Spy Review

High Resolution Spy Camera
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I’ve been reviewing spy kit for a long time now, and there have been some massive leaps in what the technology is now capable of. There are often one or two features of a spy camera that impresses me, such as the very well concealed spy pen I recently reviewed.

However, one frustration I’ve hit on a number of times is the lack of a covert, portable spy camera that offers high quality images as well as digital recording. You wouldn’t have thought that would be so difficult, except that all of the spy cameras I’ve encountered have suffered in at least one of those crucial areas.

However, Pakatak have just recently stocked a new digital spy camera that finally meets all of my requirements! The spy camera is a very small digital video recording camera device that offers excellent video quality, and lends itself to a variety of covert surveillance applications. The most impressive aspect of the camera is it’s 640 x 480 pixel resolution, pretty unique to the covert spy camera market.

The Complete Spy Camera Kit
(click to enlarge)

The camera measures an impressive 66mm x 29mm x 12mm, which is roughly the size of a chewing gum pack. The camera comes with a USB lead (for charging and transferring video files), operating instructions, a 2GB microSD memory card and adaptor, and the software miniCD.

The camera itself has a slot for the microSD card, a mini USB socket, a sliding on/off switch, a REC/STOP button, a MODE button, and holes for the microphone and camera lens. There are also 2 tiny holes that are LED indication lights, which are only viewable when the unit is switched on and you are looking directly at the bottom of the camera.

I found this spy camera pretty easy to operate, although reading the instructions is a must if you want to get going quickly.

• You slide the ON/OFF switch into the ON position.
• You press and hold the REC/STOP button and a timid little LED light comes on. After a few seconds, the light goes out. You then release the REC/STOP button.
• As soon as you release the button, either 1 or 2 LEDs switch on. The red LED indicates that the camera is in standby mode. The green LED indicates that the camera is in high quality (VGA or 640 x 480 pixel) mode. If the green LED is off, it indicates that the camera is in normal (QVGA or 320 x 240 pixel) mode.
• When the camera is in standby mode, press the MODE button to switch between VGA or QVGA mode.
• To start recording, press the REC/STOP button briefly and the red LED should turn to a flashing blue light. The camera has started recording.
• To stop recording, press the REC/STOP button briefly again, and the blue LED turns red again. The camera has stopped recording and has gone back into standby mode. The camera must be put into standby mode before being switched off, otherwise the recording will be lost.

After using the camera for a little while, I noticed that the camera stopped recording and would just flash a red LED. I discovered that this indicates the camera needed charging up. So I plugged the camera into my PC using the USB lead and switched the camera ON. This is so that the camera can charge, indicated by a flashing red LED.

Getting the video files from the camera

It’s particularly simple to get video files from this camera. The spy camera uses the microSD card for storing the video footage. You could remove the microSD card, plug it into the SD card adaptor, then plug it into your PC, but there’s no need. You can just plug the camera into your PC’s USB port. The microSD card is very neatly concealed in the camera, so it’s a little fiddly to get it out anyway (I used the tip of a ball-point pen).

If you plug the camera into the computer in the VGA mode, your PC detects the camera device as a webcam. There is special software provided on the miniCD to transfer video files to your PC when the camera is in VGA mode.

If the camera device is in QVGA mode, the PC detects the camera as a USB storage device. Why the designers decided to give the camera a webcam application is beyond me. So make sure the camera is in QVGA mode before you plug it in. You can then access the video files as you would use any disk.

The VGA mode video footage uses roughly 800kb of space per 1 second of footage, the QVGA mode video uses roughly 300kb of space per 1 second of footage. Using the full 2GB of storage, this equates to 40 minutes in VGA mode or 115 minutes (1hr 55 mins) in QVGA mode. So it looks as if the storage space will get used up quicker than a full charge of the battery. That’s particularly useful if you can swap out the microSD card for a fresh one during an operation.

Thankfully the video files are playable in any PC media player, and the quality of the video in either mode is very impressive. Unless you particularly need nearly 2 hours of recording time, I recommend keeping the device in VGA mode for recording. I’ve done some screen captures for you to see below.

QVGA Mode
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VGA Mode
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Overall I think the spy camera is one of the best-designed covert spy cameras I’ve ever seen. The video quality, the removable storage, the standard video compression codec and the ease of use completely smashes any of my prior favourite spy gadgets. What really seals the deal on this spy camera is the price. £115, which is actually very good value for a spy camera.

This piece of kit is well worth having, and I whole heartily recommend it.