If you find yourself in the market to purchase a borescope, then its very important to consider not only the specifications and price of the borescope also the quality of the system and optional features. Unfortunately, there is no ‘one size fit’s all’ borescope. The borescope that will perform an inspection in ½ inch entry point will not perform well in a 12-inch diameter entry point.

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Here are some things to consider when purchasing your borescope:

1. Do I need a rigid borescope or a flexible borescope probe?
2. What diameter probe do I require?
3. Do I need a straight view for the inspection or do I need to see the side of the inspection area?
4. How long of a borescope probe or sometimes called borescope wand do I require?

What is the difference between a rigid borescope and a flexible borescope?

Basically, most borescope can be categorized into two categories of either having a rigid or flexible probe. The rigid borescope is just like it sounds, it offers a stiff probe that is straight and offers viewing at different angles. A flexible borescope probe is malleable and allows for free movement similar to a rope. Although the flexibility is beneficial for bending and manipulating the probe, it is not conducive for pushing. However, many of these flexible borescopes offer articulation at the tip. This articulation in most flexible borescope systems is controlled by steel cables that run from the tip of the probe up into the handle body where the articulation controls are located. This advanced feature allows you to manipulate or steer the tip of the probe inside your inspection area.

What sizes are borescope available in?

I know this is going to sound like a broken record but, there is no ‘one size fits all’ borescope. When you logically think about the design of a borescope the diameter of the probe is what will dictate what inspection areas you can enter. For example, if you have a 6mm diameter entry point you will require a borescope with a diameter smaller than 6mm. There is no way of getting around that. As you examine the design of the borescope you will see the lighting that will illuminate the inspection area comes out the tip of the probe. An 8mm diameter borescope will offer greater light output than a 4mm borescope or a 6mm borescope simply because there is more room to install micro LED’s at the tip or more fiberoptic fibers to provide lighting.

With advanced technology borescopes are now available with fiber optic bundles as small as .37mm. This mini borescope or micro borescopes are very delicate and precise devices but prove invaluable for many manufacturing and medical environments. 3mm borescope with micro cameras at the tip entered the market in and now a videoscope with a diameter as small as 2mm with articulation are available.

Even the best cheap sewer camera gets thrown into the category of being a ‘borescope’ simply because these push cameras provide a digital camera at the tip and allow the inspector to view the image on a color screen. The snake camera is available with diameters from ¼ inch up to 2.7 inches in diameter with the larger diameter camera heads providing greater light output.

What does Borescope DOV and Borescope AOV mean?

Whether you are using a fiberscope or videoscope the system will offer a specification for the view. This specification is usually called out as DOV – Direction of View or AOV – Angle of View. These acronyms and terms are used similarly. Whether it is a fiberscope or borescope camera it is referring to what you see when you enter the inspection area. Are you seeing the ‘straight’ view or 0-degree view or are you seeing the ‘side’ view or 90-degree view?

In most configurations the borescope will be viewing in the straight or 0 degree viewing angle. If you have room inside your inspection area this is not an issue if your borescope provides articulation that will allow you to view the side or 90-degree area. If the area that you are inspecting does not offer enough room for you to steer the borescope in different directions than you will require a borescope that offers a side view.

A recent advancement in the borescope industry is the introduction of a dual camera borescope. These borescopes that are designed and built with two different micro cameras, a straight view, and a side view, which offers the inspector the ability to quickly alternate between the views with the touch of a button. The dual lens inspection camera or 2 camera borescope is available in various diameters such as 3.9mm, 4.9mm and 6.0mm diameter.

Of course, there are a number of video borescope systems that offer a interchangeable side view tip. These tips are threaded onto the tip of the borescope probe and many of which will offer a mirror tip. The downfall of the mirror tip is that the borescope mirror tip utilizes the mirror to not only reflect the image into the borescope camera but to also reflect the borescope light to the inspection area. This causes a wash out of cloudy effect with the viewing. Many customers can satisfactorily complete their borescope inspection with this interchangeable borescope tip but other cannot accept this drop in image quality. Many of the advanced borescope systems will offer tips that have directional lighting that will not interfere with the image quality that the borescope inspector will observe on the screen. These borescope systems offer lighting that are designed to point in the direction of the viewing camera to not hinder or adversely affect the image that is being seen.

Is Borescope length really a factor?

