I just love your reviews! Something about your tone & personality... You're soft-spoken & have no foul language! What a relief... You're reviews are honest & just detailed enough to be informative & not overwhelming or boring. Plus... You're a dog lover which makes you a good human being in my book! Thx for your time & effort so the rest of us can purchase things the educated way, being "informed".... 🗯👌😯🐶🌹🌵🌴🙂
You are the only review person I trust. Bought my dashcam and other things that I wanted to buy, and so far I am very , very happy with my choices, thanks to you... especially my dashcam.
This is how you set correct time/date on cameras like this... TAG.txt or time.txt (test what works on your camera) file should be created on SD memory card you put in your camera Connect the camera to your computer via USB cable Create a TAG.txt file at the root directory of the Memory Disk, type the three line of text in this blank file just like below: [date] 2012/01/01 12.00.00 Save the file and quit. Unplug camera from computer. Turn on the camera, then turn off the camera. When you do this the camera reads the time.txt file, sets the time/date on the camera according to what you typed in the file and then erases the time.txt file
Excellent review. It's nice to see someone do an actual review rather than a 30 minute long video of someone who thinks they are funny or entertaining when they are just nauseating to watch. This review is all about the product and I thank you for that. Great job.... Keep them coming.
Check out the review I did for a cheaper alternative if you really looking for one. Costs way less but has more it can do and is capable of taking video at 1080p. IR sensor is also much better.
These cop cams are repackaged Chinese cheap cams from literally years ago. Ones like them were sold for under 10 dollars and were plagued with issues. Stopped recordings, bad jittery video, poor battery life, corruption of recording files etc. They came in many styles, such as pen, box and lapel mounted covert cameras. The cameras underlying design remained the same. As for changing the time, those old cameras required saving a specific text string formatted a certain way, including the date and time to the root of the mini sad card, and upon restart with card installed, the camera would write the date to the camera. Avoid these, unless it’s under $3.00 with mini sd card included.
I appreciate the effort put forth to really review these products. You don't seem to gloss over or avoid performing certain tests. I will mention here, as it was mentioned in a comment on the article you wrote, about changing timestamp w/cop cam. Now I haven't bought this product nor do I know for certain the efficacy of this info but I've seen it mentioned via several comments. To CHANGE the timestamp, to change date and/or time, you must alter the "time.set.txt" file changing the values in said file to the current/correct date and time. I've also seen it posted that the values go "date" first then "time" and that the time should be set using military time format. So I hope this helps anyone still trying to set this.
@@Freakinreviews not only am I not surprised that it's not included in your directions but wouldn't be surprised if it never makes it into the directions. I've seen cheap quality products where the instructions were even cheaper and missing key bits of information.
Bought it and it sucked. First it recorded in purple then it broke and won't work after 3 days. can't get a hold of anyone. my bank did a charge back. what thieves.
TOTAL SCAM! If something has "Atomic", or "Magic", or "Tactical" in the name RUN!!! You can buy this exact camera directly from China for $5 (I have two!) and the only difference is the name stamped on it. It is JUNK.
@@davidsegerstrom9313 all that infomercial stuff is JUNK. This thing is made in the SAME factory! If it has "cop", "atomic", or "tatical" in it's name it is a SCAM
Oh crap!!! Cop 's-cam is not as it should be. One person got ripped off paying a larger amount. This review was spot on and easy to understand. I have a tac cam almost like this one with the same problems. I cannot get it to record. Maybe it was because I charged in the wall, and not on the computer. They have a lot of work to do to make these tiny camera's work. Love Bailey.
I used to use cameras like this for my RC videos. To disable/change the time stamp, it’s normally required to place a text file inside the default directory. Additionally, the “motion activation” features really only work when connected to continuous power. These little cameras use up a lot of battery quickly and judging from the size, there’s probably not a lot to go around.
When it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Nice review. My Wife picked me up one for a stocking stuffer when she was in line at Menards. I didn't open it yet. I decided to check reviews before. You saved me such a headache. BLESS you and thanks 4 posting.
Great review, thank you. To take a picture, power on as per instructions, then hold power button for 2 additional seconds, then each time you want to take a picture you have to push the button. Robert
I just brought a Mini Cam the same one just not the Cop Cam. Your reviewed is spot on. Having a same problems with the time and date stamp. Can't get the setting right between the 720p vs1080p(looks the same) and getting the night vision to work. I think is best use for is getting footage of baby talking and learning how to walk.
This product looks like it is right up there with the Perfect Polly for the shittiest products I've seen you review. Thanks for showing us the stuff that sucks along with the stuff that works. I love your channel dude keep up the great work.
You did a great review. I bought this and have not used it yet but I will try to get my own results. However your review was perfect and gave me details what to expect.
Thank you for the honest, extensive review. I almost bought this as an extra "security" cam, but will not now. That TV hype can get you when you least expect it! Sadly, most ASOTV stuff turns out to be crap.
The reason you were having issues playing and importing the files is while they are in AVI containers, the video is stored in m-jpeg codec format (yup, like the picture format). The reason they do that is encoding chips for good compression formats like h.264 (what most cameras record in nowadays) are expensive (relatively speaking) and have higher battery demands, so they use chips that are extremely simple, cheap, and power sipping that use this dated crummy format. Another plus (for them) is they can usually cheap out even more with the battery because it really takes almost nothing at all to power these chips. That's probably the issue you had, a terrible battery and a almost non-existant battery management/charging circuit. You'll see this a lot with any Chinese cameras sold on Ebay for under 50 dollars (dash cams and 'spy' cams are famous for this format) These exact cameras are sold all over Ebay as "Cube Camera"s. They've been around since the Polaroid Cube first came out years ago. This just seems like an investor was browsing Ebay and got the terrible idea to import these things and market them without realizing the poop build/design quality. And yes, as people pointed out they have no InfraRed filter, since the moving shutter required to move it out of the way for night shots costs money and somewhat increases size. So that's why the colors are off. In fact: if the sensor was more sensitive to IR, the color would really be bad but it doesn't look like they used a sensor that's very IR sensitive (again, they gotta save money) so they probably used a bargain basement sensor not really intended for night shots (because all sensors are at least a little IR sensitive). That would explain the crummy night time preformance. Anyway, keep in mind I'm no expert, and just doing some speculating on the sensor. Hope that helps.
You sure does sound more credible than this video. I always say, "If you can't properly use a device, you are just too lazy to properly understand the instructions manual." Not that I am defending cheap the product, I just wanted to hear less "I can't," this is a review for goodness sakes. At the very least, do some research or ask people who may know. Regardless the actual question here is... why is this in my recommended?
It doesn't matter what is video storage , the cop cam should be user friendly ,not more works for user to come up with. So he is very smart and knows what he is talking about. You are lacking critical thinking due
I never had any problems - I bought it yesterday and it has done as advertised. I wonder if James pre-charged it and/or read the instructions correctly. I am not sure this is a fair review but time will tell. The ST card came out because the press button is ON the side not the top (check out the writing). The charging process is NOT confusing. It says in the instructions that the computer charging means it won't record...but it will record when plugged into the wall. It is definitely all in the instructions. The machine stopped recorded because it was not pre-charged.
