WHeeee, it's arrived!
Installation on XP was a bit unsettling as a microsoft popup appears telling you it's not been windows logo tested, and that Microsoft strongly recommend I don't install it! But it seemed to install cleanly, the laptop hasn't crashed, and it works fine - just like a webcam.
On linux (Fedoras 12 & 14) , I just plugged it in and opened 'cheese' and there it was! It does work, but it's not much use as a video camera on these systems as it's too slow by far, refreshing maybe three or four times a second. That may be because I don't have optimal drivers, or it may just be a reflection of that fact they are very low power machines, powered by an 'atom' CPU.
First impressions are that it feels surprisingly well made for the price. The shaft is bendy enough to twist into any shape you want, but perhaps a little stiffer than I'd hoped for. It would not, for example, be capable of following the path of a pipe with a bend in it.
TBH, picture quality is probably at the low end of my expectations. It needs a lot of light for a good picture, and the LEDs are rather pathetic. They'll illuminate an object like a screw when you are right beside it, but anything beyond a few cm just disappears into the gloom. In good light, it'll focus quite well up to a foot or two, beyond which it's decidedly sub-optimal. That doesn't worry me, as I mainly wanted it for closeups of inaccessible areas such as wall cavities, but I think it may disappoint (quite a lot actually) if you plan to use it as a webcam/spycam.
It has another restriction for using as a general purpose webcam, and that is that you really don't know what the orientation of the image will be until you look at the screen.
I'm glad I bought it though. I think it's a reasonable gadget for the price of a take-away meal (I have a big appetite). I've already retrieved that lost magnet that rolled under a Hi-Fi cabinet a few weeks ago, and I'm sure it'll come in useful again. I'm not sure it'll help much with the dishwasher plumbing (too dark, and too big an area), but I may give it a go later.
- 7LM