A rope tester to ascertain the condition of a wire rope in advance without increasing workload, Including a magnetization detector having a magnetizer for generating a magnetic force, and a detector for detecting a change in magnetism produced in a wire rope magnetized by the magnetic force generated by the magnetizer; a digital camera, which is provided a predetermined distance away from the magnetization detector along the traveling direction of the wire rope, for imaging the wire rope; and a controller, which is connected to the magnetization detector and to the digital camera, for detecting the location of a defect in the wire rope based on a change in magnetism detected by the magnetization detector, and outputting a drive signal that actuates the digital camera at a timing at which the defect location arrives at the location at which the digital camera is installed.