Product review: AHJ CR123A Lithium Batteries - not compatible with Arlo Security Video Camera

I bought these batteries for the Arlo security camera.  Arlo is notoriously finicky about batteries, and not every 123a battery works well.  Since AHJ mentioned Arlo is the title, I had high hopes. But this battery is not compatible with the Arlo video camera.  The Arlo status showed a 0% charge level from the first moment the battery was inserted. The camera took three videos before it died. Very disappointing!

I owned the Arlo camera for a few years, so I had a chance to compare the longevity of several different batteries (Panasonic, Duracell, Energizer, and generic rechargeable batteries).  Every time I change the battery, I write down the date to compare the longevity I get from each set of batteries.   AHJ battery is the worst battery I have tried.  I never had a battery die after three 10 second videos.

* Cold weather (i.e., usage spans winter): Panasonic 4 months, Duracell 2 months, Energizer 2 weeks.
* Warm weather: Panasonic 6 months,  Duracell 4 months

Another data point I have is a comparison with rechargeable CR123A Lithium batteries.

* Cold weather: Panasonic  4 months, rechargeable 123A  2 weeks
* Warm weather: Panasonic 6 months, rechargeable 123A one month

I do not recommend these batteries for Arlo Cameras.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★☆☆☆☆

Product review: Prweyn spy camera - good idea, poor execution

This is a spy camera hidden in a picture frame. It is a good concept when you want to take hidden videos but the current implementation of this concept has a number of issues. 

(1) A security camera is useful when it can record all the time because one never knows when that unpleasant event that should be recorded occurs.  The battery last only for about a day, so  I wanted to use this camera permanently plugged in.  But the camera does not record while it is charging. You cannot use this camera when you go away on vacation or if you trying to record caretakers in the house of elderly parent who is not computer savvy as this camera is very hard to use and there is no chance I can get my mother to charge it and restart it on daily basis.

(2) The user interface is very difficult. It communicates only in blinks.  The buttons on the frame are not marked in any way. The documentation is very poor.  Starting from the right hand side the outer button is video (this is what starts video recording), the next button over is on/off button, the next "hole" does not appears to do anything, the next hole (the left most) is the status indicator. The status blinks in red or green or both.

To see the red and green LEDs you need to look straight down on the indicator lights, or the you will never see the faint green light.  Both red and green light are coming from the same indicator.  I got it to record, but it was not easy even for a techie geek like me who deals with complex computer problems on daily basis.

(3)  On the left hand side there is a slot with a micro sd and USB port.  A 16G micro sd is already installed. To access the micro sd I attached the USB cable to a computer and copy the files over.

The USB transfer rate for this photo is very slow.  The Amazon description says that it supports USB 2.0 interface, and it barely does.  The speed of transfer is 2.0 MB per second.  The full speed for USB 1.1 is 1.5MB/s, so it just beats that.  However a typical USB 2.0 reads 30 MB/s and writes at about half that speed. This camera is much close to USB 1.1 than to USB 2.0.  It takes several hours to transfer 8 GB of data - the micro SD  was about half full and I was recording for about 4 hours.

(4) When micro SD is filled up the recording does not over write the old files, it waits for you to delete files to make more space. Most cameras have a loop feature and this is really a big short coming of a camera that is meant to work for a long time until something significant happens. Have to remove the SD card and manually erase old files is not only a lot of work it makes it not a viable solution for an elderly family member who does not have a computer to perform this operation on regular basis.

(5) To set the current date and time you need to manually edit a text file on the SD card on the computer and then plug it into the camera frame.  If your camera runs out of battery or is turned off this date will need to be updated again if you want the time stamps to be accurate.

(6)  The camera records only when there is a lot of light. It has no infra-red mode to record in the dark. All you see in the darkness is blackness.  However, it has a pretty sensitive microphone.  I made my recordings in a room with a tickless wall clock - and I really cannot hear the ticks when I am next to it. But in this recording you hear constant ticking - this is my so called tickless clock!  Video quality is not great, but certainly good enough to tell what is going on. I would have found it acceptable if there were no other issues I mentioned earlier.

(7) The camera has continuous video (confirmed by three red flashes) and motion activated video (confirmed by three green flashes).  I aimed the camera at the cat's food bowl.  Even though the food was eaten the motion activation did not trigger.  I could get video in this mode if I shake the frame itself. Continuous recording mode works as one would expect but examining the video takes more time since there is a lot of not interesting videos.

(8) The first thing I saw was a the name "Prweyn" right under the camera calling attention to the camera lens.  What picture frame has a logo of the maker in such a visible place?  None that I own!  The vendor lost track of the goal of this product by calling attention to the camera.  This logo should be removed in the future versions of the product.  I covered up the logo with a black ink pen, it is less noticeable but not invisible.

(9)  When positioning the camera remember that because the frame is slightly angled the camera is shooting slightly up.  So you need to set it up fairly low.  The camera is not wide angle.

I really like the camera in the frame concept and wanted to install this camera at my mother's house but the need to daily recharge and manual cleaning of the micro sd made this camera completely impractical for such application. 

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★☆☆☆☆

Product review: Narrative Clip video camera

I like the concept of taking photos continuously not to miss any special moments, but I do not like the model of how Narrative provides this service.

