Spent $310 on a used camera snake, and it paid for itself in one job
Bought a used Rigid micro camera off a guy in Grand Rapids two winters back for $310. Went back and forth on it for weeks because that's a lot of money for something I didn't strictly need. Used to just drop a light down and squint, or tell the homeowner I couldn't really see past the smoke shelf without pulling the whole thing apart.
Second job I brought it on, a 1920s house with a flue that never drew right, I found a whole nest of something jammed about 6 feet down. Showed the homeowner the screen right there in the living room. She didn't even blink at the price to clear it. That one job covered the camera.
Older sweeps I know still go by feel and a mirror, and honestly some of them are better at it than I'll ever be with a screen. But I can't go back to guessing. Curious if anyone here runs a camera and what you're using for the really tight offsets.