Customer Reviews

Milwaukee 2300-20 M-Spector Digital Inspection Camera, AA Battery Powered

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

The unit itself seems to be well made. The screen is clear and the camera and light function well. I have held a provision model and the rigid model which are both slighlty more expensive and I perfer this one.

It has four lights modes (none, bright, brighter, brightest) and a zoom function. The 3/4 inch head is larger then you might think, but putting both a camera and LED on a unit will lead to that. It also ships in its own case. I got the AA battery model as I knew I wouldn't be using this a lot and even with lithium batterys I don't trust them to work if I put this on a shelf for 3-6 months at a time. This was even 10 years from now this unit should function and I won't be looking to replace a lithium battery pack.

Like any model in this range understanding the proper orientation of what you are looking at will be difficult an the viewing angle will be small and the range may not be great in a long space. This is not a fault of the unit though it is just the constraints on the technology for the price.

Edit: I have had a couple of chances to use this for more then just testing it out, and it performed well. The price on the AA unit has dropped considerably since I first purchased mine and having now seen it down around the $100 mark I think it is a very good deal (ecspecially compared to the lithium powered one). For the price it does work very well. I mean a camera, LCD screen, waterproof, and a light for around a $100 bucks is pretty good. I store the batteries seperately to avoid any issues there and it has been nice to just pop a set in when I want to use it and have it function. I would purchase this unit again. (Attn Milwaukee: Although I don't need to buy another if you were to upgrade this one to let it record photos, put in a slightly higher resolution screen and camera, along with a cree led emitter while keeping it AA powered, and price it around $200-$250 bucks you would get my money again. The gen2 device currently out just isn't quite enough or priced right to get me to upgrade.)

This works well for what it's designed to do and it can solve some pretty tough problems - however you should know what you're getting before you buy it.

I've been looking at fiber optic scopes for several years, but even the cheap ones start at about $350 and up. This thing is not one of them, but it costs less than half. First, it has an itty bitty camera on the end of the of the cable and an LED light. The end is about 3/4 in diameter, whereas the fiber optics can be about 1/2 of that diameter. So it won't fit in some of the small places that a fiber unit will. Also the cable is relatively stout and stiff - I think this can be a positive or a negative.

So I got mine a couple of weeks ago and immediately used it for a couple things.

- Used it to see if I dropped that missing socket behind the furnace a couple years ago (I didn't)

- Used it to see behind the dash of my wife's minivan to figure out how to change a burned out bulb.

- Used it to see how bad things looked behind a basement wall with a small leak.

- And of course I played around with it, looking into my heating ducts, and bottles, and such.

- I think it's too big to go into a spark plug hole, but I haven't tried yet - I was trying to figure out if it would have been useful to have when I had that blown head gasket on my son's car a year ago.

The only things I really don't like - First, as said in another thread, depth of field is very shallow - it can be really tough to see things that aren't right in front of the camera. Second, the LED does "bloom" on the high light setting - but it does have three brightness settings, so I've been able to see what I wanted to look at so far. Most annoyingly is that the camera is fixed in position and you can't really change it's orientation on the end of the cable - so you often look at things sideways or upside down and it takes some maneuvering to get it to where you want it. And, finally, the resolution isn't quite what I had hoped for however it's been good enough in my use.

Ridgid has a competing product which actually comes with a couple of accessories that might be nice, including a retreival magnet. I bought the Milwaukee, because I'm considering other M12 tools - however I bought this AA battery powered one because I thought the other tools would come with batteries and a charger when I decide to buy one. The device works fine on AA's.

I assume this product will someday be updated, and the next generation will offer a smaller end, better depth of field and resolution and a moveable camera - and when they do, I'll probably upgrade, but I'm happy with this one now. Buy it.

Have you ever watched a TV show where a doctor inserts a fiber-optic camera into a blood vessel or something and peers into the patient to discover a faulty heart valve or a blockage of some kind? This isn't one of those cameras.

It is very educational to use this camera and discover what it can do and what the limitations are. Then you realize how many failed attempts have been edited out of that TV show you watched.

The first challenge is figuring out what the orientation of the camera is so that you can begin to know what you are looking at and which way you might need to move the camera to get a better view. The LED light very easily produces a 'bloom' or white spot on the screen whenever the light reflects from a close object back into the camera but you can adjust the brightness on the LED or move the camera to avoid the reflection.

That brings you to the second challenge. The flexible cable that connects the camera is not much more flexible than a goose-neck lamp i.e. not very flexible. This probably works to your advantage when you are moving the camera inside a wall and need to have the cable support the camera for a long distance. I used it to get a look at some parts in an engine compartment and would have liked a little thinner, more flexible cable.

