# Anyone ever use insight vision camera



## Qplumb

I'm going to wwett show in February and hopefully purchase a new camera. I was looking at the insight vision opticam 

http://www.insightvisioncameras.com/opticam_camera.html

Has anyone used these? If so are they any good?


----------



## gear junkie

Why did you choose this one to buy?


----------



## supakingDFW

I considered that camera when I first started shopping around. Insight makes good equipment and that price point almost sold me. The fact that there is no battery on that unit was the deal breaker for me...


----------



## Qplumb

It's priced a few grand cheaper than ridgid just under $6,000. I don't need a battery powered camera since there is always power where I'm working & I also have a power inverter in truck. I run the company debt free so I save to buy everything I have & don't want to spend the extra $$ if it's not justified.


----------



## Cuda

The Ridgid Seesnake is the Tank of push sewer cameras, it has proven itself over many years. It starts with the best push rod in the industry and is followed by a camera head that is rated not just to be submerged in water but pressure tested for pressure. Many have asked this question on cameras, some buy the Seesnake and others buy another brand. When they post as time goes by about the problems they run into with the others they always say " I wish I had bought the Seesnake" So spending the extra money is very much justified.


----------



## gear junkie

Qplumb said:


> It's *priced a few grand cheaper* than ridgid just under $6,000. I don't need a battery powered camera since there is always power where I'm working & I also have a power inverter in truck. I run the company debt free so I save to buy everything I have & don't want to spend the extra $$ if it's not justified.


Another plumber inspecting with a black & white camera missed this. Wonder what the other plumber did with all that money they saved?


----------



## gear junkie

Another plumber missed this all these but they used a color camera from a different company. Saved all kinds of money!! Best part is they're an inspection only company lol


----------



## dhal22

My Ridgid Seesnake paid for itself in less than a year. That was 5 or so years ago. There have been many discussions here about cheaper cameras since then. Every one of these argumentative cheaper camera purchasers have come to regret their decision. Every Ridgid purchaser has loved their decision.


----------



## Drain Pro

I own 2 Ridgid systems. Couldn't be happier. They pay for themselves so fast that the extra money doesn't matter. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## dhal22

Drain Pro said:


> I own 2 Ridgid systems. Couldn't be happier. They pay for themselves so fast that the extra money doesn't matter.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Exactly. They generate so much revenue anyway why would you take a shortcut.


----------



## PPRI

I kinda liked the insight portable tractor rigs. I thought the push cable on the push cams was way to big and stiff.


----------



## Cuda

When I say the Seesnake is a tank of a camera I am talking about the Fullsize 325' or 200' and the 200' mini.


----------



## dhal22

I have the Compact and the 200' fullsize. Both very durable.


----------



## Plumber patt

We have an old ridgid see snake. Its our go to camera. We recently just purchased (within a year) another camera system (non ridgid) and its crap. Its already been in for repair twice. The ridgid has never gone in for service in the 6 years I have been with the company, and the camera was there before me. Save some more $$$ and buy the ridgid. There is no way you will regret it. Put the money you have saved for that one and take on some debt. If you run a debt free company i would think you should make that money back very quickly...


----------



## Redwood

The thing to remember is the Sewer Camera is a Sales Tool...

When you sell a new sewer line, a relining, or a pipe bursting job, with your sales tool you pay for it very quickly...

As a matter of fact I let the customer find their own problem using my sales tool...

They instinctively know something is wrong when they see it...
The sale is easy...

They already said, "What do I have to do to fix that?"
You are the expert! Just give them the answers...


----------



## Roto-Rooter

I have had a Gator-Cam for over 10 years and it has give good service. I like it is compact and easy in and out. Had to have it worked on 2 times in the time I have had it. Good service also. I had to send it in and they sent a loner camera head to use while mine was being fixed.


----------



## dhal22

Redwood said:


> The thing to remember is the Sewer Camera is a Sales Tool...
> 
> When you sell a new sewer line, a relining, or a pipe bursting job, with your sales tool you pay for it very quickly...
> 
> As a matter of fact I let the customer find their own problem using my sales tool...
> 
> They instinctively know something is wrong when they see it...
> The sale is easy...
> 
> They already said, "What do I have to do to fix that?"
> You are the expert! Just give them the answers...


When I added a 200' camera to my inventory I chose the CS65 monitor for a specific reason. It is very impressive while being used and helps with the sale.,


----------



## [email protected]

I see there are a lot of wise and experienced men on this board. This information is priceless in the service world.


----------



## fixitright

[email protected] said:


> I see there are a lot of wise and experienced men on this board. This information is priceless in the service world.




