Best thermal camera for $300

[Vipitis]

This thread is ancient, but I had the feeling we had the discussion a few times. I found an open source hardware&software project for a 160x120 Lepton based imager that is supposed to cost 400€ https://github.com/maxritter/DIY-Thermocam

Maybe something for people who don't want to spent long time developing firmware.

[elec2012]

Hi does anybody know this:

https://www.photonics.com/Products/IR_Thermopile_Array_with_80x64_Pixel/pr59875

[Fraser]

The sensor was at the heart of a Kickstarter campaign thermal camera that, as far as I know, never shipped.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ebeall/hemavision-smart-thermal-imaging-with-computer-vis

Technology has advanced moved quickly in the world of Thermal Cameras and I think the Hemavision camera was a victim of that. Other competing products with better resolution came to market around the same time. It was a very good effort on the part of Mr Beall though and he did have working prototypes.

http://www.hemaimaging.com/

The sensor is a thermopile, so similar technology to that used in IR thermometers and some low resolution IriSys thermal people counters and cameras. Microbolometers effectively "own" the consumer thermal camera market these days.

Fraser

[Fraser]

I can confirm that the Hemavision camera product was cancelled in 2016 due to the loss of two key components and redevelopment costs.
 
http://www.hemaimaging.com/status/

I think Mr Beall was/is a member of this forum though. If you want an expert view of these thermopile sensors, he may be your man

Fraser

[elec2012]

Okay.
But I will try the AppSet for EUR281

http://www.heimannsensor.com/products_imaging.php
80x64 px

thx

[Ben321]

The Lepton3 breakout + Raspberry Pi(a clone works too) and a display could be a good option if you're willing to tinker to get it working.

What do you need the camera for? There are a few good options on the used market too, but they might not be fit for your your needs(analog video out, etc).

Who uses a Pi? It's useless if you want to stream into your PC. You can stream it into the Pi, but then you need to capture the image and transfer it with an SD card or something. Now if there was a USB breakout board for the lepton, and it allowed you to plug it directly into your PC, now THAT would be a good thing.

[mahony]

Actually there is a board streaming directly to USB if wanted:
https://groupgets.com/manufacturers/getlab/products/purethermal-2-flir-lepton-smart-i-o-module#discussion

It is based on some STM32 chip an software is on GitHub to be modified to your needs.

The other option might be a Teensy 3.6 based approach (as does the DIY Thermal cam) - you could either stream to the USB port or attach a small display as you like. This is the cheapest option for me: 30€ Teensy board + 80€ for a Lepton from a dead FLIR ONE + 10€ for a 1.8" TFT ... just need to find the time to test this. ;-)

And who says you can stream to a PC from a PI - I do exactly this on a PI3 via Ethernet or WLAN. WLAN is not the most stable solution but Ethernet works like a charm. Also the PI Zero works but is limited to the WLAN connection which might not be the best for a continous stream. Bluetooth may work too but I never played with it.