Swann Audio Spycam Review

Overview:

“So we meet again.” That is what you can say to your arch enemy once you have spied him creeping into your lair through your network of hidden cameras. Have you ever wondered what cameras rent-a-villain would use? Perhaps they would be using the Audio Spycam by Swann, a small and discrete camera with an attached microphone that is designed primarily for covert observation, but could also be used as a teaching aid, or for looking in hard to see areas, like the back of the sofa or down a hole. You could even use it to record your latest film, as long as you don’t mind not being tethered to a video recorder. So at £34.99, would the have a go villains of the world, or even Joe public, do well to purchase this camera? Lets take a look.

Review:

So, lets look at what one gets in ones box, once one has purchased said item:

• 1 x Audio SpyCam
• 1 x 9V DC Power Transformer
• 1 x 9V Battery Adapter

On top of this, you also get some Swann 24 hour surveillance stickers, and a user manual. The camera is diddy, and measures roughly 3.5cm long, depending on the focus, as this involves moving the lens up and down a thread, thus the length of the camera changes. It is 2cm x 2cm at the back, and the front of the camera has a diameter of just under 1.5cm.

Other wee morsels of information you might want to know are that, at it’s heart is a CMOS image sensor, and a lens angle of 56 degrees. It gives you 380 TV lines of vertical resolution, and according to the literature, has a pixel number of 510 x 492 (250k). The camera also has a small microphone attached by wire. To have the camera display anything, you will need to plug it into a device that is capable of a composite input, a TV or VCR, or more likely these days, a PVR of some type.

The cable is roughly 2 meters in length and has at the end of it the composite cables, and the power adapter fitting. The fitting for the power adapter accepts not only the power adapter, but also a fitting for a 9V battery, just in case you don’t have power nearby. The only issue I have with this is the problem associated with not having power. You can run the camera from the 9V battery, but whatever you plug it into will presumably need power. I would have liked to see a USB adapter perhaps, or some way of plugging the camera into a PC without needing a capture card.

Once I plugged the camera into the TV I was using to test, I was very impressed with the quality of the image. If you think of one of those secret camera shows, you can tell it’s not a full fleged camera, but it still has enough definition to relay whats going on in detail, and full technicolour, don’t cha know? As mentioned earlier, you focus by twisting the lens left or right. One feature of the camera is a pretty mean macro mode. If you wanted to look at something super close up, then this camera does just that, and indeed, navel gazing has never been so fascinating or disturbing.

The microphone is supposed to be highly sensitive, and that certainly seemed to be the case. Highly sensitive, but not super high quality, so don’t expect to record you latest X Factor audition tape on it. Of course it’s good enough to catch the murmuring going on in the conference room, or simple monologue.

The suggested uses for the camera range from covert surveillance to out and out record your rock band at home. I have to hand it to the marketing department at Swann for their fantastic serving suggestions, plus illustrations. Installation ideas include placing the camera behind a picture, placing the camera within a smoke alarm, and putting the camera in a clock. One idea I liked was replacing the eye of a teddy bear with the camera. The illustration was good for this one, and made the teddy look like the Borg. I think my favorite idea though was the camera on a pole, used to look down a hole for lost cats. Of course the same idea can be applied to checking for burst pipes, and looking in cavity walls.

The camera from Swann is compatible with many handheld video recorders as well, allowing you to go mobile. It is suggested that you can attach it to your helmet, and go skateboarding, or some type of wild adventure. This seems nice enough in the literature, but there are many helmet cameras out there that do a good job of this, and don’t require you to go skating with your camcorder in your pocket. However, the suggested game of hide the camera was a rather unique idea. You hide the camera, and record the hilarity that ensues when party guests hunt about looking for it.

I can see this camera doing sterling work looking over a till perhaps, or used as a shop camera. As a covert surveillance tool, I’m not sure of the legalities of videoing people who are unaware that they are being filmed, so it might be wise to check as it may depend on the context it is being used. Home surveillance should be fine though, and a good idea that was suggested in the manual was to have it hooked up to a doorway to check who is there.

The camera is good quality, and for it’s primary purpose it would be a fine choice. At £25.00 it is a vary fair price. I’m not sure about the more imaginative uses that Swann suggest however. I could say that I wished for a bit more functionality, but for the price, it might be asking a little much.

The Gaj-It Verdict:

Design: 6/10
Usability: 6/10
Features: 5/10
Value: 8/10

What We Say:

A good camera for the money, fine picture, and a good size. Could do a lot worse if you are thinking of starting out down the road of covert surveillance.

NB

Ali Park from Swann pointed out that the RRP cost of the camera is £34.99. We do try and be as factually correct as possible, so apologies for the mistake.