Endoscope/inspection camera buying advice please.


Hi all
I am looking to buy one of those endoscope cams. Here’s why. This morning I noticed drops of water dripping from a downlight in one of our rooms. So, I pulled out the downlight from the ceiling and lo and behold the shower waste from the bathroom is directly above the downlight hole. So, I Need to investigate where the water is dripping from so I want a camera on a Stick with a light on the end. I believe they are called endoscopes or inspection cameras. I have seen them on EBay and Facebook previously but they are so cheap they make me think they are junk.
So, my question is… can anybody suggest a camera (with light) that I can use to stick in my dark ceiling space to see what’s going on (make a video or see live video?) I don’t want to chance sticking my iPhone up with its torch on. Surely there has to be a decent enough, cheap enough inspection camera? If so what do they connect to? PC? Phone? If there is such a device where do I see the images? PC Screen? Phone screen?
Thanks in advance all.
Replies
(except air quality and Medical Science
Unless your iPhone is an old one, it would be fine if it got a few drips of water on it, they aren't like phones of the past. Check it's rating before trying it.
A PIRATE
Not an Alcoholic...!
My own advice is:
Get something that connects to your phone via USB or Bluetooth, as there’s no point buying one with a dedicated screen.
You need autofocus. The one I have is fixed focus at only a few cms, whereas you need to get a wider picture before doing a close up shot.
I wouldn’t fixate on pixels, as the lens is bound to be carp.
They all seem to have a light built in, as that’s the easy part!
Be prepared to spend quite a bit of money.
If you find a good one, please report back!
BUT remember they only have quite short focus, and the light is not bright enough for long distances. (However, if you can get more light into a dark area, you can get a reasonable wiew over a larger area.). It is ideal for my purposes anyway.
The one I bought was this one:
DEPSTECH 5mm Wireless Endoscope,1080P Dual Lens Borescope Inspection Camera with Light,2.0 Megapixels Snake Camera with Flexible Semi-Rigid Cable for iPhone & Android-16.5FT https://amzn.eu/d/17FyKfP
I needed the 5mm one for my airbricks, but I imagine the thicker ones would provide a better picture, and maybe cheaper.