Thanks James, The Black turned purple during the day, and you seemed to become clean shaven during night filming. Very weird. I am looking for a decent priced cam. But it wont be that one. Be safe
I think you just happened to get a bad one. My wife came home with one of these and SHE quickly figured out how to turn it on, charge it. I added a bigger SD card (16GB) and she has been using it during her 30 mile drive to and from work for the last 2 days and it has worked perfectly. I also had to use Windows Media Player to view the video clips, but the color on them was awesome, and the motion sensor worked perfect. She is going to keep using it until the battery finally dies. But I was impressed that, even though she never turned it off during the day at work, its still going. When her car was parked, the video recording would stop until there was motion detected. I agree, the instructions sucked about the timestamp. It uses the wrokd date to NAME the video clips, but for some reason the timestamp recorded IN the video frames just started working correctly. I have no idea why. I liked it so much, I am going to buy one for myself to play with. . Thanks for your video.
I wish I could answer that in the affirmative. I've spent way too much on small covert cams and junk is practically a trademark. Too many hit-and-miss recordings and unpredictable motion capture. If they were smaller, more portable, and weatherproof, I'd almost rather use a dashcam. At least the technology is more honest and constantly improving.
James, thankyou for doing a review of the cop cam. Even though nearly 4yrs have past since your review you saved a pensioner from wasting 50 precious dollars on a product I wouldn't now buy even if it were 2 dollars. Thanks again, I'm now a subscriber of your RUclips channel.👍😊
Can you look into the SQ11 mini camera. The cop cam is a variant of the SQ11. The SQ11 can be found on Amazon for $15. It also can be used as a webcam/dash cam? For the date try this: Connect the mini video camera to the computer. Setting the time is done by creating a text file named «TIMERSET.txt» in the root directory of the device's memory card, with the following content: «YYYYMMDDHHMMSS» «Y» (or «N», if you do not want the date and time stamp displayed on video files) For example, «20170625140003 Y» After saving the file, disconnect the video camera from the computer and turn it on.
I have one of these mini cameras, not this specific cop cam brand, and the thing I never understood about that text file is what good is it if you only use the camera occasionally instead of leaving it on constantly. I haven't even tried to use mine in months so I'm guessing next time I go to use it it will say it's some random date and time from months ago.
Just an SQ11 cube camera from china, I have one myself (the SQ11, not this cop cam version) and tried it out recently, it's not too bad so long as you're expecting it to be pretty rubbish. I've stuck an IR cut filter over the lens of mine though as the stock lens has no IR cut hence why things look purpley-red...
I bought a couple SQ11, months ago, 10 usd each on Bangood. Poor to lousy battery life, confusing interface, date stamp has to be edited each time its used (it doesn't remember time otherwise). Royal pita to use. Can't figure out how to use it as a regular wired-in security cam. If it worked as a wired-in security can it might be worth it though. Not recommended.
@@garywheeler7039 I bought some about 2 or 3 years ago. 32gb max for sd card. Records good in day time. Terrible at night. Constant power will allow it to record longer and it does loop recording. Won't recommend using as security camera as it does not do good beyond 10-15 feet.
OMG. Thanks, James! I had the same issue you had when attempting to view recorded footage...I gave up and stuck the CopCam in a drawer for several years. Today I attempted to use it, and I was lucky enough to find your video, explaining the major flaws in this gadget. It's awful. Worst of all, it's totally unreliable for the main purpose it's designed for by turning itself off at random. Anyways, I appreciate you for taking the time to review the CopCam. Mine is headed to the Goodwill! lol
This is really funny dude, I'm at the shop at the moment and I wanted to buy this camera, exactly the same camera, but I did a search and found your review, so I took the time and watched your review. Actually I decided not to buy it. Well I bought a $68 one, which is - I really hope - a bit better. Thanks for that correct review! 👋
Today was my first day using it. I found it very jumpy when walking. It worked a lot better outside than inside. I was able to take photos after seeing the green light come on. I took them one by one, and they did show up in a photos folder on my laptop. As for the video player, I use VLC which read the .avi files flawlessly plus many other file types. Thanks for the review. I'm gonna look at others as well and try to learn as much as I can about this. Thanks, also, for clearing up my confusion about the inaccurate time stamp and date. That is definitely a big negative.
So, let me get this straight. It’s marketed as a security camera but has a very, very narrow field of view, poor picture quality, no real night vision or IR no battery life and to top it all off, it also has horrible CMOS tearing. What a complete scam. That thing probably has a total cost of not even $5 from China. Somebody’s making bank on these... This demonstrates why real cameras like the Arlo or even Blink cost so much more.
Good god $5 dollars....no way! Maybe maybe a $1 dollar and that is pushing it. I am aware of the sd card but its a china card and it by itself is produced for Penneys.
Phlop Alopagus You have to figure the box, cable and plastic casing (though that likely is just a variation of a standard mold) into the cost. In parts just for the camera it would be around the 2-3 range with the battery and microSD the most expensive components at around a dollar each. They have to have some sort of “custom” casing for the camera as well as packaging however, for this type of “as seen on tv” product which adds to the cost. The sensor itself is likely peanuts as it looks to be a 640x480 sensor upscaled with a basic camera chip that just only saves when large changes are detected. Landed, in bulk, I would expect a cost in the 5-10 range. If they’re any more then that landed, even with the SD card, somethings wrong.
I got one. It's not as bad as people say. I do think a lot of the issues are "use related" ones. Night vision does suck as it glares off of glass if you're using it as a security camera in a house looking outside. As a dash cam it's pretty good. Battery life sucks but that can be circumvented by plugging it into a power source so it won't die. The real negative is how it records. 3-5 minutes loops and can only support up to 32 gigs. In a hour you can fill up the 8 gig card that comes with it.
This is literally an off the shelf rebadge of the SQ11 Chinese Cubecam, you can get it for 5 dollars on aliexpress and it's the original, just as good product ( i have one)
You did a great job explaining everything and now I am set to do 30 minute video clips with jumpy vision with coloration that makes black look purple and not to mention the lack of view which is less than 140 degrees
Thanks for this video. I was just about to purchase this camera, but decided to watch this first. Yes, its only 20 bucks, but all your 20 bucks will do is give you 50 dollars worth of headaches. Would rather spend more to get a product that will do what it's supposed to. The black shirt thing was the final nail in the coffin for me. So when the officer asked you for a description, and you tell them it was a guy with a purple shirt.....? yeah, not for me.