All in all, it is still really cool and in some situations, very useful. For a profession like plumber or electrician, where looking inside walls is done, it probably works really well. But if you are imagining you can put it inside your mouth and see where that tickle in your throat is coming from, it might not be the right tool for the job. :-)

When you really need it and nothing else will do, what a great tool to have. You could say this is a tool for pure professionals or early adopters except the price is more affordable than that. The battery life for the AA battery model is good (6 hours or so depending on how much you use the LED). It has auto-shutoff feature so you don't accidentally drain the batteries, comes in a great case, and everything is very well made.

Great product at a very reasonable price. I have been looking at inspection camera systems for a while but could not justify the $600+ price for how I would use it. The Milwaulkee 2300 is small and portable, quick to set up and use and is offered at a great price.

My primary use is to look into floors, walls and ceilings as part of my remodeling business. It allows me a look at what lies behind the wall surface before I get into the demolition. Also lets me minimize the disruption of existing walls when we need to run new wires or pipes.

I purchased the AA batery powered version primarily because I will not use the items every day and don't need to wory about if it is charged ior not. I always have AA batteries on hand in my truck. The slightly lower price for the AA battery vesion was also a plus.

Not everyone needs a video inspection camera, but if you can justify the need, this is a great system.

The camera head is much too large to be practical for use in most confined areas. Also, the gooseneck is too large in diameter and much too heavy (it tends to droop down) to manipulate easily. There is too much glare off the LED light. The LCD display is small, somewhat grainy, and hard to make out at times. I noticed some stress cracks in the plastic body of the unit where the gooseneck meets the body. I don't know how this tool will hold up in the long run. Overall I'd say it's more of a novelty item than something that's truly useful.

I just received mine yesterday and... It's going back.

The idea is awesome - that's easy to agree on. But I found three problems in implementation:

1) The depth of field on the camera is too short. Items come into clear view at a very short distance, which makes determining orientation and location very difficult.

2) The LED isn't diffused enough. Using the LED on BRIGHT to obtain more depth creates a bright hot spot on the image. This reduces image clarity.

3) The goose neck is very stiff and not "drivable". While I wouldn't expect a drivable head at this price point, the neck is so stiff that it needs one. :) Trying to snake this *through* a bathtub P-trap would be very difficult.

Buy this with reasonable expectations and you'll be glad to have it. It's not intended to have infinite distance focus or a super tiny probe diameter. Also, plan to have to become accustomed to the image not always being "right side up" on the screen. You can turn the probe so that the image is oriented correctly, but it works great either way. The three LED intensity settings allow you to avoid the bright spots others have complained about by using lower power when you're looking at something close to the probe or high power when it's a few feet away. I have used it to find a broken bolt on the back side of the engine, and to trace some wiring in my old home. It worked great for these purposes and you can't beat the price.

Hey, for $99 its great. The case is really nice. It holds the camera snake in a loop while still plugged in to the hand held lcd display. Color is good. Its not a camera really as there is no snap shot nor ability to transfer the image to a computer. It takes a while getting use to the image, if the image is not "right side up". Ie. if you insert the snake and it gets twisted as you push it into the area you are trying to see, the image will be rotated on the screen. This may be disconerting, if you are trying to read a label upside down! Build quality looks good. Its mostly high quality impact resistant plastic for the hand held unit part. The snake is a plastic coated metal that holds its "bend" pretty well, but if you need to you can readily unbend it as you manipulate it in the wall cavity, car, etc that you are trying to "see" into. The three light levels work ok, but be aware it isn't going to light up a room..just whatever is within 1 to 5 inches. If the area you are trying to see is already lit (perhaps by a well placed flashlight) you don't need the snake light. On mine the screen does get the "jaggies" if I shake it some times, but If i stop moving it or tighten up the connection at the back of the unit, it goes away. The LCD screen is bright, but gets washed out in bright sunlight (but hey you are probably using this in a dark area anyway).

I wish you could rotate the screen image independent of the camera. The camera look straight out of the "snake".

I saw this scope sold at home depot for $299.00 and almost picked it up to scope a bathroom wall in my office, when I found that it was less than a third of that on amazon I jumped on it. I have used it to scope two walls and a drain (thanks to the waterproof head). It has simply not disappointed. Probably the best tool I have purchased this year. Very bright screen, clear resolution, simply a good buy.

I have been watching this tool and didn't buy it until I saw it for under $90. I choose the battery model because I will use it once in a while and I didn't want to worry about recharging the unit when I needed it. It arrived and I put it to use finding a leak in a customers Jacuzzi tub. It worked great, I was concerned when I read some of the reviews, but the camera was clear even at a distance and the light worked perfect,especially in the high mode. It only glared when I got real close to things, then I just dimmed it. Under water it worked great too. Every contractor should have this in there tool collection. It found the leak in the handheld shower connection and I found a path to repair it without removing tile and plywood. It saved the customer over $1000 in repairs, and made me look like a hero.