Flattery will get you everywhere, Kirk. :laughing:


----------



## Drain Pro

Since Kirk is here I will ass kiss a bit and say that AJ Coleman is the ONLY place anyone should consider buying a camera from. I regret not buying my full size/CS1000/Navitrak from them. I did however buy a mini,CS6,Scout,Micro drain from them last year at the show. Very easy to deal with and top notch customer service. Coleman are one of the very few companies that know how to treat customers. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## PPRI

And Kirk gave you a banging price on that kit. I kicked myself for a month not getting one myself.


----------



## gear junkie

Hold on....you guys get special deals from them?!


----------



## Drain Pro

gear junkie said:


> Hold on....you guys get special deals from them?!





Just kidding 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## [email protected]

I've been getting a lot of calls this week with guys wanting to buy new camera gear. Just to remind everyone, the Ridgid Spring fling begins on Feb 1st! That is where all the deals are!


----------



## WDP

*seesnake compact*

wow lots of positive reviews on Ridgid. Can't say I've had as good of an experience. My compact pushrod has broken three times in three years... once being harsh on it, and the other two times treating as gentle as a new born baby. I regret buying the thing. Older compact with orange pushrod.


----------



## plbgbiz

[email protected] said:


> I've been getting a lot of calls this week with guys wanting to buy new camera gear. Just to remind everyone, the Ridgid Spring fling begins on Feb 1st! That is where all the deals are!


And calls form some guys just trying fix the shiot that gets abused on the job.


----------



## Cuda

WDP said:


> wow lots of positive reviews on Ridgid. Can't say I've had as good of an experience. My compact pushrod has broken three times in three years... once being harsh on it, and the other two times treating as gentle as a new born baby. I regret buying the thing. Older compact with orange pushrod.


Compact is a different animal, 100' wimpy cable good starter or maintenance camera. Fullsize seesnake is a tank, mini is light and good for most jobs. For day to day sewer work these are the only ones I recommend to others.


----------



## fixitright

Have a mini and like it

Let's see if the spring is gonna fling a tank my way.


----------



## MACK ATTAKK

How do you find out what the spring fling deals are? Are they on the Ridgid website?


----------



## dhal22

WDP said:


> wow lots of positive reviews on Ridgid. Can't say I've had as good of an experience. My compact pushrod has broken three times in three years... once being harsh on it, and the other two times treating as gentle as a new born baby. I regret buying the thing. Older compact with orange pushrod.


Mine is 5? years old I think but has the red pushrod. No breaks yet.


----------



## [email protected]

MACK ATTAKK said:


> How do you find out what the spring fling deals are? Are they on the Ridgid website?


 
I tried to find it on the Ridgid web site with no luck. I have a electronic copy but the file is too large to upload to PZ. If you would like, shoot me an email to [email protected] and I will send you a copy.


----------



## Drain Pro

There's only one way to break a push rod IMO. Abuse. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## sparky

Anybody seen or used the easycam camera system??looks decent


----------



## plbgbiz

Drain Pro said:


> There's only one way to break a push rod IMO. Abuse. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


It usually happens when the guy using the camera is not the guy that bought the camera.


----------



## gear junkie

Drain Pro said:


> There's only one way to break a push rod IMO. Abuse.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


My mini push rod is starting to crackle when I push it. When I talked to the guys at AJ, they explained all push rods do loosen up over time and the crackle noise is the fiberglass breaking down. Nothing can be done about it. This week, I pushed it 130' out through a 2" kitchen drain cleanout with that mini. Had 30' of 4" clay, 50' of 6" clay.....had the most grease I've ever seen in a lateral. Was actually really surprised I was able to make the push so even though the push rod is nearing the end, it still pushes great.

Since I need that mini almost everyday, instead of an extra camera, I bought an extra push rod with the wet ends already on them. Just unscrew the old pushrod and camera head and screw the new one back on.


----------



## Drain Pro

gear junkie said:


> My mini push rod is starting to crackle when I push it. When I talked to the guys at AJ, they explained all push rods do loosen up over time and the crackle noise is the fiberglass breaking down. Nothing can be done about it. This week, I pushed it 130' out through a 2" kitchen drain cleanout with that mini. Had 30' of 4" clay, 50' of 6" clay.....had the most grease I've ever seen in a lateral. Was actually really surprised I was able to make the push so even though the push rod is nearing the end, it still pushes great.
> 
> 
> 
> Since I need that mini almost everyday, instead of an extra camera, I bought an extra push rod with the wet ends already on them. Just unscrew the old pushrod and camera head and screw the new one back on.



I wasn't referring to failure to due to gradual wear and tare. I meant sudden catastrophic failure. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## gear junkie

Oh then yes, agree with you 100%


----------



## ChrisConnor

How much was the new pushrod?


----------



## [email protected]

ChrisConnor said:


> How much was the new pushrod?


Ridgid part number 67327. List 2462.05. Your cost 2092.74 and as a PZ special, I will ship it for free. Just make sure to mention the thread.