A significant point to make when talking about the borescope probe length is that longer is not necessarily better. If your inspection requires that you have a borescope wand that is 3 feet in length and as you shop around for a borescope you may find one that offer similar features with a much longer length. You may reason to yourself, “Hmmm, let’s get the longest borescope probe I can get so no matter what comes up, I’ll have something that will work.” In some applications this may seem reasonable however, if you only require a borescope camera with 3 feet to complete your inspections and you purchase what you feel is the best borescope camera with 20 feet, you now have 17 feet of borescope probe that you are going to have to work with. In most cases this makes the borescope inspection much more cumbersome and difficult. In addition, the longer length will most likely be laying on the ground which creates an opportunity for you to damage the probe and possibly create a workplace hazard for others around you.

How to choose a Borescope, Endoscope or Videoscope

Every day, we help people select the right borescope and accessories for their specific application.

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Rigid vs Flexible

There is a difference between a Rigid and a flexible borescope

Rigid

Rigid borescopes give higher quality images, are easier to use and are less expensive than flexible scopes of similar quality. Choose a rigid borescope unless the rigidity is a problem.

Flexible

A flexible fiberscope lets you see inside spaces that a rigid borescope can’t penetrate. Blue Flexible borescopes can offer the additional benefit of articulation — the ability to remotely control the tip of the scope so that it bends in two or four directions to look around a cavity.

Take a look at some Rigid vs. Flexible borescope comparison images.

Diameter

The borescope must fit through the smallest hole required. When choosing a borescope diameter, consider more than clearing the sides of the hole. A slightly smaller scope may allow “wiggle room” so that you can see more by tilting the scope. The best thing is to try it. If you need to see into very small holes and relatively large ones, it is usually best to optimize for each, by using two borescopes. The micro slim borescope can fit into a 0.075″ (1.85mm) diameter hole.

Borescope Outer Diameter Sizes

Length

Choose a borescope to penetrate to the greatest depth required, but not so long as to be unwieldy outside the hole. Blue borescopes are available in a variety of lengths from 2″ to 33″ for rigid scopes and 27″ to 70″ for flexible borescopes.

Direction-of-View

Take a longitudinal axis through the center of the body of a rigid borescope, or the tip of a flexible. The direction-of-view is the angle from that axis of the center of the field-of-view. Look at your particular application, noting the point of borescope entry and the area to be examined. If the subject is straight ahead of a convenient entry hole a 0° direction-of-view might be best. If the subject is very close to the entry port, like engine valves near a spark plug hole, a backward-looking 120° borescope might be best. When examining a bore, like a rifle barrel, a 90° Mirror Tube will be perfect.

Field-of-View

Field-of-view may be very wide, wide, medium, or narrow. Think of it as a cone coming from the borescope tip, so that anything within the cone is visible. The field-of-view of the slim borescope is approximately 37°. Field-of-View should be dictated by the distance from the distal end of the borescope to the subject, for your application. The wider the field the lower the magnification, and vice versa. If you have plenty of space to move inside the cavity, but want to see both detailed close-ups and big picture views you might choose a 67° moderate wide angle. If the space is more confined but you still need to see most of it at one time, try a 90° extreme wide angle. On the other hand, if you can’t get close enough to show the detail you need, a 30° telephoto might be require

Magnification

Microscopes and loupes have very limited depth of field — they are only in clear focus at a single distance, so the magnification is also fixed. A borescope, however, has a very large depth of field — often from infinity down to an inch or less — that makes them easy to use without constant refocusing. The closer an object is to the lens of a borescope, the greater the magnification. To calculate magnification you must know the distance of the subject from the lens. The same principles apply to rigid or flexible borescopes

Flexible vs Rigid Video Images

The images below were taken using a Rigid borescopes and Blue Flexible borescopes with the Luxxor 24 Light Source, Luxxor Video Coupler Lens and a Sony video camera. The images were captured using software and capture a card. Images taken at 640 x 480 and scaled to 320 x 240 for display in table.

Honda 500cm3 Motorcycle Engine

This image was taken using the Flexible borescope with the 90 degree mirror adapter in place. A 35mm FL coupler lens was used.

This image was taken using the Hardy borescope with the 90 degree mirror adapter in place. A 35mm FL coupler lens was used.

This image was taken using the Blue Flexible borescope articulated to 90°. A 35mm FL coupler lens was used.

This image was taken using a Karl Storz 120° DOV borescope. A 25mm FL coupler lens was used.

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