We talked about the new 12v Inspection Camera from DeWalt briefly back in June when we did the DeWalt 12v Max Rundown but we thought it might be a good opportunity to go a little deeper on this unit. As we mentioned before this may potentially be our favorite new 12v DeWalt tool in the lineup. At $299 the DCT410S1 (Amazon.com) is a pretty good deal, although it only comes with (1) 12V Max battery that is plenty to power the camera for a day’s worth of normal use.
Some nice features on this camera are the MicroSD card storage which can easily be removed and put in a smart phone for simple instant sending of information. The detachable monitor however is probably our favorite feature of this new camera. The technology behind it is a radio signal (similar to baby monitoring cameras, we were told) when you walk around it does get pretty staticy but standing still in one spot the image is pretty clear even 15-20’ away. One situation that comes to mind this would have been handy with was inspecting holding tanks where 1 guy would get in but 2 others had to actually see what was going on inside. The monitor itself is recharged off the tool’s battery so as long as you are good about putting it back on the tool it should never run out of juice.
For the professional plumber and many maintenance guys we would still recommend the Ridgid Explorer ($690, Ohio Power Tool) because it does offer the digital self-leveling as well as the ability to use 30’ microDrain ($1685, Ohio Power Tool) or 100’ microReel ($3132, Ohio Power Tool). For general use and other professionals however the DeWalt really could be a nice, inexpensive option for inspection and documenting. All the new DeWalt 12v Max Tools will be hitting the shelves sometime in October. We will be sure to get more information up as we get closer to the launch date.
