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So I Bought the HF Inspection Camera

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Matt M PA

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I was heading back from appointment yesterday and literally driving past Harbor Freight. I bought the one that's on sale for $79 and tried it out last night.

My initial impression is that it's pretty impressive. Especially at the price point. I wasn't able to do anything really serious with it, but the picture quality is very nice and the fact that it works on four AA batteries as opposed to a rechargeable battery I think is a plus. (It seems that whenever I want to use one of my tools that have rechargeable batteries...they're not charged.)

So here's the question I pose to you guys. The camera head at the end of the cable seems small enough, until you compare it with some others like the Whistler unit mentioned in other threads. I'm sure I'll have uses for this camera, but I only wonder if I'll be disappointed later and should step up spending twice the money to get a smaller camera unit.

I'm not sure how often I'll use this, some trying to temper the decision on cost, usage, etc.

Does anyone have any thoughts? Thanks!
 
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93sr20det

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Can you post some sample pics? I am either thinking about this model or the ryobi one @ home depot. I finally got to play with it since they finally had the batteries charged. Harbor freight is about 30 min away with traffic and I don't want to make a trip only to find a non working demo.
 
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TWX

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Things I am interested in with such a camera are quality of the image, refresh rate of the image, the ability to record and the quality of the recording, size of the camera head, and the length of the probe. The better any of these gets, the more expensive.
 
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Kent Skinner

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I have one, and have used it to look into a spot inside my walls where i was running CAT-5.

It's fine. I'm not a big fan of HF, although I have purchased things there before. I think, in general, their quality is improving.

The head is between 1/2" and 3/4" in diameter, has several LEDs (dimmable & switchable from the head unit). The display is small, but is about average. It has a video out connector, so you can plug into a laptop for VGA (640x480) and a larger screen.

The head & wand are waterproof, and I assume the handle & screen aren't. The quality of accessories is pretty good. There's 3 attachments (a hook, magnet & mirror) that attach to the head, it comes with batteries, and even the case is better than most HF gear.

The only thing about it that seems cheap, is the density of the plastic seems low. It just doesn't have the heft that a Makita, DeWalt, Milwaukee, etc would have.

You may find one assembled in the US, but the parts come from China - no matter what brand. I don't think there would be a large difference in quality until you're spending close to $200. The only thing I'd like to change, is to make the head slightly smaller.

It's the highest quality item I've seen from HF. I got mine on sale for $69.

I haven't really looked at refresh rate, because I'm using it more for construction than anything else. I haven't noticed a slow refresh, but I'm not looking at fast moving objects - I'm much more likely to be looking for Romex in a stud bay before I drill into a stud.
 
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RotoRoss

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Matt M said:
I was heading back from appointment yesterday and literally driving past Harbor Freight. I bought the one that's on sale for $79 and tried it out last night.

My initial impression is that it's pretty impressive. Especially at the price point. I wasn't able to do anything really serious with it, but the picture quality is very nice and the fact that it works on four AA batteries as opposed to a rechargeable battery I think is a plus. (It seems that whenever I want to use one of my tools that have rechargeable batteries...they're not charged.)

So here's the question I pose to you guys. The camera head at the end of the cable seems small enough, until you compare it with some others like the Whistler unit mentioned in other threads. I'm sure I'll have uses for this camera, but I only wonder if I'll be disappointed later and should step up spending twice the money to get a smaller camera unit.

I'm not sure how often I'll use this, some trying to temper the decision on cost, usage, etc.

Does anyone have any thoughts? Thanks!
Click to expand...

Asked my septic tank cleaner company for an estimate but they couldn't find the tank(poke and stab) even though there is a 4" vent or access pipe. wanted a 175.00 to use the camera. BS. I know tank pump out hatch is below grade and it needs several 6" risers to get it to the surface level......a great use for this camera if it will reach and also to determine whether it needs pump out. Original owner built house himself and died leaving behind no clues. cant tell which way vent pipe turns once its below surface and its right next to front sidewalk of house too close for legal and building dept. map shows it way far away under conc. drive
 
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Matt M PA

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Sorry guys...I was busy yesterday.

The HF one I bought can be output to another screen, or I guess a recorder of some sort but does not record on its own. In my tinkering with it the other night, I thought the picture quality was excellent and the adjustable led lighting allowed it to work in the dark.

Seeing that I am in the video production biz...I'll have to find a way to capture the output. I can't speak to refresh rates, etc and I really think that's a bitof overkill for an item with a 2.4" screen. The camera head is smaller than the Milwaukee version that is $200 at Home Depot, but I know there are some smaller ones. The flexible shaft is about 3 feet or just a bit more. From what I have seen, some models comes with an extension piece, and I'm wondering if one from another unit would fit mine. (it looks so similar to some others)

I'll see what I can do to capture a pic.
 
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Skysurfer

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93sr20det said:
Can you post some sample pics?
Click to expand...

<a href="#" onclick="return(false);" rel="videoGUID=8ccf6887f972di4078Vb6a0R66e2a5acb438&" style="display:block;width:640px;height:360px" id="8ccf6887f972di4078Vb6a0R66e2a5acb438" width="640" height="360">67979</a> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://360.sorensonmedia.com/8ccf6887f972di4078Vb6a0R66e2a5acb438/embedv2.js"></script>

Embedded video link is fussy. If it doesn't work you can see it here.

http://www.harborfreight.com/digital-inspection-camera-67979.html
 
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K

kythri

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fatboyf150 said:
No..
Click to expand...

