I really the Bender Fender… You just have to be realistic, it does pretty much the same job as those awful RRP things that go on the fork crown, and works exactly as well in my experience without looking as terrible, but you can’t expect massive protection from a tiny mudguard.
No question at all that it works in my mind, I run video cameras on the bars or on a chest mount most of the time and the proof of the pudding has been in the ruined videos, or lack of- riding in damp conditions with no mudguard just about every clip ends with mud on the lens, with the Bender Fender (or my homemade one on the other bike) it still happens occasionally, but rarely.
If you want a really effective mudguard you should still get a full sized crown guard, like a Shockboard or similiar, but if you don’t want something so bulky and ugly the Bender Fender is ideal really. I just leave it on all the time as it weighs nothing and doesn’t look bad at all.