Suggestions for a infrared camera

[cliftonbros89]

I’ve been looking for an infrared camera to possibly use for some diagnostic work. Checking for temp differences on things and bearings and what not on tractors and farm equipment.

I’ve seen the Milwaukee M12...anyone use it before? I’m not looking to spend a fortune on one. I know there are some expensive options out there. But I don’t want to get to carried away with getting anything too expensive. The Snap On guy had one “on sale” awhile back for $700 but that was a little out of budget too.

So any suggestions or feedback on any? It’d be appreciated.

 

[Jagmandave]

What's your budget? Flir has something that works with your iphone...I've seen them for as low as $200.

Example - https://www.flir.com/products/flir-one-gen-3/

 

[NorthNjWK]

I have the FLIR cam for iPhone and it works well for home owner use. Might work for your needs.

 

[4xdog]

I've had a FLIRONE for my old iPhone 5 series for some years now. It works well for overall heat mapping, but all of these consumer grade cameras have tiny sensors.

It has ways to track individual temperature by point, but that's sometimes misleading as the point implies a spot measurement that isn't always correct. The FLIR iPhone cameras seem to do an OK job with shiny materials, although emmissivity can be tricky with surfaces like this -- a black surface is always best.

Here are some examples taken around my vintage Triumph TR3, including a standard photograph to show what it looks like before the various display options for the IR series.

 

[danski0224]

You'll have a hard time beating this for the price:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07M5CQ44L/?tag=atomicindus08-20

320x480 thermal imager from Hti.

More pixels is always better, and this is as good as it gets without spending many thousands.

Another spec to watch is the refresh rate. It seems that many of the IR cameras outside of the "pro" models are 9hz, which I think this one is too. You have to wait a bit for the image to "develop"- a moving scan of a room will look blurry.

Seek (an IR imager brand) has something comparable.

The phone add on modules **** down the phone battery... at least that's what the reviews say.

 

[RedneckWelder]

You'll have a hard time beating this for the price:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07M5CQ44L/?tag=atomicindus08-20

320x480 thermal imager from Hti.

More pixels is always better, and this is as good as it gets without spending many thousands.

Another spec to watch is the refresh rate. It seems that many of the IR cameras outside of the "pro" models are 9hz, which I think this one is too. You have to wait a bit for the image to "develop"- a moving scan of a room will look blurry.

Seek (an IR imager brand) has something comparable.

The phone add on modules **** down the phone battery... at least that's what the reviews say.

I think the lower end thermals are 9 hz for ITAR reasons

 

[danski0224]

What's ITAR?

 

[RedneckWelder]

What's ITAR?

International Traffic in Arms Regulations, the US govt restricts a lot of stuff that can be used in a military role. Lower end models of say Thermal may be exported while high end stuff like military grade may be owned by US citizens but not exported.

 

[todd_fuller]

If your need is not immediate, might be worthwhile to wait until the pandemic dies down and try to pick up used cameras for cheap.

On a different note, if you’re patient, you can get a decent deal on used Flir E4s which can be upgraded to E8 spec, 384x240 I think.

There is a whole forum on eevblog for thermal cameras.

 

[danski0224]

Interesting on the ITAR thing.

That might be part of the reason for the gap between the $500-ish and $4,000-ish models.

Last time I looked, 620 x 480 HD was still 5 figures plus.

 

[todd_fuller]

The sensors are hard to manufacture, volume is low, you need exotic optics, calibration is required, etc, etc. Most people that need such high resolution can afford the cost. I imagine most places with something like that, are paying someone a salary just to use it and analyze the data, so compare $4-5k with someone's salary.

 

[MattT]

The sensors are hard to manufacture, volume is low, you need exotic optics, calibration is required, etc, etc. Most people that need such high resolution can afford the cost. I imagine most places with something like that, are paying someone a salary just to use it and analyze the data, so compare $4-5k with someone's salary.

Thermal can also head off very expensive problems in an industrial environment. First thing you find with a 5K camera could easily pay for it. Biggest one I've found would've been 100K plus if it wasn't corrected. Plenty of 4 and 5 figure finds too in the 4 years I've had it. And that's just me playing around with a $200 Seek.

 

[cliftonbros89]

I’m just looking for something simple. Probably around the $200-$300 range if possible.

Would the Flir camera work ok for checking the likes of bearings that may behind shields? One job I’m thinking of looking for something to possibly making checking things out on equipment like our hay baler and cutter where there are a lot of moving parts and bearings, some that are covered.

 

[cliftonbros89]

I saw some not so great reviews on the Flir for iPhone so I decided to try out a Flir TG165. I haven’t been able to really use it for a job yet. But I’ve used it a little just to try it out. Seems to work well. Screen is a little small. But it works.

 

[rlitman]

I think the lower end thermals are 9 hz for ITAR reasons

ITAR only applies to exports from the USA, so with pretty much all micro-bolometer sensors (except military grade stuff) being imported, ITAR is immaterial now (though a decade ago, it WAS relevant).