Review: Uncle Milton Pet’s Eye View Camera

Written on Dec 13, 2008 by Brian and filed under Reviews, Uncle Milton

Most pet owners have wondered at one point in time or another what life looks like from their pet’s perspective. We also often think about what our pet does throughout the day. The Pet’s Eye View Camera from Uncle Milton is designed to give families such insight with a clip-on camera that takes photos at set intervals. 

The camera has a .3MP (640×480 resolution) sensor that operates at a fixed ISO of 100. There’s enough memory embedded in the unit to store 40 pictures. The pictures can be set to intervals of one minute, five minutes, or 15 minutes. The camera is powered by an internal battery that is charged via USB cable, which is included. Incidentally, the cable uses a proprietary connector to the camera instead of the ubiquitous mini USB, so if you lose the cable you’ll have to buy another from Uncle Milton. The same cable connects the camera to a PC to pictures may be removed from the device. When you’re ready to use the camera, it attaches to a pet collar with a little clip on the back.

Setting up the camera can be a bit tricky, as the tiny screen located under the clip and the two buttons are a little difficult to work with. It’s also hard to tell when the camera is on. While there’s a light on the front, if you’re looking at the display to try to adjust the timer settings or see how many pictures are stored on the camera, it’s not real intuitive to have to keep flipping the unit over.

Once you’re set up though, it’s a simple matter of attaching the camera to your pet’s collar. I say simple a little tongue in cheek. We found most larger dogs didn’t even notice the unit, but some smaller dogs and cats tried to get it off right away. We found two good dog testers; though your success will depend on the animal you’re working with.

It’s pretty fun to watch your pet walking around, knowing they’re capturing images. The only problem though is that the images just aren’t that great. Of the several batches of 40 we took, only about 5% were very good and not many were great. The pet has to sit still for a good picture and you need high light levels. You’ll notice a bunch of pictures of the floor and several pet eye-level shots, but most will be blurry and indistinguishable. Here are a few of our better shots:

 

That’s not to say this isn’t a fun device though. Kids enjoyed being able to see what their pet had been up to during the day. They especially loved the few instances where their pet caught the family, mostly legs and feet in the case of our dachshund. For best performance use the camera during the day or outside when it’s clear. 

Bottom Line

For the retail price of $40, we can see how some families will get enough value out of the camera to justify the price. But the pictures just aren’t very good and the ones that are can be interesting, but they’re not generally something you’re going to want to frame. We really like the concept but are holding out for a better integrated camera before recommending the Pet’s Eye View.

2.5 out of 5 stars

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