Your first test failed to turn on camera when the Micro chip fell out...you did not seem to rehit the "4" button again. Also, cop cam works on a 24/7 loop. Mine works pretty well; I do get the nighttime purple hues when the lights are on in the house...in the dark, I can see white teeth and glowing eyes from 7' away...too close for my comfort! LOL! In the daytime, I get up to 8- 3-6 minute clips. So, about 30 minutes as well. A tree branch or shadow swaying can waste recorder time and space...but it loops...can also loop right over a person or car that you needed to see from the hour before. There are def probs with the cop cam...but if you are stepping out and roommate is stealing your cash or workmate is stealing your food from fridge, it will catch them. I tested mine in two different kitchens, one in the daytime and one at nighttime. I basically caught myself loading the baby in the first 3 cips...then there were clips but nothing in them...might have been the dog and was already out of the frame by the time it turned on to record. Now, that I saw your clips, I think that was the issue. The other kitchen was on Christmas Evening, lights on and dark outdoors, it was pink room with purple cast ppl and the conversation was picked up well, even at 20' away. My family never knew it was on, never saw it on the hutch and after opening gifts, I showed them the camera and they all laughed at the footage. It caught 8 clips at 5-6 minutes each clip. That was with constant motion in the area. I have yet to get the camera to take pictures. I would give this cop cam 3 stars for a dorm room or office area to catch the thief in the act up close and quick trip away from home, but zero stars for a long-lasting issue that needs constant surveillance. I have deer cameras that cost as much that do both video and pictures, I have better night infra red results and the video and photos are really good! No sound on mine however. They are larger and bulky but the batteries last for months! The USB cards are an easier upload. My Cuddeback is my favorite...I've caught several window peepers and I didn't go easy on them! When accusing someone, get PROOF! I love watching them lie themselves into a corner before you whip out the USB card! YES!!! I keep one on every corner of every buildng I own and drive way. They give warning when the bright flash of the one by my window goes off...that is the last defense camera...letting an intruder know, at least ONE camera just took their photo while rest were on infra-red. I've caught farmers tearing up my land and much more. You'd be surprised what happens on a dead end road! LOL! Oh the dirty secrets revealed each time I would upload my camera USB-- some things just can not be unseen. Protection and defensive action -- works!
@@jgw5491 i agree! i as at bed bath beyond and picked this crap up i mean cop cam standing in line i was wondering if it worked well as the line got shorter i was thinking i wished i seen James review first, just in case it didn't work well then it was my turn to pay for the other things i got i decided to not buy thank god because i hate returning stuff i bough. thank you ever time i watch your review i give thanks, you stopped me from making a mistake
@@harrickvharrick3957 That was the same thing I was thinking lol. Wording is everything. Like you said "you don't word that right." Shouldn't that be "you didn't word that right." (or something along those lines)?
Yes, packaging is just a little plastic and cardboard… but when you multiply that by the billions of products being sold around the world, it adds up. Every manufacturer should make an effort to reduce the amount of packaging used for their products. Remember, we don't inherit this planet from our parents, we borrow it from our children.
I have the same thing... got it about a year ago and it was confusing for me too lol! And knowing how it was orientated the video when it did work was upside down on one test. Glad to know I was not the only one to have had problems with this or thought it was confusing
Honestly, I think you're being way too generous on this product, especially with the video quality. In addition, what's up with the excessive amount of packaging for such a tiny product? lol
Thank you for sharing this video, it really helps to know that this camera doesn't work well at all. My husband got one for Christmas and we will be taking it back .
I've said it once and I'll keep saying it. Everytime I get ready to purchase something I look to your channel to see if it's been reviewed and again I get slapped back into reality of " don't buy it" or " buy it" ..thank you for always fully testing the products.
Thanks for that very good review. You really put it through its paces. I saw it on TV yesterday and actually went onto their site to look closer at it last night but thankfully held off buying. It fails in so many areas. The footage of you at night was a disaster - it didn't look like you in the least! The daytime coloring didn't bother me and still could be used as evidence. But without a current time stamp, well, the cops would not accept it. I once had a very small camera I bought from a spy camera store, was supposed to film for two continuous hours. The most was 25 mins - around the same as the copcam. That was for the first few times. Thereafter, it would film for about 10 minutes before closing down with a dead battery. I ended up tossing it.
Thanks for the video - you were tone was very balanced. I just got one (11-2019) and there are two versions - yours is earlier. Now the button and SD are on the sides - yours was on the top. Windows didn't like the SD and wanted to format it and I did. Using Win 7 and the default player is Media Player - no problem there. Charging: Computer blinks red/green AND CAN NOT RECORD/FUNCTION however it can be used as a SD reader. Wall plug blinks red AND CAN SIMULTANEOUSLY RECORD/FUNCTION wile charging (and nun indefinitely). The still camera works - 2 second push to toggle in and out (green light blinks when the still is taken). Files are now in a DCIM folder. Time can be set and date stamp on/off - I figured it out myself (no searches found it): In the root directory, there is a "time set" .TXT file Data:24 Month:11 Year:2019 Hour:16 Minute:55 Second:00 Need time stamp?(Y/N):Y Edit and save this file to the same SD, install with the camera power off, turn on the camera at you edited time - done. I got mine with a coupon for $26 - it is what it is...
I am so glad I came across your Channel I wanted one of these cop cams so bad I could not stand it thank you again for doing this video . I have real bad anger issues and I believe if I bought this and it did not work as much as I want something like this I would have probably took a bulldozer and bulldoze down my house and everybody else's in the neighborhood . Again I would like to thank you .
Also going to new jersey and while I am there I might pay a visit to see if this company really exists and if they do I will take my cop cam and stick it up there a..
If you notice, a lot of infomercial products are all coming from 2 Bridge road In Fairfield NJ. Funny thing is I grew up and lived down the street from here,lol. I always make it a point to look at the he address on the commercial I’m boringly watching at the time,lol
Hello, thanks for your review. I thought that this connected to wifi to become a security camera but I'm also like you. Where is the app for this camera that's how you preview the video right? Instead of the computer. Could you view this through an app?
Apparently the company that built these "Crap Cam's" didn't do a lot of R & D and to get rid of them, they're selling them at a price that they believe is too tempting to refuse... Your presentation was TOP NOTCH - thanks... It's too bad that the Cam is not that reliable since the visual quality for such a low priced item wouldn't really effect whether I would buy one or not... But all the other negative things - time stamp - unreliability - and charging - erase the only positive thing that stands out - the high definition camera... If the Cam could be connected to a laptop and live video seen on the laptop could be used to setup the position of the cam and the time stamp could be updated or turned off and the motion detector would work 100%, then the $40 price would probably be $100 or more... Once again thanks for the review...
Should've seen your review before buying one. I wanted to get one to use overnight to watch over my carport. Didn't realize how poor the range is for night-vision, and the carport light being on doesn't help at all either, just makes it nothing but bright purple instead of black. Can't even see the cars. Daytime it records well enough though. I was able to view the videos through VLC Media Player, if you're curious.
I care about the environment. Look at the packaging around the product it's 80% waste. This kind of packaging is designed to grab store shelf space making it more appealing to the eye while wasting resources.
