Is there anything between an Eyeclops toy and a $10,000 stereo video inspection workstation? There has to be a way to get a webcam to focus at three inches, so it can be fed to a common 7" video monitor. Anything already being offered, before I have to hack at it myself?
Edit: I've found a bunch of cheap things with "usb microscope" to connect to a computer, which I might chase after, but I was hoping for something that was direct to the display (NTSC is fine).
Most options out there will be threw a PC. Its cheaper to put them on a USB interface then it is to interface it directly with a monitor or TV.
You should be able to utilize the standard set of "closeup" enhancements with any webcam or mini video camera, although you'll also get the standard set of "issues" with such adaptions (not enough light, distortion near edges, etc.) There are a bunch of suggestions on Instructables.com, mostly under the guise of "how to take macro photos with your cheap digital camera"; My favorite involved using a cheap pair of "reading glasses" (here's one; I don't think it's the one I was thinking of: http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Macro-Len-for-2---with-Video-Instruction/)
yea I did one of those (instructable that is) using radio shack magnifying glasses, since they just happen to be the same size as my camera lens
Have you seen these:-
http://www.green-witch.com/cgi-bin/sh000001.pl?REFPAGE=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.green-witch.com%2F&WD=microscope&PN=Celestron_Digital_Microscopes.html%23a189#a189
Perhaps this could be useful:
Here's a possibility:
Go to Goodwill or another thrift store local to you, and try to find a used video camera (and a TV with composite input, if needed); they tend to get many in now that people are moving fully to digital cameras.
If you look carefully, you can find something that works; worst case scenario, you'll have an interesting device to take apart for your part bins. Sometimes you can find one that will take a macro lens, or has such functionality built in.