Defender STEALTH1 Covert MPEG4 DVR Recording System with Built-in Color Pinhole Surveillance Camera Hidden in a Motion Sensor

This recorder is pretty decent - I just have a few complaints. It has no sound (which I knew when I bought it) but still, that should be a VERY easy thing to add. Secondly, it doesn't come preset to record on the highest resoulution, and I have no idea how much time is able to be recorded at the highest resolution. The manual covers lower resolutions, but not higher ones. Finally, while the manual was decent and the interface to configure options not bad, it seems like $200 for this thing is a little much.

The Defender recorder does a decent job as long as you plan to plug it in for power. Just don't plan on using battery power, or you will be changing them every two days. The only real functional quirk I've run into is that to check the video, I need to unplug it from the power (obvious) to take it over to the TV. But if it is turned off (or unplugged) while recording, the manual says some video can be corrupted. Yet as you approach it, it will turn on from motion detection (sort of an awkward catch 22). Anyway, I can live with that I think, just something to be aware of. What really sucked is that I paid for upgraded premium shipping, but the vendor (JUSTBUYITHERE) took two weeks to ship. I selected the vendor, because they were near by my Southern California location. I thought paying extra for priority shipping meant I would have it in two or three days, but I didn't receive the item for over two weeks. They did ship priority mail, just not for over a week! Some vendors get it and some just don't. All I can say is "JUSTBUYITHERE" just BLOWS! I won't be doing any further business with them, and I recommend you don't.

Works well, pictures and video are very clear. Battery life is short if there is a lot of video taken. Pluggin it in with included ac adapter solves this problem. However this then makes it more conspicious. Make sure to put this is a location that is hard to reach. If someone figures out what it is it can just be stolen and all the incriminating video with it.

John

that the programming is a little clunky.

Why four stars -- The unit delivers good quality images and if you set the motion detection level correctly you can get a lot of time coverage on the included memory card. Bought the unit specifically to monitor a location based on movement in that area. Unit has performed flawlessly.

How it could earn a fifth star -- the programming is a little complicated but manageable with some patience. As remarked by others the manual could be written a little more helpfully. The biggest issue (for me) is that you have to rely on an external monitor to program the settings. This means that either you have a portable tv to connect at the location you are placing it or that you have to program it where your monitor is. If you do the latter you place it at the location and do some testing to determine whether the settings are working as desired. This is done by removing the memory card, downloading the images to a computer and viewing how it is recording.

A small thing that would get it an additional half star would be if the mounting bracket had two ball joints instead of one which would give it a little more flexibility in adjustment the way in which the unit can be angled from its bracket.

I have been playing with this video camera for two weeks and I have some thoughts:

PROS- Good look from the front as far as being covert. Looks like a traditional motion detector to most people. Really good picture from about 3 feet away to 6 feet, then gets a little blury but still okay, not bad, still on the pro side of this story. Removeable card is handy if you do a permanent install. Has a mount on the back that I want to try soon.

CONS - Battery drain is quick! You will need to use the AC for recording. Batteries are just for when you are moving it around. Lights on the back cannont be disabled, I put white electrical tape over them. Need a large data card to get decent video storage, I guess this really depends on your application but the included card was too small for me.

Overall, I was satisfied for the $200 price.