What's new
What's new

O.T. Thinking about buying a thermal imagery camera buying advice wanted.

alonzo83

Stainless
Joined
Mar 20, 2013
Location
Missouri
Friday my tool dealer brought in a Flir thermal imaging camera. FLIR C2 Compact Thermal Imaging System

I thought it was definitely a neat little toy and showed us a breaker we already had confirmed was going out. It was able to detect an unnoticable difference "by touch" in the electrical cord on the radial arm drill I was running.

This being said I was very impressed with its capabilities and would be interested in hearing what you guys in the know can tell me and any advice on brand names of thermal cameras other than flir.

I could see the use of this camera as a sideline income for inspecting machinery, boats and/or residential houses. So I am not really interested in the junk but can't spring for a $10,000 dollar camera.


Thank You,
Alonzo
 
Not all the FLIR units are that expensive. A couple grand gets one that is pretty darn good, or did recently. Yes you can pay big bucks and get an outstanding version, of course.

Ans, a few years ago, there were cheaper FLIR units of a lower nominal resolution that actually were limited by software, and were inside identical to the next model up. Folks developed a hack for them to unlock the capabilities, so there are some models around that are "upgraded" from their nominal resolution.

FLIR subsequently "fixed" that, so I suspect if they are sent back for service, they will be reset to low resolution permanently.
 
Two years ago I bought a Flir E40, which I chose for the high dynamic range (-4F to 1200F). It's only a 160 x 120 pixel imager, but if I wanted higher resolution the cost went up rapidly. I'm familiar with the "hack" potential but haven't (probably won't) explore it.

One thing I'd do differently if I bought another is get an auto-focus unit, which Flir now offers at comparable levels to what I bought. Turns out that with the relatively low resolution getting a sharp image is important, but constantly fiddling with the manual lens focus is a pain. Other than that I'm pleased with it.
 
I have an e30 and use the heck out of the thing. It is one of my first-line diagnostic tools for everything from loose electrical connections to fouled spark plugs.

You want something with an adjustable focus, that is most important. Resolution is secondary to that. 160x120 is plenty for almost any task.
 
We have a several FLIR cameras at work. Great tools. I saw a handheld one at a trade show in the spring the size of an iPhone with a price of $700 can that would be a good toolbox tool for finding differences in temperature (electrical things). Last Friday the boss gave a "plug into the iPhone/ipad" camera to me to evaluate. $300 Canadian from Apple Store. Seemed to work very well and would be great for work that did not require a high degree of precision.
Cam
 
Last edited:
If you do any sort of electronic work they are great. Power electronics of course, but also lower power.

With SMT components, resolution is important so you can tell which part is hot! Some of the components are pretty small, smaller that coarse sugar crystals.
 
An e30 at minimum focal length (at 160 x 120) can resolve an 0402. An e8 at 320 x 240 (fixed focus, wider field of view, no option to change lenses) can't.
 
My boys gave me one that plugs into my cell phone. FLIR one. I haven't had much time to work with it so far, but it has about the same capabilities as the two year old unit the fire chief carries. That unit was $2500. I have used my FLIR one to verify no hot spots after a machine fire.

The new CAT S60 phone has integrated FLIR, but there are no local carriers that will work. At about $600 I'd like it to be my next phone.
 
An e30 at minimum focal length (at 160 x 120) can resolve an 0402. An e8 at 320 x 240 (fixed focus, wider field of view, no option to change lenses) can't.



With some things, you want to be a bit farther away...... PWB with 750VDC on the bus........ If anything undesirable happens that involves heat, there is a certain chance it will fireball in your face if you are in close trying to view something such as a gate drive component......

And even if that is not an issue, the board may be big enough that the areas of interest will not all fit in the view unless at a distance. Then it can be hard to observe small hot spots. They may be smaller than, or comparable to a pixel, and not show up well until they have heated up a surrounding area of the board, which may be too late. With an area of say 300 x 300mm, and 160 pixels, each pixel represents 2mm, comparable to a small resistor. In the 120 pixel orientation, each pixel is over 2.5mm. That is assuming the image of the PWB takes up the entire screen dimension. With a square item, and a rectangular screen, obviously that will not happen, so the resolution drops to the lower of the two directions if the entire item is kept on-screen at once.

