I've not really looked at features of the E8 compared to other units at a similar price, but £4700 seems a lot for a unit with no manual focus, manual temp range selection, wifi, touchscreen etc. even compared to the FLir Ex0 series.
Also regarding the lens, FWIW, it seems both E4 and E8 list the lens model as "FOL7" in their image metadata, and least based on an early E8 image found on the web. I used exiftool to dump the info; very nice tool which can also extract the raw thermal and visible images from a FLIR jpg.
The serial of my E4 is 639047xx (last two digits are replaced by 'x'). I assume 639 is set as model number; as Mikes serial is 639037xx. So a few thousands are in the market (if they started with 0).I've not really looked at features of the E8 compared to other units at a similar price, but £4700 seems a lot for a unit with no manual focus, manual temp range selection, wifi, touchscreen etc. even compared to the FLir Ex0 series.I think theE4E8 is pretty usable now, the only feature I am really missing is the manual temperature range selection. Wifi etc. would be nice but is not really important.
Mike: as I remember correctly, you mentioned a few days ago, that temp. range selection can be done through the UART interface. Will this be possible any time in the regular shooting mode? Then a small ATTiny solution could be possible: By using an incremental encoder with pushbutton function there would be only one external item as the user interface needed. The display would then show the selected temp. range anyway.
Regarding buying a TIC that you don't really 'need'...... I am fighting the urge to buy an E4. I already own several thermal cameras, four of which outperform the E series. BUT I still like the E4 with its upgrade potential. I believe it is a psychological thing....being able to buy a relatively cheap model and upgrade it to a more expensive specification. My heart wants one but my logical side is holding me back due to the lack of manual modes and less than simple adjustment of focus.
GBP960 is still a lot of money to your average Jo, and I am no different.
Mike: as I remember correctly, you mentioned a few days ago, that temp. range selection can be done through the UART interface. Will this be possible any time in the regular shooting mode? Then a small ATTiny solution could be possible: By using an incremental encoder with pushbutton function there would be only one external item as the user interface needed. The display would then show the selected temp. range anyway.
I suppose one option would be to do a board that sits inline with the keypad cable and connects to the serial FFC connector. And work out some magic key sequences to activate your functionality.
I know a few people have posted where they purchased their unit and the price. Can we start a list of Supplier names and prices?
I'm sure there are many more ready to hit the go button. Thanks
And touchscreen would indeed be funky, but that only gets to be meaningful (IMO) when you can integrate that properly into the GUI. Otherwise it's just too much hassle for what you get in return.
I know a few people have posted where they purchased their unit and the price. Can we start a list of Supplier names and prices?
I'm sure there are many more ready to hit the go button. Thanks
http://www.valuetesters.com/flir-e4-thermal-imaging-camera-msx-enabled.html Advertised price is $995, but $895 if you "request a quote via email".
Value Testers sells worldwide. Our sales people have a great deal of experience with international markets, as we have sold to almost 150 countries worldwide. We provide excellent customer service that is based on building relationships with our customers who become our friends. Value Testers helps customers to select products that exactly match their needs and at the same time are the least expensive solution. We also help customers to find the best and resonably priced shipping. We work as a team to help our customers.
Amprobe and Fluke products can be shipped only within US, as per agreement between manufacturers and US distributors. The same relates to Thermal Imagers frequency 33kHz or higher.
Yeah, thought about the mcu-in-the-middle as well for the keypad. But then you'll have to keep track of the UI state, which can get annoying real fast.
Not necessarily - if you could just add maybe a strip at the bottom or side using a thin PCB, you could create some virtual buttons at fixed positions just outside the visible area - you don't really need much - just an up/down for span and level when you detect that locked mode has been entered.
Yeah, thought about the mcu-in-the-middle as well for the keypad. But then you'll have to keep track of the UI state, which can get annoying real fast.Not neccessarily: At least with the current firmware, most buttons do not have any functionality when you are in regular shooting mode.
Any other ideas which could be useful and which can be set by the UART interface?
Look through the PDF linked a while ago that documents a lot of the comamnd line stuff.QuoteAs my camera is still closed (only removed the front yet to get access to the UART connector): does anybody know how many wires the FPC for the keyboard has? I assume 0.5mm spacing? The current functionality indicates that the E4 is not using a matrix but single lines for each button = then 9 wires would be needed as minimum.
The FFC for the keyboard looks to have 8 connections.
Not strictly true once hacked - blue-below and red-above palette options use up/down.
and you need to reliably determine when you are in regular shooting mode.
Does the original hack also enable picture-in-picture, or does that require additional steps?