!
I would like to thank again to Brando for offering me this interesting product for review!