Abstract: A hand-carryable pushrod-based camera system includes a storage cage rotatably supported on a manually-graspable handle, a semi-rigid pushrod having a distal end, at least a portion of the pushrod being coiled within the storage cage, an image monitor supported on the handle, a camera comprising an illumination system, the camera being supported on the distal end of the pushrod and being capable of capturing at least one of video and still images; and a cable extending along and supported by the pushrod, the cable comprising a first conductor carrying a power signal to the camera and a second conductor carrying an image signal from the camera to the image monitor. The cable may include no more than four conductors in a low-voltage system. The camera system may include a port permitting physical detachment of the image monitor, and a controller board wirelessly communicating image signals to the image monitor.