ScopeAround Otoscope

This is an Otoscope, or 'Ear Camera'. The last one I had plugged into my phone and it was fine, but the far-eastern software via an app was always a bit clunky even though the resulting snaps/video were OK - but eventually, it started not focusing properly and began a pain to fiddle with to get any usable shots.

This time, I thought I'd seek out something a little different, in the form of a stand-alone machine (What? No App?!) with its own screen, software, battery and memory. Enter the ScopeAround! Sounds like a Hollywood protocol! It's RRP is about £60 but as I write, it's £47.99 with a 20% at AmazonUK at least, and a 10% Promo Code, making it under £35. (That's my Amazon affiliate link - thanks in advance.)

The idea with an Otoscope is that you shove the wand in your ear, this time, thankfully, with some black 'cones' to avoid any eardrum disasters (my last one didn't have these) and a lethal-looking 'earwax remover' (which my last one did and I never used). You stick the 'silicone ear spoon' on the end of the wand instead of a cone, stick it down your ear canal, scoop out any wax and hope to blazes that you don't go too near the delicate eardrum. Eeek. I'd strongly advise against using this and to find other ways to get rid of wax. In fact, chuck it away! But maybe I'm overcautious.

The end of the wand has 6 LED white lights and do a good job lighting up the canal so that you can take photos/video with the 3.9mm tip/camera (which I reckon is small enough for most human ears, even small ones). With the cone in place, it's much easier than my last one to get the distance right for good focus - well, for my ears, anyway!

I did wonder about the 2.8" 720p LCD screen, being like going back 20 years to a Nokia dumbphone, but it's really fine for the intended purpose. Of course, if you compare it to another device's modern 2k/4k screen it's going to look a bit crap - but really, it's fine for what it's used for. It's sharp enough and gives enough detail to take a half-decent photo/video to send to a doctor - or just look and make sense of what's going on in there!

It's not just for ears, of course. You can poke the thing in anywhere you fancy! Other bodily cavities (the mind boggles!) like nose or mouth to see what might be going on there too. You can then use it without the cone in place, so where there's no eardrum danger, it's even easier to handle/manage. I guess if you have a cat or dog you want to use it on, that could be useful (to potentially avoid vet bills!) if you can get the blighter to sit still and comply!

It comes in a box with various accessories. The cones, a lanyard, USB-C to USB-A cable, the otoscope with a USB-C cable attached, some cleaning buds and alcoholic wipes, various books and manuals (yes, in English!) and a magnetic 'stand' to place the screen unit at an angle facing the user on a desk (which actually works nicely).

The battery inside the unit is apparently 1,200mAh which, driving that lower-res screen seems to have an excellent life for occasional use - when I go back to it, weeks later, it never seems to have depleted at all and I have never charged it out of the box! I have, however, purposely put it on today and left the screen on - and it seems to have lasted and two and a half hours. But nobody's going to use it like that! If you plug it into a PC it charges it, as well as any other plug you might have for the USB-A end. There's no charger in the box.

Talking of which, plugging it into (my Windows 11) PC (at least) invokes an immediate auto-response with a Windows Explorer window popping up, showing the two folders on the unit's built-in storage, Photo and Video. From there you can do what you like with the files. The photos are JPGs and the video, avi formats, resulting in 1080p output (thus defying the screen's resolution)!

There's a built-in clock/date function but I can't really see anyone needing that, and a load of buttons on the top edge to control what one is doing. The pink, left one is to switch between video and photo, far-right for power on/off, then there's a settings button, left and right navigation buttons for the menus and an OK/execute button. All very simple and straightforward to use with the onboard system software.

It all works very nicely for the money involved. We'll see how long it lasts, as with the last one, but it seems to be made of sturdy plastic, doesn't rely on some dreadful app to function, does what it says it does on the tin and allows me to keep a close eye on my wonky ear! I won't show you photos of that, especially before a meal! Recommended. Oh, and did I mention? No apps!