1. I am not able to prevent the upload of my photos to the web before I had a chance to censor the photos I don't want to be uploaded. As soon as I installed the application it began uploading the photos to the cloud. I would have liked to have an option to examine the photos locally first, and only then upload a subset to the cloud. I want to be able to censor and remove some photos before they hit the internet. As we all know once on the internet you cannot get the photos back. Any software can have bugs and security breaches and I want control over what gets published.

2. The camera is bigger and more noticeable than I expected. It is 1.4" x 1.4" x 0.25". It is made out of white plastic. I would have liked it to be pretty, so I can wear it as a broche so I would look nice with my outfit, not just like I am wearing an electronic monitoring device. In attached video you can see how I changed the way Narrative looks. My suggestion to Narrative is to make a variety of jackets be available for the camera so people can make it different colors and designs based on what they are wearing.

3. I did not like the manual that came with the camera. It has child-like drawing with very few words on each page. The manual tells you how to wear the camera, but surprising does not tell you what to do to see the images you took. It has no information on what you need to install, how to access your photo, or any other practical information. I had to Google for an answer of what I needed to do. That is an indicator of a badly designed manual.

What you need to do:
♦ Enter start.getnarrative.com into your browser url
♦ You will need to down load software for you PC. The download is 35.4 megabytes so it takes while to download
♦ The software will give you access to your images
♦ You need to be connected to the internet to run the application

4. When I am using Narrative I have no control of when the camera takes pictures. When I did not want to take pictures I had to remove the camera and put in my pocket, but it continued running and thus ran out of juice faster than I was able to turn it off when I did not want it to record. Narrative Clip supposed to go to sleep when the camera is in total darkness, but my Clip continued to take pictures. More than half of the pictures it took were just black. I want to have control of my devices, I need on/off button.

5. Quality of the photos is okay, but far from being as good as my SLR camera or even the camera on my phone. The camera does not do well in the dim light. The camera is not waterproof. My video contains 5 best pictures taken my Narrative during the first day I had Narrative Clip on. I also included 2 picture which were representative of 90% of the photos taken. Majority of photos are either too dark or I could not tell what the picture captured. These pictures are not editing in any way. I did not rotate them to make them appear in the proper orientation, the photos appear exactly as they were saved on my computer.

6. One feature that I liked is the ability to mark a picture as special. If you want to record a special picture you can double tap on the Clip. The clip will recognize it as an important picture and save it in the Starred Photos category.

7. The photos that are copied locally do not have geo-tags. In order to charge a monthly subscription Narrative makes local organization of photos more difficult. 

What would make me like it more? If it behaved as a regular memory stick, allowed me to mount it on my computer and examine, edit, and censor the photos without uploading the photos to the cloud first. The current subscription fee is too expensive for the capabilities the camera provides.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★☆☆☆☆

Product review: Energizer CR123A Lithium 3V batteries (longevity in Arlo video camera)

I am using four CR123A Lithium 3V batteries in Arlo wireless video camera. I owned Arlo camera for a few years so I had a chance to compare longevity of several different batteries (Panasonic, Duracell, Energizer as well as off-brand rechargeable batteries). Every time I change the battery I write down the date so I can compare the longevity from each set of batteries. Arlo takes 4 batteries at a time.

Energizer batteries have performed the worst in my experience, on par with rechargeable batteries.

* Cold weather (i.e. spans winter): Panasonic 4 months, Duracell 2 months, Energizer 2 weeks.
* Warm weather: Panasonic 6 months, Duracell 4 months

Another data point I have is comparison with rechargeable CR123A Lithium batteries.

* Cold weather: Panasonic 4 months, rechargeable 123A 2 weeks
* Warm weather: Panasonic 6 months, rechargeable 123A 1 month

A note on Panasonic batteries. I have been burned when I bought Panasonic batteries from vendors other than Amazon, they appear to last significantly less (this happened twice). It is possible that other vendors are selling older batteries. So I always check the vendor and pay a buck or two more if necessary to get it directly from Amazon as it gets me several extra month of battery life.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★☆☆☆☆

Product review: Product comparison of wireless comeras Blink XT Video Camera vs Arlo Video Camera

I purchased Arlo video camera in May of 2015.  You can read my detailed review of it here (original review and updates through the years). During a recent Prime day Blink video cameras were on a good sale and my I decided it would be interesting to compare the two and if see if we can use Blink camera as a wild life camera so we can watch for our favorite visitor (blank bear!) on the phone rather having to remove the video card from the wild camera cams we have set up. 

This review compares the two cameras.

1. Both cameras produce high quality high definition videos. I think Arlo's video is somewhat better but they comparable. The video you see in this review is taken by Blink video camera, you can see Arlo videos in the Arlo review referenced above. I call this comparison even.

2. Blink camera feels very light and has a feel of cheaply constructed camera.  Arlo is relatively heavy, has a very solid feel to it, does not feel cheaply made.  Edge to Arlo.

3. Arlo has a magnetic mount which makes it very easy to mount and dismount when the battery needs to be changed. Blink camera mount feels very flimsy. To remove the camera you need to unsnap it from a thin plastic mount which feels like it is not going to last too many snaps and unsnaps.  If the camera is mounted high then unsnapping is a bit tricky as you need to do it a certain angle to be gentle.  Arlo is very easy to position on its holder (it is a ball so any angle works), and Arlo's app provides further control over the position and zoom.  Edge to Arlo.

