Recommendations on a capacitor meter?

[ninjanation217]

Hello
 
I have been looking for a decent capacitor meter, preferably hand held. I'm looking to measure down to 220pF. I am not so much worried about cost as I am using it for work. I was hoping I could find a Fluke brand one but haven't had much luck.

What do you guys use? I figured I should ask people with experience for their opinion.

Thanks,

- Jim

[Elasia]

You want a LCR meter

I use a https://smarttweezers.us/ myself but this is also a good one https://www.lcrresearch.com/pro1plus/

Outside of that its slim pickings for a cheap option less you go with Chinese gear

Wasnt impressed with the BT function of the smart tweezers.. if i had to do it over again i'd get the pro 1

[graybeard]

I like my DER EE DE-5000.  It resolves 10's of fF on the 200pF range.  They can be picked up for about $100

See this thread: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/der-ee-de-5000-unboxing-and-teardown/

[EA3BV]

Hi,

I have a  Der EE de-5000, It is a LCR Meter from Japan with a good quality and precision for 100 euros shipping included.

Also there is a Atlas Peak LCR45 (old model LCR44) that has a very good reviews, also measures a low inductances, etc.

[ninjanation217]

Thank you very much, that thread was extremely helpful. I have decided to go with the DE-5000 LCR.

Thanks to everyone that provided information! You guys are awesome!

[texaspyro]

ESI VideoBridge for the win... it's not hand held... or easy to find... or cheap when you do find one in working condition.

[stafil]

I was not too impressed with the Der-EE QA. It came with one of the input thingys blended(see photo). So if you end up buying one from eBay, make sure you thoroughly test it before leaving positive feedback.

[PushUp]

Have you considered the Keysight U1733C?

https://www.keysight.com/en/pc-1587210/u1700-series-handheld-capacitance-and-lcr-meters?pm=SC&nid=-34196.0&cc=GB&lc=eng

I only have the "Atlas Peak LCR 45". It is fine as it is capable to measure up to 200 kHz in contrast to the 100 kHz of the U1733C, which is more than 5x the price.

However, for professional use the LCR 45 is not robust enough and the two button operation is awkward, when switching the modes. You are able to buy a pair of tweezers, but the missing backlight makes it hard to read under difficult light conditions, as you can see on my "in action" pic. ;-)

Nevertheless, for me it is enough, as it measures capacitance from 0pF up to 10 000 uF.