To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!

Who’s using Infrared Camera’s . . .

I

IRQVET

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 29, 2015
Messages
1,188
Location
Forgotten Coast (FL)
Have to admit I’m not an expert on the topic. Looking for an Infrared Camera to aid me in building inspections. Cost is not a huge deal as my company will pay for it, as long as its within reason and not a stupid amount of money. Is there a camera out their that blends performance and cost?

Being ex miliatry I’m partial to the FLIR brand as that is what I have experience with. But that was a long time ago, so I’m not sure who is the best in this segment these days?
 
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!
P

PCustoms

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 23, 2011
Messages
23,160
Location
VT
IMHO (as a former certified thermographer) the training is just as critical as the camera, if not more.

Too easy to spend money on a camera, have the settings wrong for the conditions and publish a report that is meaningless.
 
Last edited:
R

rlitman

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 18, 2010
Messages
24,629
Location
Long Island
IRQVET said:
...Being ex miliatry I’m partial to the FLIR brand as that is what I have experience with...
Click to expand...
I have a FLIR E4 at work that's been modded to 320x240 thermal resolution, and it's a fantastic camera, and was a fantastic deal back in 2014 when I got it. But FLIR is just a subsidiary of Fluke, and I now also have a Fluke PTi120 which is a total piece of frustrating junk with just as high a price tag.

In this day and age, what YOU are looking for is not from FLIR or Fluke! On a military budget sure, they make great stuff. But when you strip off a few zeroes to get below the cost of a nice car, the gear FLIR is selling right now isn't any better than imported imagers, and in many ways it's worse.
 
R

rlitman

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 18, 2010
Messages
24,629
Location
Long Island
PCustoms said:
You sure about that?
Click to expand...
I guess not, but I could have sworn they were at one time. Hard to keep track of mergers and acquisitions when they're all pumping out the same consumer **** by slapping their name on whatever they get from China.
 
M

MongoTA

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 10, 2018
Messages
1,007
Location
CT
I picked this up recently. New in box.

F2VW thermal camera 256x192 infrared resolution dual camera thermal imaging camera, W-Fi, 2-megapixel visual camera, super-resolution image enhancement, 3.2-inch screen thermal imager, with 16GB storage space, carrying case

Didn't need or want one, but it was a new in box yard sale deal at a crazy price I couldn't pass up. I have to admit I haven't dug deep into it, but out of the box it's easy to use. All I've done is "hey, I wonder..." low-level stuff, shooting my service panel, exterior and interior of the house, taking internal and external temps of the wood fired oven, oil burner, electric motors, etc. Really just messing around. I'll need it for a specific purpose one day, but for now, it's a fun toy to have on hand.

After I got it I checked it out on Amazon and it had good ratings, but it does have bell and whistle features you might not need, I'm sure you can get the same level of performance with fewer tricks for less.
 
T

tool_scrounge

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 20, 2010
Messages
4,204
Location
Southern California
rlitman said:
I guess not, but I could have sworn they were at one time. Hard to keep track of mergers and acquisitions when they're all pumping out the same consumer **** by slapping their name on whatever they get from China.
Click to expand...
Due to US technology export controls, a lot of the stuff FLIR, Seek Thermal and other US thermal companies manufacture is made in the US.
 
F

finn

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 27, 2005
Messages
16,297
Location
The UP, God's country
I bought a Seek attachment for my iPhone, primarily to locate the hydronic tubes in my shop floor so I could locate my two post lift without hitting water with the drill bit.

Used it a couple more times, but the novelty soon wore off. I probably haven’t used it in six or seven years now.
 
R

rlitman

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 18, 2010
Messages
24,629
Location
Long Island
tool_scrounge said:
Due to US technology export controls, a lot of the stuff FLIR, Seek Thermal and other US thermal companies manufacture is made in the US.
Click to expand...
Nothing anyone without a government budget is paying for. The ITAR regulations on thermal imagers are beyond dumb. They incentivize you to buy imported imagers, because US made exportable equipment is far less capable than imports, at far higher price. Flir brings in a lot of their consumer products from Estonia.
 
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!
9

98ssuck

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 21, 2012
Messages
348
Location
British columbia
I carry the flir attachment for iPhone in my pockets at work. I used to have a c2 or c3 circa 2018. The attachment is much better. The lag on the c2 or c3 was terrible. The attachment replaced a pocket thermometer. Didn’t shop around for price/features. Useful for a quick glance at electrical components on vehicles, 12/24vdc. Added a AirTag to the case. So when I do miss place it. It’s not gone for long.
 
OP
I

IRQVET

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 29, 2015
Messages
1,188
Location
Forgotten Coast (FL)
Been playing with the Flir C5 (pocket camera) but I just popped for the Flir E6 Pro. Prices on those are expensively reasonable (if thats a thing)
 
R

rlitman

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 18, 2010
Messages
24,629
Location
Long Island
IRQVET said:
Mcgrady3513 your post (and PM) is a bit suspect, as your pushing products with only 2 posts . . . 💯
Click to expand...
Ok, so he's spamming a bunch of us. For context, and for those who didn't get the PMs, this press release should shed some light on what's going on:
democrats-selectcommitteeontheccp.house.gov

Krishnamoorthi, Auchincloss Request Investigation into Possible Sanctions Violations by Yantai iRay Technology Co.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the U.S. and the CCP and Congressman Jake Auchincloss (D-MA) sent a letter to Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent and Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick...
democrats-selectcommitteeontheccp.house.gov democrats-selectcommitteeontheccp.house.gov

The gist of the story is that Raytron / Yantai iRay is a China (PRC military) owned cluster corporation making dual-use products, and selling to the Russian Federation against global sanctions. For that reason, iRay products have been sanctioned from being sold on the US market. Over a number of whack-a-mole cycles, they've spun up new subsidiaries and resumed US sales. This most recent hydra arm has been branded Thermal Master, and they're trying to coax us into marketing their dual use products here with a new name.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!
Top Bottom