----------



## Unclog1776

[email protected] said:


> Ridgid part number 67327. List 2462.05. Your cost 2092.74 and as a PZ special, I will ship it for free. Just make sure to mention the thread.


Is that price for the push rod?


----------



## gear junkie

Unclog1776 said:


> Is that price for the push rod?


yep. Also, I decided to go this route because the nearest place to get my camera retermed is 3 hours away (EPL Solutions). I'm often booked 2 weeks in advance so I can't just go down there on a slow day. 

But now since I have the extra push rod, I can also get the old one mailed out and fixed while the new one is on the reel. I didn't do this with my full size because the mini can do what the full size can do, just not as well, but the full size can't do what the mini can do (I think I got that right). 

Something else to consider is buy a reterm kit for your camera. That's probably the most common part needed and sometimes camera shops run out.


----------



## [email protected]

Unclog1776 said:


> Is that price for the push rod?


 That is correct. BUT, this is a complete push rod with the reterm ends installed on it from RIDGID. If you need a new pushrod for your Mini and have the time to send it in to us, I can replace the pushrod using your existing reterm ends for 1778.30. This is the pushrod and labor included. 

GearJunkie likes to have an additional pushrod on hand to make a field expedient repair if necessary. Changing a pushrod out like this in the field would probably take about 30 minutes and a cable carrier or tire to dump the old cable in. The hardest and most time consuming part is getting the old cable out and the new cable in (preferably without kinking the new cable). All the parts in the spring assembly are simply plug and play. Oh, and a spanner wrench to pull off the camera head and spring assembly would definitely come in handy.


----------



## [email protected]

gear junkie said:


> Something else to consider is buy a reterm kit for your camera. That's probably the most common part needed and sometimes camera shops run out.


 We stock a looooad of reterm kits, 50-60 easily and occasionally because of back logs with RIDGID we run out. Marvin will even occasionally stash 10-15 in his desk just to make sure we always have a couple extra on hand for the Zombie Apocalypse.


----------



## MACK ATTAKK

I see that the camera head on the mini is about a 1/4" smaller then the big guy. And the cable slightly thinner. I've had issues with the big one making turns in 4" cast iron. My buddy has the compact 2 which I feel the push is terrible. Will the mini navigate multiple turns in 4" cast?


----------



## [email protected]

MACK ATTAKK said:


> I see that the camera head on the mini is about a 1/4" smaller then the big guy. And the cable slightly thinner. I've had issues with the big one making turns in 4" cast iron. My buddy has the compact 2 which I feel the push is terrible. Will the mini navigate multiple turns in 4" cast?


 The Mini camera head is approximately 1/4 of an inch smaller than the Standard Reel head. The Compact 2 (6.6mm pushrod )and RM200 have the same camera head (1") now after the redesign of the Compact 2. 

As for navigating 4" cast with multiple turns, I would think that this would be easily accomplished with the Mini (200' of 8mm pushrod) rather than the Standard reel (200' 11mm pushrod) simply because of the diameter of the pushrod. The Mini pushrod give a little more than the Standard will. Or in that case, maybe even the RM200A which is 200 feet of 7.5mm pushrod. The RM200B which is 165' of pushrod comes in at 9mm which may also be an option as it is middle of the road between the Compact and Standard.

BUT, I have to throw out the disclaimer that I try to with all customers. There are simply just to many variables at hand to try and determine if that camera is going to work in all scenarios. 

If you are able, try to contact your local RIDGID rep and have them come out with his reels so you can finger them up and see what they are all about. They will also have all of these on display at the WWET show.


----------



## fixitright

You da man Kirk


----------



## [email protected]

Fixit, how did that Eel expandable cutter work out for you? They are expensive but IMHO the best expandable cutter on the market. If Eel does one thing, that is make hella good cutters.


----------



## fixitright

[email protected] said:


> Fixit, how did that Eel expandable cutter work out for you? They are expensive but IMHO the best expandable cutter on the market. If Eel does one thing, that is make hella good cutters.




I do like and use Eel cutters.

The few places I wanted to use the Eel 4x6 it simply wouldn't fit.
The cleanouts to small or when there on the bottom of the stack there's
a tight turn the 4x6 won't make it.

I talked to Azzz a few times about it and seems his region of plumbing
is different and works there. 

Going to reformat my initial contract and see if I can sell the 3x6 General cutter you sold me along with camera work. (No worries)

We're still crawling out of the recession here. Disposable income is tight but I'm busy enough. 

Digging out from the snow we just had but I'll be down for new toys this spring.


----------



## saysflushable

[email protected] said:


> If Eel does one thing, that is make hella good cutters.


 That's funny you say that. I think they make the best cutters but you could check your records and see how many I broke. It definitely isn't the cutters problem I think the operator is abusive.:whistling2:


----------



## cable or root

Broken blades just mean you're using them.


----------

