I don't know how this came up in my Ebay search I made just now ... but it did (I was looking for microwave oven parts funny enough).

2M 6LED Android Endoscope Waterproof Inspection Camera Micro USB Video Camera

It's not often that you need a borescope/endoscope camera but for the price of this item it's really hard not to pass it up.  Here are specs from the page:

    High resolution with 1/9 CMOS camera. 
    Built-in 6 LED light (with Brightness and take Photo Control)   
    Waterproof wire endoscope. 
    With a 7mm camera head. 
    Photo shooting and video recording. 
    Camera head outer diameter: 5.5mm, 7mm. 
    Pixels: 300000 pixels ON phone,1300000 pixels ON Computer
    Resolution: 640*480,1280*480(only on Computer)30 ftps. 
    LED: 6 White LED Bright light. 
    Focal distance: 5cm-infinate. 
    Waterproof level: IP67. 
    Support systems: Android /Windows 2000 / XP / Vista / 7. 
    Temperture: -20 ~ 100?. 
    Cable length: 1M/1.5M/2M/3.5 M/5M

I'm buyin' one just for the hell of it!

Blakey...I am not touching my toes in front of you!

I just knew that this topic would take a nosedive...

...and that would be the last thing I would think of!

I just ordered one too.
It maybe a big help at work when trying to string CAT5 cable into walls and ceilings.

Hooray!

Someone finally with a "no body orifice" use for it!

Thanks Crazy Frog, you have restored my faith in this Forum!

I have no practical use for one that I can think of but it sure does look like a cool little toy. I found one with a 2M USB 2.0 cable for only $4.67US shipped.

Couldn't resist...

duck wrote:I have no practical use for one that I can think of but it sure does look like a cool little toy. I found one with a 2M USB 2.0 cable for only $4.67US shipped.

Couldn't resist...

Link?

Kyle10 wrote:

duck wrote:I have no practical use for one that I can think of but it sure does look like a cool little toy. I found one with a 2M USB 2.0 cable for only $4.67US shipped.

Couldn't resist...

Link?

Search for 111892060173 on Fleabay,

Nice find Robmack, they'll be doing a roaring trade thanks to you...I couldn't resist either. 

Cost a small fortune over this side of the pond though...£9.22 for a 3.5m with a 5.5mm camera head. If it doesn't work, then I don't think I'll shed many tears...if it does what it says it does, then fantastico!!

Closest I come to Android is seeing the odd 'droid on The Force Awakens yesterday. Anyone seen an iOS version?

Bill

For Ozzie forumers

I bought one of these last night for AU$11 shipped.

This one is a good price but it doesn't have some of the attachments.

Bill... can't see any of this type for iOS but they will work with a PC up to win 7. There is one which will work with iOS but they are over AU$100

There are some considerations when buying these....
They have limited connectivity. Android 4.0 minimum and only up to Win 7. Not compatible with iPhone.
Your phone/tablet must have USB OTG (On-The-Go) and support a USB video camera.
Some have only 4 LEDs.
Most have an in-line controller for taking pics or video plus adjusting the brightness.... but some don't.
They come with different size lens. 7.0mm and 5.5mm etc (7.0mm will work better).
Resolution on a phone is limited to 0.3 megapixels (1.3 on a PC)
Some have attachments such as a mirror and hooks for grabbing things

You get what you pay for.

I run 8.1 on all of my laptops and my desktop. I'll report back when it shows up to see if I can get one running with 8.1.

JMHO but W7 was Vista tied to a boat anchor. I've been very happy with 8.1 and don't plan on going to 10 until I'm forced to.  (I got rid all all of the Metro interface crap so it runs like a very very nice version of XP.)

The one Rob linked to was to run on an Android smart phone not a USB2 port on a PC. It does look good so I might get one. I have one for my PC and they are great to have.

You probably know this but you can get adapters to convert between different USB plugs. Standard USB 2.0 does not differ from from micro or mini USB 2.0 except for the plug shape and size.

Best to check, but I'm pretty sure most of these android cheapies come with a USB adapter so they can be plugged into either PC or mobile device.

If you got to the link I posted, there are two pull-down menus to select.  In the first pull-down, the last selection is USB2 for Windows PC.  That is the order option for the PC compatible adapter.

I can only speak for use as a home PC user and am not a corporate server expert.

When I migrated my 2GB Atom netbook (my old tankbag PC) from XP to W7 (never bothered with Vista for obvious reasons) it pretty much crippled the thing to a crawl.

When I installed 8.1 it ran just as well as it did on XP (not thrilling, but usable and 8.1 works much better than 7.)

Granted, I'm kind of a dweeb and do a lot of registry, services and other tweaking to get performance up.

Once you get 8.1 tweaked properly it works pretty well in my experience. I've had it on all of my PCs for 1.5+ years now and it's the best OS MS has ever put out - not that that's saying much. (I started on DOS in 83.)

duck wrote:I run 8.1 on all of my laptops and my desktop. I'll report back when it shows up to see if I can get one running with 8.1.

