Can I please get some ideas what brand and what type of equipment I should purchase for video shops? What's the brand of audio equipment for recording conversations you trust? When I bought my first Dell computer I was told the 80486 chip by Intel would last me ten years without having to upgrade.

How much money is recommended for PI style equipment, what is your favorite brand plus are their accessories you can't live without? Appreciate your time thinking about this question.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/06/2016 11:03PM by JasonHunter79.

For the most up-to-date information get in touch ASAP with Dan at Greyhawk Video. He is about to announce a special. Dan is the only purveyor of this equipment that any of us have found who actually does video shopping (And, he does a LOT of it.) So he really understands what is needed and has actually drummed that into the supplier's head so that they have begun to package the stuff we need in one box and we do not have to throw away the useless camera that used to come with the recorder and buy a better one to meet industry standards. ALSO, be sure that you do about 5-6 video shops with equipment loaned by a video MSC. It is NOT for everyone. AND, it tends to be long scenarios where you need to manage complicated back-stories, unique aliases (except for clients where you need to show official ID while on site) and never, ever shopping the same site/sales/associate again. So most video shoppers need to travel once they have been to all the new home communities, car dealerships, assisted living and apartment communities in their immediate area.

See also what Lisa had to say to a similar question yesterday. Like Lisa, I have older models, so Dan is who I would go to if I were in the market now. Fortunately prices have come down. Serious road warriors take TWO full video rigs with extended batteries when they travel. It's fine to start with one, of course.

For audio only, I love my Olympus with a direct usb connector. No messing with cables, just plug and play.

My Olympus bit the dust so I've been using my PV-500 for audio shops and my phone for all other recordings. My first audio after my recorder died was actually a shop for Ellis and I had no clue the PV-500 would record audio only so they had to do some magic on their end.

Thank you Lisa and Wales,

Lisa, what smartphone did you decide on after researching them? I listened to a phone sales rep provide me his view there are only two choices, Samsung 6 and Apple's Iphone 6s. The Phablets look interesting too, which phones do you find fill all your technology needs? Thank you!

The Samsung Galaxy S7 is now the flagship of the Samsung smart phones. It just came onto the market. It returns water resistance and removable storage (present through the S5 and removed from the S6 to make it more Apple-like, which was just stupid), has a screen which can only be scratched by something with a mohs hardness of 7 or more, is bend-proof, and fire-proof (I am not yet sure what that means on a practical basis).

Actually, you can save a lot by going with the Samsung S5. It has superior reviews to the newer Samsung phones, so why not save a lot and go with it. The camera is amazing!

I will NOT "upgrade to the 6 or 7 sinc e the S% is soooo good.

I agree that the S5 is superior to the S6. Now that the S7 is out, the S5 is not available from the major cell phone companies. I get my son's hand-me-downs (I of course get the bill), and I am not sure that I am going to take his S6 when he gets a new S7 since I like the S5 so much. Assuming that the S8 comes out in another year and is superior to the S7, I will want his S7.

@walesmaven wrote:

Actually, you can save a lot by going with the Samsung S5. It has superior reviews to the newer Samsung phones, so why not save a lot and go with it. The camera is amazing!

I will NOT "upgrade to the 6 or 7 sinc e the S% is soooo good.

Some of the jobs require people to have Apple's iPhones and Ipads for auditing, do you both have the Samsung tablet too? I like your idea of buying the Samsung 5 to save costs because I am not in need of the latest phone. Thank you for providing additional support for Samsung because all the cellphone stores employees recommended Samsung.

I indeed have an older Samsung tablet. But if you are trying to do a job which requires an app which runs on iOS, then having a Samsung tablet will not help you since it operates on Android.

If I had to choose between buying an iPad for audits and spending that money on a video rig, hands down, I would go for the video. It's a lot more fun than audits and probably has more assignments (and dollars!) available within a one-day driving radius.

I'm not aware of any assignments limited to IOS. I like my iPhone and iPad, but can tell you this older iPad of mine is heavy to carry for any significant amount of time. My decision to buy Apple was strictly ease of use when buying my first smart phone. Laziness keeps me going back

www.SpyGadgets.com 281-829-5577 X 101 or 877-SPY-CAM1 - Sales Rep. John Marshall. Early March 2016 I purchased the PV-500 Lite 3 for $314.10. Before placing my order I signed up for a free account, to receive a 10% off coupon ($34.90 discount). The coupon code that I used was EX10 - however, double check with them just in case the code had changed. I received the DVR (as small as a pack of cards) button camera, the button screw on kit, extra regular buttons, remote control, ear phones, manual, SD card, Belt pouch, usb - there maybe may have been more in the kit, but I don't have it in front of me to list. Everywhere else, this unit was $400 or more. There are a few companies selling this unit on amazon, however, their button camera is not the same high quality as the one I got with this unit. I placed my order on a Friday and had the unit the following Tuesday. I had to email to receive a tracking number, the day after I placed my order. I'm quite sure it was an oversight but I'm very satisfied with the quick shipping. Hopes this helps and good luck!

Be very careful if you find prices that are a lot below the norm for Lawmate equipment. There are knockoffs out there, counterfeits. Dan at GrayHawk Video Solutions is a video shopper and there for shoppers if they have problems. If you have equipment failure out on the road, he will take care of you. He is officially licensed by Lawmate to sell their equipment.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/04/2016 05:44PM by TechSavvy.