Inspection Camera Question

[BadFitter]

I'm looking at buying an inspection camera. The prices have come down significantly in recent times.
Camera.jpg
My question is what length cable is needed and most useful. My choices are 1-meter (3.3 ft), 3-meter (10 feet), or 5-meter (16.5 ft). I truly don't think a 16 foot camera cable will ever be needed by my hobby type work and I certainly don't think I will be inspecting long piping runs.

Most cameras I see at the big box stores have the 1-meter cable and I think that would take care of 90% of everything I need for working on the bus. The 3-meter cable might come in handy a few times and I'm wondering if the added length might not be too much of a nuisance. If there was a 5 or 6 foot cable it would be an easy choice but not available.

I'm not necessarily interested in the brand camera you might have but just the cable length.

Thanks,

[Anthem]

One meter is fine 95 percent of that time except when you need that one extra foot that you can’t get every once in awhile. So I would say 6ft/2m is ideal. The two limiting factors have come across in these - one is the stiffness of the cable. None of them are that stiff and you end up having the end flopping and twisting around which makes it even more challenging. The other is the size of the head and cable. The smaller the better. I had to snake a camera between a pocket door and the slightly thicker unit couldn’t make it in.

you should also consider the ones with a 90 degree side camera on then. With a push of button can see the side which has come in handy more times than I can count.

[BadFitter]

Thanks! Good first hand info.

[Dockholiday]

Les, I’ve got one that I actually got at Harbor Freight - silly thing works great and it has the 1 meter flex cable. I personally can’t imagine one longer - I fight the length on this one and it’s the short version. Yes, likely at some point you might need longer - but I would relegate that to a one off and be glad that the other 95% of the time you can manage pushing the cable and being able to view the screen at the same time.

[Gil_J]

I initially bought a Dewalt. Overpriced for the resolution. I too have the cheap Harbor Freight unit. I've used it for maybe 6 years and it still works great.

I was helping someone with a Snap-On with wireless display. That's the way to go. It's so much easier to move just the camera and it had amazing clarity.

[DaneB]

Les,
I own several of the Ryobi brand with about 3 feet of cable. We use them on a weekly basis. Sometimes a 3 foot cable is a challenge to feed and control. I do see plumbers use the very long cables to identify wrongly installed drainage or blockages, of course much easier to direct the path.
The Ryobi works really well and are only $150. The picture that you have posted shows one heck of an image quality and wonder if it is that clear in real COVID time. The Ryobi does not have that kind of definition but it works perfect for identifying anything in the area viewed. It has a few light brightness adjustments as well.

s-l640.jpg

[BadFitter]

You guys have convinced me that the 1-meter length is the way to go. I guess if I get in a situation that I need longer, I can always order the other cable. Having 95% of the need covered is good enough for me, especially since I currently have 0% covered...

Thanks for helping me spend money. The group seems to be very good at that!