JMHO but W7 was Vista tied to a boat anchor. I've been very happy with 8.1 and don't plan on going to 10 until I'm forced to.  (I got rid all all of the Metro interface crap so it runs like a very very nice version of XP.)

same here duck




with a startup of under 20 seconds on win 8 ...and 8.1  (different machines though ) ...pretty quick indeed ...but still run xp update 2 on my storage server ....bloody hate the home network features though on everything since xp - vista ...started on 7




now moved to win 10 ...just a test I guess ...but so far pretty happy with it at home ..have an issue with the new browser (opening on the desktop )..but ill sort that out soon I guess

I am administering servers too and after preliminary tests, I am not ready  to deploy Windows 10 on the users workstations.
Even if you are using server's policies, Microsoft  has too much controls that you cannot overwrite.
However, I have a couple of test computers loaded with Windows 10 at home and I have to say that it's pretty good.

If you want to try Windows 10 but are not ready to make the jump yet, install a virtual machine using VMware workstation players.The free version works well for home users and your original windows will stay untouched.
You can run many OS in VMware ( I was even running OSX and Linux on a Windows computer)

Well, my boroscope camera finally arrived...

Initial thoughts - the 3.5m version (5.5mm camera) is quite neat. Came with a USB adapter, 4cm long hook, 4cm long magnet  attachment, 90deg mirror and mini CD. Focal length of camera is 4cm to infinity, which is probably why the hook and magnet attachments are that length.

Couldn't connect to my daughters cast-off Samsung Galaxy android phone (not new enough to have the requisite android 4 operating system). Couldn't connect to my HTC android phone - right operating system, but not a very clever or modern phone and it kept failing to download the camera operating App (parsing error - whatever that may be)?

Loaded software onto my Window 7 laptop, plugged in camera to uSB adaptor and it works! Six bright white LEDs surround the camera and these come on as soon as the camera is connected. Controls are fairly basic - can fiddle with colour balance an all that jazz and set camera resolution etc. Camera can be used by directly viewing monitor, but also able to take video footage and still pictures. Taking stills is a breeze (a push button on the camera wire), video is not quite so easy. Click on the record icon and accept the start recording option - but there is nothing obvious to show that it is actually recording and you seem to need to go into the tool bar to stop recording. 

As you can see by the picture below, the quality is surprisingly good. The magnet or hook attachment helps keep the camera at the minimum focus distance, without it, it is quite easy to get too close and the image becomes blurry.



As with all boroscopes, the performance very much comes down to the skill of the operator - turning it the right way, understanding where the camera is looking etc. I was going to take a video and upload that for demonstration purposes and threaded the camera deep into the recesses of the bike, but apart from being able to read the manufacture date of a hidden radiator hose, there wasn't much to see, so I didn't bother! It would be better if it was possible to turn off the LED lights or at least dim them, they can be too bright and this can result in unwanted reflections and glare. The 90 deg mirror attachment is not much use, good concept but the mirror quality is too poor.

Not sure what I'll use it for, but it's a toy and it's cheap and it works! 

I will have to get one just to see if ubuntu linux [all I ever use] will work with it  .  Won't trust microsoft with any device that has personal info on it.  Be aware that if auto update is turned on [enabled] you are going to get Windows 10 whether you want it or not 

Mr Bill wrote:I will have to get one just to see if ubuntu linux [all I ever use] will work with it  .  Won't trust microsoft with any device that has personal info on it.  Be aware that if auto update is turned on [enabled] you are going to get Windows 10 whether you want it or not 

I bought one of theese and they are working with Ubuntu 14.04 out of the box.  - Plug in the camera - start preinstalled Cheese - wiev through camera - press button on lead to take photos. Its easy as that

Thanks for the review Paul. I'm still waiting on my order. Hope it gets here shortly.

Mine arrived yesterday and I managed to have a play with it this afternoon.
This is the unit I bought.
The unit itself looks to be a reasonably good quality build and has a few attachments like hooks and a small mirror to view sideways.
The specs say for XP and Win7 but ever the optimist, I tried loading the driver from the disc supplied to my Win8.1 laptop. Unfortunately no-go. However a quick search and I found a webcam software for Win 8.1 and Win 10. Its not really a driver but just a simple software enabling you to view, record pics and video.
Its a free download from HERE. I downloaded the very first one. There is no installation. I then moved it into my Programs folder on the C:/ drive pinned it to the Start Page.
It defaults to the laptop camera so you need to go to Devices tab and select USB cam.
You can change the default folder to save pics and video from the File tab.
Change resolution and adjust picture parameters such as brightness, contrast, white balance, colour saturation etc etc.
Video Capture tab and Snap tab give you recording controls.

It all seems to work quite well on the laptop. Not tried it on the beast (bike) yet but my nose and ears look to be in pretty good shape....