Big package for tiny camera, I got this cam; 1080p video is awesome, motion detection works just for furst 5 minutes recording, camera shots down, so we need to set the motion once again. The night vision doesn't work, it's good for simple recording and snap pictures, the price is awesome. You can edit the time stamp, by editing a text file on your PC.
The time stamp may be changed in a file on the SDCard, look in the rout directory with a usb cable attached to the camera to the computer, see if there are any files look at all files with a text editor and see if any have a time and date that you change to the correct time and date. Also there may be other setting you can change like the amount of time you can record each video segment. My friend bought a cheap Chinese dash cam that work this way you had to set the time and date, also other settings on a file on the SDCard but it explained how to do it in the instructions also anyone thinking about buying this thing and you were misled by there faults advertising saying it’s wireless well it’s not truly wireless no WiFi but I guess since it’s rechargeable i guess you can kind of say it’s wireless but the correct term would be cordless not wireless! Another issue with these cheap cameras is the included SDCard are junk the one that cam with my friend dash cam failed within a couple of days and he needed to replace it!
No wonder they were on Clearance BEFORE Christmas! Started out at $40, Clearance for $20! I’m glad I saw this before I wasted my money! Had to sub to your channel! Good stuff!
I hope it's not uncool to post 2-3 years after the review. I bought one at Walmart for $40. I had some of the same problems as James. but for me it's ok. I glued it to a led-head-flashlight and use it to record my DIY projects. The video quality is good enough. I was able to modify a "time set.txt" file to adjust/set/turn off the time caption. I used it while driving in the car and it worked fine as a dash-cam. (purple hue was fine). It recorded for 30 minutes (6 x 5 minute snippets) before I turned it off. No problems with heat. For my purposes (video recording my DIY projects on a head-mounted flashlight) it works perfectly. This is a hobbiest cam - not a professional security cam. ALSO - I paid $40, but I think it's only worth $15-$20.
You did a good job in reviewing this proto-type video cam that im sure not going buy until they ever decide to improve it (which i think they never should of marketed it) ... get your refund ,people!
Was thinking about buying this at Bed Bath and Beyond, just simply to see how my little Shih Tzu handled me being gone, while being housed in her den or cage, only when I have to leave home. You just saved me the hassle of having to return it.
I just love your reviews! Something about your tone & personality... You're soft-spoken & have no foul language! What a relief... You're reviews are honest & just detailed enough to be informative & not overwhelming or boring.
Plus... You're a dog lover which makes you a good human being in my book!
Thx for your time & effort so the rest of us can purchase things the educated way, being "informed"....
🗯👌😯🐶🌹🌵🌴🙂
You are the only review person I trust.
Bought my dashcam and other things that I wanted to buy, and so far I am very , very happy with my choices, thanks to you... especially my dashcam.
Nope would not buy this. Thank you for the review.
The infared is nightmare fuel.... But lived the video, keep it up.
This is how you set correct time/date on cameras like this...
TAG.txt or time.txt (test what works on your camera) file should be created on SD memory card you put in your camera
Connect the camera to your computer via USB cable
Create a TAG.txt file at the root directory of the Memory Disk, type the three line of text in this blank file just like below:
[date] 2012/01/01 12.00.00
Save the file and quit.
Unplug camera from computer.
Turn on the camera, then turn off the camera.
When you do this the camera reads the time.txt file, sets the time/date on the camera according to what you typed in the file and then erases the time.txt file
@@conanobrien1 I will give this a try! But to be clear... like, say I do that this minute, it would be... [date] 2019/15/02 1:19:00
@Willie Gordon I went against my judgement and reviews, bought one and am very happy with it.
@Breeze it raised my expectations lol was much better than expected.
Excellent review. It's nice to see someone do an actual review rather than a 30 minute long video of someone who thinks they are funny or entertaining when they are just nauseating to watch. This review is all about the product and I thank you for that. Great job.... Keep them coming.
SOUNDS TO ME LIKE IT'S WORTHLESS FOR WHAT THEY CLAIM IT WILL DO. THANK YOU FOR YOUR HONEST REVIEW. I WAS GOING TO BUY ONE, GLAD I SAW THIS FIRST.
Check out the review I did for a cheaper alternative if you really looking for one. Costs way less but has more it can do and is capable of taking video at 1080p. IR sensor is also much better.
I bought one and NOW saw this. I don’t even know how to get the video on my PC. Computer dummy that I am.
worse yet they don't even tell you audio in some states like mine is totally illegal
Don't buy one I did and there trash been better off just Burt my money
STOP YELLING!!!
These cop cams are repackaged Chinese cheap cams from literally years ago. Ones like them were sold for under 10 dollars and were plagued with issues. Stopped recordings, bad jittery video, poor battery life, corruption of recording files etc. They came in many styles, such as pen, box and lapel mounted covert cameras. The cameras underlying design remained the same. As for changing the time, those old cameras required saving a specific text string formatted a certain way, including the date and time to the root of the mini sad card, and upon restart with card installed, the camera would write the date to the camera. Avoid these, unless it’s under $3.00 with mini sd card included.
Duh! Tank yu
😊b
The Night vision, infa red makes you look like the zombie things in I am Legend
Not really the zombies had more color
That's what I was thinking lol.
I was about to comment the same thing haha
Infrared, not infa red.
😂 True like his facial was gone.
I appreciate the effort put forth to really review these products. You don't seem to gloss over or avoid performing certain tests.
I will mention here, as it was mentioned in a comment on the article you wrote, about changing timestamp w/cop cam. Now I haven't bought this product nor do I know for certain the efficacy of this info but I've seen it mentioned via several comments.
To CHANGE the timestamp, to change date and/or time, you must alter the "time.set.txt" file changing the values in said file to the current/correct date and time. I've also seen it posted that the values go "date" first then "time" and that the time should be set using military time format. So I hope this helps anyone still trying to set this.
Thanks Phil, that does work. Hopefully they have since updated their instructions to include this info because my instructions don't even mention it!
@@Freakinreviews not only am I not surprised that it's not included in your directions but wouldn't be surprised if it never makes it into the directions. I've seen cheap quality products where the instructions were even cheaper and missing key bits of information.
Sounds more like cop scam.... Thanks for another great review. Keep up the great work. ATB : )
Margery - Love your comment‼️‼️‼️
Bought it and it sucked. First it recorded in purple then it broke and won't work after 3 days. can't get a hold of anyone. my bank did a charge back. what thieves.
Officer Scott Savitt should be ashamed
Stop spying on people
All that seen on tv products are gimmicky
@@MrEasy1988 10% are pretty cool products tho...
i don't have a laptop or a cpu... are there any cheap cams that i can use and watch on my phone?
I just saw this camera ad on tv today and now that I have seen your review, I just saved some bucks! Thanks!
Same here. Just saw the commercial and decided to check reviews.
