ReviewedByPhil

Buy it at Amazon: Door Peephole Doorbell Camera [Affiliate Link]

Takeaway: A basic low-res video camera peephole/doorbell with monitor.

The materials used for the peephole and LCD monitor are mid-grade, about what you'd expect from a low-cost unit. There's a protective film on the LCD so at first it may look hazy, but once you peel it off, the screen is clear. The manual indicates that the unit comes with 3 AAA batteries, but none were in my package, so I bought my own.

Installing this on a door with an existing peephole is straightforward; if you don't have one, you'll have to drill a hole in your door. This camera is only activated when a visitor presses the doorbell button on the unit or if you use the viewing panel on the inside; it does not have a motion detector. Keep in mind that this means that no video will be captured if your visitor uses any other existing doorbell that you may have. A five second video is ONLY captured when someone presses the doorbell button (w/o audio). While you can manually turn on the camera from the inside by pressing any of the buttons, it will be in "view only" mode and does not create a recording. You can also manually activate a 10 second audio recording from the panel (w/o video).

Setting the date and time is easy, but I found that it resets when the battery runs out and when new ones are put in. The LCD panel can store up to 2 GB of data which is a lot since each video file is only 2-3 MB and each audio file is 0.5 MB. When the memory card is full you can format it, but you cannot transfer them to your computer without opening up the viewing panel to remove the memory card. While you can review each recording using the panel, you cannot individually delete them.

This camera/monitor is simple and basic. My main concern would be that the battery will run out and without a normal glass peephole, you might lose the ability to see who is at your door. While reviewing recordings to see who stopped by is nice, you will only know who rang your "doorbell" on the unit. Folks who knock or use a different doorbell will not be recorded as there is no motion sensor. If you want a basic camera/LCD viewer and are on a budget, this unit functions as advertised. A device like this could be more useful with a few additional features, but certainly you would pay more for them.

Buy it at Amazon: Door Peephole Doorbell Camera [Affiliate Link]

Buy it at Amazon: Dispho Locust Series Bluetooth Selfie Stick [Affiliate Link]

Takeaway: Durable, lightweight and compact selfie stick.

Buy it at Amazon: Tonor Professional Line-in Microphone [Affiliate Link]

Takeaway: Functions as a mic for video chat but doesn't sound amazing. Amazon Affiliate Product Link - Tonor Desktop Mic: http://geni.us/0kab Lavalier/Lapel Mic - http://geni.us/mHtWUUz

This microphone doesn't require external power and is plug-and-play using any standard Aux-in port. The body of the microphone is made of plastic with a black and chrome finish. The plastic is lightweight and inexpensive, like something from the Dollar General. While marketed to be a "professional" mic, its weight and feel is decidedly low-end, but you get what you pay for.

It sounds boxy/tinny and the ranges of high and low frequencies are clipped. While the microphone didn't perform well at a distance, it did okay picking up my voice when holding it right in front of my face. Surprisingly, it doesn't pick up a lot of background noise, but there's a noticeable humming/hissing of line noise (static from current), especially when the mic is recording dead air. The product functions as a simple microphone if your goal is to use it for video chat or personal recordings, but this microphone just doesn't fit the bill for professional applications.

Buy it at Amazon: Tonor Professional Line-in Microphone [Affiliate Link]

Buy it at Amazon: Zomei ZM430 Speedlight [Affiliate Link]

Takeaway: Good as a main flash or additional remote lighting, fast response/sync speed, easy to read LCD.

Buy it at Amazon: Friendly Swede Egg Shaped Hand Exercise Rehabilitation Balls [Affiliate Link]

Takeaway: Exercise and strengthen your hands; useful for injury recoveries!!

Buy it at Amazon: Portable Doughnut Humidifier Mist Maker Aeroponics/Fogponics (Unicorntech) [Affiliate Link]

Takeaway: Compact but puts out a decent amount of mist.

This humidifier generates a fine mist using just water and is a stripped down version of a full sized humidifier. It has a built-in timer and will run for either 3 or 6 hours at a time. I typically use humidifiers during the cold dry winter months to add comfort to a dry room and help alleviate dry, itchy skin. I tested this unit in my plant cloning mist chamber that I use for propagating plants, but it wasn't a great fit because it runs for those fixed amounts of time, so I'd have to go and turn it on every so often to continue to generate mist.

The unit is very light weighing in at 1.25 oz. The housing on this is a hard plastic like kids toys. There are three rubber feet on the bottom but I'm not sure how useful they are since this unit is designed to float in water. The USB cable is 45" long which I found to be a tad short, though this really depends on how and where you use it. Note that it does not come with a USB wall charger, but you can use any standard 500 mAh USB adapter, and it can also be powered by your computer or laptop's USB port.

The instructions on the box are in Chinese but you basically just place this in a cup of water. There is a touch sensitive "button" on the opposite side of the doughnut from the wire. Touch it once to set the timer for 3 hours, twice for 6 hours and a third time will turn the unit off. The humidifier does generate mist, though at a fairly low volume. It would take a long time to raise the humidity in a large room, but for close proximity and small rooms it would do okay. Getting it to generate mist can be a little tricky. Make sure not to submerge the doughnut or fill the center of the cavity with water or else no mist will come out. This presented a challenge sometimes as the doughnut doesn't always float horizontally and the wire positioning can tilt and flood the center easily. I also found that the touch-sensitive button sometimes gets triggered by the slightest brush and occasionally by the water if the mineral content is high and thus has higher conductivity. However, once you get it to generate mist, if you leave it alone for the allotted amount of time, it will just continue to run and create mist.

It's not as feature filled as a typical larger humidifier as it lacks a fan and directional control or an "always on" mode. However, you can use whatever sized container you want and are not limited to a fixed capacity. It also has automatic shutoff if there is no water to protect the transducer from damage. But if you're just looking to add a bit of humidity to a dry room with a device that is small, lightweight and portable, this one works pretty well.

Buy it at Amazon: Portable Doughnut Humidifier Mist Maker Aeroponics/Fogponics (Unicorntech) [Affiliate Link]