4. Arlo runs on four RCR123A batteries.  I buy them in packs on 20. I tried a variety of batteries through the years (both primary and rechargeable) and found that Panasonic batteries sold by Amazon (not third party dealers which tend to sell older batteries) work best. They last 2 to 4 months (less in the winter, more in the summer).  Blink runs on two lithium AA batteries.  We have not had Blink long enough to determine battery longevity, but from reading other people reviews a claim of battery lasting over a year is exaggerated. However even if the batteries only lasts several months the edge goes to Blink here, as AA lithium batteries are more common and cheaper batteries.

5. Arlo videos can be viewed both on the desktop via a Browser and through a phone App. Blink only has a mobile app. Arlo provides more flexibility, being able to apple to access videos via a desktop app is important to me and Arlo has a big edge since Blink just does not have this functionality at all. 

6. Both Arlo and Blink store videos stored in the cloud.  At no additional cost Arlo keeps the videos for 1 week.  If you want to pay for a subscription you can get longer storage.  Blink provides somewhat longer storage, but only from the mobile app.  For my usage Arlo gets an edge because having videos accessible through a desktop is important.

7. Arlo Video Camera has been in service without any issues for over 3 years. It even survived clumsy drops by owner (me!) without damage.  It stayed attached through a hurricane wind (with some protection given by the house) without falling to the ground.  I have concerns concerns about Blink's thin plastic clip, but Blink is too new at this time to comment on its longevity.  So I will leave this comparison open and update in a few years.

Overall, I like the Arlo camera better.  I compared a variety of features, the two key things for me are Arlo's superior  clip system and availability of video recordsing from the browser on the desktop.  I rate Arlo as 5 star product, I rate Clip as 4 star product.

You can locate Blink Video System on Amazon by following this link.

You can locate Arlo Video System on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review

Product review: Video Sunglasses, OHO 16GB Ultra HD Video Recording Camera

A camera in the eyeglasses has one huge advantage over other spy or action cameras - you know exactly where the camera is aimed, all you have to do is look in the right direction.

This is a comparison review for two OHO video sunglasses.  This review contains video taken by OHO sunshine, 16GB ($44).   You can see the video from OHO video sunglasses, 32G ($90) here.

Both video sunglasses cameras generated good videos under different lightening conditions.  Attached video contains clips taken during a sunny day, indoors, and during night time. The videos are not as good as my SLR camera or but they are pretty good as you can see in attached videos.  The video is a little jerky because my head is not as still as a tripod or even hand-held camera. I did not realize how  much my head bobs when I walk but it is obviously is not the video camera fault.

Each camera records only for one hour, and it takes 2 hours to recharge the glasses.  I planned to record for two hours and got two glasses.  This gave me a chance to compare the two OHO sunglasses (OhO sunshine Video Sunglasses,32GB ($90) and OHO sunshine, 16GB ($44). I will refer the $90 pair as video glasses #1, and the $44 pair as video glasses #2.

Both glasses did a good job recording, but there were significant differences between them.

1. Video glasses #1 have non-changeable polarized lenses.  The lenses are excellent, I can see very well with them, as well as my nice sunglasses purchased as sunglasses. But because they not changeable they are limited for being used out-doors. Because they are quite dark they look odd if used in-doors, and attract attention if you actually trying to do stealth recording.  Video sunglasses #2 have interchangeable lenses and come with dark, clear and amber lenses.  I thought their lenses were not as good as video glasses #1, but since their main function is video that really does not matter to me.  Even though there are no instructions the lenses was easy to change.  Hint: pull down away from the nose.

2. Video glasses #1 give feedback via vibration when I turn them on and turn them off.  This is a very good interface that does not require me to check for the red blinking light that tells me that the camera is working.  Video sunglasses #2 provide feedback only via a blinking red light on the inside of the glasses.  I have to look at the light to know that the sunglasses are working, this is less convenient and more noticeable.

3. Video glasses #1 get slightly warm during use, but not too warm.  Video glasses #2 get hot during usage.  The skin on my head did not get burned after recording for 1 hour, but the glasses got so warm that I was worried about that.

4. The on/off button on video glasses #1 is on the bottom of the frame (good), the on/off button on the video glasses #2 is on the top of the frame (more noticeable).  Video glasses #2 in general appear more bulky and have thicker frames.

5. Both video glasses have built in storage.  I have no problems seeing the storage in the computer as a mounted disk when the glasses are connected to a computer.  Glasses #1 have a init.txt file where one can set the date and time.  Glasses #2 do not have a file that allows one to set time.

6. Both video glasses use USB 2.0 interface, so copying files from the glasses to the computer is fairly slow if you are used to USB 3.0 devices.  For example to copy one hour of recordings took over 20 minutes.

7.  Neither camera has any no controls other then on/off buttons.

8. Glasses #1 are waterproof, glasses #2 are not waterproof.

Overall, a very good combination of stealth and video.  I liked glasses #1 more, however glasses #2 with interchangeable lenses have an advantage for in-door video.  The quality of the video from both sunglasses is good and quite similar.

You can find glasses #2 on Amazon by following this link.

You can find glasses #1 on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: OhO sunshine Video Sunglasses,32GB IP66 Waterproof Ultra HD Video Recording Camera

A camera in the eyeglasses has one huge advantage over other spy or action cameras - you know exactly where the camera is aimed, all you have to do is look in the right direction.