Hell yeah that's the same thing I'm saying
TOTAL SCAM! If something has "Atomic", or "Magic", or "Tactical" in the name RUN!!! You can buy this exact camera directly from China for $5 (I have two!) and the only difference is the name stamped on it. It is JUNK.
@@jimbritttn yeah I got one off the wish app for like 4-5$ and it is total garbage!
@@davidsegerstrom9313 all that infomercial stuff is JUNK. This thing is made in the SAME factory! If it has "cop", "atomic", or "tatical" in it's name it is a SCAM
Oh crap!!! Cop 's-cam is not as it should be. One person got ripped off paying a larger amount. This review was spot on and easy to understand. I have a tac cam almost like this one with the same problems. I cannot get it to record. Maybe it was because I charged in the wall, and not on the computer. They have a lot of work to do to make these tiny camera's work. Love Bailey.
I used to use cameras like this for my RC videos. To disable/change the time stamp, it’s normally required to place a text file inside the default directory. Additionally, the “motion activation” features really only work when connected to continuous power. These little cameras use up a lot of battery quickly and judging from the size, there’s probably not a lot to go around.
Glad I waited until they went on sale for 3.99$ before I purchased. Mine worked okay when hookup to continuously power supply.
When it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Nice review. My Wife picked me up one for a stocking stuffer when she was in line at Menards. I didn't open it yet. I decided to check reviews before. You saved me such a headache. BLESS you and thanks 4 posting.
But did you get to return it for store credit if no reciept or past date ? I would.
13:19 who the heck is this? That's just creepy.
yo Alex at full moon, he turns into a zombie
He looks like he has no whiskers.
That is a zombie from Will Smiths " I am Legend "
Thanos
yo Alex
Your lookin a bit creepy yourself yo.
People like you that actually use the internet for GOOD AND INFORMATIVE REASONS. Gives me hope for us. Thanks for taking time out of your life.
Thanos makes an appearance at 13:18
faheem: Yep, and he is as scary as ever!
Holy shiet lol
He should've snaptured all the shitty As Seen on TV products and kept the good ones
Thought the exact same thing.
Lmao
13:36
Here we have a rare glimpse of Voldemort with his nose
It's odd how old the night cam mode made you look. It's almost like looking at a completely different person.
Yeah I thought so too! That's a glimpse of how Freakin' Reviews might look in 2058!
Freakin' reviews, walking dead edition
Exactly what I thought!
Yeah. Looks just like Nosferatu.
Thanos was here. Lucky he didn’t snap his fingers.
Great review, thank you. To take a picture, power on as per instructions, then hold power button for 2 additional seconds, then each time you want to take a picture you have to push the button. Robert
You legit scared the hell out of me when it went to night vision. It makes you look INSANE LMAO
It kinda freaked me out hearing my normal voice come out of that old man's face!
@@Freakinreviews old man!? It looked like a vampire!
I was here first Dani.
iamlegend zombie
Man you looked like a one of those murderous monsters in Night mode. 😂😂😂Not buying this crap though
I just brought a Mini Cam the same one just not the Cop Cam. Your reviewed is spot on. Having a same problems with the time and date stamp. Can't get the setting right between the 720p vs1080p(looks the same) and getting the night vision to work. I think is best use for is getting footage of baby talking and learning how to walk.
This product looks like it is right up there with the Perfect Polly for the shittiest products I've seen you review. Thanks for showing us the stuff that sucks along with the stuff that works. I love your channel dude keep up the great work.
Thanks! I do think this will be a strong candidate for my Worst of 2018 list.
@@Freakinreviews can you find a camera similar thats the best?
pigglet and pooh bear agreed. Please review a tiny camera that was good.
@@mon573r6 why was, i want to buuy nuuuw one that is, not was
You did a great review. I bought this and have not used it yet but I will try to get my own results. However your review was perfect and gave me details what to expect.
The night portion of this video was extremely creepy! Appropriate for October but far too creepy for everyday use!
Dixotube Grow a d#ck.😡
Thank you! Came close to purchasing this yesterday and decided to find a review! You've saved me so much frustration! Subscribed!
Thank you for the honest, extensive review. I almost bought this as an extra "security" cam, but will not now. That TV hype can get you when you least expect it! Sadly, most ASOTV stuff turns out to be crap.
First impression: a lot of packaging for such a small unit. Next impression: Not impressed. More E-junk.
The reason you were having issues playing and importing the files is while they are in AVI containers, the video is stored in m-jpeg codec format (yup, like the picture format).
The reason they do that is encoding chips for good compression formats like h.264 (what most cameras record in nowadays) are expensive (relatively speaking) and have higher battery demands, so they use chips that are extremely simple, cheap, and power sipping that use this dated crummy format.
Another plus (for them) is they can usually cheap out even more with the battery because it really takes almost nothing at all to power these chips. That's probably the issue you had, a terrible battery and a almost non-existant battery management/charging circuit.
You'll see this a lot with any Chinese cameras sold on Ebay for under 50 dollars (dash cams and 'spy' cams are famous for this format)
These exact cameras are sold all over Ebay as "Cube Camera"s. They've been around since the Polaroid Cube first came out years ago. This just seems like an investor was browsing Ebay and got the terrible idea to import these things and market them without realizing the poop build/design quality.
And yes, as people pointed out they have no InfraRed filter, since the moving shutter required to move it out of the way for night shots costs money and somewhat increases size. So that's why the colors are off.
In fact: if the sensor was more sensitive to IR, the color would really be bad but it doesn't look like they used a sensor that's very IR sensitive (again, they gotta save money) so they probably used a bargain basement sensor not really intended for night shots (because all sensors are at least a little IR sensitive). That would explain the crummy night time preformance.
Anyway, keep in mind I'm no expert, and just doing some speculating on the sensor.
Hope that helps.
Deepspace1insight wow.No expert? Sure could've fooled me lol.thanks for the insight
You sure does sound more credible than this video. I always say, "If you can't properly use a device, you are just too lazy to properly understand the instructions manual." Not that I am defending cheap the product, I just wanted to hear less "I can't," this is a review for goodness sakes. At the very least, do some research or ask people who may know. Regardless the actual question here is... why is this in my recommended?
Deepspace1insight
m Ok, that was a fun informative comment to read. Thanks.
It doesn't matter what is video storage , the cop cam should be user friendly ,not more works for user to come up with. So he is very smart and knows what he is talking about. You are lacking critical thinking due
What would be a great mini camera ?
I never had any problems - I bought it yesterday and it has done as advertised. I wonder if James pre-charged it and/or read the instructions correctly. I am not sure this is a fair review but time will tell. The ST card came out because the press button is ON the side not the top (check out the writing). The charging process is NOT confusing. It says in the instructions that the computer charging means it won't record...but it will record when plugged into the wall. It is definitely all in the instructions. The machine stopped recorded because it was not pre-charged.
Thanks for sharing this with us...!
You saved me from getting ripped off...!
Have a great day and be blessed.
You are a much needed service. Thanks for all the reviews! Grateful.
