Swann Pencam

Doing the knowledge I came up with the idea of filming my routes as a study aid. I stuck This in my pocket and press the top and off I went. I've used this pen around shopping centres and found the mic gain vewry high for normal chat. This was rectified by a few software programs and is well able to do the job I need it for. At high speeds the usual wobble or distortion is present but ive seen this on much more expensive brands that are HD. Works for me. Great price. Though it must be said that it is confusing when it comes to operating. The orange flickering light on the back is suppose to be a sign for charging, constant blue recording, constant orange and blue means storing. Got to remember whats what with this. I'm gonna see if I can get a pen mount and mount it on the knowledge board. Also, it is good to have evidence for any motorcycle accidents. I can suggest that any london cyclist could use this the same way. Operational use is 2 hours 2gb.

The Swann PenCam is a tiny colour video camera housed in a ball-point pen. The device produces AVI files: 352x288 video at 12 frames per second and mono audio in PCM format at 8000Hz/128kbs - these figures courtesy G-Spot. Right now the Swann PenCam costs £59.99 at Maplin.

For this sort of money the Swann PenCam produces very acceptable results - albeit in low-lighting conditions, like indoors, performance is not so hot. Moreover, the audio is usually out-of-synch with the video. Additionally, as is often the case with devices such as this, the gain on the built-in microphone is rather high, meaning that, on playback, the voice of the person with the PenCam in his/her breast pocket could be slightly too loud. High background noise could also be a problem. But in the typical office or domestic environment other people's voices are recorded well enough.

All the same, by using a video editing program like Serif Movie Plus or Sony Vegas, brightness, contrast and audio levels can easily be adjusted to make movies that are ideal for evidential purposes. Whereas you can produce better audio tracks by recording audio separately on the likes of a pocket dictaphone (like those from Olympus) and synching it up to the video later during editing. All you need to do at the start of a recording is to snap your fingers in front of the PenCam. This acts as a clapperboard and makes the synching process much easier. Then it's simply a matter of importing the separately-recorded audio file into Movie Plus or Vegas, de-linking the AVI audio from the video, popping in the new audio and dragging it about a bit until just right.

So, while a more expensive device may produce better results, I reckon that at only £59.99 the Swann PenCam is a pretty good buy for anyone who needs to make secret videos for serious reasons, is an avid YouTuber, or simply wishes to have fun at parties.

And lest you're wondering Yes! The Swann PenCam does in fact write like an ordinary pen. Three ink refills are included in the box.

You can check out the Swann PenCam at these URLs:

http://www.swannsecurity.com/s/products/view/?product=761

http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?moduleno=226766

Also - I must stress that, although as of 28/08/2009 Maplin is quoting 25 frames per second for this device, Swann's PenCam really works at only 12 frames per second. Obviously Mr Maplin has made a wee mishtake with the tech spec here.