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[roseway]

Once you've got past the sniggers about possible uses for this product, it looks as though it could be quite useful. It's an LED illuminated camera on the end of a long flexible tube.

http://www.firebox.com/product/2505/USB-Snakescope-Camera?aff=512&awc=550_1295078204_d3d3ed0b0ce526f6cc5822af7d45bf64

[stevie]

I`ve had one for a while now.

I got it for work, made life easier to see into voids for inspection purposes.

For the £`s not bad, but there are better ones available at considerably more £`s.

[sevenlayermuddle]

Cheers Eric, I've ordered one!

It's probably best to have realistic expectations of what you get for that sort of money, but as long as it works at all I'm sure it'll be useful.  I can think of various times in the past I'd have used one.

- 7LM

[roseway]

I'm still wondering whether to take the chance that I could get it to work with Linux.

[silversurfer44]

I'm still wondering whether to take the chance that I could get it to work with Linux.

That's what I was wondering. I've just trawled the net and found Maplin are selling the same thing for £39.99.
From what I can tell it should be recognised as a generic webcam. Still not sure though.

[roseway]

That's interesting Colin. I think I'll do a bit of research too.

[sevenlayermuddle]

I intend to use mine primarily with an XP laptop, but I've several linux distro's on different boxes too... a couple of different Fedoras versions, and one proprietary minimalist diskless box.

I'll try it on these and let you know if it 'works out the box' or with small amounts of effort.  But I may not volunteer to put too much effort into it of it doesn't work easily...

- 7LM

[roseway]

Thanks 7LM.

[oldfogy]

That's interesting Colin. I think I'll do a bit of research too.

I think the the biggest drawback is with it only having a range of "6cm~infinite"

£39.99
http://www.maplin.co.uk/flexible-snake-scope-camera-257206

£199.99
http://www.maplin.co.uk/ccd-snake-cctv-camera-220665?ordercode=N92CX
(And no LED's but smaller Sensor size: 1/ 4-inch )

£20.99
http://www.firebox.com/product/2505/USB-Snakescope-Camera?aff=512&awc=550_1295078204_d3d3ed0b0ce526f6cc5822af7d45bf64
(Possibly the same camera as the Maplin £39.99 camera)

[robinsteele]

I saw one about a month ago on that BidupTv.It looked a good idea,but I thought it had to be connected to a Laptop for it to work.The advert had a bird mucking about under her car bonnet,but she would have to have her Laptop there as well.

[oldfogy]

Obviously as part of the sales gimmick they don't want to highlight the fact of having to have a laptop connected at the same time.

The same can be said with some of the comments about spying on colleagues, "what from 6 CM" I don't think so.

[sevenlayermuddle]

I don't really see how anybody could expect a webcam (that's what I think it is, basically) to work without being attached to a PC?   Am I missing something?

RE the focus... that '6 cm to infinity' almost certainly means it's a fixed focus lens with absolutely no means of adjustment.   But for finding a ball-bearing that's rolled under a heavy piece of furniture, does that matter?   It won't worry me if the ball bearing's in soft focus, but if you're looking for something suited to exhibition photography, I'd suggest you pay a lot more. 

[scottiesmum]

The advert had a bird mucking about under her car bonnet

That's one very clever and posh 'bird'   

[roseway]

Must have been a penguin - they're certainly the smartest birds.

[robinsteele]

Obviously as part of the sales gimmick they don't want to highlight the fact of having to have a laptop connected at the same time.

The same can be said with some of the comments about spying on colleagues, "what from 6 CM" I don't think so.

My old boss had his office bugged by a devious shifty sod!