Thanks James, The Black turned purple during the day, and you seemed to become clean shaven during night filming. Very weird. I am looking for a decent priced cam. But it wont be that one. Be safe
I think you just happened to get a bad one. My wife came home with one of these and SHE quickly figured out how to turn it on, charge it. I added a bigger SD card (16GB) and she has been using it during her 30 mile drive to and from work for the last 2 days and it has worked perfectly. I also had to use Windows Media Player to view the video clips, but the color on them was awesome, and the motion sensor worked perfect. She is going to keep using it until the battery finally dies. But I was impressed that, even though she never turned it off during the day at work, its still going. When her car was parked, the video recording would stop until there was motion detected. I agree, the instructions sucked about the timestamp. It uses the wrokd date to NAME the video clips, but for some reason the timestamp recorded IN the video frames just started working correctly. I have no idea why. I liked it so much, I am going to buy one for myself to play with. . Thanks for your video.
You can find this camera in a million brand variations and they all suck just like this one. Same junk different packaging.
Yeah, except that "As Seen On TV" sticker bumped the price up about $30.
I wish I could answer that in the affirmative. I've spent way too much on small covert cams and junk is practically a trademark. Too many hit-and-miss recordings and unpredictable motion capture. If they were smaller, more portable, and weatherproof, I'd almost rather use a dashcam. At least the technology is more honest and constantly improving.
Robin Campbell you are right!
James, thankyou for doing a review of the cop cam. Even though nearly 4yrs have past since your review you saved a pensioner from wasting 50 precious dollars on a product I wouldn't now buy even if it were 2 dollars. Thanks again, I'm now a subscriber of your RUclips channel.👍😊
Can you look into the SQ11 mini camera. The cop cam is a variant of the SQ11. The SQ11 can be found on Amazon for $15. It also can be used as a webcam/dash cam?
For the date try this:
Connect the mini video camera to the computer. Setting the time is done by creating a text file named «TIMERSET.txt» in the root directory of the device's memory card, with the following content:
«YYYYMMDDHHMMSS» «Y» (or «N», if you do not want the date and time stamp displayed on video files)
For example, «20170625140003 Y»
After saving the file, disconnect the video camera from the computer and turn it on.
I have one of these mini cameras, not this specific cop cam brand, and the thing I never understood about that text file is what good is it if you only use the camera occasionally instead of leaving it on constantly.
I haven't even tried to use mine in months so I'm guessing next time I go to use it it will say it's some random date and time from months ago.
I have that exact camera and it works okay. Daytime image quality up close is surprisingly good. Up close about 10 feet.
Almost bought this. Thanks for the review.
Yeah me too
Thanks for the info almost bought one.
Always love ur reviews but this was fantastic.....if it's ever sold in Ireland, won't buy it!!!! Great video & was super seeing so much of Bailey ❤️
Unfortunately, I purchased this BEFORE watching your review... You are spot on James! You highlighted all the same issues I've experienced...
Just an SQ11 cube camera from china, I have one myself (the SQ11, not this cop cam version) and tried it out recently, it's not too bad so long as you're expecting it to be pretty rubbish. I've stuck an IR cut filter over the lens of mine though as the stock lens has no IR cut hence why things look purpley-red...
I bought a couple SQ11, months ago, 10 usd each on Bangood. Poor to lousy battery life, confusing interface, date stamp has to be edited each time its used (it doesn't remember time otherwise). Royal pita to use. Can't figure out how to use it as a regular wired-in security cam. If it worked as a wired-in security can it might be worth it though. Not recommended.
@@garywheeler7039 I bought some about 2 or 3 years ago. 32gb max for sd card. Records good in day time. Terrible at night. Constant power will allow it to record longer and it does loop recording. Won't recommend using as security camera as it does not do good beyond 10-15 feet.
OMG. Thanks, James! I had the same issue you had when attempting to view recorded footage...I gave up and stuck the CopCam in a drawer for several years. Today I attempted to use it, and I was lucky enough to find your video, explaining the major flaws in this gadget. It's awful. Worst of all, it's totally unreliable for the main purpose it's designed for by turning itself off at random. Anyways, I appreciate you for taking the time to review the CopCam. Mine is headed to the Goodwill! lol
Saw their ad earlier today, and I was like there's no way it's going to be that good for that price.
This is really funny dude, I'm at the shop at the moment and I wanted to buy this camera, exactly the same camera, but I did a search and found your review, so I took the time and watched your review. Actually I decided not to buy it. Well I bought a $68 one, which is - I really hope - a bit better.
Thanks for that correct review! 👋
DodoBenny I’m standing in line to be checked out , seen this plus your comment and put it back lol
Which one did you buy. Does it work better that cop cam
This review is crazy good. Got this as a Xmas present and you basically did everything I wanted to do to 'vet' this little cam. THANK YOU! Subscribed!
Geez! Love at first sight
Today was my first day using it. I found it very jumpy when walking. It worked a lot better outside than inside. I was able to take photos after seeing the green light come on. I took them one by one, and they did show up in a photos folder on my laptop. As for the video player, I use VLC which read the .avi files flawlessly plus many other file types. Thanks for the review. I'm gonna look at others as well and try to learn as much as I can about this. Thanks, also, for clearing up my confusion about the inaccurate time stamp and date. That is definitely a big negative.
The night version makes you look like one of the dudes on “I AM LEGEND” 😂
Your review made me CRACK THE FUCK UP !!!!!!
Oh my god, you look super scary in the dark on the cop cam. Nightmare fuel @ 13:26
So, let me get this straight. It’s marketed as a security camera but has a very, very narrow field of view, poor picture quality, no real night vision or IR no battery life and to top it all off, it also has horrible CMOS tearing. What a complete scam. That thing probably has a total cost of not even $5 from China. Somebody’s making bank on these...
This demonstrates why real cameras like the Arlo or even Blink cost so much more.
Good god $5 dollars....no way! Maybe maybe a $1 dollar and that is pushing it. I am aware of the sd card but its a china card and it by itself is produced for Penneys.
Phlop Alopagus You have to figure the box, cable and plastic casing (though that likely is just a variation of a standard mold) into the cost. In parts just for the camera it would be around the 2-3 range with the battery and microSD the most expensive components at around a dollar each. They have to have some sort of “custom” casing for the camera as well as packaging however, for this type of “as seen on tv” product which adds to the cost. The sensor itself is likely peanuts as it looks to be a 640x480 sensor upscaled with a basic camera chip that just only saves when large changes are detected. Landed, in bulk, I would expect a cost in the 5-10 range. If they’re any more then that landed, even with the SD card, somethings wrong.
Alexlfm you get what you pay for 😑
I got one. It's not as bad as people say. I do think a lot of the issues are "use related" ones. Night vision does suck as it glares off of glass if you're using it as a security camera in a house looking outside. As a dash cam it's pretty good. Battery life sucks but that can be circumvented by plugging it into a power source so it won't die. The real negative is how it records. 3-5 minutes loops and can only support up to 32 gigs. In a hour you can fill up the 8 gig card that comes with it.
