Android, for the trades

Record yourself and the job at the same time

Tap Dual and hit record. The back camera films the leak while the front camera films you explaining it, in a small window. One video, on Android phones that support Dual.

By Andre Gaz, developer of InspectCam™ · Published 13 October 2026 · Last updated 13 October 2026

A photo shows the drip. A text tries to explain it. The customer squints at one, misreads the other, and calls you back with questions. One video with the problem and your face explaining it answers most of them before they’re asked.

Show the problem and explain it in one clip

1. Install InspectCam™ and open it. It opens on the back camera with the light already on, so you can see what you’re about to film.
2. Tap VIDEO.
3. Tap Dual on the rail down the right side. Your face shows up in a small window over the job.
4. Find the problem first, then hit the red button and talk. Stop when you’re done. The video goes to your gallery, in an InspectCam™ folder.

No Dual button? Check you’re on the back camera. If it’s still missing, your phone won’t run both cameras at once. More on that below.

Try it once in the truck before the first job: record ten seconds, play it back, and check you can see your face and hear your voice.

What the customer gets

• The problem, full size. Lit by the phone’s light if it’s dark in there.
• Your face in a small window. They see who found it and who’s going to fix it.
• Your voice, in the same take. No flipping cameras, no second video to line up.
• No watermark on the video. Just the job and you.

Get InspectCam™ free on Google Play. Nothing to pay for Dual, the light or video.

Why one video beats photos and a text

Customers trust what they can see. They rate a service call highest when the tech shows them, with pictures, video or drawings, what needs doing and how it turned out, Contracting Business notes.

• Trust. The customer sees the cracked fitting and the person who found it. A face and a voice are harder to doubt than a cropped photo.
• Fewer callbacks. “Which pipe?” and “Is that bad?” are answered in the clip.
• A faster yes. The homeowner can forward one video to a spouse, a property manager or an adjuster, and everyone sees the same thing you saw.
• Fewer drive-outs. One painting company that did first quotes by video call made 19% fewer trips and spent 82% less time quoting, Painting & Decorating News reported. Their prices still changed after a site visit, so treat a video quote as a first look, not the final number.

What to say on camera

You don’t need a script. You need four things, in this order:

1. Where. “Kitchen sink, under the left bowl.”
2. What. “This slip nut on the trap is dripping. See the water on the cabinet floor.”
3. Why it matters. “It’s been going a while. The cabinet floor is soft right here.”
4. What you recommend. “New trap and nuts, and dry the cabinet out. About half an hour.”

Point at the problem with a finger or a screwdriver while you say it, and hold still on it for three seconds before you move on. Thirty to sixty seconds covers one problem. Two problems? Two clips.

Shots that work, trade by trade

Attic

Crawl space

Under the sink

Panel

Engine bay

Roof

• Attic. Start at the hatch so they know where you are, then go in. Name what you see: wet sheathing, crushed insulation, a duct that’s come apart. It’s hot up there, so keep the take short.
• Crawl space. Say the setup at the access door, in the light, then crawl in and film. Down there the camera sees the problem fine; your face in the window won’t be lit.
• Under the sink. Lie back, get the leak in the big picture, and point: “This is the one.” Show the cabinet floor too, if it’s wet or soft.
• Panel. Film the whole panel first, then move in on the breaker or the wire you’re talking about. Point from outside the panel; never reach in to point.
• Engine bay. Show the part close, then pull back so the customer sees where it sits. Say its name out loud. Most people won’t know it by sight.
• Roof. Film only from where it’s safe to stand. Show the damage, then turn a little to show where it is on the roof. Turn your back to the wind so it doesn’t drown your voice.

Updates for adjusters, landlords and the GC

Insurance. Amica’s guide to documenting home damage suggests a quick walk-through video, room by room, pointing out the major damage as you go. Shoot it before cleanup starts: a wide view of each room first, then the close-ups. With Dual, your explanation is on the same clip as the damage, not in a separate email.

Landlords and property managers. Move-in and move-out walkthroughs work best as one continuous, narrated tour, pointing out each flaw, Landager advises. We’d send it the same day. Keep the written checklist and signatures too; the video backs them up, it doesn’t replace them.

The GC and the office. “Day five, rough-in’s done, inspection’s Thursday,” said over thirty seconds of the work, beats a text and four photos nobody can place.

Teach an apprentice from the job

Your hands on the work in the big picture, your face saying why. Film a real task once and the new hire can watch it again that night: how you set up, what you check first, what a bad one looks like next to a good one. Keep each clip to one task, and name the task at the start so it’s easy to find later.