Won't work on my phone... its just too old. About to try it out on my 4.2.2 tablet.

For AU$11 it'll come in very handy even if I never use it.

Cheers

Kaptain Holister wrote: but my nose and ears look to be in pretty good shape....

  hmmm, seems a common issue "it works,now where do I stick it?" I confess, for me it was a quick dental examination!

Born Again Eccentric wrote: It would be better if it was possible to turn off the LED lights or at least dim them, they can be too bright and this can result in unwanted reflections and glare.

On the one I got there is a little wheel on the side of the "take photo" button. This wheel adjust the brightness of the leds between no light and full bright light.

jkh wrote:

Born Again Eccentric wrote: It would be better if it was possible to turn off the LED lights or at least dim them, they can be too bright and this can result in unwanted reflections and glare.

On the one I got there is a little wheel on the side of the "take photo" button. This wheel adjust the brightness of the leds between no light and full bright light.

Jkh - you're a genius! 
Mine has that too, I just never spotted it - doh!
I,m happy now!


Kaptain - it looked like there was a Windows 8 driver on the CD. I had to double check the specs when I was doing the file install as my workshop laptop is (deliberately) only Windows 7. 

As an aside, while responding to another post on this 'ere forum, I successfully loaded and ran a photo editing programme on to my Win 7 workshop laptop - the CD proudly proclaimed it was for Win 95 and Windows NT! Happy days!

One of my techs ordered one too and it arrived yesterday.
When installing the drivers from the CD to his computer, he got the following virus alert:

ALWAYS BE CAREFUL WHEN INSTALLING SOFTWARE FROM CHINA

I got a virus alert on my android phone trying to enlarge the pic you posted.

Good one!  

Crazy Frog wrote:One of my techs ordered one too and it arrived yesterday.
When installing the drivers from the CD to his computer, he got the following virus alert:

ALWAYS BE CAREFUL WHEN INSTALLING SOFTWARE FROM CHINA

My workshop laptop (second hand eBay buy) had anti virus software pre-loaded (Avast) and didn't detect anything untoward during the pre-installation scan. I subsequently have down loaded McAfee anti virus software (through my BT account) and ran a full scan which detected and removed a Trojan virus. Can't say for sure that the Trojan came from the endoscope CD, but it is possible. All clear now...Crazy Frog makes a good point about being careful when installing any software. Perhaps I better go check my phone now?

I didn't use the CD software at all. Downloaded a different program from Oasis Scientific.
As for my tablet, I didn't use the links supplied but downloaded an app direct from Google Playstore. It was from another scientific company
Installing .apk's from sites outside of Google is a bit dicey.

duck wrote:I have no practical use for one that I can think of but it sure does look like a cool little toy. I found one with a 2M USB 2.0 cable for only $4.67US shipped.

Couldn't resist...

Mine took several weeks to finally arrive from the Fleabay Chicoms but it finally showed up today. Despite claims that it won't work with Win 8.1, I downloaded Screencast-O-Matic freeware and it works great. Didn't bother with the mini-CD that came with it.

 If anyone is interested I can post a self-colonoscopy. (Just kidding.)

duck wrote:Mine took several weeks to finally arrive from the Fleabay Chicoms but it finally showed up today.

Thanks for the information. I am still waiting for mine to arrive.
You get what you pay for the shipping! It was free .
A friend ordered one via Amazon and received it within 10 days.

Also waiting for one from Fleabay. In fact Fleabay asked me last week to comment on the delivery and quality of the product/seller. I haven't politely replied to them yet.
Shep

Crazy Frog wrote:Thanks for the information. I am still waiting for mine to arrive.
You get what you pay for the shipping! It was free .
A friend ordered one via Amazon and received it within 10 days.

Shep wrote:Also waiting for one from Fleabay. In fact Fleabay asked me last week to comment on the delivery and quality of the product/seller. I haven't politely replied to them yet.
Shep

Same here, guys.  I guess shipments to Canada are slower than the rest the world.

They get to the port of entry just as fast, just slows down once CANPost gets a hold of it

Yeah, mine took 6+ weeks to get to the US and, like another poster above, they emailed me weeks ago to ask about the delivery.  I figured it would show up EVENTUALLY and it did.

Mr Bill wrote:They get to the port of entry just as fast, just slows down once CANPost gets a hold of it

I've shipped lots of parts to Canada and Ontario is by far the worst and slowest.

The camera finally arrived; talk about slow boat from China.  Started playing around with it today on my Macbook Pro and Samsung Note 4.  I found that using Photobooth (available with MacOS X; I'm running OS-X  v10.11.4) will work out of the box with this camera. The quality is ok, but you might find that the picture is inverted.  There is an option in Photobooth to flip images, which will correct this problem. As for the Android, I downloaded the app called MScopes from the Android Play Store to use the camera with my Note 4. This free app works quite well with the camera.