The whole advantage of a FLIR type device is that you can monitor an entire area all at once, and from a distance, so if you must zoom in on an area, and/or get up close, that is losing some of the benefits.
 
I played with one on the snap on truck too. I would like to have one but they have shitty customer service for customers who buy first releases of technology items that are debugged a few months later. I will give it a year or so before I buy one.
 
I played with one on the snap on truck too. I would like to have one but they have shitty customer service for customers who buy first releases of technology items that are debugged a few months later. I will give it a year or so before I buy one.

are you referring to snap on or flir when you say they have shitty customer service? if you say snap on I am not to concerned because I use cornwell.
 
Not all the FLIR units are that expensive. A couple grand gets one that is pretty darn good, or did recently. Yes you can pay big bucks and get an outstanding version, of course.

Ans, a few years ago, there were cheaper FLIR units of a lower nominal resolution that actually were limited by software, and were inside identical to the next model up. Folks developed a hack for them to unlock the capabilities, so there are some models around that are "upgraded" from their nominal resolution.

FLIR subsequently "fixed" that, so I suspect if they are sent back for service, they will be reset to low resolution permanently.

Damn...wish they hadn't fixed that mistake. Know a local guy that has that camera, and rents it out for the weekend. I plan on taking advantage of it once we are in the new house! But there are so many things they can be used for it amazes me.
 
Before I retired from our volunteer fire department five years ago, we got one. It was useful for locating concealed hot spots after a fire, and doing electrical service investigations. It could also locate people and animals in the dark. I recall it costing in the $2,000 range. Go to your neatest fire service and ask that they demonstrate what they have.

Jim
 
Snap on. When the modis scanner/scope came out for 8k that had issues with the screen burning up their "fix" was to pay them to replace the known faulty parts or trade in a 6mo old tool for a new upgraded one.
Second FU was the shockwave 1/2in impact years ago. It was advised as the strongest impact on the market (700 ft lb iirc) I bought it and it was weaker than the old ingersol I was replacing. The dealer agreed and got me a replacement. It was the same. He gave me a rash of shit for wanting to return it. One of my coworkers kept his. Shortly after they came out with a fix kit that he had to pay for because the guns could not produce the torque they were advertised too have. How can they admit to basically false advertising and make you pay to fix their screw up.
 
IME don't get to hung up on the definition, you kinda don't really need all that much, your not takeing a pic, just looking for hot spots. Fluke do several, better ones are now integrating a digital camera and kinda overlaying the images, net result its real easy to place the image with the pic detail and the thermal over lay makes it really clear whats TOO hot! With out the expense - focusing + size issues of seriously high definition heat sensitive cameras.
 
Old thread, but this is relevant. Higher resolution is still good to have. If you get a cam with good enough resolution and adjust it properly (that is key also) then you don't need any overlay to see what is what. This is an image straight from my cam with no overlay. Edit: the attached pic is significantly de-rezzed compared to the original picture. So much for that example. In the original all the buttons and small details can be made out. That's with a 320x240 resolution. Would be a lot better still if I had bothered to get closer to fill the frame better. The overlay helps a lot on the lower resolution cams for sure though.
 

Attachments

  • IR_0447.jpg
    IR_0447.jpg
    10.9 KB · Views: 90
I have a Snap On thermal imager EETH300, I really like it not fancy a little price cause it says Snap-On. I don't recall the price but I believe it is in budget. It is re-chargeable and sports a small memory card. It has different settings depending on what you are looking at, i.e. bearings electrical etc. and in the software hints on how best to utilize said setting. It is nice and light, with good screen resolution plus it is Snap-On so if she throws a seven they have your back. At least my Snappy guy does, he has warranted stuff with no fuss; give him the problem child and he hands me a brandy new one, not a question asked.
 
Oh and regarding the lower end FLIR models that can be hacked up to the high end model specs - that is still plenty possible if you purchase a used unit. Not sure about the newer ones. Mine is such a beast. FLIR E40 that I managed to snag for $300, then quadrupled the resolution to the same as the E60.
 








 
Back
Top