This is a comparison review for two OHO video sunglasses.  The video is this review is taken by OhO sunshine Video Sunglasses,32GB ($90). The video from the second sunglasses is in this post dedicated to OhO, 16G video glasses.  Both video glasses cameras generated good videos under different lightening conditions.  Attached video contains clips taken during a sunny day, indoors, and during night time. The videos are not as good as my SLR camera or but they are pretty good as you can see in attached videos.  The video is a little jerky because my head is not as still as a tripod or even hand-held camera. I did not realize how  much my head bobs when I walk but it is obviously is not the video camera fault.

Each camera records for one hour, and it takes 2 hours to recharge the glasses.  I planned to record for two hours and got two glasses.  This gave me a chance to compare the two OHO sunglasses (OhO sunshine Video Sunglasses,32GB ($90) and OHO sunshine, 16GB ($44). I will refer the $90 pair as video glasses #1, and the $44 pair as video glasses #2.

Both glasses did a good job recording, but there were significant differences between them.

1. Video glasses #1 have non-changeable polarized lenses.  The lenses are excellent, I can see very well with them, as well as my nice sunglasses purchased as sunglasses. But because they not changeable they are limited for being used out-doors. Because they are quite dark they look odd if used in-doors, and attract attention if you actually trying to do stealth recording.  Video sunglasses #2 have interchangeable lenses and come with dark, clear and amber lenses.  I thought their lenses were not as good as video glasses #1, but since their main function is video that really does not matter to me.  Even though there are no instructions the lenses was easy to change. Hint: pull down away from the nose.

2. Video glasses #1 give feedback via vibration when I turn them on and turn them off.  This is a very good interface that does not require me to check for the red blinking light that tells me that the camera is working.  Video sunglasses #2 provide feedback only via a blinking red light on the inside of the glasses.  I have to look at the light to know that the sunglasses are working, this is less convenient and more noticeable.

3. Video glasses #1 get slightly warm during use, but not too warm.  Video glasses #2 get hot during usage.  The skin on my head did not get burned after recording for 1 hour, but the glasses got so warm that I was worried about that.

4. The on/off button on video glasses #1 is on the bottom of the frame (good), the on/off button on the video glasses #2 is on the top of the frame (more noticeable).  Video glasses #2 in general appear more bulky and have thicker frames.

5. Both video glasses have built in storage.  I have no problems seeing the storage in the computer as a mounted disk when the glasses are connected to a computer.  Glasses #1 have a init.txt file where one can set the date and time.  Glasses #2 do not have a file that allows one to set time.

6. Both video glasses use USB 2.0 interface, so copying files from the glasses to the computer is fairly slow if you are used to USB 3.0 devices.  For example to copy one hour of recordings took over 20 minutes.

7.  Neither camera has any no controls other then on/off buttons.

8. Glasses #1 are waterproof, glasses #2 are not waterproof.

Overall, a very good combination of stealth and video.  I liked glasses #1 more, however glasses #2 with interchangeable lenses have an advantage for in-door video.  The quality of the video from both sunglasses is good and quite similar.


You can find glasses #1 on Amazon by following this link.

You can find glasses #2 on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: HeadRig 1 - Universal smartphone head mount for Hands Free Video Capturing byMoble L.L.C.

I do a lot of "how to" and review videos and recently someone asked my opinion on head rigs. I do NOT like them!  I am reposting a review I did in 2015 to show why I rated the head rig as 2 stars product even though it was well made and held the phone securily.

My initial excitement at the idea of hands free set-up dissipated after I saw the resulting video. It worked but not as well as I hoped. Here are my observations.

1. The best videos are steady without any shake. To keep the video totally steady in a head harness is very difficult.

2. For a good video the subject should be centered in the frame or at least not cut off. The issue with the harness is that it is hard to see the screen even though I positioned it as low as possible so I can peek at the screen of the smart phone which is facing me.

3. Operating the camera video app is difficult as the rig itself covers up important parts of the screen.

On the positive side, the rig held the phone very security. I was able to accommodate my phone which is 5 7/8" long. The size of my phone is about the maximum size the harness could fit. I had to remove one of the balls on the ends otherwise it did not open enough. The HeadRig can accommodate a phone 1/4" larger (with both balls removed) more but not any larger.

Because I extended the phone as far as possible and as low as possible from my head (so I can see as much of the screen as possible for better framing) the harness felt rather top heavy and I had to tighten the harness on my head very tightly otherwise it slid forward.

So what was the bottom line? It certainly was easier to do the demos when I did not have a tripod in front of me, but the final video with the tripod was better because it had zero shake and I could frame the shot better. In addition to the shake and framing the quality of the videos taken by the phone is not as good as one taken with a camera. In my videos taken with the harness I could see the focus go in and out and I did not find the resulting video acceptable.

At the end of my video review you can see a video I shot with the harness for another one of my reviews, I decided not to use that video because of the shake and the focus going in and out as my head moved slightly.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★☆☆☆

Product review: Side by side comparison of batteries for Arlo video camera / Energizer Photo Battery, Cell Size, 123

I am using four CR123A Lithium 3V batteries in Arlo wireless video camera.  I owned Arlo camera for a few years so I had a chance to compare longevity of several different batteries (Panasonic, Duracell, Energizer as well as off-brand rechargeable batteries).  Every time I change the battery I write down the date so I can compare the longevity from each set of batteries.  Arlo takes 4 batteries at a time.

Energizer batteries have performed the worst in my experience, on par with rechargeable batteries.

