High-speed camera with a borescope?

[Jeff7]

Is there such a thing?

I've got a machine here that needs to be diagnosed. Problem is, it moves very quickly.
I tried using its built-in Step Mode, however, the thing I'm trying to analyze is evidently consider a single "step," even though multiple actions occur within a step. Presumably, the machine instructs the subassembly to do its thing, and the subassembly does it: As far as the machine is concerned, only one step has occurred.
So in order to slow down the action, I need a camera. It's also in an inaccessible place where a regular camera can't see, so I've got to snake something into the machine to get close enough.

I've seen rental places that offer all kinds of cinematic-quality things, 4K-res and all that. I need something more like perhaps a few hundred frames a second, 720-1080p, but which can handle a borescope attachment.

Searching for this hasn't been fruitful. Plenty of sellers consider "high framerate" to mean "full 29.97fps," and "high speed" to refer to "high speed USB 2.0." Maybe I'm not using the right terms for this kind of thing.


I also know little about borescope attachments, if that's even a thing. (Can I rent a high-speed camera for a week and just get a borescope attachment that screws in like a standard lens?)



Budget: Probably not a lot. It's another situation where it has to be made to work, but there's not a lot of money available to do that. Hence the mention of "rent a camera."

 

[CuriousMike]

I'm too lazy to read your whole post or try to understand the issue.

However, I will say that an iPhone 6 has a 240fps, 720p mode. Maybe you could jamb the iPhone camera sensor up to the borescope screen.
If the borescope screen has a slow refresh rate, this might be moot.

 

[Jeff7]

I'm too lazy to read your whole post or try to understand the issue.

However, I will say that an iPhone 6 has a 240fps, 720p mode. Maybe you could jamb the iPhone camera sensor up to the borescope screen.
If the borescope screen has a slow refresh rate, this might be moot.

I might be using the wrong term, maybe.

I'm thinking of something that's completely passive: A fiber optic light tube thing that then attaches to a high-speed camera. The scope wouldn't have a screen of its own.

 

[slashbinslashbash]

There are plenty of cameras that can do high framerate shooting. I have a Canon ELPH P&S from 5 years ago that would do 600fps, IIRC. Your main issue will be finding the borescope thingy and seeing what it will attach to.

I had some luck with "Machida Borescope" on fleabay. I found a scope itself for $175 and an adapter for attaching to a camera for $39. Then you need the camera itself. Something like this seems the most likely most economical thing you can get. Any borescope with a cam attached is likely to be very low frame rate.

Note, the available light is going to limit the usefulness of the high speed video. Most borescopes have an LED for illumination but they are not very bright. If it is super dark inside the machine then everything will probably be too dark at a fast shutter speed.

 

[Jeff7]

There are plenty of cameras that can do high framerate shooting. I have a Canon ELPH P&S from 5 years ago that would do 600fps, IIRC. Your main issue will be finding the borescope thingy and seeing what it will attach to.

Hmm....someone at work does have connections with someone who has high-end cameras. Maybe they have something like that.

I had some luck with "Machida Borescope" on fleabay. I found a scope itself for $175 and an adapter for attaching to a camera for $39. Then you need the camera itself. Something like this seems the most likely most economical thing you can get. Any borescope with a cam attached is likely to be very low frame rate.

Will investigate.

Note, the available light is going to limit the usefulness of the high speed video. Most borescopes have an LED for illumination but they are not very bright. If it is super dark inside the machine then everything will probably be too dark at a fast shutter speed.

I'm sure that making something to blast some light in there wouldn't be too big a deal. I think I could get some light in there with a decent flashlight and the right angle.

 

[BlakeP]

Phantom Miro "Midsize" Cameras. Miro line of Phantom digital high-speed cameras is targeted at a broad range of industries and applications that require an affordable, flexible, easy-to-use camera with excellent image quality, and speeds up to 3.2 gigapixels / second. That's over 3,000 fps at 1 Mpx resolution, for example.