Video Borescopes Under $400 – Comparison
September 6, 2008 10:10 am Auto Tool Comparison, Automotive Shop Tools Fiber optic borescopes have been a great tool for auto techs, locksmiths, plumbers and electricians for years. Until recently there hasn’t been many options for a video based borescope that is affordable. Not too many auto technicians or electricians that want to spend five to ten thousand dollars for a fancy video based borescope. There are basically two options for a low priced video scope that can be used for a variety of purposes, the Rigid See Snake and the Visual Optics Video Stik.
The Rigid brand video inspection scope is called the SeeSnake
Rigid Micro SeeSnake is an option with a 3 foot reach, a magnet and clip on mirror included. The main drawback with this tool is that the camera at the end of the wand is 0.70″ and that prevents the use of this tool in smaller areas like in an engine’s cylinder through a spark plug hole. A better size for the probe on borescopes and video endoscopes is under 0.50″ this allows access to much tighter areas. The Micro SeeSnake inspection camera has a 2.4″ color LCD screen that has 160 x 234 resolution.
The Visual Optics brand inspection scope is called the Video Stik
The Visual Optics video inspection tool is called the Video Stik, Visual Optics’ inspection scopes come in 36″ or 72″ and are made in the USA. The Video Stik with it’s 320x 240 pixel resolution, provides a more defined image compared to the Rigid SeeSnake with it’s 160 x 234 resolution. The camera on the end of the wand is smaller too. Compared to the Rigid brand that has 0.70″ diameter, the Video Stik has a 0.42″ diameter, allowing access to more spaces. The Visual Optics Video Stik also comes with accessories. The magnet an mirror are small enough to access very tight areas, after-all if they don’t fit into the area needed they are useless.
Automatic Focus allows for ease of use when compared to fiber optic borescopes. Fiberoptic bore scopes were at one time the only game in town when it came to affordable inspection scopes. New technology in affordable video based inspection scopes has changed this forever. New electronic gadgets like these, are sure to spawn more competition in the new Affordable Inspection Tool Arena, DLT’s top pick for automotive inspection is the Video Stik.
Ed McKiernan :
Date: September 6, 2008 @ 2:10 pm
RIDGID just launched a 0.37″ camera head with the SeeSnake micro in addition to the 0.7″ camera mentioned on this page. The 0.37″ camera head has no issues passing through spark plug bores.
dennisb :
Date: September 10, 2008 @ 6:47 am
Thanks Ed (VP of Marketing for RIGID) for your comments. At the time of this post there was no information on Rigid.com about the new size camera available on the SeeSnake. I appreciate you having Brian email me the pdf on the new design. The smaller size camera will allow more capabilities when it becomes available, for automotive use.
John Doe :
Date: November 11, 2008 @ 7:25 am
Looks good – why are the top end scopes so expensive?
dennisb :
Date: November 11, 2008 @ 7:41 am
Just like with cameras, the higher number of pixels, the more it costs. Also there are additional features that can drive the cost up. The good news is that the scopes in the blog are perfect for general use and are priced very low. The Visual Optics video scope even has an optional Video Grabber which allows the video footage to be transferred to a PC or laptop. After it is in a file on a computer it can be emailed to the client if desired or saved for future playback.