This is literally an off the shelf rebadge of the SQ11 Chinese Cubecam, you can get it for 5 dollars on aliexpress and it's the original, just as good product ( i have one)
You did a great job explaining everything and now I am set to do 30 minute video clips with jumpy vision with coloration that makes black look purple and not to mention the lack of view which is less than 140 degrees
James your the best! Keep these coming!
Thanks for this video. I was just about to purchase this camera, but decided to watch this first. Yes, its only 20 bucks, but all your 20 bucks will do is give you 50 dollars worth of headaches. Would rather spend more to get a product that will do what it's supposed to. The black shirt thing was the final nail in the coffin for me. So when the officer asked you for a description, and you tell them it was a guy with a purple shirt.....? yeah, not for me.
Your first test failed to turn on camera when the Micro chip fell out...you did not seem to rehit the "4" button again. Also, cop cam works on a 24/7 loop. Mine works pretty well; I do get the nighttime purple hues when the lights are on in the house...in the dark, I can see white teeth and glowing eyes from 7' away...too close for my comfort! LOL! In the daytime, I get up to 8- 3-6 minute clips. So, about 30 minutes as well. A tree branch or shadow swaying can waste recorder time and space...but it loops...can also loop right over a person or car that you needed to see from the hour before. There are def probs with the cop cam...but if you are stepping out and roommate is stealing your cash or workmate is stealing your food from fridge, it will catch them. I tested mine in two different kitchens, one in the daytime and one at nighttime. I basically caught myself loading the baby in the first 3 cips...then there were clips but nothing in them...might have been the dog and was already out of the frame by the time it turned on to record. Now, that I saw your clips, I think that was the issue. The other kitchen was on Christmas Evening, lights on and dark outdoors, it was pink room with purple cast ppl and the conversation was picked up well, even at 20' away. My family never knew it was on, never saw it on the hutch and after opening gifts, I showed them the camera and they all laughed at the footage. It caught 8 clips at 5-6 minutes each clip. That was with constant motion in the area. I have yet to get the camera to take pictures.
I would give this cop cam 3 stars for a dorm room or office area to catch the thief in the act up close and quick trip away from home, but zero stars for a long-lasting issue that needs constant surveillance. I have deer cameras that cost as much that do both video and pictures, I have better night infra red results and the video and photos are really good! No sound on mine however. They are larger and bulky but the batteries last for months!
The USB cards are an easier upload. My Cuddeback is my favorite...I've caught several window peepers and I didn't go easy on them! When accusing someone, get PROOF! I love watching them lie themselves into a corner before you whip out the USB card! YES!!! I keep one on every corner of every buildng I own and drive way. They give warning when the bright flash of the one by my window goes off...that is the last defense camera...letting an intruder know, at least ONE camera just took their photo while rest were on infra-red. I've caught farmers tearing up my land and much more. You'd be surprised what happens on a dead end road! LOL! Oh the dirty secrets revealed each time I would upload my camera USB-- some things just can not be unseen. Protection and defensive action -- works!
Demon James!
Great video, got good info 👍 hey got a question do you have a option that works?
Good review but I wouldn't buy it
Good call. I think that's the point: it is a piece of junk. Thank goodness for James.
you don't word that right. shouldn't that be, 'Good review, it made me conclude that I better not buy it' (or something along those lines)?
LouisianaLights&SirensCollector hey fellow Louisianian 😊
@@jgw5491 i agree! i as at bed bath beyond and picked this crap up i mean cop cam standing in line i was wondering if it worked well as the line got shorter i was thinking i wished i seen James review first, just in case it didn't work well then it was my turn to pay for the other things i got i decided to not buy thank god because i hate returning stuff i bough. thank you ever time i watch your review i give thanks, you stopped me from making a mistake
@@harrickvharrick3957 That was the same thing I was thinking lol. Wording is everything. Like you said "you don't word that right." Shouldn't that be "you didn't word that right." (or something along those lines)?
Thank you so much for the review. Did you test any mini and worth Dash cam ? Thank you again.
I hate to see such wasteful packaging
Agreed, it wanted to look important but could fit all the stuff in a cigarette pack.
It's waste, unnecessary garbage. No one's crying except the planet we're burying in trash.
Yes, packaging is just a little plastic and cardboard… but when you multiply that by the billions of products being sold around the world, it adds up. Every manufacturer should make an effort to reduce the amount of packaging used for their products. Remember, we don't inherit this planet from our parents, we borrow it from our children.
That package is mostly air and if it was much smaller the retailers would have shoplifters slipping it into their pockets.
@Josh Check out how much plastic is in our oceans before thinking that next time.
I have the same thing... got it about a year ago and it was confusing for me too lol! And knowing how it was orientated the video when it did work was upside down on one test. Glad to know I was not the only one to have had problems with this or thought it was confusing
Honestly, I think you're being way too generous on this product, especially with the video quality. In addition, what's up with the excessive amount of packaging for such a tiny product? lol
To prevent people from stealing it! 😁
Thank you for sharing this video, it really helps to know that this camera doesn't work well at all. My husband got one for Christmas and we will be taking it back .
You should do the commercial then do the review :P I never heard of this thing
That's a great idea, I wish he would show the commercials for the items first but he may not be able to due to copyright laws, I'm not sure.
@@Kitty-Marks Mike jevens does.
That would be cool. Or maybe even just a clip of the commercial?
I saw this thing in Walmart today for $39.99...
@@RodricKing Jesus
Great video. I was going to buy a couple and I changed my mind after watching your video. I think you are a very honest man. Thank you for your video.
I've said it once and I'll keep saying it. Everytime I get ready to purchase something I look to your channel
to see if it's been reviewed and again I get slapped back into reality of " don't buy it" or " buy it" ..thank you for always fully testing the products.
Thanks for that very good review. You really put it through its paces. I saw it on TV yesterday and actually went onto their site to look closer at it last night but thankfully held off buying. It fails in so many areas. The footage of you at night was a disaster - it didn't look like you in the least! The daytime coloring didn't bother me and still could be used as evidence. But without a current time stamp, well, the cops would not accept it. I once had a very small camera I bought from a spy camera store, was supposed to film for two continuous hours. The most was 25 mins - around the same as the copcam. That was for the first few times. Thereafter, it would film for about 10 minutes before closing down with a dead battery. I ended up tossing it.
😔 Darn I had such high hopes 😏Thank you dearly for saving me the headache 💜
✌️
Thanks for the video - you were tone was very balanced. I just got one (11-2019) and there are two versions - yours is earlier. Now the button and SD are on the sides - yours was on the top. Windows didn't like the SD and wanted to format it and I did. Using Win 7 and the default player is Media Player - no problem there. Charging: Computer blinks red/green AND CAN NOT RECORD/FUNCTION however it can be used as a SD reader. Wall plug blinks red AND CAN SIMULTANEOUSLY RECORD/FUNCTION wile charging (and nun indefinitely). The still camera works - 2 second push to toggle in and out (green light blinks when the still is taken). Files are now in a DCIM folder. Time can be set and date stamp on/off - I figured it out myself (no searches found it): In the root directory, there is a "time set" .TXT file Data:24
Month:11
Year:2019
Hour:16
Minute:55
Second:00
Need time stamp?(Y/N):Y
Edit and save this file to the same SD, install with the camera power off, turn on the camera at you edited time - done. I got mine with a coupon for $26 - it is what it is...