* Cold weather (i.e. spans winter): Panasonic 4 months, Duracell 2 months, Energizer 2 weeks.
* Warm weather: Panasonic 6 months,  Duracell 4 months

Another data point I have is comparison with rechargeable CR123A Lithium batteries.

* Cold weather: Panasonic  4 months, rechargeable 123A  2 weeks
* Warm weather: Panasonic 6 months, rechargeable 123A 1 month

A note on Panasonic batteries.  I have been burned when I bought Panasonic batteries from vendors other than Amazon, they appear to last significantly less (this happened twice).  It is possible that other vendors are selling older batteries.  So I always check the vendor and pay a buck or two more if necessary to get it directly from Amazon as it gets me several extra month of battery life.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★☆☆☆☆

Product review: GranVela Trail Camera Night Vision, 12MP 1080P HD Hunting Camera

We are big animals lovers and own several wild cams so we can observe the wildlife visitors we are lucky to get every day. Having several cameras gives me a base for comparison.  I rank this camera high among the ones I have tried:
(1) Video quality is good during the day and during the night.  The camera does best in indirect light (i.e. when the sun is NOT directly into the lens). When the light is directly into the camera the contrast in the shadows is not as good. I am including example of different light conditions, including a short night time clip.
(2) The camera has an easy to use menu-based interface.
(3) The sensativity of the motion detector is pretty. In the night time video you see a little bird triggering the camera at a good distance.

The camera has a good motion sensor and is activated only when something interesting is happening, so every video it captures has something good on it. The camera can be mounted in a number different (strap to attach to a tree or a tripod mount).  I am using a tripod.

The camera runs on eight AA batteries (not included). The battery life is pretty good.  After running for a week taking hundreds of videos every day the camera's battery indicator shows that it is half full. SD card is not included. The camera produces AVI and JPG output.

This camera case is robust.  The tripod with the camera has been knocked down by animals several times, and the camera still running, no problems. The case is waterproof and has been out in several rain storms and snow storms without any problems.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.
Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: SEREE S2-BL Ultra HD 4.0K 360 Degree Action Waterproof Panoramic Sport DV Camera

The camera has a fisheye lens which produces 360 degree video. Overall, the video quality is pretty good under many conditions but not all. It overexposes video when the camera is shooting in very sunny conditions and it does not compensate well when you move from shadow to the sun (like when you come out from under the bridge into the full sun). I show small clips which show the camera at its worst and at its best in attached video. Under good lighting the color rendition is good and true to life. It also takes pretty decent night time video. The camera microphone is worse than other sports cameras I have used. You will hear sound distortions in my video. Keep in mind that Amazon compresses video, so it is best to watch it as postage format so the compression effects are not visible.

The camera user interface is menu driven, but you can only see two lines. The documentation is not detailed and not good, so I am finding myself fumbling with the keys a bit as I navigate through menus even after several weeks of using the camera. The navigation and keys are not obvious in many cases. All buttons are overloaded with several functions depending on what mode the camera is in.

This camera support WIFI mode where live video can be see on the smart phone. The app for live product is called "XDV360°" (by Shenzhen Pisoftware Technology). The app is not great, but at least it is available from Googplay and the manufacturer did not ask me to load the app from an untrusted site. Downloading software from untrusted site is not safe and I never down load apps from manufacturer web site unless it is a well known trusted company.

The camera supports micro SD cards up to 32GB (the micro SD card is NOT included). To recharge the camera takes about 2 hours from empty, I am getting about 2 hours of video on one charge.

The package includes a large number of clamps and holders as well as a waterproof case. Windshield suction cup mount is not included, and because of the shape of the camera none of my old window suction cup mounts fit the camera facing forward.

The manual is very sparse. The manual is very small and only has a few basic operations. It does not have instructions for every button. Plan on doing some experimentation to figure out controls.

I really like the fisheye lens. The video quality is very good under many conditions, but not all. The sound recording is not good. The user interface is not as user friendly as some other sports cameras. Overall rating OK.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆

Product review: Silicone Skins for Arlo Smart Security

I have been using the Arlo security system for over 1 year without a jacket and now a couple of years with Wasserstein jacket.  Looking at the stock photo I was a bit worried that the jacket will make the magnetic hold weaker and I was not sure if I would like it.

Turns out the jacket has three holes (stock photos do not show this, but my video does) - one for the camera lens, one for the magnetic hold, and one for the battery door. The camera jacket is easy to put on and it fits well.

I selected the brown color that matches my trim and I think the camera is less noticeable and looks better in the jacket. The camera is waterproof so I don't think the jacket is needed to protect from rain, but it seems to provide a little bit of insulation for cold weather and prolongs the battery life in the winter.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Action Camera, SEENTRON 4K Ultra HD WiFi Waterproof Sports Camera

This action camera generates pretty decent video for such a small camera. The colors are good during the day when not shooting directly in sun.  Shooting in the sun is a challenging situation for any camera and this camera like many other overexposed the video if the sun is shining directly into the lens of the camera. In attached video you can video taken with the camera. My full size Cannon digital camera takes better video, but it is big and heavy and as a small size action camera the video quality of this camera is quite good.

This is a 4K camera.  On a 1080p monitor you cannot tell a difference between 1080p and 4K video, but if you own a 4K TV/monitor then you can take full advantage of 4K video.