What's obstructing it? The camera is 8.5mm, right? Aren't most spark plugs a larger diameter?

Obviously, the more expensive 5.5mm cameras out there would be "better" for this, but the Whistler I bought, with a 9mm camera, and will fit through a 10mm or larger hole, at least up until the extension coupler.
 
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diesel research

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kythri said:
What's obstructing it? The camera is 8.5mm, right? Aren't most spark plugs a larger diameter?

Obviously, the more expensive 5.5mm cameras out there would be "better" for this, but the Whistler I bought, with a 9mm camera, and will fit through a 10mm or larger hole, at least up until the extension coupler.
Click to expand...

From HF site:
# 38" watertight flex shaft with 16mm CMOS video imager head
Click to expand...
 
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KermitFrog

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I went and looked at the same camera last year and didn't get it because of the camera size. Mostly what I would be using it for is sticking in spark plug holes. Still a super cool tool. They had another camera in stock that had a smaller camera but it was much more expensive.
 
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Danglerb

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These are going to keep getting smaller better and cheaper. What looks interesting to me are some on ebay, bluetooth to any laptop or tablet, smaller head diameter and options like magnification, around $100 seems common, look for endoscope or usb microscope.

As a ready to roll, all in one tool, my guess is that the $70 HF with its attachments will see regular use, maybe replacing inspection mirrors even when the mirror would work.
 
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Kent Skinner

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RotoRoss said:
Pointless,No?
Click to expand...

Only pointless if you need to put the camera into a small hole. HF isn't selling and marketing to professional mechanics who are doing inspections through a sparkplug hole. It's great for carpentry & plumbing.

If they made it smaller, it would cost more... and wouldn't be sold at HF.
 
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Bigpigdave

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Camden, IN
Kent Skinner said:
Only pointless if you need to put the camera into a small hole. HF isn't selling and marketing to professional mechanics who are doing inspections through a sparkplug hole. It's great for carpentry & plumbing.

If they made it smaller, it would cost more... and wouldn't be sold at HF.
Click to expand...

HF has a higher priced model that has a 5.5mm head. It is around $199.
Dave
 
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diesel research

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RotoRoss said:
Pointless,No?
Click to expand...

I wouldn't say pointless. A lot of homeowners are hellbent on looking inside their combustion chambers, and I suspect this is partly out of sheer curiosity.

In reality, there are a lot of other places you might be inspecting. Examples: the socket that fell down under the intake manifold runners. Looking up past a blower motor at an evap/heater core (might need an additional UV light), peering down inside a drained radiator at the tubes, looking up inside a dash, looking inside of a drained fuel tank, peering down inside a door panel, peering up in an automatic trans inspection cover to track down a COOLANT leak coming from "transmission", etc.

Those are all things I have done/attempted to do with other devices like mirrors and flashlights. I even use a lighted mirror often. Would still probably be easier with one of those.

I could say that even the average camera that fits in a sparkplug hole is "useless" because it doesn't fit down an injector/glowplug hole. Truth of the matter is, there are a lot of other uses, and looking inside the combustion chamber is not on my top 5 list of things to do 99% of the time.
 
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Danglerb

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All of the times I've seen a camera used to inspect the cylinder the results were inconclusive. You can see a scratch, but can't really judge if its a problem or not.

Getting some tiny camera thing is high on my list, but I kinda doubt its going to be from HF.
 
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metal1313

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clinton NJ
ive been thinking about one of these to look into some crawl spaces under my house i dont have easy access to, and areas that are blocked by vents and other larger lines. im also in an old house so i have some walls that are over a foot wide in spots for no known reason, being able to drill a small hole and look inside would be great
 
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Matt M PA

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When I bought mine it was in sale, and they said I couldn't combine both the sale price and the 20% coupon. I'd agree that there are models with smaller camera heads...but my main use won't be looking into spark plug holes. I figure I will more be looking behind panels and such. I think it will be useful, but I won't use it enough to spend much more.

Yesterday, a friend and I stopped at Pep Boys. They sell the exact same camera as the HF one I bought..although the plastic may have been a different color...but it's the same unit, with the same accessories. $199.99.

While some come with a reachable monitor...it's another set of batteries to deal with..and some others have rechargeable batteries. I'm happy that mine takes regular old AAs. Seemes that half the time I go to use something with rechargeable batteries,,,I first have to charge it.
 
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lotus_guy01

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Oct 24, 2009
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Massachusetts
I purchased the more expensive HF camera (item #67980) a couple of months ago. With the 20% off coupon, it was $160. This is better than anything else that I could find with a small enough tip to inspect (and record) the cylinder walls in a Porsche 928 engine. It works great. I used it recently to inspect the catalytic converters in one of my cars through the O2 ports. This camera accepts a SD memory card for recording video which was a big plus for me.
 
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dadler

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Sacramento, CA
Apologies for bumping a really old thread, but this scope seems to be made by the same manufacturer as the HF model (Autel), and appears to be a better version of even the more expensive HF model at a better price:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0091DJY8Q/?tag=atomicindus08-20

It has an internal lithium battery, charger, recording ability, 3.5" screen, etc.

Does anyone have any experience with this product?

I received my monthly HF coupons including one for the 2.4" AA powered model at $69, but some research led me to the above product, which I am considering instead.
 
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