> The other would stand a good distance away with a telephoto lens, and take a picture of each frame.  After the hive was reassembled, they would go inside and "inspect the comb" on the computer.

That is a very good point.  When inspecting bees, taking pictures of any unusual frame is a very good idea because later, when asked questions, one can look at the photo and see things that were not apparent on a casual glance under time pressure.

Taking pictures is a problem, though, since beekeepers have wax, honey and propolis on fingers and most cameras will not stand up long in that environment.  I have found the Fuju FinePix XP-10 or XP-15 to be good for the job, since it is dust and waterproof -- and washable.  It has 5x optical telephoto, but no external moving parts to get gummed up.  These cameras do not take the very best photos from a pure photography point of view, but they are tiny and tough and I always have mine with me -- everywhere -- whereas a better camera would be too bulky.  It is good enough for my purposes and cheap at $170.  I have taken pictures 6 feet under the ocean surface and in swimming pools.

I need to work more on taking pictures, rather than snapping randomly, holding frames every which way.  A jig of some sort that would hold a frame in a constant position, and with reference to the sun so that the light is perfect in the cells is a project I keep thinking about.  It would have to be lightweight and easy to carry.  Combining it with a frame hanger of the sort that holds frames in normal position on the side of the hive could be ideal.  A trigger-pressing lever would help reduce gum on the camera and make finding the shutter release easier than groping around on the tiny camera each time.

For comparing hives, such a jig would be just the thing, since, instead of estimating brood in the yard, the frames need only be quickly  photographed and replaced in the hive.  Later, any anomalies can be revisited.  A way of labeling each shot would be important, so maybe wheels with numbers and/or letters in the corners of photos or some other sort of incrementing and meaningful visual marker could be devised.  Combined with a sound recorder, the camera frame numbering could suffice.  If you have ever shot a series of photos from a number of hives and tried to make sense of them late, you know how important some simple and idiot-proof identification system is.   

(I often complain about the quality of data in studies that I look at and I really, really wonder how often the field people screw things up by losing track or confusing hives, and then try to repair the data later to save their study or their job.  I only know how often I get confused, and even if we assume that I get confused more often than the typical hung-over hormone-crazed grad student, if they are even nearly as fallible as me, then look out!)

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