The colors in the video are bright and accurate. Keep in mind that I am posting compressed video due to size limitation for the video clips, so viewing it as a thumbprint gives you the best approximation of the real thing.

The camera has an intuitive menu-driven interface, it also has WI FI that allows me to see what the camera sees on phone.  The camera comes with a nice set of accessories - I especially like the remote control to start/stop video and take photos.  It also include an extra battery and battery charger, as well as a spare battery for remote control. The package includes a large number of clamps and holders as well as a waterproof case. The camera is exactly the same size as GoPro camera and accessories designed for GoPro fit it.

The camera is take micro cards up to 64K class 10 card.  The card is my own, micro SD is not included in the package.

To recharge the camera takes about 5 hours from empty, I am getting about 3 hours of video on one battery, and this package includes two of them.  The camera can take video while charging if it is switched to the "auto" mode, so it can be used as a dash cam on a long drive.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: Polaroid Cube+ 1440p Mini Lifestyle Action Camera with Wi-Fi & Image Stabilization

There is large number of small action cameras out there. Many of them are GoPro clones, Polaroid Cube+ is a little different.
I own a couple of GoPro clones so I thought it might be useful to compare the best of the clones to the Polaroid Cube+.

As far as the video quality, I would rank it below the 4K sports cameras. It does not do well when driving directly into the sun. It does quite well in good lighting, and it does well at night. I am attaching a video that shows clips taken under different conditions: into the sun, without sun beaming into the camera, at night on my dash, and at night on my roof.

I got the camera in January 2016 and the audio is working fine (audio is included in attached video). I read older reviews that mention a problem but it appears to have been fixed in the version I have.

The biggest difference between GoPro clones and Polaroid Cube+ is the mounting system. Polaroid Cube+ has a strong magnet as its mounting system. I has driven with it on my roof on the highway without losing the camera. We even hit a huge pot hole at 65 miles an hour and my husband had to hold me down "No, we cannot pull over and see if the camera is still there as we are not going to try to retrieve it if it is not there and get killed." But the cube was still there when we arrived.

Another big difference is the user interface. The GoPro sports cameras have a very intuitive rich interface driven by menus. The cube has one button and talks to the owner in beeps and LED color changes. Green is turned on, red means it is recording. This is a trade off Polaroid made to gain the small size.

The documentation that comes with cube is as minimalist as the user interface. You get a leaflet with several pictures. No words. This documentation is enough to turn on the camera and take pictures or video. However, there was no documentation with the name of the app and no documentation of how to turn on WIFI. When I turned on the camera I saw a new hotspot on my phone. I attempted to connect to it and it asked me for a password. Because I set up many WIFI on sport cameras I tried several variations of common passwords and guessed it correctly on the third try. I found the app by taking a guess and searching Google play on "Polaroid CUBE+". In my video you can see what the app looks like. Once I started the app it told me the default password for the hotspot. Once connected to the hotspot, the app connected the camera and WIFI without problems. The app name and the password should have part of the documentation. There is no excuse for making the user guess such basic things.

The camera comes with a bumper case. However, it somewhat decreases the strength of the magnet and I don't use it because I rather use all the magnetic power I have to make sure I don't lose the camera.

You can use the camera without changing configuration, but if you want to change config you need to run an app which is included on the micro sd card of the camera. If you want to run the software you will need to attach the camera to a computer (Windows or Apple). For Windows the name of the application is PolaroidCube.exe, for Mac the application is called app.zip

Configuration can change:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
' Whether the camera overwrites old files when it runs out of space (the default is no)
' Whether you want to see a time stamp (the default is no)
' The volume of the buzzer (the default is good if there is no noise around, if you are using a camera as action camera it might be too low)
' Light frequency (50 Hz or 60 Hz). Default is 60 Hz
' The date/time

