MATECam Hidden Camera 1080P Mini SPY U-DISK

This is a very nifty little gadget that is indistinguishable from a normal USB Flash Drive, it comes in a little white box with a flip top lid, 16gig USB card with the option I chose (£32.95 at the time of purchase).

The unit is nice and lightweight, made of a matt black smooth plastic very similar to the type/style used with games console controllers, the front are the camera lens is concealed behind is mirrored, I presume the same technology used in two way mirrors. There is a small plastic button on the opposite side of the card reader slot which controls the unit.

The unit also comes with a little key chain carrying ring and a manual, the manual is fairly simple to follow, to turn it on you hold the button for three seconds and then to start recording you hold the button for a second and a little blue LED flashes three time to indicate you are recording then goes off, a short press stops the recording and after a blue light flashes a red LED indicates it has stopped. For taking a photo it is a quick press on the button.

One thing not very clear in the manual but none the less fairly simple to do is setting the date and time stamp on the unit, when hooked up to your PC to read the contents there is a text file called “TIME” you can open that in notepad or whatever basic text file reader you use, edit the time and date then save it again.

It was time to give it a test, I tried to record a variety of different things to show the record quality of video and audio and was very pleased with the results and have added a very short video to show this, please be aware video quality degrades considerably when uploaded.

• Spy Camera: Really Covert, Just Like a Common USB Disk, Easy To Carry and Use
• Video Resolution: 1920 X 1080 VGA; Image Resolution: 2592 X 1944
• It can record while charging, support up to 64GB micro SD card
• 100% FUNCTIONAL 64GB USB FLASH DRIVE: In addition to being a spy recorder, it also works as a regular USB thumb drive to take all important files with you. Only 20 grams weight. Super portable spy gadget

What I liked
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- Nice simple design
- Light weight
- Can also be used for card reading and storage
- Good quality recording and images
- Simple and easy to understand controls
- No visible camera
- Separates the videos from the photos on your Micro SD card in their own folders

What I Didn’t Like
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- One very minor issue that the way to set the date and time was not clear in the manual but as I say minor and easy to work out.

Summary
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Overall this is a great little gadget, it’s extremely covert, the record quality of video and audio is very clear and the pictures are also very clear, if you need or want a covert recording device I could certainly recommend it. If you have any questions please feel free to ask I will do my best to answer.

Price: £32.95
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MATECam Sports Action Camera 4K Wi-Fi Mini Full HD

Great little camera I am really pleased with it, I already own a GoPro HERO5 Session and have been less than impressed with it, it gets very hot, although it has a scrolling LED display this is extremely awkward to navigate taking several button presses to confirm any option, it has its own power connection instead of using a micro or mini USB which is annoying and no doubt expensive to replace should I lose it and as I wanted another camera there was no way I was going to shell out another £229 for a Hero5.

After having a look around I decided on this and at £65.99 at the time I purchased I didn’t expect it to produce the same quality as my Hero5 but I was wrong, the quality is superb and easily as good as the Hero5 at a fraction of the price, it is compatible with the GoPro fittings I have and very little difference in size.

After reading through the manual and giving the camera a full charge I installed the MATECam app on my iphone 6 (it’s worth noting at this time the app needs the camera to be connected via WiFi to run). The app is very good and has a mass of options and adjustments, I will upload some pictures of the menu system showing these and they are very easy to navigate and adjust mostly being self-explanatory, you don’t need the app to use the camera but as with the Hero5 it makes using it a lot easier.

I was now ready to give the camera a good solid test so strapped it to my cycle helmet and went out for a ride, the recording quality was very clear and crisp and indistinguishable from the footage I get using my Hero5, when I returned I used the handlebar attachment and put it on my daughters scooter and she had a ride round with it again very good footage no noticeable difference from my Hero5. I then added some footage of flying my drone using a head attachment I got in a cheap kit for my Hero5 again very good footage. I wanted to test the waterproof case so decided to give it a test in the bath and it passed with flying colours.

I really like the little stand that comes with the camera clipping into tiny holes in the side and will be adding quite a few pictures showing size comparison between the MATECam and the Hero5.

I have added a video showing footage of my cycle ride, camera on the handle bars of a scooter, filming a drone and the bath test I performed, please note that video footage degrades considerably when uploaded through Amazon’s optimisation system and the original footage is of a far higher quality but hopefully this gives you a good indication of the camera in use.

• Interpolated 4K HD Action Camera. OV4689 CMOS Sensor. X1- Standard Edition Silver
• Built-In WIFI & HDMI, edit & share your action in minutes. Just download App(matecam) on your phone or tablet and connect with this action camera. Then operate or review the images or videos via Android or iOS devices. WiFi signal ranges up to 20 meters.
• 100 Feet(30m) waterproof camera. A water-resistant case allows you to do a deep dive below 30 meters, ready to capture all your details of adventures, interesting selfies and satisfying videos. Ideal for water sport such as swimming, surfing, diving, etc.
• Micro SD Card of Class 10 is Highly Recommended for 4K Action Camera. MATECam Action Camera can add up to 128GB Micro SD Card.
• GUARANTEE.Full money back guarantee from MATCam.

What I liked
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- Creates great quality footage
- Very good MATECam application
- Uses a micro USB charging lead
- Interchangeable with most GoPro fittings
- The price is a fraction of the GoPro price
- Well boxed and presented with a good easy to follow manual
- Comes with a variety of fittings
- Nice and compact
- Option to change the output format

What I Didn’t Like
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- It gets hot, I would have thought this an issue but this does not get anywhere near as hot as the Hero5
- Option to format the micro SD card in the MATECam app is in Chinese, very picky as it’s simple enough to work out with only 2 options to choose from and will no doubt be sorted in an update.

Summary
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First thing I ask myself is why did I spend so much on a Hero5 when this does the same job at just a fraction of the price, it does not have the LED menu on it the Hero5 does but that is more of a novelty than a useful feature as I make most adjustments through the phone app, there is very little difference in size, the recording quality is superb and it even has an option to switch the output format between .mov and .mp4 which is a very useful feature if you use different video editing software. If you have any questions please feel free to ask I will do my best to answer.

Price: £65.99

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