I know this is a really old post, but it comes up in Google when searching for terms about Wind Mitigation Photos (I was looking for something else, Citizens was asking one of my customers for roof slope images on their wind mit, which was a first for me and I wanted to see if anyone else had that issue)… But I saw this question and I felt this was an important topic and that my experience over the years might be helpful to someone.
I do well over 1,000 wind mits a year and after some trial and error I found what works best for me…
I have a Nikon D5500, but I’d never take that up in an attic… lol
My solution? My phone…
I use a Samsung S23 Ultra due to it’s specs:
• 12.0 to 200MP
• It has Telephoto
• Optical Zoom 10x
• Digital Zoom up to 100x
• It’s excellent in low light and has a “Night” setting.
• Optical image stabilization (OIS). It also has digital stabilization plus Super Steady Mode that crops the image to keep it free of shake.
I need a phone for everything else, GPS to my appointments, accessing my appointment calendar, calling, texting, etc… So, using a phone with a great camera made more sense than having two tools to worry about (a phone and a camera). With a good case, I’ve dropped it onto the concrete floor from attic accesses at least 10 feet from the ground several times, it’s never broken or had a cracked screen, but I also pay for device protection just in case.
My Zircon MetalliScanner MT6 goes in my right pocket, my tape measure, sharpie and my 6" metal ruler go in my left pocket. No need for a flashlight with a powerful headlamp. And my Dickies work shorts have a cell phone pocket, so I’m completely hands free if I need to crawl around on my hands and knees and twist like a contortionist through tight spaces.
For hard-to-reach areas I use a 118" selfie stick in combination with my zoom, however for 70% of my images I am able to do them from the access as far as 20+ feet away just using my phone, without using the selfie stick. The photos are high resolution, clear, crisp, and professional. The selfie stick is nice because while I usually use it forward facing, on occasion I have used it in selfie mode to get images of clips in low pitch roofs with 8" headroom 10 feet away where that the nails could only be viewed from the opposite side (see image below), I had to get the camera on the other side of the clip (it would have been completely impossible to get the image from within the attic without doing it that way).
The most important thing is that if you’re using a flash, you’re doing it wrong! Invest in a good headlamp, something high powered that uses 3x18650 batteries that allows you to zoom and focus. Not many cameras have a flash capable of throwing the light anywhere close to 20 feet or more. You’re usually limited to 8 feet or so, 15 feet max with a high-end flash maybe. A powerful high-end head lamp can throw light thousands of feet away (far more than is needed).
One day, my phone’s battery died and I couldn’t charge it fast enough to keep up with my appointments, I had my old phone as a backup (which was deactivated, but used my truck’s Wi-Fi for the GPS), however that camera was not nearly as good as the S23 Ultra, so I purchased a refurbished Nikon COOLPIX L840 Digital Camera with 38x Optical Zoom as a backup that I keep in my tool bag just in case that ever happens again. That may have been overkill, but I didn’t want to do trial and error with a bunch of cheaper cameras, and I certainly did not want to use my D5500.
My only other tool is a 13’ boat hook (collapses down to 5’), to pull insulation away from clogged soffits or push blown-in insulation out of the way where it’s obstructing the roof-to-wall connection. It’s far stronger than risking breaking my selfie stick.
But if you want to talk about OSHA and Florida attics, this summer was brutal… I’m used to crawling around in 120°-130° heat on my hands and knees on 2x4’s spread 2 feet apart crawling through tight spots with no head room, but this summer I was clocking attics at over 150°. I’m self-employed though, so I’d need to file a complaint against myself, I guess. LOL
