iPhone to iPhone (or other) camera

[timothy42b]

Can I use an old iPhone as an inspection camera to check my gutters? Tape it to a long stick, reach up, and watch what the camera sees on some other screen?

When we upgraded i kept an old iPhone. It doesn't have cell any more, but it has wifi and bluetooth, and I use it for making recordings, my tuner and metronome, etc.

i started googling but maybe somebody's already done this. I have available: other iPhones, a Kindle Fire, an iPad.

What's the easiest way?

[timothy42b]

My wifi router is at one end of the house, and if the connection is exclusively wifi I can't connect outside the other end. So the easy nanny cam route may not work.

[sacfxdx]

You could start a video on the phone and then check your gutters. Replay the video when finished.

[slipperyjoe]

I'm assuming that you don't want to invest in other equipment, but it works with Apple TV (just tried it). I see references to apps that allow iPhone mirroring to an iPad or Macintosh. Might be worth looking into.

[JohnL]

Do you have a regular laptop computer of some sort?

You could try installing EpocCam on the old iPhone and the laptop, then hotspot your newer iPhone and use it as a bridge to connect the old iPhone to the laptop.

[slipperyjoe]

How about Skype or something similar from old iPhone to new (or iPad) via wifi?

[JohnL]

How about Skype or something similar from old iPhone to new (or iPad) via wifi?

I think the problem is the lack of a wifi signal at one end of the house. Some sort of peer-to-peer connection is in order.

[Burgerbob]

Or just start a video with the camera app and watch it afterwards.

[slipperyjoe]

How about Skype or something similar from old iPhone to new (or iPad) via wifi?

I think the problem is the lack of a wifi signal at one end of the house. Some sort of peer-to-peer connection is in order.

Missed that. Hotspot then.

[JohnL]

Or just start a video with the camera app and watch it afterwards.

I've tried that in similar situations and got great videos of everything but what I really wanted to see. It's much easier when you can see what the camera sees in real time.

[timothy42b]

Or just start a video with the camera app and watch it afterwards.

I've tried that in similar situations and got great videos of everything but what I really wanted to see. It's much easier when you can see what the camera sees in real time.

Yeah it's tricky getting it lined up to what you want to see. I never thought of the hot spot idea, that has possibilities.

[Mikebmiller]

Have you considered a ladder?

[afugate]

Maybe spend a few bucks and get an endoscope/borescope for this? It seems like it would be much easier to maneuver it around on the end of a pole, and might be more useful in general.

-- Andy in OKC

[timothy42b]

Maybe spend a few bucks and get an endoscope/borescope for this? It seems like it would be much easier to maneuver it around on the end of a pole, and might be more useful in general.

-- Andy in OKC

That was my first thought. The only reason I haven't done it is that which ones work with which phones seems very inconsistent, I haven't known which to buy. Still on my to-do list.

what I've done so far: confirmed I can set up a hot spot with an iPhone, downloaded Presence to two phones and confirmed I can see video on one from the other. There is considerable lag as it goes through the wifi to the server and back to the other phone. I downloaded Alfred and Presence, both highly related nanny cams, but could not get Alfred to work. Operator error for sure, but I didn't figure it out.

[JohnL]

There is considerable lag as it goes through the wifi to the server and back to the other phone.

That's because Presence has to go all the way out their servers; a good thing if you want to be able to watch live-ish video from you house when you're away from home (and you wouldn't notice a little lag in that sort of situation). A peer-to-peer solution like EpocCam doesn't offer that capability, but it should have appreciably less lag, since the data never has to leave the little WLAN you've set up with you hotspot. The only drawback is that you need three devices (camera/iPhone, hotspot iPhone, laptop).

[JLivi]

I was recently inquiring about a webcam on Facebook and here's something a friend responded with. I'm not sure if it'll help in this situation.

"If you have an iPhone or iPad in Zoom you can use those devices to "share screen" via airplay. The rear cameras in both devices, even older ones, are much better than your computer's camera. I've done this for my own lessons, and for virtual trunk shows."

[JohnL]

Can AirPlay send the video to another iPhone/iPad? I've only seen it send video to AppleTV or similar device.

[afugate]

Maybe spend a few bucks and get an endoscope/borescope for this? It seems like it would be much easier to maneuver it around on the end of a pole, and might be more useful in general.

-- Andy in OKC

That was my first thought. The only reason I haven't done it is that which ones work with which phones seems very inconsistent, I haven't known which to buy. Still on my to-do list.

I have a borescope that won't talk to a USB3 connection. At first I thought it was broken and was going to return it. Then I discovered it worked fine when the connection routed through a USB2 hub. So I understand your concern.

If I were to purchase today, I would buy a borescope with built-in wifi. They've come down in price dramatically.

Something like this Depstech model. https://www.amazon.com/DEPSTECH-Waterpr ... B01MYTHWK4

They also have a semi-rigid model that's only a few bucks more. That might be ideal for checking gutters.

--Andy in OKC