OPERATION
~~~~~~~~~
There is one button on top of the camera that controls everything
' To turn on the camera press the button for 3 seconds (green light turns on)
' To take a photo press once (red light turns on briefly as it saves the photo)
' To start video recording press twice (red light starts blinking as it records)
' To turn of video recording press once (red light stops blinking)
' To turn off press to the button for 3 seconds (the light goes off)

OUTPUT FORMAT /
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The video output is generated in MP4 format. Some cameras break up video in many files which are written out every several minutes. Polaroid CUBE+ writes out one large file for the entire trip. I personally like the small files approach better. If a file gets corrupted you don't lose the entire video, you lose just a segment. With that being set so far all videos I have recorded are playable, I had not bad files. I am using class 10 micro sd card that came in the package.

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
' This camera is very small. It is 1.25" cube.
' The lens on the camera is a wide angle (124 degrees)
' The battery is sealed in the unit and I don't see a way to replace it if I ever need it. At some point this will become a problem. When the camera goes down to 10% charge it beeps a warning. I am getting approximately 1.5 hours of continuous recording from it with the fresh battery.
' The camera can record while it is plugged in. The camera has an option to cycle, so it can overwrite old videos when it runs out of space.
' The camera has only a magnetic mount (there is no 1/4 mounting screw).
' The camera does not come with any other mounts, however I found that the packing box (which has a magnet) makes a nice stand that I can use on the dash of my car.
' The camera comes with a class 10 micro SD card.
' The camera charges with a regular micro USB cable. It works in all my chargers include a car charger.
' The camera comes with a short data cable. This cable allows you to transfer files from the camera to the computer. If you decide to use your own longer cable (which I am doing) make sure you are using a data cable not a charging cable (the cables that come with external power banks are often the charging cables). In a charging cables the two data connections are shorted together (rendering the cable useless for data transfer), but this fools devices to see the cable as an AC power connection and thus the battery accept a higher current for charging. For moving data from the camera to the PC you need a data cable.

Even though the video is not as good as my 4K sports camera, its unique mount is fun to use and gets unique views and sounds.

What improvements I would like to see? 4K video, 1/4" screw mount in addition to to the magnet mount, and better documentation.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆

Product review: AZGIANT 7'' Inch Navigation and DVR for car /truck

The navigation device combines a car DVR and navigation system.  It has a 7" screen and comes with a windshield mount.  This device is an Android tablet which is running DVR and Navigation apps. It is running Android 4.4.2 (KitKat) version of the operating system. It comes with 16G ROM and accepts a micro SD card up to 32G.  I am using it with micro sd card. When I inserted a micro sd card the system prompted me if I wanted to switch to using the external sd as my storage.  That was nice, I did not have to hunt of where to change the settings.

The screen is not a high resolution screen compared to a typical Android tablet or phone but it is sufficient for navigation.

DVR
~~~~~~
1) DVR video quality: video  quality is acceptable for a dash cam during the day and the night. You can see the video it took during the day in the sun and at night. The colors are a little bit washed in the sun and at night the oncoming lights are overexposed in order to capture video in the dark. I would not be happy if my camera recorded it but it is good enough for a dash cam.  The camera records full HD 1080p video.
2) The mount included with the DVR works well,  it stays firmly mounted even on rough roads.
3) The dash cam uses standard mini USB cable and the cable is included in the package.
4) The user interface is straightforward especially if you are familiar with Android OS. It has a touch screen and the touch screen is responsive.

