I bought the non-DVR model last mid-ice.
Picture is fine. Holds a charge fine. Weight/bulk is a dream compared to traditional cameras. Cable is rather too fine and hence delicate, however. My first one didn't hold up very long. Apparently a micro nick in its jacket, that I never could find and seal, began to admit moisture, and that was a few trips later that!
I swapped the factory storage spool for a larger diameter (shallow rim, old line) spool. Had to shorten the central stem of the new spool so that the factory fastener will hold it. Wound the plug end on this spool first, allowing enough slack for this plug to reach its port, then wound on the remainder.
Now instead of having loose and twisty cable laying around looking for trouble in a world of cleats and auger blades, I just unplug the camera cable and straightline the camera down to the bottom, plug 'er in and have a peak, unplug and reel back again... by turning the recessed spool frame with my forefinger. Think baitcasting reel, with the cable always under tension, and no twists imparted.
No handling of wet cable... ever. Well, maybe except if fishing shallow (less than 12 FOW), then its quick and easier to just hand wind that short length onto the fixed spool and not have to touch the plug at all. What minor imparted twist there is, can be useful in that the little acorn of a camera will take in a turn or two at depth, which is after all the idea. Retrieving these shorter lengths, I let the thin cable rub along my boot edge or leg, in order to shed most of its water, before appreciable wetness or ice reaches my winding fingers, keeps numbing of the sometimes bare digits tolerably down.
If it fits in your hand, it'll fit your pocket, but also fit through the auger hole! So I also made a small EZ on/off stand for the monitor, a block of closed cell foam with dimensions that cannot fall through the ice. Unit comes with a little safety leash (not a bad idea, if more mobile) but then I think a super short bungee figure eight-bound tether with a (non-scratch) finger ring (big enough to use with gloves on) attached, is perhaps going to be there when (not if) you'll be needing it. For that matter, I am a big fumble-fingered fan of foam hole covers (with a slit leading to a central hole) in general. Ounce of prevention...
Mounted in its stand, and so with both hands free, I can then use the unit like a larger model once settled over fish, or if in the shelter. Otherwise its just used to make that peek at the habitat, and perhaps confirm if my spot only has some dink sniffer 'perch', which sonar may or may not discern clearly from larger, target or worthwhile specimens.
Last tips: one can burn WAY too much fishing time messing with getting, and then maintaining camera orientation. Viewing straight down is an OK approach, but in low light downsspotting an approaching fish is of course working against its natural camo, plus the screen is small, there can be glare, etc...
Thus I prefer to replace the factory spring steel camera -holding wire with a more pliable wire, simply lose the plastic fin, and just bend my harness to achieve my desired viewing angle. Best so far is looking UP & OUT at a 30-45 degree angle, and putting the camera a little bit below my lure's level. This way, fish and jig show up clearly against a lighter background in bold silhouette.
Where any cable might take a roughly 90 degree angle from the surface of the ice down over the edge of the cavity, the slightest memory will cause the camera to spin some. Better to avoid this entirely. Again, a foam hole cover with a single radial slit cut outwards from a small central hole is the WTG.
Just drop the cover into place, plop the acorn camera through, get it to the bottom, raise it to match your jig's known offset, and slip the cable into the foam slit. If your jig isn't on screen, turning the cover no more than a single rotation will have it there pronto.
Btw, the common sense horizontal view is IMO the very last one to employ; if you are close enough to spot a tiny jig, your field of view is't all that wide - not just horizontal (right and left), but in the vertical (up and down). So you can end up in a catch-22 trying to get the horizontal perspective just right with the jig at center screen. But viewed up or down at a slant (and hence from a greater distance), as you raise or lower the cable while giving it a slow twist, you are more apt to spot your bogie.
This year I plan to drop my own fake 'fish' (a foot long pipe segment, painted in high contrast stripes) in some calm, open water to get a better idea of scale and distance of any target I may see while fishing. It's deceptive otherwise.
The main thing is to let the camera work for you, and not 'work you' so much that you aren't really actively fishing. Remember, you can always just go to the pet store to watch fish. To catch them requires we do some actual and effective fishing for as high a percentage of our day as possible.