Tips for a clear job video

• One take per problem. Fumbled a word? Keep going. A natural take sounds more honest than a polished one.
• Mind both distances. Hold the phone about a forearm from your face so the small window shows all of it, and keep the back camera a hand’s width off the pipe so the customer sees what’s around it.
• Quiet the site for thirty seconds. Kill the shop vac, the compressor and the radio. The mic picks up everything, music included.
• Watch the heat. Two cameras and the light work a phone hard, and attics and roofs add their own heat. Our Pixel 6a, on a charger, got very hot within about four minutes of Dual video. If the phone gets very hot, InspectCam™ turns the light off and tells you the video is still recording. Tap the light to turn it back on once the phone cools.
• Left alone, the light goes off. After 10 minutes untouched, InspectCam™ turns the light off, with a warning first. Tap it to turn it back on.
• Need a sharp still? Turn Dual off. Dual stills come off the screen, so shoot the close-up with Dual off. Photos carry a small, faint InspectCam™ mark; videos don’t.

Light the dark spots while you talk

In Dual the back light can stay on, so the attic or the cabinet is lit while you film. The front camera has no light of its own. In a dark space, your face in the small window stays dark.

• Face the light. Turn toward the hatch, the work light or the open cabinet door so it falls on your face, not behind you.
• Explain first, then go in. Say what you’re about to show while you’re still in the light. Your voice keeps working in the dark even when your face doesn’t.
• Get close and brace. A phone’s light reaches a few feet. Rest your wrist on a joist or the cabinet floor and hold still on the problem.

Just need the light on in a regular video? How to turn on the flashlight while recording video covers the camera app you already have, on Android and iPhone. For photos with the light on, see flashlight and camera at the same time.

Send it to the customer

When you stop recording, the video is in your phone’s gallery, in an InspectCam™ folder. Send it the way you send any video: a text, an email, WhatsApp, or the app your office already uses.

Big files are the usual snag. Some messaging apps squash a long video or refuse it. If a clip won’t go, cut it shorter, or share a link from your cloud storage instead.

Every clip in its job Pro · Coming soon
With Pro, each photo and video goes into the job it belongs to, so the whole walkthrough is in one place when the customer or the adjuster asks.

Dual missing on your work phone?

Your phone decides, not the app. Android lets each phone say which of its cameras can run together, and some won’t pair the front and back. There, InspectCam™ hides Dual rather than show a button that fails. Our Pixel 6a and Galaxy S21 run Dual; our Pixel 4a 5G doesn’t. Our test phones, and why some can’t, are on the both-cameras explainer.

On a Galaxy? Samsung’s own Camera app may have a dual recording mode of its own. Here’s where Samsung keeps it.

Questions pros ask

Can I record myself and the job at the same time on Android?

If your phone allows two cameras at once, yes. In InspectCam™, tap Dual on the back camera and record: the job fills the picture and your face is in a small window. Our Pixel 6a and Galaxy S21 do it; our Pixel 4a 5G can’t.

How do I make a video estimate for a customer?

Film the problem with Dual on and say four things: where it is, what’s wrong, why it matters and what you recommend. Keep it to a minute or less per problem, then send it from your gallery. It works as a remote quote too: a first look before you drive out. The price can change after a site visit.

Does the saved video keep my face in it?

Yes. The video records both cameras, with the front camera as a small window over the job.

Can the light stay on while I film with both cameras?

The back light, yes. The front camera has no light, so in a dark space your face stays dark. Face a light, or explain at the hatch before you go in.

Is there a watermark on the video?

No. Videos carry no mark at all. Only photos get a small, faint InspectCam™ mark, in a corner.

Will it work for a long walkthrough?

It can, but two cameras plus the light run a phone hot. Break a long walkthrough into short clips, one room or one problem each. If it gets very hot, InspectCam™ turns the light off and the video keeps recording; tap the light once it cools.

Can I send the video to an adjuster or a landlord?

Yes. It saves to your gallery like any phone video, so send it however you normally do.

Is there an iPhone version?

The InspectCam™ iPhone app is coming soon. The newest iPhones have Apple’s Dual Capture built into the Camera app; the creators’ guide shows where it is.

Photo credits, top of the page: “Under Sink Garbage Disposal and White Pipes” by Tony Webster, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons, cropped, labels blurred, shown as the camera view in InspectCam™’s own screen; Tima Miroshnichenko / Pexels, cropped. Phone frame: Android Studio device art (Apache 2.0).