Customer Reviews

Milwaukee 2310-21 Cordless M-Spector Digital Inspection Camera with 12-Volt Lithium Ion Battery

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

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.

The Milwaukee video inspection camera is a very use full tool if you need to see what you normally would not be able to. It will get into places that you would never be able to see. Great for automotive work! I bought it to work on our equipment and trucks, also to use in the field to inspect pipes for blockage problems and look into walls. Overall I find this is a very useful tool and the image is good but not great. One annoyance I find is the power button location. It is right on the front middle and I find myself shutting it off by accident from time to time as i am moving the thing around to get a better view. The picture quality as one reviewer noted is a little grainy, as you increase the zoom it gets worse, it is just like using digital zoom on any camera and the result is it gets a bit worse but by no means not visible or detailed. I think it would be impossible for such a small camera to get a lens with a better focal range for the price of $[...]! The camera is also designed to be replaceable as it most likely get damaged at some point shoving it in all those places you will probably send it. But they sell the replacement for short money around $[...] and a 3 ft extension as well and it is all water proof. The camera at time does sometimes seem to get interfered from other electrical devises (flickering) but not often. The display could be a little brighter as it will be more difficult to see in bright sun light like any LCD camera or laptop. My overall opinion is it is a good product but it does have room for improvement. It does the job for what it was designed for and i am happy with it. Also the one I bought cam with a free $[...] driver and there is also a M12 promo going on till December 31st, 2008 if you buy 2 M12 tools you will get a free impact driver drill too boot! So i also bought the copper tubing cutter witch is great. The promo is well worth it if you need some more tools! Link Below;


[...]

From what I observed, this has to be one of the worst products made. The image was very noisy (grainy). When the light (LED) was turned on medium or high, an interference halo (direct LED light into the image sensor) blocked out image detail.
The product is a great idea (which is why I purchased it) but the engineering was poorly executed.
I did return this product.

This has got to be the worst $200.00 spent on a tool. I did see some reviews suggesting this tool may not do the best job at what it was designed to do, but hey everyone has their own opinion. Wish I had heeded those reviews. The picture quality is just not good enough to tell what it is you are looking at, and when you turn on the light the picture completely washes out and no way can you tell what is being displayed on the screen. There is a bright spot created by the light which makes the picture useless. You have to know what it is you are looking at because you certainly won't be able to figure it out by looking on the Milwaukee M-Spector video screen.

I tested this at my local big-box store and was very disappointed in its performance - for starters, simply because I expected better from Milwaukee. In spite of what appears to be very good overall build quality, the image the camera produces just isn't acceptable. It has a limited focus range and when the LED light is switched on the image actually gets worse! As most people would need this in circumstances where the light was essential (e.g., inside a wall) this makes the M-Spector all but unusable.

I passed it by - hopefully the next generation of this tool will be better.

I was trying to replace an engine sensor buried behind and under the motor on my Nissan Altima. Not being able to see what I was doing in such a confined space made it impossible to finish the job, so I bought the Milwaukee M-Spector so I could see what I was doing. It was AWESOME! I could guide the tools where they needed to go, and put the new part in its place in the correct orientation without any difficulty. I can't imagine working on my car without it.

Unlike some of the negative reviews, I found the image to be clear and sharp, both from distance and very close up. Yes, using the light on HIGH would wash out the image, but only if the camera was too close to reflecting surfaces. Back it off an inch or so and the image is great. I suspect that the bad experiences listed here were at least partially a result of improper use. The stiffness of the snake makes it easy to keep the camera in place without any support, rather than limp enough to 'drive' into tight curves easily. It is a trade-off. I love it.

Echoing what others have said about this device, the picture is too grainy and the depth of field is insufficient. At the same time, the field of view is quite narrow, making it hard to find what you are looking for in the first place. In a world of brilliant iPhone screens and laparoscopic cameras seen on the Discovery Channel, this product falls short of expectations. Of course, the low cost of this inspection camera needs to be taken into consideration. If value was the only measure, it could be a 3.5 to 4 star item for certain users.

The particular issue I have with the Milwaukee 2310-21 is that it does not provide the ability to discern details on small objects due to the low resolution of the camera. Combining this with an insufficient depth of field and a very narrow field, the Milwaukee inspection camera is not practical for working with fine instruments. It is extremely difficult to find what the user is looking for and once the scope is positioned correctly, the user can't obtain the needed information.

The adjustable brightness LED is a nice touch, but the light has a very narrow spot. Additionally, it has inadequate power to illuminate objects at a distance of more than a few feet (i.e. not fine instruments). In an attempt to improve visibility of the rather dim and often indecipherable images, I used a high power LED flashlight to illuminate the field of view. Oddly, it didn't merely saturate the CCD but rather scrambled the image. That is to say, the image appeared like a 1960s television that is not properly tuned with horizontal lines rolling down the screen.

In total, this inspection camera could use an upgraded CCD and screen that would significantly increase the cost. Presumably Milwaukee realized the market size was insufficient for a more expensive product. However, if you merely need to identify medium sized objects or conditions within a space such as leaking fluid, it will probably be adequate.

Cons
Grainy picture
Narrow field of view
Inadequate depth of field
LED light beam too narrow


Pros
Solid construction
Adjustable LED light
Lithium battery

This seems to be a solid durable product made well; they just forgot to give it a good image. I found it had a great crisp clear image about 3 inches away from what you were looking at, any closer or farther things are out of focus. The view seemed to narrow too. This product would be perfect to find something that you knew exactly where it was.

I purchased the Ridgid SeeSnake micro and had both to compare at the same time. I found the SeeSnake to have better image and a wider view.

The SeeSnake I kept the M-Spector I returned.

Purchase this to use when I add new phone or cable wire through the wall at my place of work. Screen has some vision distortion but visiablity is good when clear. Works great everytime I use. Be sure if you use a lot to buy a back-up battery to have one charge when needed.

So, I read the other reviews, and went against my better judgement to order the product (with the 8' extension) anyways. It worked OK (using that term loosely) the first time I tried it just to see how it worked. I'm a plumber by trade, and trying to see in areas without opening walls is a plus. Well let's just say the product failed miserably when I tried to use it. The hand-held device kept coming back with a message "connect video cable" which was obviously connected. Then anytime I tried to move it quickly, the camera would freeze and I'd have to pull the battery to reset it. Currently it's going back in the box, since it has permanently frozen on the "connect video cable" screen, and Amazon will be giving me a full refund. CAUTION to those looking to purchase product. Very disappointed in this Milwaukee product!!