(Latest Gen)PatrolMaster 1296P UHD Body Camera with Audio (build-in 64GB), 2 Inch Display, Night Vision, Waterproof, Shockproof, Body Worn Camera…

After having played around with this thing for a month, I must say I am very happy with my decision to buy this. Quite a few different selections out there in this price range and I ultimately decided to get this particular device based on the reviews. I picked up this bodycam as I work in a private security patrol unit in a major metropolitan area. The job has me going to some pretty sketchy places and dealing with some sketchy people so I wanted something to cover my rear in case I have to take action at a property.

Very first thing I noticed when I took it out of the box was how solid the unit felt. There was no creaking, no rattling, no shaking, nothing. I’ve messed around with some coworkers’ body cameras (from other manufacturers) before and most felt very cheap and fragile. Not the case here. It came with everything you needed to get it up and running: two types of clips, a data/charging cable, wall charger, and the paperwork needed to set it up. Admittedly I found the instructions somewhat confusing as they looked like they were written in another language and then tossed into a translator. Nevertheless, I was able to figure out the basic controls and then work through the remainder of the settings on my own. Some of my favorite features are the auto switching between daytime and night modes (off by default) and the pre-record function that attaches the previous 15 seconds of footage before you push the button to the video file. Very important feature to help provide some context to an incident prior to you starting to record. I would have loved to have had 30 seconds of pre-recording instead of 15 but that’s just a me thing. The cool thing that I was not expecting is the pre-recorded footage also has sound for the duration of those 15 seconds, unlike some police-grade cameras you’ll see out there that will only pre-record video without sound.

The auto-switch between day and night modes has been working very well so far. Only thing is that the camera emits a noticeable click when it switches. Not really a deal breaker but working nights like I do and going back and forth between lit areas and dark areas, it can get a little annoying after a while. There are several video quality settings to choose from as well. I find myself running it on the 1080p30fps setting most often. I feel like this provides the best balance between video quality and file size. It’s not a professional grade recording device by any stretch of the imagination but will do just fine in the majority of situations I could possibly think of encountering. One thing I was particularly worried about was the battery life of this unit. I am happy to say that by running it on standby for an 8-hour shift (on and pre-recording, not actively recording footage), I still have a good two-thirds of my battery left at the end. I still charge it up after every use but could easily see this lasting two or three shifts before needing to be recharged. Speaking of which, it charges easily and relatively quickly using the included cable and wall adapter. That being said, I usually set it to charge before going to bed after a shift and have yet to run the battery down to empty so I can’t really comment on how long it takes to juice it back up. All I know is that it’s ready to go when I wake up again and that’s all I really care about.

The clips were another point of concern for me when looking at all the different options out there. The connection point turned out to be pretty solid, with no movement between the camera and the clip when properly secured. The only issue I have with this mounting system is that the clips slide into a plastic bracket that is molded into the casing of the camera. If something happens and it snaps off, there is no way that the user would be able to replace or repair that bracket. I would have loved to see a mounting system that screws into the back or something else that could easily be replaced if broken off but no joy. I haven’t had any issues with it so far though so hopefully it stays that way.

The last thing I wanted to touch on was the display and controls. Although it is advertised as a one-touch system for the buttons, I found that double-pressing them tends to work a lot more reliably that a single press. Another issue I ran into was then when going through the menus to play back footage on the camera itself, it can sometimes start recording during that process. Somewhat annoying and I have had to basically power the unit down and then back up after playing recorded video just to make sure no weird stuff happens. It’s a rare occurrence that I’m playing video back on the camera (I usually download the footage to my computer before viewing it) but something worth noting. After the restart, everything seems to work just fine.

All in all, it’s a solid choice if you’re in the market for an affordable body camera. If you’re looking to use this to record action sports or something, I would look elsewhere. For more professional applications, this is a great unit. I’m hoping I’ll get a lot more use out of this but will definitely update this review if anything changes.