Navigation
~~~~~~~~~~~
1) A 7" screen is large and easy to see even for someone with imperfect vision.  However, the screen is hard to see in the sun.  This is typical for LCD screens, this one is not any worse than others but if you are drying in the sun it is hard to see. The screen looks good in the shade and is superb during the night. 
2) The maps are from 2014.  Updates are available from a Chinese web site which is problematic - the connection is unreliable. The maps do not have street view like Google navigation which allows you to see the actual street and buildings.
3) The strong point of this navigation system compared to Google maps is that it does not require cell coverage.  Our favorite navigation system current is Google Navigation but it requires cell coverage (you can download load maps but they expire and I have been caught without local maps that were current). The cell coverage requirement means that Navigation does not work in some rural areas where we like to travel on weekend.  There is no such restriction using Azgiant system.
4) The speaker is good. It has a good volume and a choice of voices. The voices sound natural and have a choice of American or British accents.
5) Destinations can be saved a "Favorites".  It is easy to do with just a few keystrokes.
6) The navigation screen does not rotate, you need to install horizontal orientation
7) There an option for traffic notification if you use WIFI.  However when we ran Google Navigation and Azgiant at the same time Google was generating traffic warnings and Azgiant did not.  The overall result was that Azgiant route took longer than Google route.  In general, Google Navigation calculations of our arrival time were more accurate over a number of different trips we did with both GPS doing the routing.
8) If you notice that the suggested route is a straight line rather than clinging to the road you are following you put the system is in "off road" mode.  This happened to me accidentally and it took a while to figure out why it no longer follows the road.  The touch screen is sensitive and accidentally brushed that setting while looking at the settings.
9) The default speed warnings are pretty annoying as they sound even if you drive at speed limit. However you can change them under "Settings" menu. You can select the warning to sound (or appear) between 101% and 130% of the speed limit to make them less annoying.

Overall, it is a decent option for when you need to operate without cell coverage. However, if you have a cell phone and cell coverage Google Navigation is superior.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆

Product review: Trail Camera, Coolife 12MP 1080P HD Digital Camera

Video quality: In many situations the videos are very good and sharp.  In bright sun the camera overexposes slightly. The video during the night uses infrared videos (black and white), it is more grainy and less sharp however often captures very interesting videos. I am including video clips taken during the day and during the night.

The camera has good motion sensor and is activated only when something interesting is happening, so every video it captures has something good on it. The default setting was not as sensitive as I wanted (it missed some videos captured by another motion camera that was used to compare the effectiveness of this camera), but the settings can be changed. The camera can be mounted in a number different (strap to attach to a tree or a tripod mount).  I am using a tripod.

The user interface is menu driven and is very intuitive, I show it in the attached video to give you a better idea of how it feels to use it.

The camera runs on eight AA batteries (not included). The battery life is pretty good.  After running for a week taking hundreds of videos every day the camera's battery indicator shows that it is half full. The camera include a 32G micro SD card, the card was in a little plastic bag with cables.  The camera produces AVI and JPG output.

This camera case is robust.  The tripod with the camera has been knocked down by animals several times, and the camera still running, no problems. The case is waterproof and has been out in several rain storms without any problems. The case is 5.25" tall x 3.25" wide x 1.75" thick.

Overall, or its price range it is quite good. I love being able to have a glimpse into the life of our wild life visitors.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: Trail Camera Vizzlema 12MP 1080P HD Infrared Game Camera

We are big animals lovers and I own several wild cams so we can observe the wildlife visitors we are lucky to get every day. The camera lens is not wide angle, so it give me good close up shots as you see in the video.

The camera has good motion sensor and is activated only when something interesting is happening, so every video it captures has something good on it. The camera can be mounted in a number different (strap to attach to a tree or a tripod mount).  I am using the tripod.

Video quality: videos are very sharp.  In many situations the videos are excellent.  Sometimes in very bright sunlight the camera overexposes. The video during the night uses infrared videos (black and white). I included clips taken during the day and during the night.

The user interface is menu driven and is very intuitive, I show it in the attached video to give you a better idea of how it feels to use it.

The camera runs on eight AA batteries (not included). The battery life is pretty good.  After running for a week taking hundreds of videos every day the camera's battery indicator shows that it is half full. The camera include a 8G SD card, the card was in the camera when it arrived. The camera produces AVI and JPG output.

This camera case is robust.  The tripod with the camera has been knocked down by animals several times, and the camera still running, no problems. The case is waterproof and has been out in several rain storms without any problems.

Overall, I am very pleased. I love being able to have a glimpse into the life of our wild life visitors.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Pergear A216C AIR SWITCH Sensor LED Photo Video Light Panel Dimmable

My review is for Pergear A216C Touchless Controller with Air Switch.

The light panel works with F550 SONY compatible battery (the package includes two batteries which is great as I can recharge one while using the other). I own several light panels and this panel has a couple of unique features that I like (1) touchless switch lets me save the battery life by turning it off and on quickly. Once I set up the light level and color I can turn the light on and off without having to move the panel or fiddle with the switches. With the other panels I need to either move them or reach around which may reposition the lights (2) I can control the color of the light without using filters. This light panel also has a switch that changes the light intensity. This feature is not unique to this panel, I consider it a must-have feature as it is incredibly useful.

Another minor but nice feature that my other panels do not have is a button that ejects the battery. This will prolong the panel light. I dropped and broke one of my old panels trying to remove a stiff fitting battery.

The panel comes with a light diffuser. I like that it snaps in snugly into the panel and does not fall out even when I turn the light upside down.

The light panel generates continuous light. Once you turn it on the light panel stays on. This panel does not communicate with the camera like a flash. I use it mounted on a tripod so I have more control of how the light is directed.

The photo panel is 5" by 3" and 1.5" deep. The light weighs 8.15 oz. It 216 LED lights.

Color temperature of the lights: 3200K-5500K

In addition to the extras I already mentioned the package also includes gloves which are sized small (I have small hands and they fit me perfectly) and a cleaning cloth (7.75" x 7.75").

Overall, I like this light very much. It is easy to set up and easy to change the amount of light I get to fit any situation.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Movo Photo MicRig

This is a review of Movo MicRig "Sevenoak".

The first thing you need to know is that to take advantage of this microphone your video camera should have an audio jack for an external microphone.  The grip comes with cables for two options audio jack or micro USB with audio.   My Canon Rebel SLR, SONY NEX5 (a mid size digital camera), and a GoPro clone do not have a port for an external mike.  My smartphone has a audio jack and I am using it in the videos I am included in this review.

The microphone runs on one AA battery, which is not included in the package.  The grip has 1/4-20 male screw. It has a large easy to tighten knob at the bottom.  The phone holder is probably the best phone holder I own, it holds tightly, adjusts easiy, and has very nice rubbery texture on the inside that grabs well to the phone case shell.

The controls for the microphone are on the grip.  It also has a cold shoe if one wanted to mount lights or other accessories.

The microphone grip is made out of sturdy plastic. It feels sturdy but is quite light weight, it  weighs 19 oz.

I thought it did a fairly good job,  The only issue I see there is a tiny, very tiny shift in an audio.  It is not always obvious but sometimes it is - you can see the lips of the singer being slightly out of sync with the sound (the sound is behind).

I let you be the judge by listening to two videos I shot using it. One video features a street percussion instruments, the other one a singer with a guitar.

Ali Julia review

Product review: EKEN H9, Ultra HD 4K Waterproof Action Camera

The colors are excellent during the day when not shooting directly in sun.  Shooting in the sun is a challeging situation for any camera and this camera like many other overexposed the video if the sun is shining directly into the les of the camera. In attached video you can video taken with the camera during the day and at night. Night time video does not have a lot details in total duckness but with a little bit of light you can see what is going on.

This is a 4K camera.  On a 1080p monitor you cannot tell a difference between 1080p and 4K video, but if you own a 4K TV/monitor then you can take full advantage of 4K video.

The colors in the video are bright and accurate. Keep in mind that I am posting compressed video due to size limitation for the video pots, so viewing it as a thumbprint gives you the best approximation of the real thing.

The camera has an intuitive menu-driven interface, it also has WI FI that allows me to see what the camera sees on phone.  The name of the app that is compatible with this camera is EZ iCam App which is available from GooglePlay. There is also an iPhone version of the app which I did not try. The name of the hot spot is "ICAM-Hg(R)". The camera is exactly the same size as GoPro camera and accessories designed for GoPro fit it.

The camera is comptable with 16G and 32G micro SD cards, and I am using 32G class 10 card.  The card is my own, micro SD is not included in the package.

To recharge the camera takes about 5 hours from empty, I am getting about 3 hours of video on one charge.  The camera can take video while charging if it is switched to the "auto" mode, so it can be used as a dash cam on a long drive.

The package includes a large number of clamps and holders as well as a waterproof case.  My video shows close up of all accessories.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★☆