Needed: $200-$350 thermal camera, best for electronics troubleshooting

[whatever]

I'm think that the best bang for the buck is to go for a plug-in module for phones or tablets. Like Seek or FLIR or Infiray .
I am aware of other threads on this topic ...
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/repair/any-experience-with-this-thermal-camera-for-pcb-repairing/
The  Infiray -- Xinfrared T2S Plus, $339, Amazon in USA -- seems most ideal because of its macro lens. And it seems to be purpose-built for electronics repair.  Yes?
What I'd also like to have is a fairly accurate temperature metrics (to correlate with component data sheets of component specs). [I am not impressed with my generic handheld IR laser thermometer, which doesn't seem ideal for PCBs.]

[Veteran68]

Personally, I'm not a fan of phone-based cameras. I mean if Apple or Google would build-in a thermal camera, I'd use it out of convenience, but if I have to carry around and plug-in an awkward attachment, then no. That said, if I were looking for a phone camera, I'd probably go with something like the Infiray P2 Pro.

But generally I still prefer purpose-built devices.

I still believe one of the best bang-for-buck thermal cameras is the Uni-T UTi260B/UNi690B (same device, the UNi690B is a Banggood white labeled version). Good resolution and sensitivity for a reasonable price.

[boB]

The one from Banggood looks OK.

Another option in the US at least, is from Harbor Freight at around $220.

We normally use FLIR at work but we bought one from HF and it appears to be OK.

boB

[Veteran68]

I'm showing the HF (Ames) model at $199 USD where I live.

While there is a >$100 price gap, be aware that there are some significant difference between the HF model and the Uni-T.

HF:  32x32 sensor resolution
Uni-T:  256x192 sensor resolution

HF:  160x128 display resolution
Uni-T:  320x240 display resolution

HF:  1.8" screen
Uni-T:  2.8" screen

[whatever]

That Uni-T UTi260B/UNi690  model looks like my dual laser IR. But with screen and thermal camera.
If all that cost went into the screen and chassis, the camera is not going to match the plug-in modules (which don't necessarily need to be used w/a phone).

[Solder_Junkie]

Have you considered an infrared ear thermometer? Unlike the general purpose IR “gun” types, the sensor is small and can be placed close to an individual component. I bought one a few years ago, it has a removable front cover which activates a switch to change range. With the cover in place it operates over 0-100 deg C, by gluing the switch plunger you can use it without the cover to measure the temperature of SMD parts.

Cost is negligible and they are plentiful on eBay. Be careful to pick one that can measure wide temperature ranges, not just the limited temperature range of an ear. Unfortunately mine was bought a few years ago, so I cannot give you a link.

SJ

[whatever]

Have you considered an infrared ear thermometer? Unlike the general purpose IR “gun” types, the sensor is small and can be placed close to an individual component. I bought one a few years ago, it has a removable front cover which activates a switch to change range. With the cover in place it operates over 0-100 deg C, by gluing the switch plunger you can use it without the cover to measure the temperature of SMD parts.

Cost is negligible and they are plentiful on eBay. Be careful to pick one that can measure wide temperature ranges, not just the limited temperature range of an ear. Unfortunately mine was bought a few years ago, so I cannot give you a link.

SJ

That might be an option. Not sure how accurate an ear thermo might be for electronics. Organic (tissue) temps don't necessarily radiate the same way as elec circuits. You may be able to double check (calibrate) the ear thermo for electronics if you knew precisely what  the component temps are. And for that, you may, in fact, need a high-end FLIR.

But you suggested hacks or a DIY device, and that was also something I was considering. The Seek and FLIR are packaged products, with software and apps. And these companies can charge for that packaged convenience. But the guts of these devices -- the camera and PC boards -- may be avail separately, w/o housing. Say on Ali.
Likely the product packager -- Infiray, Uni-T, etc -- have sourced the guts from some common Shenzhen OEM designer.
Are they on Ali or Taobao?

[Teledog]

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006309580495.html
Not great res, but it'll show hot-spots
If you need to "zoom in" a ZnSe lens plopped in front works well

[MarkT]

Personally, I'm not a fan of phone-based cameras. I mean if Apple or Google would build-in a thermal camera, I'd use it out of convenience, but if I have to carry around and plug-in an awkward attachment, then no.

You can get Android phones with built in thermal cameras....  Had one for years and its very useful.

[JOE 2345]

I am a Plummer in Canada, I bought Infiray P2 Pro foe electronics and building basic repairing, I think it's really convinced for me, easy carrying, not too expensive. The problem is their official website didn't have the price, I need to email them or purchase on Amazon.

[ddosegov]

Add 100$ and get Flir TG267.

[Leuams]

I picked up a Seek module for use with my smart phone at the time. Unfortunately now I don't have a phone with a micro USB port so the module is useless, the adapter to USBC doesn't work if I remember correctly so I can't use my newer phones. I'm going to go with a standalone unit next time I'm in the market for a thermal camera.

[battlecoder]

I bought a Tooltop T5 recently from AliExpress. It's 256*192 in resolution and was around $150. It's a "phone camera", though.
It supposedly has a macro lens built-in because it is allegedly built for PCB inspection/repair.

In my opinion it works decently. I don't have experience with other thermal cameras to compare, but it's been very useful already in analyzing the thermal behavior of modules and circuits I build or use. It's actually very sensitive, to the point of detecting the exact point on a DIP atmega microcontroller where the sillicon die is, because of the heat it generates under the black plastic.

There's a couple of apps apart from the "official" app that works with this camera, and there's even PC software that I tried, that allowed me to record and analyze the direct video feed from the device. This is a common theme with generic USB-C "phone" thermal cameras because (with some exceptions) they mostly seem to work as a grayscale camera where white = hot, black = cold, and since there's apparently many cameras operating in this exact same way, you get (in theory) a variety of compatible software and apps.

Now, I do agree that a dedicated camera is better, however I had an old phone laying around that I repurposed to be a thermal camera with the addition of this device. I wouldn't use my personal phone for this. Not only hovering my phone over my soldering/repair station would be incredibly bad for my heart, but also I don't want to get notifications or calls on my "thermal camera" while I'm troubleshooting an issue

Other than that, phone thermal cameras have some advantages: Bigger screen than most dedicated devices, large storage space for captures, they can be connected to cloud storage for even more captures as well as enjoying instant transfer to your PC, and in some cases, if you don't like the app there's maybe another one that would work better for you (only if the device is generic enough).

There's definitely some annoyances like having to lock auto-rotation, disable phone updates, etc, but it has its advantages too, especially if you are reusing an old phone that had no other fate than collecting dust in a drawer.

[LinuxHata]

The "phone" cameras can be divided into two categories:

1. Propriertary protocol - these work with only own software, and when you connect them to PC, they show under USB devices and no drivers are available so can't be used.

2. UVC protocol - these are "seen" in system as normal camera, so any software will work, but as noted above, they deliver grayscale image, so you need special software to make image more usable

So I bought used Hikvision 4117 camera, which has UVC protocol, resolution of 160x120 and 25 fps frame rate. Modified it by adding that ZnSe (C02 laser cutter) lens, and resolution is good enough to see the text on the 0603 resistors clearly.