I am so glad I came across your Channel I wanted one of these cop cams so bad I could not stand it thank you again for doing this video . I have real bad anger issues and I believe if I bought this and it did not work as much as I want something like this I would have probably took a bulldozer and bulldoze down my house and everybody else's in the neighborhood . Again I would like to thank you .
Junk
Thank you for your review! You saved me money! Please keep the reviews coming!
Also going to new jersey and while I am there I might pay a visit to see if this company really exists and if they do I will take my cop cam and stick it up there a..
Millenniumforce 🔥
Millenniumforce omg
Millenniumforce what's going on! I'm a big fan.
Millenniumforce z.
If you notice, a lot of infomercial products are all coming from 2 Bridge road In Fairfield NJ. Funny thing is I grew up and lived down the street from here,lol. I always make it a point to look at the he address on the commercial I’m boringly watching at the time,lol
Thanks for the review bro. I was so close to buying one. Awesome video.
13:19 to 14:13 Damn you look like Thanos out of Avengers.
Hello, thanks for your review. I thought that this connected to wifi to become a security camera but I'm also like you. Where is the app for this camera that's how you preview the video right? Instead of the computer.
Could you view this through an app?
This can go in your boneyard, pass.
Yep. And stay there forever. This is litteraly trash.
A cop cam add is playing on my tv right now. Glad I did my homework. Will be saving my money, thanks.
I just bought one but after seeing this, I am bringing it back. Thank you for your help.
You know that's really not fair oh, I was going to say the same thing. Excuse me, I have to go back to Walmart to get my money back!
Apparently the company that built these "Crap Cam's" didn't do a lot of R & D and to get rid of them, they're selling them at a price that they believe is too tempting to refuse... Your presentation was TOP NOTCH - thanks... It's too bad that the Cam is not that reliable since the visual quality for such a low priced item wouldn't really effect whether I would buy one or not... But all the other negative things - time stamp - unreliability - and charging - erase the only positive thing that stands out - the high definition camera... If the Cam could be connected to a laptop and live video seen on the laptop could be used to setup the position of the cam and the time stamp could be updated or turned off and the motion detector would work 100%, then the $40 price would probably be $100 or more... Once again thanks for the review...
You paid $40 for 8GB memory card
I paid 54.10 i got audio no video
Should've seen your review before buying one. I wanted to get one to use overnight to watch over my carport. Didn't realize how poor the range is for night-vision, and the carport light being on doesn't help at all either, just makes it nothing but bright purple instead of black. Can't even see the cars.
Daytime it records well enough though. I was able to view the videos through VLC Media Player, if you're curious.
Early todayy, You look like a vampire with nightvision on
Dude you done a AWESOME job explaining this cop cam. Thank you sir!!!👍👍👍
this is basically a total failure across the board, whats this thing even MEANT to be used for?
You can't expect much from an $8.99 camera!
@steve c I don't understand why they are selling it for 40 dollars.
PROFIT!
ascendence it’s the perfect camera for fools who believe the commercial and want to waste $40
In the commercial it was used as a nanny cam and something to go jogging with
Great review! Can anyone suggest another mini cam that actually works like it is supposed to?TY
This was just released in Australia. Thanks so much for saving me my hard earned money.. .
You're a very nice guy.
You told all truth even while showing respect for the product at the same time.
Keep it up, my brother. Thank you.
I care about the environment. Look at the packaging around the product it's 80% waste.
This kind of packaging is designed to grab store shelf space making it more appealing to the eye while wasting resources.
I hear ya. There should be a box blowing around my front yard any day now.
I was also Disturbed by the amount of packaging!
The cameras themselves are garbage too.
@@cjbnoland7036 All that packaging is to prevent shoplifting.
Just recycle it, problem solved.
Big package for tiny camera, I got this cam; 1080p video is awesome, motion detection works just for furst 5 minutes recording, camera shots down, so we need to set the motion once again. The night vision doesn't work, it's good for simple recording and snap pictures, the price is awesome. You can edit the time stamp, by editing a text file on your PC.
The time stamp may be changed in a file on the SDCard, look in the rout directory with a usb cable attached to the camera to the computer, see if there are any files look at all files with a text editor and see if any have a time and date that you change to the correct time and date. Also there may be other setting you can change like the amount of time you can record each video segment. My friend bought a cheap Chinese dash cam that work this way you had to set the time and date, also other settings on a file on the SDCard but it explained how to do it in the instructions also anyone thinking about buying this thing and you were misled by there faults advertising saying it’s wireless well it’s not truly wireless no WiFi but I guess since it’s rechargeable i guess you can kind of say it’s wireless but the correct term would be cordless not wireless! Another issue with these cheap cameras is the included SDCard are junk the one that cam with my friend dash cam failed within a couple of days and he needed to replace it!
No wonder they were on Clearance BEFORE Christmas! Started out at $40, Clearance for $20! I’m glad I saw this before I wasted my money!
Had to sub to your channel! Good stuff!
Thanks James. Reminded of 'let the buyer beware'. Glad I watched your thorough presentation and saved myself Aus$80.
10 in california
I hope it's not uncool to post 2-3 years after the review. I bought one at Walmart for $40. I had some of the same problems as James. but for me it's ok. I glued it to a led-head-flashlight and use it to record my DIY projects. The video quality is good enough. I was able to modify a "time set.txt" file to adjust/set/turn off the time caption. I used it while driving in the car and it worked fine as a dash-cam. (purple hue was fine). It recorded for 30 minutes (6 x 5 minute snippets) before I turned it off. No problems with heat. For my purposes (video recording my DIY projects on a head-mounted flashlight) it works perfectly. This is a hobbiest cam - not a professional security cam. ALSO - I paid $40, but I think it's only worth $15-$20.
All in all I would say this Cop Cam is a piece of junk.
Thanks for the heads up on the cop cam . I was wondering if it was worth getting.
You did a good job in reviewing this proto-type video cam that im sure not going buy until they ever decide to improve it (which i think they never should of marketed it)
... get your refund ,people!
Was thinking about buying this at Bed Bath and Beyond, just simply to see how my little Shih Tzu handled me being gone, while being housed in her den or cage, only when I have to leave home. You just saved me the hassle of having to return it.
Love how misleading the name is, they're trying to get people to think that these are the cameras police use.
So glad I checked this out. Saved me some money. Keep up the good work!
I think given this and the dash cam you reviewed a while back, the conclusion is that you should never buy an As Seen On TV camera